Transfiguration of Jesus

THE ICONS OF BOSE, Trasfiguration of Jesus

The feast of the Lord's Transfiguration is celebrated by all of the Eastern and Western churches on August 6.
The feast may have been introduced in the fourth-century Armenian Church to christianize a pagan festival dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, but it more likely originated in or near Syria at the end of the following century. It was initially celebrated to commemorate the dedication of a church on Mount Tabor.
From the East, the feast soon spread to the Byzantine Church, where it became known as the "Metamorphosis of the Savior." In the West, the Transfiguration was first celebrated in Mozarabic Spain. Later, Peter the Venerable made it part of the monastery of Cluny's liturgy. From Cluny, the feast became known and loved throughout the Western monastic world, but it was only permanently incorporated into the Western Church's liturgy when the Roman Missal was published in 1570.
Today's feast recalls the biblical story in which Jesus is transfigured in front of Peter, James and John and shows them his glory as he converses with Moses and Elijah. On this occasion, the Church celebrates the fulfillment of the Scriptures - personified by Moses and Elijah - in Christ, and invites believers to discern the hidden power of the Lord's resurrection at work in the world. Christ's transfiguration reveals humanity's own vocation to divinization, and gives all of creation a glimpse of its awaiting destiny: communion with God in his Kingdom, which is now close at hand.
In the year 2000, the feast of the Transfiguration became a day of special intercession for Christian unity in response to the proposal of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.