Ascension

Ascension Day commemorates Christ's bodily ascension into heaven forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53). The feast always falls on a Thursday — forty days counted inclusively from Easter Sunday. The observance is ancient. Augustine of Hippo (Ep. 54 to Januarius, c. 400) already regarded the Ascension as a feast of apostolic origin, placing it alongside Easter and Pentecost as celebrations 'which the whole Church observes throughout the world.' Eusebius of Caesarea mentions it in the early fourth century. The Ascension stands as the christological complement to the Incarnation: at Christmas, God descends to take human nature; at the Ascension, human nature is taken up into the life of God. The theological implications are enormous — our flesh, our humanity, is now at the right hand of the Father. The BCP 2019 lists Ascension among the seven Principal Feasts, giving it the highest possible liturgical precedence. The ten days between Ascension and Pentecost have traditionally been kept as days of prayer and expectation, recalling the disciples' waiting in the upper room (Acts 1:12-14). Some Anglican and Roman churches transfer the observance to the following Sunday, though the BCP 2019 does not explicitly authorize this practice.

The Ascension has shaped both the liturgical calendar and Christian architecture. The tradition of extinguishing the Paschal Candle after the Gospel reading on Ascension Day — symbolizing Christ's departure from visible presence — was widespread in the medieval West, though modern practice varies. Egeria records a vigil service at the Imbomon (the traditional site of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives) in the 380s, and the feast was well established in both East and West by the fifth century. In the Byzantine tradition, the Ascension is one of the Twelve Great Feasts, and its icon — Christ ascending in a mandorla of glory while the apostles gaze upward and angels announce his return — is among the most theologically rich in the Eastern iconographic tradition. The two men in white (Acts 1:10-11) who promise Christ's return connect the Ascension forward to the Second Coming, making it both a feast of accomplished salvation and eschatological hope. The collect in the BCP 2019 focuses on the ascent of hearts and minds: 'May our hearts and minds also there ascend, and with him continually dwell.' The season between Ascension and Pentecost — sometimes called the 'Great Novena' — is a period of prayer for the coming of the Spirit.

The account of the Lyons martyrs survives in a letter from the churches of Lyons and Vienne to the churches of Asia Minor, preserved nearly in full by Eusebius. This letter is one of the most remarkable documents in early Christianity — clearly written by eyewitnesses or on the basis of eyewitness testimony — and notable for its psychological realism and narrative power.

The persecution of 177 began with social violence. Christians were barred from public places and subjected to public abuse. As hostility escalated, the authorities arrested leading church members. Among those arrested was Blandina, a slave girl whose Christian mistress (also arrested) feared the servant would be too frail and cowardly to endure torture. Instead, Blandina proved of extraordinary fortitude.

The prisoners were tortured to extract accusations against their faith. When the interrogators demanded she curse Christ or confess crimes supposedly committed by Christians, Blandina endured from dawn to dusk, her body so broken by torture that the executioners themselves marveled. She repeated always: 'I am a Christian, and nothing vile is done among us.' The letter notes that even her persecutors 'admitted themselves conquered by a girl.'

As the persecution continued, the martyrs were subjected to spectacle in the amphitheater over several days. Some were thrown to wild beasts; others were roasted on an iron chair. Blandina was hung on a stake in the arena to be devoured by the beasts, but the animals refused to touch her. The letter records that as she hung there with arms outstretched in prayer, she inspired the other prisoners with such courage that 'in their agony they saw with their outward eyes in the form of their sister him who was crucified for them.'

On the final day of the spectacle, Blandina and a young boy named Ponticus were brought out. Ponticus was first tossed to the wild beasts and killed. Then Blandina was scourged, placed on the iron chair, enclosed in a net, and thrown to a bull. The animal tossed her repeatedly. Finally, when she could no longer move, a soldier struck her with a sword and ended her suffering. The letter concludes by noting that even the pagan crowd acknowledged they had never known a woman endure such suffering.

The bodies of the martyrs were burned and their ashes scattered in the Rhône to prevent Christian veneration — an act the letter presents as futile defiance of the resurrection.

Traditionally, the memory of Blandina and her companions has been venerated from antiquity. Their feast, celebrated on June 2, keeps alive the memory of their steadfastness. The Letter itself, read in the churches, has served as their hagiography and perpetuates their witness.