Ascension Day commemorates Christ's bodily ascension into heaven forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:50-53). The feast always falls on a Thursday — forty days counted inclusively from Easter Sunday. The observance is ancient. Augustine of Hippo (Ep. 54 to Januarius, c. 400) already regarded the Ascension as a feast of apostolic origin, placing it alongside Easter and Pentecost as celebrations 'which the whole Church observes throughout the world.' Eusebius of Caesarea mentions it in the early fourth century. The Ascension stands as the christological complement to the Incarnation: at Christmas, God descends to take human nature; at the Ascension, human nature is taken up into the life of God. The theological implications are enormous — our flesh, our humanity, is now at the right hand of the Father. The BCP 2019 lists Ascension among the seven Principal Feasts, giving it the highest possible liturgical precedence. The ten days between Ascension and Pentecost have traditionally been kept as days of prayer and expectation, recalling the disciples' waiting in the upper room (Acts 1:12-14). Some Anglican and Roman churches transfer the observance to the following Sunday, though the BCP 2019 does not explicitly authorize this practice.

The Ascension has shaped both the liturgical calendar and Christian architecture. The tradition of extinguishing the Paschal Candle after the Gospel reading on Ascension Day — symbolizing Christ's departure from visible presence — was widespread in the medieval West, though modern practice varies. Egeria records a vigil service at the Imbomon (the traditional site of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives) in the 380s, and the feast was well established in both East and West by the fifth century. In the Byzantine tradition, the Ascension is one of the Twelve Great Feasts, and its icon — Christ ascending in a mandorla of glory while the apostles gaze upward and angels announce his return — is among the most theologically rich in the Eastern iconographic tradition. The two men in white (Acts 1:10-11) who promise Christ's return connect the Ascension forward to the Second Coming, making it both a feast of accomplished salvation and eschatological hope. The collect in the BCP 2019 focuses on the ascent of hearts and minds: 'May our hearts and minds also there ascend, and with him continually dwell.' The season between Ascension and Pentecost — sometimes called the 'Great Novena' — is a period of prayer for the coming of the Spirit.

Philip was from Bethsaida (John 1:44), the hometown of Andrew and Peter. He appears prominently in John's Gospel, often in paired episodes. When Jesus called Philip directly ('Follow me'), Philip immediately found Nathanael and urged him to come, saying: 'We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph' (John 1:45). Though Nathanael initially balked—'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'—Philip persisted in his introduction, and Nathanael became a disciple.

At the feeding of the five thousand, when Jesus asked where bread could be purchased, Philip responded with practical arithmetic: 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little' (John 6:7)—a candid assessment of the logistical problem that sets up Jesus's miracle.

Philip's most significant moment occurs in John 14:8, at the Last Supper. Jesus has just said: 'If you know me, you will know my Father also.' Philip asks: 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied' (14:8). Jesus's reply—'Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father' (14:9)—reveals both a gentle rebuke and a profound Christological claim. Philip's straightforward request occasions one of the most important statements in John about the relationship between Jesus and God.

James the Less appears in all four apostolic lists, consistently paired with Philip (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13), often designated 'son of Alphaeus' or 'the less' (mikros, 'the smaller'—perhaps to distinguish him from James the Elder or James the Lord's brother). Beyond his inclusion in the Twelve and his presence in the upper room before Pentecost, the New Testament records nothing of his individual ministry.

Traditionally, Philip preached in Asia Minor and Phrygia, and James the Less is said to have led the church in Jerusalem and been martyred by crucifixion or by being beaten to death. The traditions are late and contradictory. Some sources identify James the Less with James the Lord's brother (though these are likely distinct figures). Philip's relics were claimed by various centers, and both apostles were venerated in Rome.