The Benedict Year › Reading Backwards from the Pascha
Michaelmas · Weeks 4–7
Creation
The Vigil opens with creation because that night is a new creation.
Why it is here
John dates the resurrection to the first day of the week, and he is not reporting a calendar. The flood is a branch, one of the older Vigil prophecies: it sets up the sea three units early, so that when Israel goes down into the water he has already seen water that drowns and rescues in one motion. 1 Peter 3:20–21 calls it baptism outright.
What is it for?
The rainbow. The text answers: a sign, so that God will remember the covenant (Genesis 9:15–16).
Unanswerable
What’s the seventh day for, if the work was finished on the sixth?
The weeks
| Week | Dates | Read aloud |
|---|---|---|
| Week 4 | 5–9 October 2026 | In the beginning: Genesis 1:1–2:3; Ephrem, Hymns on Paradise, the first hymn, aloud |
| Week 5 | 12–16 October 2026 | The first day of the week: John 1:1–18; John 20:1; Athanasius, On the Incarnation §§1–5 |
| Week 6 | 19–23 October 2026 | The flood: Genesis 6:5–7:24; Athanasius, On the Incarnation §§6–10 |
| Week 7 | 26–30 October 2026 | Water that drowns and saves: Genesis 8:1–9:17; 1 Peter 3:18–22; Ephrem, Hymns on Paradise, another hymn, aloud |
Books for this unit
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