Marking Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year

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Mark i ng T ime : Formi ng Sp i r i tua l i t y through the Chr i s t i an Year

who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, [3] it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, [4] that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

2. While Jesus observed God’s appointed feasts (e.g., John 5.1; 7.2, 10; Matt. 26.17-18), the NT itself contains few regulations to believers either as to fasts or festivals: remember the Jerusalem Council ! (Cf. Acts 15).

3. Building on Jewish experience, the first annual Christian festivals followed the Jewish principle of historical connection to God’s saving acts, and adopted the models of two of its foremost celebrations, relating them to the Savior’s work: Passover and Pentecost.

a. Easter or Pascha . Evidence shows the Easter Celebration (Passover) probably arose in the East as early as the beginning of the 2nd century !

b. Whitsun or Pentecost, similarly arose in the West at the end of the 2nd century , providing in experience a natural conclusion to the seven weeks of celebrations after Easter.

c. The celebration of Ascension Day, Epiphany and Christmastide were not formal until the 4th century, with Christmas and Epiphany originally connected with the Festival of the Nativity (whose dates are cited as early as 200 AD, or very soon after this time).

4. Trinity Sunday dates from the 10th century, and is unique to the Western Church’s celebration.