"On the Thursday of the sixth week of Pascha, we celebrate the ascension of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ," according to the Synaxarion (Festal Commemoration). This feast is based on the New Testament texts of Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:1-12 which tell about the event of Jesus' ascension forty days after Easter. The day before this feast is the Afterfeast of Easter, the last day on which the Easter hymn "Christos Anesti" (Christ Is Risen) is chanted.

The ascension marks the end to the early sequence of Christ's resurrection appearances. (Christ appeared to St. Paul in a special calling much later.) The ascension, which is not simply a physical but a supernatural event, signifies the enthronement of Christ as Lord who exercises sovereignty over all things. The ascension also indicates the glorification (theosis) of human nature in the risen Christ and anticipates the gift of the Spirit on Pentecost.

The joy of the Feast of the Ascension is expressed by the main hymn of the Feast:

Christ our God, You ascended in glory and You gladdened Your disciples by the promise of, the Holy Spirit. Your blessing assured them that You are the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world'!

Dismissal Hymn
Feast of the Ascension
A Year of the Lord