Wednesday, August 6, 2025

It is the 6th of August 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Today I will greet you with a “happy feast of the Transfiguration,” to which some of you say “and also with you,” and some of you say “what, who, when”? And others, possibly indignant, could reply with “transfiguration is around the springtime,” and depending on your answer, I could probably tell what Christian communion you are worshipping in.

It’s a mess that I’ll say began with the siege of Belgrade in 1456. Belgrade, on the all-important Danube in modern-day Hungary, had caught the eye of the Sultan Mehmet II, who had shocked the world by taking Constantinople in 1453 and proclaiming himself the new Caesar.  The center of the Eastern church- and sometimes frenemies of the Western Latin Church- had fallen to the infidel! And having taken parts of Serbia, the Turks were now on their way to conquering Eastern Europe- Belgrade on the Danube was the last bastion. You can imagine the fear when the Sultan brought some 70,000 troops to begin a blockade to bring the city to its knees.  

A heroic counterattack led by Hungarian Janos Hunyadi and John of Capistrano led to the shocking defeat of the Turks, and this would lead the Pope, Callixtus III, to declare a celebration for this victory by proclaiming a universal observation of the Feast of the Transfiguration on the 6th of August. The date has earlier roots linking it to this day- as far back as the 11th century, we see some calendars celebrating the Transfiguration.  The transfiguration being the appearance of Jesus to three of his disciples- as shining and flanked by Elijah and Moses- and then it is “Jesus only”- we get this story in all three synoptic gospels and this is a key text in the revelation of Jesus as God to his disciples and his proclaiming his coming defeat over the grae. The 6th of August and this celebration have a long history.

But the Reformation and Counter-Reformation would see liturgical innovations and changes. For example, there was a tradition that saw the events of the Transfiguration as 40 days prior to the Crucifixion, thus within Lent (there are 46 days in Lent- 40 are fasting).

The Lutherans, in not ditching, but reconfiguring the calendar decided that the Transfiguration should be a feast worthy of its own Sunday (the 6th of August and 40 days before Good Friday could be on any day of the week) and so the Lutheran church began the practice of a “Transfiguration” getting it’s own Sunday- the last Sunday after Epiphany before Ash Wednesday. There is a nice parallel there with the “appearance” of Christ in Epiphany, spanning his incarnation to a picture of his future glorified state.

And so, you could go “Pre-Lent” with the Lutheran option of having a Transfiguration Sunday linking Epiphany to Lent. You could go “In” Lent which is a historic practice and a Catholic option.

You could take today, the 6th of August, which has historically been tied to the event. Or, if you are Byzantine or Orthodox, you would hold the 6th of August date, but if doing so by the Julian calendar, it would be the 19th of August. Here’s the good news- the feast is old, recognized since the early church- but there is no “historically” correct day- it’s a big, muddled, ecumenical mess. 

It should be noted that this feast has historically been central to the Orthodox, who have historically understood Christian salvation to be a process whereby we are restored to the full potential of the divine image- you might hear the word “theosis”- or a kind of “deification”. Thus, the “transfiguration” of Christ is an image of the heavenly state of Christians. Or you can stress the “epiphany” of it all… or the Elijah and Moses and the Jesus Only… it can be in Lent or before Lent or… You know, because of the failed siege of Belgrade by Sultan Mehmet II  in 1456.

The Last word for today comes from Mark 9- the Revised Common Lectionary isn’t playing along, but we will read a transfiguration text from the Gospel of Mark:

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of August 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who surely feels that Transfiguration in August is like mayonnaise and Ice Cream- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who asks why we can’t have both… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.