APPEARANCE OF OUR LORD SAVIOR JESUS ​​CHRIST IN 1926 NEAR Kyiv

APPEARANCE OF OUR LORD SAVIOR JESUS ​​CHRIST IN 1926 NEAR Kyiv

A description of this phenomenon was published in the magazine “Cyrillic”, No. 3, 2001, published with the blessing of His Beatitude Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, but the text of the “Appearance” itself was significantly shortened and given in the form of a retelling, and the direct speech of the Savior was paraphrased and distorted and compressed to a minimum. The magazine also tells about the fate of these two youths, which is not given here. The text of the “Apparition” offered below was given to the author during the Dormition Fast of 2001 by the monks of the Kiev Pechersk and Pochaev Lavra, and with the blessing of many confessors and schema-monks of these monasteries, it was certified by them as the original text.

A week before, on July 24, on the night of Sunday, the Savior appeared to Emelyan in a dream and said:

- You will see Me in reality with another boy. Make sure you don't get scared!

At the same time, He blessed him in the bishop’s manner, with both hands, and, turning to the east, became invisible. Emelyan began to pray in his sleep, but his owner woke him up.

A week after this, on July 30, these shepherds drove their cattle out to pasture and immediately became acquainted, for the meeting was accidental. It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and they were getting ready to have breakfast, when suddenly lightning flashed strongly. Emelyan thought:

- Why did the lightning flash so much?

Nikolai said:

- It will probably rain!

But Emelyan says:

- Where will the rain come from if there is not a single cloud in the sky and there is no wind?

Then Nikolai says:

“Who knows what will happen here.”

After these words, a few moments later, suddenly from the west the sky turned pink and a large cross, shining like the sun, appeared, reaching at the top to the sky, and at the bottom not reaching two arshins to the ground, and below there was a cloud, and the Cross rested against this cloud. The cross with crosshairs was an arshin and a half wide. On the upper background of the Cross a man appeared, standing as if at the crosshairs. At first the Cross with the man seemed far away, like half a mile, and then it approached the boys.

Nikolai, seeing the approach of the shining Cross, was frightened and said to Emelyan:

- Tikaimo, you are unclean!

But the Lord stopped him, saying:

- No, I'm clean!

Here the children seemed numb and could not move. They came to their senses and were convinced that it was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself - the Savior of the world. He stood all in a wondrous radiance and indescribable beauty. It was impossible to see His divine face; He shone stronger than the sun and whiter than snow. His power is incomprehensible; from Him emanated grace-filled power and a heavenly fragrance. When the Savior spoke, a fiery flame came out of His mouth, His voice was heard throughout the entire universe. His lower robe was pink, and his upper robe was bright blue, thrown over his left shoulder.

In his left hand He held the open Gospel from below, and raised his right hand for blessing. A triangle like the letter “A” was visible above the Savior’s head. The Savior was surrounded by a beautiful seven-color rainbow, descending at the ends on both sides of the Savior down to the clouds supporting the Cross. He stood in all his majesty, surrounded by a rainbow. Above the triangle are Cherubs, and on the sides are two Angels, and around are Angels (one heads with wings). - Children, don’t be afraid of Me and don’t leave. I am Jesus, the Lord your God, the Savior of the world, the Son of the living God, who dwells in heaven. I have come to tell you My command.

He began to speak to the boys quietly, but loudly, as if to the whole universe:

- Let all harlots, drunkards, blasphemers, pipe smokers, foul-mouthed people, blasphemers of God, rejecters of the Cross perish. (They do not wear the cross; Baptists and other sectarians are ashamed of the cross). Sinners flee from My presence, but let righteous women rejoice before the Lord!

Following these words, the Angels sang the Trisagion. At the same time, “Holy God” was sung by the right side, “Holy Mighty” was sung from bottom to top, and “Holy Immortal” and so on were sung by everyone together.

When the Angels finished singing, the Lord said:

- Children, there are many people in the world, but not all of them are Mine. There are very few who listen to Me and My teaching, the Holy Gospel, and a larger number have succumbed to the devil and are submitting to his unclean spirit, to which they fell voluntarily. In My Holy Council there has begun a schism between the priests: the revolutionary priests, the Ukrainians, the Zhivists and similar heretical priests are leading the people to destruction, and the righteous priests are leading them to the Kingdom of God. Then the Savior said:

- Children, do you see me? Look carefully at Me, so that My image may be in your memory and in your home, and I will remember your believing family in My Kingdom to the seventh generation. Go to My Orthodox priest and tell him to serve the all-night vigil and liturgy. Then the angels sang:

“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.”

And the secretly formed ones sang “We sing to You, we thank You, Lord” and the Angels also sang many hymns - “Most honorable Cherubim..., “Like the King of all...”, “Like the Cherubim...”, “Magnifies my soul...” to the end.

Then the heavens seemed to open up, the clouds parted and the Savior descended with His heavenly Powers and said:

- Woe will be to the Ukrainian, Livest and Renovation metropolitans and bishops, instigators and heretics, the clergy will not be forgiven either in this or in the next century. The little ones (the laity) will be forgiven if they repent. But still, I will punish them for the fact that they are apostates from the Orthodox faith and began to tear apart the divine vestments on Me and My Holy Apostolic Church! Before the reign of the Antichrist, I will send My Angels to help people invisibly, and they will write My servants in the Book of Life and put the Holy Seal on their foreheads, who will have the Fear of God on their foreheads!

You take a better look at me, so as not to make a mistake, not to be deceived and not to sign up for submission to the Antichrist, since he will come in My robes and will perform devilish miracles before the people, and will sit on the throne in the holy temple, and will force an icon to be made for him and so that they believe this icon, because he will make this icon speak and move according to the devil’s suggestion. He is afraid of the Cross and will raise persecution against the Cross.

First there will be a communist seal - a five-pointed star, but do not accept it - this is the beginning of grief. The time will come when there will be severe persecution against believers who do not accept the seal of the Antichrist on their right hand or forehead and do not worship his image. Then these people will not be able to buy or sell without a seal, they will not be able to go from city to city and from village to village, water and food will be taken away from these people. A signature will be required in advance, and those who sign will apply the seal of the Antichrist, and whoever accepts it will not be forgiven either in this or in the next century.

Just before the reign of the Antichrist there will be a world war. At the beginning of his reign, the Antichrist will take into his hands all the churches of God and the Lavra, except for the Pochaev Monastery. The laurels and temples will later be opened by the Antichrist, but they are not blessed by Me and you cannot go to them, because the Antichrist will be in charge of them.

The Lord also said:

“Whoever would like to live in a monastery and monk, let him be patient and not grieve.” If on earth they are not worthy of receiving tonsure and other promotions, then in My Kingdom I will clothe them with ineffable garments and give them ineffable glory.

After the world war, the Antichrist will reign.

“You, children, preach what I told you, never be afraid of anyone, although they will persecute you and put you in prison, do not be afraid to pass one on to another in the world.” This will be the reward in My Kingdom, so that the world will be warned in everything and will not be deceived by the deceiver. I warn the world in advance that a deceiver will appear. He will work miracles with such cunning that he will move lights from the sky and frighten everyone, and will fly through the air like a bird. At first he will appear peace-loving, will intercede for the poor, help the weak, distribute abundant help, and thereby deceive those who believe in God. Everyone will love him and listen to him and trust him. But this will be a short-term test.

You will convince the world as much as possible so that no seals are accepted or signed. With the advent of the Antichrist, a difficult time will come that they will ask for death and it will not happen. If the harvest fails, there will be famine. Bread and all goods will be in his hands, without his seal I will not give out anything, for the sins of the world and for apostasy from Me the sky will be closed for 3 years, I will not give rain on the earth and there will be such heat that the sources of the rivers will dry up. The people will be dizzy, they will run from West to East, looking for the harvest, and will not find it anywhere. There will be heat and pestilence everywhere.

The Antichrist will issue an order that people should not come from city to city, from village to village, should not wear crosses, should not make the sign of the cross, and should not preach the word of God. Remove crosses from churches, stop services in churches, and organize theaters and other godless entertainments in them. Then brother will not love brother and will betray him to death, and there will be bloodshed between relatives.

Whoever endures for My sake will be saved, and whoever denies Me will accept the seal of the Antichrist, I will not forgive him either in this or in the future life.

You need to be careful, many antichrists will appear who will invite you to come - come, we have Christ! Don't believe it!!! Wolves in sheep's clothing will appear and all the hunters will go to destruction.

Churches, except Pochaevskaya, will all close. Those who wish to live in an Orthodox monastery will not be allowed to live; Orthodox monasteries will be dispersed. Let them endure it. I will intercede for them, for their patience I will clothe them in My garments and in all the power of My Jerusalem!

When the Antichrist appears, the sun will go out and the moon will not give light, the powers of heaven will be shaken, but the Antichrist kingdom will have a great electric radiance everywhere and in temples. And unfortunate people will worship him as a god and put candles in front of his image. And whoever refuses will be imprisoned, starved, impaled and subjected to other torments.

But the torment will be as much as a believer in the Lord can endure, and some will not feel it at all, depending on his strong faith. The Angel of the Lord will strengthen and impart the Holy Mysteries of Christ - during the reign of the Antichrist, bloodless sacrifice will cease and believers will have nowhere to receive communion.

Just before the arrival of the Antichrist in the Pechersk Lavra, to the left in the Great Church the Main Altar and the Cross will be removed and the city secular house will be opened (an abomination of desolation), then the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God will be raised by Angels and carried to the clouds, where the Throne of Glory is, and then the Antichrist will appear and people who have forgotten the true God, they will prepare a place for him and meet him.

The Lord said:

- Pray daily in the morning, evening and at 12 o'clock at night until the first hour. The heavens dissolve, the prayer of those praying goes to My Throne - I always accept. Go to church more often, go to confession, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ!

During the Antichrist there will be great bloodshed and believers will suffer greatly. The reign of the Antichrist will last 42 months. The Lord will appear to judge the world at midnight, and therefore watch and multiply during these hours, for when I appear, even the Angels do not know. And also tell the people to commune more often, for the bloodless Sacrifice will cease. After they accept the seal of the Antichrist, unbearable sorrows and terrible illnesses will be found on those people, they will cry bitterly and seek death, but there will be no death. They will shout: “Mountains, fall on us and hide us from the face of God!”

The Lord said:

“I will soon, soon come to judge the world.” Tell me, let all fornicators and adulterers repent; if they repent, I will forgive. I will not forgive heretics and instigators. There is little time left, I will come soon, your sin and iniquities have reached heaven.

“Children, tell the world that I have appeared to you, for I was forced to warn the world that lately the heart will become cold and hardened. They did not begin to believe in God and His Law, as before the flood. All the scientists shouted: “There is no God, only Nature!” They abandoned My holy holidays, chose their own and began to worship idols. How the people of Israel were given free rein in the desert to listen to the “wise men” that there is no God.

There is God, Almighty, Omnipresent, Incomprehensible: With one word He created the visible and invisible of the world: For I am the Creator of the entire Universe and will rule it forever and ever, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, although the Antichrist will then be allowed to rule over the world for sins. He will initiate persecution against the Church, and she will hide from him for a while - she will go into the wilderness, but just as I rose on the third day, so my Church will rise again and will triumph forever and ever. I tell everyone: REPENT!!! I will accept your repentance, for there is little time left for existence. Yes, the most difficult thing: Soon, soon I will come to judge the world!!! All sinners, fornicators, adulterers, drunkards, blasphemers, trampling My Holy Cross, which they are ashamed to wear on themselves, do not honor My holidays. The fasts established by the Holy Church are not observed, like the Baptists and foul-mouthed people. I will burn all sinners with the Fire of Gehenna.

The Lord finished His Command and gave the Holy Gospel to two Angels, blessed and said:

- So that in that place (as I appeared to you) in memory of My Appearance, a Cross and an Icon would be erected in the same form as I appeared to you, for the worship of the world.

He turned to the east and began to disappear behind the clouds. Immediately all the Angels disappeared, but the singing of the angels could be heard for a long time. At first it is loud, but as you move away it gets quieter and quieter. Then only Emelyan and Nikolai noticed that the Angels, who were the heads, now appear to them in the form of naked babies, about two years old and with blue ribbons over their shoulders, and on them hung, as it were, small musical wind pipes.

The shepherd children reported the apparition to the Orthodox priest in Demidovka and spoke about the Savior’s command. He served the all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy. The news of the Savior's appearance to the shepherds and of everything that was said quickly spread among the believers. A cross was made and consecrated in the temple secretly from the local authorities. At the same time, the Orthodox people were informed about the time of the removal of the Cross from the temple to the place of the appearance of the Savior. The pick-up was scheduled for 12 midnight. By the time the Cross was taken out, about 200 people had gathered. Two priests arrived from neighboring villages to assist the local priest. The people and priests were afraid of the local authorities. Believers decorated the Cross with flowers and wreaths.

They were going to pray to the Holy Lord in the silence of the night, leaving the temple without light or singing. As soon as they left the temple, the priests and people heard the ringing of bells and angelic singing in the air: “We worship Your Cross, Master...” The arriving priests expressed displeasure to the local priest, why he was calling. We made an inquiry. The bell tower was closed, there was no one on it, none of the people rang, and all this was heard in the air from the Angels. The people gathered with fear and trembling and great joy in their hearts. Accompanying the Cross, they walked quietly through the field, throwing flowers at the foot of the Cross.

As soon as they left the village, they lit candles, and some carried lanterns. They walked through the field and sang. And when the procession moved forward, a light pillar with a cloud appeared. He moved ahead of the people, showing the way. And when he reached his destination, he climbed up into the clouds, and the place turned scarlet. And at this time, bells began to ring from Heaven, and when they installed the Cross and the Icon, the Angels sang: “We worship Your Cross, Master, and we sing and glorify Your Holy Resurrection.” The people accompanying the Cross thought that no one except them saw anything, but many who were in the field at night heard the procession and the ringing of the bell and angelic singing, and many fled to the village out of fear. The cross was solemnly placed at the place where the Savior appeared to the shepherds.

After the installation of the cross, the pilgrimage of believers began to the place of the appearance of the Savior. Every Saturday, monks from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Florovsky Monastery came there to serve a prayer service. People gathered for funeral services at the erected cross. Children who lived nearby waited for Saturday to collect the coins, apples, and candies left by the pilgrims after the prayer service. The famous artist Krasitsky, Shevchenko’s grandson, painted the painting “The Shepherd Boy”. He came to Demidov and painted the appearance of a shepherd boy from life.

No one dared to touch the cross at the site of the Savior’s appearance for four years. But in 1930, at a meeting of the Komsomol cell, they decided to destroy it. At first no one dared to do it with their own hands, then one volunteered: he hooked it and, urging the horses, pulled it out. They say that misfortune later befell him.

Despite the madness that was happening on earth, the grace of God visited these places more than once. Not all Demidovites believed in the appearance of the Savior then. And soon, as if to strengthen and support the believers, the appearance of the Mother of God took place here, which was reported in our time by local residents, living witnesses of the appearance of the Most Pure One.

One of the surviving manuscripts, evidence of the appearance of the Savior, tells that the Lord ordered a cross to be erected at the Widow’s Well, which was dug in the village of Demidov in the post-revolutionary period by the hands of widows during a severe drought. Then in the entire area there was not a drop of water anywhere, and everyone went to the Widow's Well, because only there, by the grace of God, was water preserved.

The appearance of the Mother of God occurred while a prayer service was being served, as the Savior commanded. She appeared in the east at eight o'clock in the morning. She was in a blue robe, in front of Her was a shining dish, and everyone who was there saw it, but no one was allowed to see what was lying on the dish.

The Mother of God's hands were lowered. The people were all in fear, fell to the ground and prayed to the Lady. After this, everyone who saw the Mother of God changed for the better, but the authorities strictly forbade anyone to say anything about it.

But the word of God is irresistible: the world will fall silent, and the stones will cry out. Dangerous as it was, the Orthodox recorded and preserved precious testimonies. And when in our days believers began to search for the place of the Savior’s appearance, several local villagers, completely independently of each other, pointed to the same place. In the field where the Savior appeared, over time a collective farm garden was planted, which grew beautiful and well-groomed.

For some reason, the trees in only one of its plots did not take root - they withered and dried out all the time. This place, measuring approximately 5 by 10 meters, was only overgrown with grass and wildflowers, and in the center, with a radius of two meters, only short, bright green, silky untouched grass grew.

Local residents are still alive, who still remember the details of the events of those times, as well as close relatives of Emelyan and Nikolai, who told about their future fate.

Eighty-two-year-old resident of the village of Glebovka, grandmother Daria, spoke about the unusual fate of her uncle Emelyan. Emelyan was left an orphan early. But, despite life’s hardships and infirmities, he grew up to be a very kind boy. And the Lord did not forget him - he fed him and gave him work. Emelyan never went to school until he was 14 years old; he could neither read nor write. He earned his living by hiring out to herd someone's cattle. Always keeping in his heart the words spoken by the Lord: “Do not deny Me,” he truly bore the name of Christ throughout his difficult life.

The Bolsheviks tried to intimidate him, force him to renounce and sign a false certificate denying the appearance of the Savior. But Emelyan abandoned the Judaic path, and he was sentenced to ten years. While he was in Kyiv, they also gave him some food. Then there was no news about him at all. They only knew that he was sitting somewhere far away, beyond the Urals. And in 1936 there was a retrial, and Emelyan received another ten years in prison.

And miraculously, having survived all the difficulties of camp life, years later Emelyan returned to his native village. And he returned not as a simple worldly man, but as a priest, in the rank of priest. At that gloomy time, many archpastors were in prison, and Emelyan was ordained right there, in prison.

But “there is no prophet in his Fatherland”... - says the truth. Fellow villagers did not accept Emelyan as a clergyman, and he, lamenting this, told his niece Daria... It is known that Emelyan lived his entire life without a family, and was never married. He later served in Belarus, where he dreamed of building a new church, but while transporting money by train, in 1983 he was robbed and killed.

The fate of Nicholas, the second witness to the appearance of the Savior, turned out differently. He was from a wealthy family. Just recently, his grandson was given back his family home, which was taken away by the authorities during the general dispossession of kulaks. It is known that Nicholas was unable to fulfill the commandments of the Lord. At that harsh time, he was only eleven years old, and his parents, fearing the authorities, intimidated their son and forced him to hide everything. And the boy never spoke about the appearance of the Savior. Many people continued to question him, but he just remained silent. Nikolai was subsequently married and had children, but in 1941 he died at the front.

Map of the area where the Lord’s Appearance took place (click on the picture to enlarge):

Holy women at the tomb: Joanna and others. Apparitions of Angels.

OK. 24:1-9.

While Mary Magdalene went to the Apostles, other wives also came to the tomb very early, carrying prepared aromas. It was Joanna along with some others.

The appearance of an angel to the myrrh-bearing women. Good news to the apostles.

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. But when they were perplexed about this, two men suddenly appeared before them in shining clothes; and when they were in fear and had cast their eyes to the ground, they said to them: Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.

And they remembered His words and, returning from the tomb, announced all this to the eleven Apostles and to everyone else.

Dignified Unworthiness

The Savior appears to people who served Him all their lives, but at the same time sincerely considered themselves unworthy of these phenomena. For example, the Monk Paisios, who spent more than seventy years in the Egyptian desert and one of the few people called “Great” by the Church, said during the appearance of the Savior: “Christ the Savior, I am Your servant, and for what You, Master, show such great mercy, that now He Himself deigned to condescend to my unworthiness?” Paisios did not become proud when Christ uttered the prophecy: “Do you see this desert - how great and wide it is? For your sake I will fill it with fasters who will glorify My name.”

An attempt by the Jews to obscure the truth of the resurrection.

Mf. 28:11-15.

When the women went with the gospel of the resurrection of the Lord to the Apostles, some of the guards, entering the city, announced to the high priests about everything that had happened. And these, having gathered with the elders and held a meeting, gave enough money to the soldiers and said: say that His disciples, coming at night, stole Him while we were sleeping. And if rumors about this reach the ruler, we will convince him and save you from trouble. They, having taken the money, acted as they were taught; and this word spread among the Jews to this day.

The fourth sign. Earthquake

As it is described in the Gospel:

Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up the ghost... and the earth shook; and the stones were dissolved (Matt. 27:50—51).

Where else do we know about this:

The same Greek chronicler Phlegon speaks about the earthquake, whose testimony about the “eclipse” of the Sun we have already cited. In addition, the famous Jewish historian Josephus (c. 37 - c. 100) mentioned the tremors that were felt by the servants of the Jerusalem Temple, talking about the times preceding the destruction of the temple. His testimony was quoted by Blessed Jerome of Stridon: “About that time, on the day of Pentecost, the priests first felt vibrations in the ground and certain sounds; Then suddenly an extraordinary voice was heard from the sanctuary of the temple, saying: “Let us leave this place!” Most often, these lines were attributed to the 60s of the 1st century, when only a few years remained before the destruction of Jerusalem. But many church writers believed that Josephus was speaking here about the moment of the Savior’s crucifixion.

What is it about:

Obviously, about seismic vibrations, which are not that uncommon in Israel today. Phlegon clarified that, according to his information, the epicenter of the earthquake was in Bithynia (in the north-west of Asia Minor, present-day Turkey), and only its echoes reached Judea.

According to the testimony of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, an earthquake was accompanied not only by the death, but also by the Resurrection of Christ: And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who had descended from heaven, came and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it (Matthew 28:2).

What is the symbolism of this sign:

While still entering Jerusalem amid the cries of “Hosanna!”, Christ told the dissatisfied Jews that His people were praising Him: I tell you that if they remain silent, the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40 ). Something similar happened now, at the moment of the Lord’s death, wrote the Monk Justin (Popovich): “The stones cried out when people were silent: they cried out, glorifying God, whom people crucified and killed and drove into death.”

Another earthquake that occurred during the Resurrection of the Lord “occurred for the sake of the guards near the tomb, so that, awakened by this earthquake and struck by the extraordinary sight of the stone rolling away, they would run and announce this to the Jews and become witnesses of the truth,” explained the Byzantine theologian and interpreter of Holy Scripture Euthymius Zigaben (ⱡ 1120). The Lord rose again, obviously, in complete silence, invisible to everyone.

Appearance eight: more than 500 brethren on the mountain.

1 Cor.15:6 Matt.28:16-18 Mark 16:16-18

The appearance of Christ to the apostles in Galilee.Balkans. Serbia. XIV century Kosovo. Vysoki Decani Monastery. Altar dome.

Then the Lord appeared to more than five hundred brethren, most of whom are still alive to this day (when St. Paul wrote this to the Corinthians), and some have died.

Among them were eleven students. It was in Galilee on the mountain where the Lord commanded them to go and where they went from Jerusalem.

Seeing the Lord appear, they worshiped Him, a. Others (of course, out of 500) doubted. Approaching them, the Lord Jesus said to them: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Whoever believes and is baptized (by baptism) will be saved; and whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will take snakes; and if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them; They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover .

Ascension of the Lord. The tenth phenomenon.

Acts 1:1-14; Mf. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:19-20; Luke 24:49-53.

So, for forty days, from the day of his resurrection to the day on which he ascended, the Lord appeared to the Apostles whom He had chosen, showing them Himself alive after His suffering, with many true proofs, speaking to them about the Kingdom of God and giving them, regarding it, commands by the Spirit Saints.

On that same day, having gathered them together, He commanded them: do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me. And behold, I will send you the promise of My Father upon you; But remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are endowed with power from on high. For John baptized with water; and you, a few days after this, will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The apostles asked the Lord, saying: Are you at this time, O Lord, restoring the kingdom of Israel? The Lord said to them: It is not your business to know the times and seasons that the Father has set in His power. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you to the end of the age.

After such a conversation with His disciples, the Lord led them out of the city to Bethany and, raising His hands, blessed them; and when he blessed them, he began to move away from them and ascend to heaven. He rose up before their eyes, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.

Ascension of the Lord. Balkans. Serbia. XIV century Kosovo. Vysoki Decani Monastery. Nave.

When they looked at heaven during His ascension, two men in white clothes suddenly appeared to them and said: Men of Galilee! Why are you standing and looking at the sky? This Lord Jesus, who has ascended from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you see Him ascending into heaven.

Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And having arrived, they entered the upper room, where they stayed, Peter and James, John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James Alpheus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the brother of James.

They all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with some of the women, and Mary, the Mother of the Lord Jesus, and with His brothers. And they always stayed in the temple, glorifying and blessing God.

So the Lord ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And the Apostles, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, went and preached everywhere, with the Lord’s assistance and strengthening the word with subsequent signs.