The Transfiguration of Christ is recorded in the three synoptic gospels. Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke comprise the synoptic gospels, whereas the Gospel according to Saint John is exclusively “theological.” Saint John, on purpose as it may seem, avoids recording the Transfiguration because according to his gospel account, Jesus is already transfigured, from the beginning of the gospel (“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word…”).
Immediately after the Lord was recognized by His Disciples – through Peter’s confession – as “the Christ [i.e. Messiah], the Son of the Living God,” He told them that He “must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things … and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” In the Transfiguration, the Disciples see the glory of the Kingdom of God present, in Majesty, in the Person of Christ. They see that in Christ, indeed, “all the fullness of the Father was pleased to dwell,” that “in Him the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily” (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). They see this before the Crucifixion, so that during and after the Resurrection, they might know Him who suffered for them. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.
Besides the fundamental meaning which the Transfiguration has in the context of the life and mission of Christ, and in addition to the theme of the glory of God which is revealed in all of its divine splendor of the Savior, the presence of Moses and Elias is also of great significance for the understanding and celebration of the feast: Moses and Elias, according to the liturgical hymns, are not only the greatest figures of the Old Testament who now come to worship the Son of God in glory, but they actually stand for the entire Old Testament itself: Moses for the Law and Elias for the Prophets. And Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). The two also stand for the Living and Dead, for Moses died and his burial place is known (Mount Nebo in modern-day Jordan), while Elias was taken alive into heaven in order to appear again to announce the time of God's salvation in Christ the Messiah: “Behold, I will send you Elias before the coming of the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord” Malachi 3:22.
None of the gospels mentions the Transfiguration Mount by name! Church Tradition holds that it was Mount Tabor, or probably Harmon as well, as per the liturgical hymns of the Feast! By appearing with Jesus on the Transfiguration Mount, Moses and Elias show that the Messiah Savior is present, here and now, and that He is the Son of God to whom the Father Himself bears witness, the Lord of all creation, the Lord of the Old and New Testaments, and, the Lord of the Living and of the Dead. The Transfiguration of Christ in itself is the fulfillment of all of the appearances/manifestations of God, a fulfillment made perfect and complete in the Person of Christ Jesus. The Transfiguration of Christ reveals to us our ultimate destiny as Christians, the ultimate destiny of all men and all creation, namely, to be transformed and glorified by the majestic splendor of God Himself.
The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated on August 6TH as the summer celebration Feast of the Lord (in the Northern Hemisphere, since the Holy Land lies in that territory of Earth, where the Summer Season is June 21ST through September 21ST). No one knows for sure when the Transfiguration took place! According to the gospel accounts, and their context, the Transfiguration took place in order to inaugurate the Passion of the Christ: Its foretelling and its occurrence. Thus, being linked to the Passion and to the Cross, the Church Fathers appointed the Celebration of this Feast on August 6TH, FORTY DAYS before the Great and Universal Feast of the Holy Cross September 14TH. Thus, the themes of the Transfiguration and the Cross are connected.
The Blessing of Red Grapes, being the first-fruits of the harvest, is the most beautiful and adequate sign of the final transfiguration of all things in Christ – Red Grapes do not start out as red, but as white, and as they ripen, they turn red, in essence, they “transfigure” in color. It signifies the ultimate flowering and fruitfulness of all creation in the paradise of God's unending Kingdom of Life where ultimately all things will be transformed by the glory of the Lord.
Troparion of the Feast of the Transfiguration (Tone 7)
When, O Christ God, Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, Thou didst reveal Thy glory to Thy Disciples in proportion as they could bear it. Let Thine everlasting Light also enlighten us sinners, through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Thou Bestower of Light, glory to Thee.
Kontakion of the Feast of the Transfiguration (Tone 7)
Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, and Thy Disciples, in so far as they were able, beheld Thy glory, O Christ God; so that, when they should see Thee crucified, they would remember that Thy sufferings were voluntary, and could declare to all the world that Thou art truly the effulgent Splendor of the Father.
