Transfiguration

[JamesRottnek]

On the fifth, I am attending a vesperal liturgy for the Transfiguration.  I have a few questions.  Does anyone know how long these normally are (my priest was trained at St. Herman's, but the parish is Greek, if it makes a difference)?  Also, the schedule says "with blessing of grapes" and I have no idea whatsoever what that means.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Michał Kalina]

Normal Liturgy with additional 10 minutes for blessing the fruits.

Isn't that too early for Transfiguration?

[JamesRottnek]

We're on the new calendar, so it's on time.

What exactly is the blessing of the fruit?  Do I bring fruit?  What kind of fruit?  I've never been to a Transfiguration liturgy.

[scamandrius]

You're going to a Greek parish that is doing a Vesperal Liturgy?  I'm sorry you won't be able to experience the full hymnography of the feast, which is one of my favorites and unfortunately, because it falls in the dead of summer, neglected.  The Vesperal Liturgies which are common in the Antiochian parishes but not too much in the other jurisdictions have Vespers through the hymn "Gladsome Light" and then proceed with the apolytikia for the feast which then starts the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.  The whole thing should be about an hour and a half. 

Grapes are traditionally blessed at the end of this Liturgy and distributed to the faithful present.  The reason is because Transfiguration falls in harvest time, so the fruit from the earth is blessed and sanctified.  It originates from the OT which the Apostles brought with them into the NT church. TO do this at Transfiguration makes logical sense as Christ transforms creation by His suffering and death (this event occurred 40 days prior to his Crucifixion and Resurrection), so the fruit of the earth is also affected by this mystery.

[JamesRottnek]

Thank you scamandrius.  Out of all the reading I've done on the Orthodox Church, very little of it has been on things such as the feasts and fasts, I've really neglected them.

[scamandrius]

^You're welcome, James, but you're hardly alone in that respect.  Many Orthodox, convert and cradle alike, do not know much about the feasts or the fasts and the times when the feasts are explained, such as during the homilies of such feasts, too many Orthodox are at home and miss the significance.

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