The Early Fathers of the Church have arranged a divine calendar for the year by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and on the bases of the mind of God revealed in the books of the Scripture (Exodus 12: 2). The purpose of this calendar is that the people of God would be preoccupied throughout the whole year with the Kingdom of heaven –which is the main subject of the bible as clear in the ministry and teaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus and His disciples (Matthew 3: 2; Matthew 4: 17, 23; Matthew 10: 7).
In order for this Kingdom and the reign of Christ to extend within us, Jesus, the Son of God, came to the earth to save us (John 18: 36). He completed this salvation for our sake through His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension to the heavens, and sending the Holy Spirit.
Based on these acts by which Christ has completed our salvation, the year was arranged in the Church, both east and west, to help the people of God ‘work out their salvation’ (Philippians 2: 12). Through the teaching led by the Holy Spirit and the diligence of faith, each one can receive a new more of what Christ has done for our salvation – each according to his need. As a result, one grows spiritually, moves forward, and accomplishes the will of the Lord of becoming perfect (Matthew 5: 48).
Jesus has completed an eternal salvation for our sake and has deposited it for us so that with each season of salvation we can take from it, year after the other. As a result, His salvation would go deep inside us and His glory would be proclaimed to those around us.
The divine calendar starts with an introductory period to prepare us for a new expansion of God’s reign over us and among us. This is followed by the Advent and the season of Christmas and incarnation. Then, the Great Lent, the Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost follow successively. The year then closes by remembering the second coming of Christ and the state of the age to come, the life in heaven.
These seasons of salvation are interlinked; they follow successively one after the other in a connected way allowing the work of the divine gift to extend and be completed inside us. This transforms us into the image of the Son of God and allows us to live in the world as ambassadors for Christ and as christs (Romans 8: 29; 2Corinthians 5: 17 – 21).
