by Rev. Msgr. Russell A. Duker from Christ-bearers - Meditations for the Pre-Christmas Fast, Christmas, and Theophany The oldest Christian feast is the Resurrection of our Lord or Easter. This Holy Day includes a whole cycle of feasts such as the Ascension and Pentecost. It is the great feast of our redemption and sanctification. Later Holy Days followed slowly until the fourth century. After the Church won official recognition and full freedom of worship and evangelization, our present calendar of festal celebration began to develop. This development was motivated by the Church’s desire to honor both events in the life of…