Saint Gregory of Nyssa's brief homily on the Divine Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is perhaps the most ancient witness of this feast's existence, and he does not hesitate to call it the "Great Celebration". The literal reading of the title is "Concerning that festive day which is said to be consecrated in the of the Cappadocians: the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ." On the other hand, there is little allusion to Christ Ascension into heaven; the homily turns out to be more a commentary on Psalms 22 and 23. Because of this, it is not difficult to see that Saint Gregory's sermon was most likely composed about the same time as his Commentary on the Inscriptions of the Psalms.

The Lord's events are not separate from one another, nor are they rationalized. All feasts of the Lord are saving events of the Divine Economy, for it was by them that Christ arranged the salvation of the human race. Christ became man, He taught, He suffered, He was resurrected and ascended into heaven. There is a remarkable oneness among them. The Ascension is the last feast of the Lord, it is the end of the Annunciation and the Nativity.

"If any earthly king, our emperor," says Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783), "wrote you a letter, would you not read it with joy? Certainly, with great rejoicing and careful attention." But what, he asks, is our attitude towards the letter that has been addressed to us by no one less than God Himself? "You have been sent a letter not by any earthly emperor, but by the King of Heaven. And yet you almost despise such a gift, so priceless a treasure." To open and read this letter, Saint Tikhon adds, is to enter into a personal conversation face to face with the Living God. "Whenever you read the Gospel, Christ Himself is speaking to you. And while you read, you are praying and talking to Him."

n Orthodox Christian Tradition one can distinguish two aspects of prayer - the personal prayer which is done privately and the catholic prayer which is done collectively in the realm of public worship by many Christian believers together. These two kinds of prayer are really inseparable. Every Orthodox Christian will be saved as a faithful member of the Ekklesia (Church), as a member of the Body of Christ, together with the other Christian believers.

Forty days after His Resurrection Christ ascended into Heaven, where He had been previously, according to His own words to the Disciples before His Passion  "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? (St. John 6:61-62). Of course, this does not mean that Christ, as God, was not in heaven during the time of His incarnation, but that He would go up even with His human flesh. Moreover, His coming down from heaven is meant as Divine condescension and not as a change of place.