May
May is the ninth month of the liturgical year in the Byzantine Rite. This article covers the most important liturgical aspects of the month of May. See the online menaion and the Lectionary for the hymns and readings of each day.
A month of feasting (and perhaps a little fasting as well)
The beginning of May lies firmly within the time of the Pentecostarion, the fifty days after Pascha devoted to the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, his Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
- Pascha falls between March 22 and April 25
- Ascension falls between April 30 and June 3
- Pentecost falls between May 10 and June 13
From Pascha through Pentecost, the liturgical services are taken from the liturgical book called the Pentecostarion; the hymns for the saint of the day are added but usually take the second place during this season.
Eight days after Pentecost (on the Monday after the Sunday of All Saints), we begin the Apostles' Fast, which lasts until June 29. This fast is of variable length, but can begin as early as May 18.
Vigil feasts in May
Now that Great Lent is definitely over, the Church returns to including great saints in the month's calendar.
There are two vigil rank feasts () in the month of May:
- the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian (May 8)
- our holy fathers Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs (May 11)
Each of these saints is honored with other celebrations throughout the year, but these are their primary feasts. Recall that on a vigil feast, the all-night vigil consisting of Vespers with Litija and Matins may be celebrated; at the very least, parishes should celebrate Great Vespers and Litija on the eve of the feast, as well as the Divine Liturgy.
"Apostle", of course, refers to those who followed our Lord and spread his message to the world - both the Twelve Apostles, and also the seventy apostles sent out by the Lord during his ministry. Other saints who were noted for spreading the Gospel are said to be "equals to the apostles." (Look for them here!) "Evangelist" denotes one of the writers of the four Gospels, and the phrase "holy father" indicates a bishop.
Other feasts in May
There are three polyeleos feasts () in the month of May:
- the passing of our venerable father Theodosius of the Monastery of the Caves (May 3)
- the translation of the relics of our holy father Nicholas to Bari (May 9)
- the holy Simon the Zealot (May 21)
- the holy emperor Constantine and his mother Helen, equals to the apostles (May 21)
- the third finding of the head of the holy prophet, forerunner, and baptist John (May 25)
Each of these is a major feast, honored with the celebration of Great Vespers, festal Matins, and the Divine Liturgy. These days also illustrate the range of commemorations in the Byzantine calendar:
- Theodosius was the founder of a famous monastery in Kiev (now in Ukraine), which spread the Gospel throughout the lands of Rus' and served as a spiritual center for centuries. (Recall that the phrase "venerable father" refers to a monastic saint.) He actually died after the beginning of the final schism between Eastern and Western Christendom, but is commemorated by both Orthodox and Eastern Catholics.
- On May 9, we commemorate the taking of the body of Saint Nicholas (December 6) to the city of Bari in Italy, during the Crusades, after a Muslim attack on Lycia where he was buried. When a saint is greatly loved and honored by the faithful, such events as the relocation of his remains, or a dedication of a church in his honor, often becomes a feast in its own right.
- Simon is one of the twelve apostles; the word "Zealot" probably refers to a particular party in Judaism to which he had belonged which was devoted the observance of the Law of Moses.
- The emperor Constantine legalized Christianity; his mother led the effort to search the Holy Land for places and objects associated with the life of Christ. They are among the first of the "equals to the apostles" for their zeal in promoting the Gospel.
- Just as relics of saints could be transferred, they could also be stolen, captured in war, or lost due to a disaster. The head of John the Baptist (note his full liturgical title here) was lost and then found a total of three times. His remains were first buried by his disciples, and found in the reign of the Emperor Constantine; eventually they passed into the care of an Arian (one who denied the full divinity of Christ) who used it to promote heresy, and it was restored to orthodox Christians around 450 AD. These two "findings" are commemorated on February 24. Then his relics were hidden during raids by the Saracens (around 820 AD) and remained hidden during the iconoclastic persecutions. They were found again, in accordance with a vision given to the Patriarch of Constantinople, in 850 AD. This is the "third finding" commemorated on May 25.
So while a polyeleos feast is most commonly the feast of one or more apostles, it is also used to mark any important event in the life or history of the Church. (Different particular churches of the Byzantine Rite often have slightly different calendars as a result.)
Recommended Reading
- Father Basil Shereghy. The Liturgical Year of the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite.
(Pittsburgh, PA: Byzantine Seminary Press, 1968.)
A good book-length introduction to the liturgical year as celebrated in the Byzantine Catholic Church.
- A Monk of the Eastern Church (Father Lev Gilet). The Year of Grace of the Lord.
(Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001.)
An beautiful explanation and commentary on the liturgical year; an Orthodox standard.