Teshbuhto eeqoro detaleetiyoto qadeeshto wamshabahto (Glory and Honour to the Holy and Venerable Trinity)
I have already provided a more or less religious meditation upon these two feasts: https://www.fryuhanna.com/2020/11/05/the-feast-of-the-consecration-and-renewal-of-the-church/
However, I thought it might be useful to return to this topic and provide more historical information, and end with a mystical thought. What some Maronites do not realise is that, if there are enough Sundays in the year, we celebrate not just one feast but a Season of the Consecration and Renewal of the Church over two weeks. The first Sunday is that of the Consecration of the Church, and the second is that of the Renewal. The only difference is that in the opening prayer, if there are not enough Sundays, and both feasts are celebrated on the same day, we say “Consecration and Renewal” in the opening prayer. But if they are on different Sundays, we simply say “Consecration” one Sunday and “Renewal” the next in the Opening Prayer.
Now for the history. There is evidence that the Feast of the Consecration of the Church began in the year 355, in Jerusalem, when it was directly linked to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
