Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ
Encyclopedia
Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ
are specific days of the year
distinguished in the liturgical calendar
as being significant days for the celebration of events in the life of Jesus Christ and his veneration, for the commemoration of His relics, signs and miracles. While Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 is treated everywhere as the central religious feast in the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 liturgical year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...

., the other feasts are differed in the liturgical practice.

Feast days of Jesus in the Catholic Church

Among the feasts of the same rite there is a difference in dignity. The Catholic liturgical practice follows the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites (August 22, 1893) which differs between:
  • primary feasts, which commemorate the principal mysteries of our religion, or celebrate the death of a saint, and
  • secondary feasts, the object of which is a particular feature of a mystery

The list of primary and secondary feasts is also found in the introduction to the Roman Breviary.

The Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...

points out that «within the two classes mentioned the feasts of Christ take the first place, especially those with privileged vigils and octaves:
  • Christmas
    Christmas
    Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

  • 6 January: Epiphany of the Lord
    Epiphany (Christian)
    Epiphany, or Theophany, meaning "vision of God",...

  • Easter
    Easter
    Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

  • Pentecost
    Pentecost
    Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

    : seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday

  • Corpus Christi
    Corpus Christi (feast)
    Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...


then follow the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, the Holy Angels
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, the Apostles and Evangelists
Evangelists
Evangelists may refer to:* Evangelists , Christians who specialize in evangelism* Evangelists , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament...

, and the other saints».

Feast days of Jesus in the Orthodox Church

Three main categories of feasts, distinguished in the Orthodox liturgical practice, namely
  • Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ 
  • Feasts of the Theotokos
    Theotokos
    Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...

     ' onMouseout='HidePop("32622")' href="/topics/Marian_feast_days">Marian feast days
    Marian feast days
    Marian feast days are specific holy days of the liturgical year celebrated by Christians as significant Marian days for the celebration of events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her veneration...

    , the actual set differs between Catholic and Orthodox Churches)
  • Feasts of Saints


While Easter is treated as Feast of Feasts, the following eight feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ are assigned the highest rank of the Great Feasts
Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church
The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha , is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition, there are other days of great importance in the life of the Church - the Twelve Great Feasts ....

 in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendars:
  • Feast of the Cross
    Feast of the Cross
    In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus....

     — 14 (27) September
  • Christmas
    Christmas
    Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

     — 25 December (7 January)
  • Baptism of Jesus
    Baptism of Jesus
    The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus Christ's public ministry. This event is recorded in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In John 1:29-33 rather than a direct narrative, the Baptist bears witness to the episode...

     — 6 (19) January
  • Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
    Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
    The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...

     — 2 (15) February
  • Palm Sunday
    Palm Sunday
    Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....

     — (Moveable feast
    Moveable feast
    In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...

    )
  • Ascension of Jesus — (Moveable feast
    Moveable feast
    In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...

    )
  • Pentecost
    Pentecost
    Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

     — (Moveable feast
    Moveable feast
    In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...

    )
  • Transfiguration of Jesus
    Transfiguration of Jesus
    The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....

     — 6 (19)

Literature

  • Настольная книга священнослужителя (Nastol’naya Kniga Sviashchenno-sluzhitelia), Volume 4, Moscow, 1983. Translated in «The Messenger» of St. Andrew’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Philadelphia, June, July-August, September, 1990.

See also

  • General Roman Calendar of 1954
  • General Roman Calendar of 1962
    General Roman Calendar of 1962
    This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as it was in 1962, following the reforms that Pope John XXIII introduced with his motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 23 July 1960...

  • Tridentine Calendar
    Tridentine Calendar
    The Tridentine Calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the course of the liturgical year in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite as reformed by Pope Pius V, implementing a decision of the Council of Trent, which entrusted the task to the Pope....

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