03 — Thomas Sunday and Antipascha
The liturgical keeping of the confession: the Sunday after Pascha, called Antipascha (“in the stead of,” or “facing,” Pascha), the New Sunday, the renewal of the Resurrection feast and the day on which the Church reads John 20:19–31 — the appearance to Thomas — and sings the doubt turned to confession. These files set out the propers of the day from the Pentecostarion and the theology of faith and sight that the feast distills, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
The eighth day after Pascha is not an ordinary Sunday but the close and renewal of Bright Week, the Antipascha on which the great feast is, as it were, kept again. Its Gospel is the second appearance in the upper room, when Thomas was present and made his confession; and so the Sunday belongs at once to the risen Christ and to the apostle whose doubt the Lord turned into the Church’s surest testimony. This section gathers the liturgical witness — the title Antipascha and New Sunday, the hymnography on the “doors being shut,” the touching of the side, and “my Lord and my God” — and the theology the feast preaches: that the blessedness of faith is the portion of all who, not having seen, yet believe.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Antipascha | The Sunday after Pascha as Antipascha / New Sunday / Thomas Sunday; its place as the renewal of Pascha and the close of Bright Week; the Gospel (John 20:19–31) and the propers from the Pentecostarion — kontakion, troparion, stichera. |
| Faith and Sight | The theology of the feast: the providential doubt, the “good unbelief” of Thomas, and the beatitude on believing without seeing (John 20:29); the patristic homilies for the New Sunday (Gregory the Theologian, Gregory Palamas). |
See Also
- My Lord and My God — the confession the feast celebrates
- The Doubt — the providential doubt the feast turns to praise
- The Great Feasts — the Paschal season in which Antipascha falls
- The Church Calendar — the movable Paschal cycle and the place of the Sunday after Pascha
References
- The Pentecostarion. Trans. Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Boston: HTM, 1990. (The propers of the Sunday of Thomas / Antipascha.)
- Nassar, Seraphim. Divine Prayers and Services of the Catholic Orthodox Church of Christ. 3rd ed. Englewood: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, 1979. (The Sunday of Thomas.)
- Gregory the Theologian. Oration 44 (On New Sunday). In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. 7.
- Gregory Palamas. Homily 23 (On Thomas Sunday). Trans. Christopher Veniamin. Waymart: Mount Thabor Publishing, 2009.