Transfiguration Trivia

Although the Transfiguration of the Lord chronologically occurred forty days before the Crucifixion of our Savior, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast in August rather than in February, otherwise the celebration would take place during the season of Great Lent. According to the established tradition, the interval of forty days separates the Transfiguration from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14/27), when the Church commemorates Christ’s passion and suffering on the cross.

Celebrations in honor of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord were instituted in the Orthodox Catholic Church in the fourth century after Saint Helena had a church constructed on Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Concurrently, she had a church built on the place where the Savior found the Holy Apostles Peter, James and John sleeping. Later, in the sixth century, three churches were built there — one named in honor of the Savior, another in honor of the Holy Prophet Moses and the third in honor of Saint Elijah.

In the twelfth century, both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic monasteries existed on Mount Tabor until Sultan Adel Melek-Damascus expelled all the monks and destroyed the monasteries. In the year 1263, Egyptian Sultan Baybars destroyed all the holy relics that remained on the mountain. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the monasteries on Mount Tabor were in complete desolation and lay in ruins. The restoration of the Orthodox church on the mountain was initiated by Archimandrite Irenarch, who settled in this holy place together with Hierodeacon Nestor.

Having built an altar on the mountain, the elder began to serve moliebens (supplicatory prayer services) for pilgrims who donated money for the construction of a new church. Archimandrite Irenarch died just one year prior to the completion of the newly-constructed church, which was consecrated by the Jerusalem Patriarch Kirill in August of 1862. The Greek Orthodox Church that now exists on Mount Tabor contains three altars: the central altar is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord, the right-side altar is dedicated to the prophets Moses and Elijah, and the left-side altar is dedicated to the Great Martyr George and Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki.

To some extent, the feast of the Transfiguration is similar to the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles, as both of these celebrations include a blessing of fruit. By early August in the East, grains and grapes begin to ripen. Christians started to bring these items to the church for blessing in gratitude for God’s love in granting a generous harvest. During the first century, Christians donated a portion of their grain harvest for the preparation of bread to be used for the Eucharist (Holy Communion). The ancient Christian custom of blessing fruit dates back to the eighth century.

In Russian folk tradition, the feast of the Transfiguration is called “Яблочный Спас” (Apple Savior) because apples are blessed on this day, being the most common fruit in Russia. Traditionally on this day, whole carts of apples were transported to the church, as each person of wealth considered it one’s duty to distribute fruit to the poor and sick. Prior to the feast of Transfiguration, no one was supposed to eat apples or any garden vegetables except for cucumbers. After the blessing at the end of the festive Divine Liturgy on Transfiguration, it was then considered permissible to eat apples and fruit.

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