Afterfeast
An Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Churches.
The celebration of the Great Feasts of the church year are extended for a number of days, depending upon the particular Feast. Each day of an Afterfeast will have particular hymns assigned to it, continuing the theme of the Feast being celebrated. At each of the divine services during an Afterfeast, the troparion and kontakion of the feast are read or chanted. The canon of the feast will usually be chanted on every day of the Afterfeast. Some of the Great Feasts of the Lord will have a special canon composed of only three odes, called a Triode, which will be chanted at Compline on each day of the Afterfeast.
Most of these Great Feasts also have a day or more of preparation called a Forefeast. Forefeasts and Afterfeasts will affect the structure of the services during the Canonical Hours.
The last day of an Afterfeast is called the Apodosis of the Feast. On the Apodosis, most of the hymns that were chanted on the first day of the Feast are repeated. On the Apodosis of Feasts of the Theotokos, the Epistle and Gospel from the day of the Feast are repeated again at the Divine Liturgy.
The Forefeasts and Afterfeasts break down as follows:
Days of Forefeast | Name of Feast | Date | Days of Afterfeast |
1 | Nativity of the Theotokos | 8 September | 5 |
1 | Exaltation of the Cross | 14 September | 8 |
1 | Entry of the Theotokos | 21 November | 5 |
5 | Nativity of our Lord | 25 December | 7 |
4 | Theophany of our Lord | 6 January | 9 |
1 | Meeting of our Lord | 2 February | 8 |
0 | Palm Sunday | Sunday before Pascha | 0 |
1 | Annunciation of the Theotokos | 25 March | 2 |
0 | Pascha | Sunday of the Resurrection | 39 |
0 | Mid-Pentecost | Twenty-fifth day of Pascha | 7 |
0 | Ascension of our Lord | Fortieth day of Pascha | 9 |
0 | Pentecost | Fiftieth day of Pascha | 7 |
1 | Transfiguration of our Lord | 6 August | 8 |
1 | Dormition of the Theotokos | 15 August | 9 |
Four of these Afterfeasts have a special commemoration on the day following the Feast, called a Synaxis. In this context, a Synaxis commemorates a saint who is intimately bound up with the Feast being celebrated. The four Synaxes are:
- Synaxis of Ss. Joachim and Anna
- Synaxis of the Theotokos
- Synaxis of the Forerunner
- Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel If the Annunciation falls during Holy Week the Synaxis is omitted.
- The Nativity of the Forerunner
- The Beheading of the Forerunner
- The Feast of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul.
Even though the Patronal Feast of a parish church or monastery is treated as a Great Feast, it has no Forefeast or Afterfeast.
The Feast of the Procession of the Cross, though it is not counted as a Great Feast, has one day of Forefeast, and no Afterfeast.