Holy Pentecost what. Birth of the Christian Church. Trinity Celebration: Customs
We celebrate Pentecost - the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles of Christ, the beginning of their preaching, the birth of the Church of Christ. Do we all know about this day?
Why was the gift of speaking in tongues given to the apostles, and why was it short-lived and not preserved to our time? How did it happen that this miracle was ridiculed by some? Why does the Holy Spirit descend in a visible way, in the form of tongues of fire? And what is this wind that rushed into the upper room? If the Holy Spirit descended only on the 12 apostles of Christ, why is the Mother of God depicted on the icons dedicated to Pentecost? And why do Orthodox Christians also call the feast of Pentecost the Trinity? Mosaic of the dome of the Church of Osios Loukas. Phocis. Approx. 1000 Do you know what Glossol is? A lia?
Glossol A lia - the gift of speaking (sermon) revealed in the Ancient Church to strangers foreign languages. The Gift of Tongues - Glossol A lia - is an exceptional phenomenon in the Church, in the life of believers of the first two centuries. The ability to speak in unfamiliar foreign languages was given by God to the apostles to preach the Gospel. The apostles received good news from the Savior and, having been instructed by the Spirit that descended upon them, they were to pronounce and carry it in the languages of all peoples.
After the founding of national churches by the apostles in different countries, the need for the supernatural gift of tongues fell away as unnecessary.
Do you know why some, when the apostles preached in tongues, said to them, "You are drunk"?After the founding of national churches in different countries, the gift of tongues was no longer needed.
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Are these speakers not all Galileans?…. And others, mocking, said: they drank sweet wine.(Acts 2:12-13). It can be seen from this that this miraculous event was not equally accepted by everyone. Galilee was famous as a dark country, not distinguished by education, and therefore the people gathered were surprised how these people, uneducated, not educated, could speak many languages and dialects. It can be assumed that the apostles, glorifying God on different languages, went out onto the flat roof of the house, and the people listened to them, surrounding the house and filling the entire area in front of it - moreover, those gathered came from many countries.
“Thinking people rightly saw in this an unusual sign, trying to guess what it portends. But unbelieving people, malicious and frivolous, who were, perhaps, from an environment hostile to Christ the Savior of the Pharisees and Sadducees, began to mockingly explain what had happened in the most rude way - the action of wine - thus insulting the Holy Spirit. It is precisely in this way that unbelief, frivolity and malice always try to explain the highest things in spiritual life by low, to the point of vulgarity, reasons, being unable to understand this lofty (1 Cor 2: 14-15). (Archbishop Averky (Taushev)). “So they slandered, understanding what was being said; but they slandered because they were dissatisfied with what was being said; because the apostles spoke the majesty of God. How then, understanding what was being said, did they attribute it to intoxication? Due to great madness and excessive cruelty; because among many, if they are dissatisfied with what is said, it is customary to consider the speaker either mad or crazy, or to accuse him of being drunk and not understanding what he is saying; although the one who speaks speaks sensibly, and although the reproacher, at the very accusation of the first, nevertheless listens and understands him. And these, accusing the apostles of drunkenness, showed even more insolence; because although they themselves heard them in their own language, they believed that other people, people of the most diverse dialects, did not understand them. They themselves understood what was said, but about the rest, because of whom they slandered the apostles in intoxication, they thought that they did not understand the miracle. As at the time when the Lord cast out demons, although they understood and saw these miraculous actions, instead of due glorification, they slandered the Lord that He performed them by the power of Beelzebub, also, seeing all sorts of illnesses and sufferings healed, they are these wonderful they made their actions an occasion for envy, denunciations and murder: so now, not being able to deny the miraculousness and supernaturalness of languages, they nevertheless dared to humiliate the miracle to the point of intoxication. (Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria).
Do you know why the gift of tongues is not found today?If speaking in tongues is only intended to deceive people, then it is deception.
The gift of speaking in tongues is mentioned several times in New Testament Scripture. For the first time - on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-18), when the apostles spoke in different languages among those gathered from different places. This speaking is a testimony from God and a confirmation of God Himself, who worked the miracle. Its purpose is obvious - to turn the audience to God, capturing before them a clear miracle, created not by man, but by God.
In addition, the gift of tongues is mentioned in some other places, for example, in the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapters 12-14. Mainly, among other things, it can be emphasized that the gift of speaking in tongues is intended for edification and for the building up of the Church of Christ itself. This is evidence of divine revelation. 
Miniature of the Gospel of Ravula. 586 Florence Therefore, in the true sense, this gift does not occur today - due to the absence of a real need for the Church. The Church is a storehouse of wisdom, based on the Body of Christ itself, as well as the works and revelations of many ascetics. The Church owns Tradition and Holy Scripture, has a clearly defined Creed and regulations and dogmas verified by time and experience, therefore it does not need edification, as in the first years of its foundation.
The evidence of truth for every believer is the grace given by God in the sacraments of the Church, and not speaking in tongues, which was rare even in apostolic times.
Do you know how to feel about the practice of "speaking in tongues" in some modern denominations?
As for the so-called "gift" of speaking in tongues among representatives of other religious organizations, it is worth noting some features here. Namely, what the apostle Paul in the already mentioned epistle to the Corinthians writes about the gifts, that they are different, and, most importantly, that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit” (1 Cor. 12: 7). Among the gifts, the gift of speaking in other tongues is mentioned (1 Cor. 12: 8), and it is also indicated that gifts are not given to everyone: Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers? Does everyone have gifts of healing? Does everyone speak in tongues? Are all interpreters?(1 Corinthians 12:29-30). Therefore, it is meaningless to talk about the state of enlightenment by the presence of this "gift", as some argue. Further, the apostle Paul says: "Whoever speaks in an unfamiliar tongue edifies himself"(1 Cor. 14:4) and “If I come to you, brethren, and speak in tongues, what good will I do you, unless I speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophecy, or by teaching?”(1 Cor. 14:6). And finally: “So if you also pronounce unintelligible words with your tongue, how will they know what you are saying? You will speak to the wind"(1 Cor. 14:9).
We see the exact fulfillment of the words of the Apostle Paul in the modern so-called speaking in tongues: incoherent speech, containing only some signs of meaningfulness, with zero content. This process does not edify either the speaker or the listener, as it is only aimed at impressing the simple-hearted, convincing them of the work of the Holy Spirit over those who speak "tongues." Finally, here are the warnings of the Apostle Paul: “So you too, being zealous for spiritual gifts, try to enrich yourself with them for the edification of the Church”(1 Corinthians 14:12). Therefore, although speaking in tongues is mentioned as a gift of the Holy Spirit, but if it is aimed only at deceiving people, then, truly, it is not a gift, but a real deception. Such speaking is dangerous for both the speaker and the hearers. Consider the apostle's warning: “Do not forbid speaking in tongues; only everything should be decent and decorous "(1 Corinthians 14:39).Saint Gregory the Theologian says that the Holy Spirit acted in the disciples of Christ three times
Do you know why the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was necessary if the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles even during the earthly ministry of Christ?
Saint Gregory the Theologian says that the Holy Spirit acted in the disciples of Christ three times. For the first time - before Christ's suffering on the Cross - when Christ healed and cast out demons, which he did, of course, not without the action of the Holy Spirit. The second time - after the Resurrection: the breath of Christ, which was the "divine inspiration" of the disciples to preach (John 20:22). Finally, for the third time, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The first two cases were only a temporary action of the Spirit in the disciples, and after the third time He already invariably dwelt in them.
It must be said that the Holy Spirit acted in people much earlier – in the Old Testament righteous and prophets. But His action was special, different from that which took place on the day of Pentecost. The Lord says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever.”(John 14:15-16). The Lord goes on to say that the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth because it does not know Him. But in the apostles, who know the Lord, and therefore also know the Spirit, the Spirit abides and will abide.
The descent of the Holy Spirit is the concluding, perfecting act, which, as the Lord said, will teach everything and recall everything that Christ said to His disciples. From that moment on, they received power and grace to bear witness by the same Spirit for Christ. In addition, the apostle John writes: “He, when he comes, will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”(John 16:8). Previously, the action of the Spirit prepared them, strengthened them, gave them strength. But only after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost did the apostles turn from frightened, wavering people into firm and determined followers of their Lord and Teacher, Jesus Christ.The upper room where the disciples gathered is also called the "mother of the Christian church"
Pentecost. Hood. Jean II Resta, oil on canvas, 1732 Do you know that the descent of the Holy Spirit was not only on the 12 apostles?
The room in which the apostles gathered was already a special place for them. It became the first Christian church. According to church tradition, many sacred events of the New Testament took place here: the washing of the feet (John 13:4-11); the appearance of the resurrected Christ to the disciples (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:33, John 20:19-23, John 20:26-28); assemblies of the apostles after the ascension of Christ (Acts 1:13); the election of the apostle Matthew (Acts 1:15-26); and also the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). Therefore, this upper room is also called the "mother of the Christian church."
The Apostle Luke writes that " when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together with one accord.”(Acts 2:1-4). All of them are the disciples of Christ, the apostles, who were not only twelve, already with Matthew chosen instead of the fallen Judas Iscariot. With one accord and together were all those who, as the apostle Peter says, "were with us (the apostles - ed.) all the time that the Lord Jesus dwelt and dealt with us, from the baptism of John until the day in which He ascended from us"(Acts 1:21-22). Therefore, it is believed that in the upper room where the apostles gathered, there were not only they .
They gathered together to meet and celebrate the day of the Jewish Pentecost - a holiday when all Jews were supposed to come to Jerusalem according to the commandment. Among them were those who heard the preaching of Christ and believed in Him. As a sign that the Holy Spirit descended not only on the apostles, on the icons depicting this event, the Mother of Christ is often present - His closest and first Disciple.The Holy Spirit descends in the form of fiery tongues as a sign of the baptism with the Spirit and fire, as John the Baptist foretold
Do you know why the Holy Spirit descended in the form of fiery tongues?
The Spirit descends on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire - as a sign of baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire, as St. John the Forerunner predicted even before the baptism of Christ (Matthew 3: 11). St. Gregory the Great wrote in his "Word for Pentecost": "When fiery tongues appeared, then hearts began to flame with sincere love for God." The Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire and divided - because of the various gifts that He gave to people.
The event of Pentecost is contrasted with the Babylonian division of the nations
Did you know that the day of Pentecost is the founding day of the New Testament Church?
The feast of Pentecost is also called the birthday of the Church. Already two thousand years have passed since the time of the Nativity of Christ, which divided the history of mankind into “before” and “after”, and many begin to count the history of Christianity from it. But after all, speaking of Christianity, we, first of all, mean the Christian Church.
In the church consciousness, the event of Pentecost has always been opposed to the Babylonian division of peoples, when, at the beginning of human history, people wanted to build the tower of Babel that towered to the skies. And, opposing the God-fighting plan of the proud, God confused their language. So people who had previously spoken in the same dialect ceased to understand each other. As a result, a single people was divided and scattered over the face of the earth: “And the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth; and they stopped building the city [and the tower]"(Gen. 11:8-9). And through the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and the gift of speaking in tongues, the Lord makes it possible for the divided nations to unite. Having sent the Holy Spirit, He sent His apostles to different countries, as evidenced by the very word "apostle" - "sent." Sent in order to gather people scattered throughout the universe. But to collect it no longer for utopian god-fighting projects, as in Babylon, but for uniting into the One Holy Cathedral and Apostolic Church. And if the Babylonian division prevented the destruction of peoples who were supposed to become a faceless working mass, then Pentecost showed the way to unity while maintaining the identity of everyone to whom the Lord addresses.
The kontakion of the feast contains the same thought: “When the tongues of the merger descended, the Most High divided the tongues: when the fiery tongues were distributed, the whole call was united, and according to we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.” That is, when the Almighty came down and confused the languages (in the Babylonian pandemonium), then by this He divided the peoples. When He gave out tongues of fire (on the day of Pentecost), He called everyone to unity; and we unanimously glorify the All-Holy Spirit.Pentecost showed the way to the unity of peoples while maintaining the identity of each
On the day of Pentecost, the power of the preaching of the Apostle Peter was incomparable: about three thousand people were then baptized. Thus the New Testament Church was born. And from that day on, the Christian faith began to spread with incredible speed. The number of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ increased day by day. Taught by the Holy Spirit, the apostles boldly preached to everyone about the Son of God, about His suffering for us and the resurrection from the dead. The Lord helped them with numerous miracles, which were performed through the apostles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, by the descent of the Holy Spirit it is established in the world Christian faith and the Church of Christ begins its existence. Yes, we can say that before that there was a community led by Christ, then by the resurrected Christ, and, in the end, it became a community of people led by the Holy Spirit, a divine-human community. But such a definition limits the Church. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Church is not a community. And not even a community of people. But this is a spiritual process. The flow of God's breath, which includes people who have contained this breath in their hearts. It, God's breath, breaks into the world on the day of Pentecost. That “like wind” that burst into the upper room where the apostles and their associates gathered was not, after all, an ordinary, physical wind. It was not like the "light breeze" mentioned in the Old Testament books, but a strong wind, almost a hurricane, rushing into the house. This is how the Kingdom, its breath of life, enters the world. It was as if the door of the Kingdom opened and it poured in here, towards us. That's right - not just to the assembly of the faithful, but to the world.The power of the preaching of the Apostle Peter was so great that three thousand people were baptized in one day
Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4); Balkans. Serbia. Pech; XIV century; location: Serbia. Kosovo. Pech Patriarchy. Church of St. Demetrius. Nave All meetings, how many there will be in the history of the Church, are only a derivative of this process, of this event. And this stream of the Kingdom in the world can be figuratively called, in fact, the Church. Because he gathers people into congregations (the Greek word that the Church is called in the New Testament books, and is translated as “assembly”) and makes them the Church. Even those who happen to be nearby, as if by chance, like those people on the street who listened to Peter's sermon. They heard what was behind the words. Only a citizen of the Kingdom can hear like this. And, therefore, all those who listened to Peter then became for a time residents of the Kingdom, part of the Church. But how long they remained in the Kingdom, and therefore in the Church, is another question. It is no coincidence that those "fiery tongues" overshadowed everyone who was then in the room. The light of God's presence is different for everyone. Like the Presence itself, everyone has their own. Its measure and its constancy depend not only on God, but also on man, his freedom. It is she who determines the measure of the involvement of a particular person in the life of the Church. But this is already a question of the spiritual path of a particular believer.
And the Kingdom entered into the world. The door is open. And everyone is standing in front of this door. Enter or not - depends only on the person.
Do you know that the feast of Pentecost also existed in the Old Testament, long before the incarnation of Christ?The kingdom has entered the world. The door is open. Enter or not - depends on the person
On the third day of the stop at Mount Sinai, which was the fiftieth day from Jewish Passover and exodus from Egyptian captivity, God made a covenant with the people of Israel. The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) were carved on two tablets (stone tablets) that He gave to Moses. The prophet himself stayed on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, while God spoke all His commands.
Coming down from the mountain, Moses wrote down all the law given to him by God in books, which became part of Holy Scripture- The Pentateuch of Moses. In memory of the gift of the Sinai legislation, the feast of Pentecost was established, which the Jews solemnly celebrated every year since that time. This holiday is called Shavuot.
Like many others Jewish holidays, Shavuot celebrates not only certain historical event, but also the onset of a new season of the year, the completion of the next agricultural cycle. Shavuot was celebrated at the beginning of the wheat harvest season. This is the last of the three pilgrimage feasts.
The descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples just happened on the pilgrimage feast, when all of them, having come from different parts of Israel, were inseparably in the Jerusalem upper room. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, this day acquires a New Testament meaning for Christians. The Lord founded the Church, in which he made with us New Testament and poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) His grace, which surpasses every law.
Jews celebrate Pentecost, Shavuot, in memory of the gift of the Sinai legislation to Moses
Do you know that the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit was foretold many years before the events of the New Testament?
In one of the biblical books, the prophet Joel (whose book dates from the 11th to the 5th century BC) announced: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy… And it will come to pass: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be salvation, as the Lord has said, and for the rest whom the Lord calls.”(Joel 2:28-32).
Do you know why the day of Pentecost is also called the Trinity?The coincidence of the holidays of the Trinity and Pentecost exists only in Orthodox Christianity
IN Orthodox Christianity religious holiday The Trinity is popularly called Pentecost. The fact is that the Trinity is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, and, accordingly, the date of the holiday changes from year to year, just like the date of Easter. The only thing that remains unchanged is that the Trinity, like Easter, is always celebrated on Sunday. The events of Pentecost once again show us the revelation of the trinity of the Godhead, so the holiday is dedicated to the glorification of the Holy Trinity.
Such a coincidence - the Trinity and Pentecost - exists only in Orthodox Christianity. For Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and representatives of other branches of Christianity, Pentecost is celebrated a week before Trinity, that is, it is a separate holiday. 
Miniature of the theological writings of John VI Cantacuzenus depicting Life-Giving Trinity(Paris National Library, cod. 1242).
And in conclusion, the solemn words that St. Theophan the Recluse said about the feast of Pentecost: - ed.) of our salvation! Actions of all Persons Holy Trinity in this case are now in force. What God the Father was pleased to be, what the Son of God fulfilled in Himself, the Holy Spirit has now descended to appropriate to the believers. For our salvation “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, with sanctification from the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling with the Blood of Jesus Christ”(1 Pet. 1:2)."
Day of the Holy Trinity.
Pentecost
twelfth
It is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter.
Always on Sunday
On the fiftieth day after Pascha, the Jews recalled the handing over of the Tablets of the Covenant to Moses on Sinai, while the disciples of the Lord, having gathered in Jerusalem around the Apostles and the Mother of God, and choosing by lot Matthias the twelfth Apostle instead of Judas, awaited the arrival of “another Comforter,” as the Lord commanded them before the Ascension. On the day when Moses gave the law, Jesus Christ sent them the Holy Spirit - grace: “And suddenly there was a noise from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the whole house, and dividing tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and rested on one for each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in tongues."
Many people from different countries gathered for the feast in Jerusalem. Hearing this noise, the people ran and were confused, because everyone heard the Disciples speaking in their own language, and they asked: “Are not all of them Galileans?” Amazed and perplexed, they decided that they were drunk, but the Apostle Peter said that this was not drunkenness, but predicted by the prophet Joel: “And it will come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” And Peter exalted the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom “you took and nailed and killed with the hands of the lawless, but this Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses. And so, having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He poured out what you now see and hear... Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off. So those who willingly received his word were baptized, and about three thousand souls were added ... ".
On this day, the Spirit descended on the whole world, but only those united by one faith in the resurrection of the Lord were ready to receive Him. The gift of the Holy Spirit was given to each person personally, but only when “all together with one accord” (Acts 2:1), just as the Apostles were together with the Mother of God, waiting for the descent of the Spirit. Pentecost continues in the Church, the gift of God is divided to come down on everyone and unite everyone again. Pentecost, which builds the Church, is the opposite of the division of the tongues of the builders Tower of Babel when people, because of pride, ceased to understand each other, divided and scattered. This is what is said in the kontakion of the holiday: “When he descended, he merged languages, united the peoples. Thou Who divided the Gentiles before. And when You distributed fiery tongues, then You called everyone to unite ”(Russian translation).
On the day after Pentecost, the Church celebrates the Day of the Holy Spirit, emanating from the Father and sent by the Son to His Church, building Her as the Body of Christ. At each Liturgy after Communion, the choir sings a stichera from the Pentecost service: “We have seen the True Light, received the Heavenly Spirit...” - by which we confess our mysterious spiritual approach through the limits of time to the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.
The apostles also prayed together on the tenth day after the Ascension of the Lord. Suddenly there was a noise, and splitting tongues of fire appeared, which rested on each of them. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues (see: Acts 2:4).
One must think that this greatest gift - glossolalia - an exhaustive interpretation of which, of course, is impossible, although a huge number of attempts have been made, received not only the twelve closest associates, but also other students, as well as the Mother of God (see about this, for example, “ Conversations on the Acts of the Apostles" by St. John Chrysostom). Description of speaking in tongues, its various interpretations and evaluation of synchronous relics are presented in the book "Explanatory Typicon".
Its author M.N. Skaballanovich, in another work, admits that only one thing can be said with certainty about the gift of tongues: “From the inside, according to the state of mind, tongue-speaking was a state of special spiritual, deep prayer. In this state, a person spoke directly to God, penetrated secrets with God. It was a state of religious ecstasy, for the availability of which the Apostle Paul warmly thanks God. From the outside, it was such a majestic manifestation, quite worthy of the Spirit of God, that for the most unbelieving it was a sign that showed with their own eyes the presence of the Divinity Himself in Christian assemblies (see: 1 Cor. 14:25). It was a state of the highest spiritual uplift. What was especially majestic in this phenomenon was that, despite all the strength of the feeling that then engulfed a person, he did not lose power over himself, he could restrain and regulate the external manifestations of this state: to be silent while the other was talking, waiting for his turn.
So, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, the followers of the teachings of Christ began to speak in different languages. Consequently, when they left the house and began to address people with a bold and fiery sermon about the true faith, representatives of the most different peoples(and on these holidays there were many pilgrims from various countries in Jerusalem) they were easily understood. Those who did not know other languages than Aramaic, mocked the disciples of Jesus and tried to convict them of intoxication.
Then the apostle Peter rejected these accusations: “They are not drunk, as you think, for now is the third hour of the day” (Acts 2:15) . And it is these words that make it possible to determine exactly at what time of the day the descent of the Holy Spirit took place. It was at 9 o'clock in the morning.
The significance of the indulgence of the Holy Spirit can be called extraordinary without exaggeration. After all, this day was the true birth Church of Christ. For the first time, the apostles cast aside all fears before the Jewish elders and high priests and went out to open and uncompromising preaching of the crucified and risen Savior of the world. And rich fruits were not slow in coming: about three thousand people on the very first day were providentially baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (see: Acts 2:41).
Thus, this event ended with the complete triumph of the Holy Spirit over the unbelievers. Three times Jesus Christ gave the disciples the Holy Spirit: before suffering - implicitly (see: Matt. 10: 20), after the Resurrection through the breath - more clearly (see: John 20: 22) and now sent Him essentially.
That is why Pentecost, of course, along with Easter, is central to church calendar: "The preservation of Pentecost (as, above all, the fifty-day period after Easter), whatever the original liturgical expression of this holiday, points, again, to Christian reception a certain understanding of the year, time, natural cycles as related to the eschatological reality of the Kingdom given to people in Christ... Characteristic... is the assertion, on the one hand, that Christians are, as it were, in constant Pentecost (cf. Origen: "He who truly can say: " We have risen with Christ" and "God glorified us and seated us at the right hand with Himself in heaven in Christ" - always stays in the time of Pentecost"), and at the same time highlighting Pentecost in special holiday, V special time of the year: “We also celebrate,” writes St. Athanasius the Great, “the holy days of Pentecost… pointing to the coming age… So, let us add the seven holy weeks of Pentecost, rejoicing and glorifying God for having shown us joy and eternal peace in advance of these days, prepared in heaven for us and for those who truly believe in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
From this day on, the Church, not created in vain human interpretations and reasoning, but by the will of God, continuously grew and affirmed - first of all, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The dogma about Christ acquired the most solid foundation, which could not be shaken by anything. The Holy Church lifts up the general doxology of the Most Holy Trinity and inspires believers to sing of “the Father without beginning, and the Son without beginning, and the co-eternal and most holy Spirit, the Trinity of consubstantial, equivalent and without beginning” .
Let us turn to the history of the feast of Pentecost. It has its roots in Old Testament. According to the book of Exodus (see: Exodus 23:14-16), in ancient Israel In addition to many others, there were three major holidays: the feast of unleavened bread (on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar), the feast of the harvest of the first fruits, also called the feast of weeks (fifty days after Passover), and the feast of gathering fruits (at the end of the year).
The Feast of Weeks, to which Holy Pentecost directly ascends, was originally celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the harvest: “Begin to count seven weeks from the time the sickle appears on the harvest” (Deut. 16: 9). Then its date began to be counted from Easter. The definition of a specific day of the holiday caused bitter disagreement among the Jews. So, the Sadducees began counting from the first Saturday after the first day of Easter (while the holiday always fell on the first day after Saturday). The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that Sabbath meant the first day of Passover, and added seven weeks to next day. In the 1st century A.D. the latter point of view prevailed.
A century later, with the feast of weeks (the final meeting of Easter) in Judaism, the memory of the renewal of the Testament on Mount Sinai began to be combined - fifty days after the Jews left Egypt.
It should be noted that the term Pentecost - from Greek πεντηх?στη - does not occur in rabbinical literature, but it is known from the monuments of Hellenistic Judaism (for example, quotes from 2 Mac. 12: 32; Tov. 2: 1 can be seen in " Jewish Antiquities» Flavius Josephus).
The rich pre-Christian tradition of the holiday in question largely explains why, although it was highly revered by the apostles and other disciples, it was perceived by them mainly as a Jewish celebration dedicated to the harvest. This ambivalence is evidenced, among others, by the following fact: the apostle Paul did not forget about the holiday during his travels and tried to be in Jerusalem on that day (see: Acts 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8).
Ancient Christian sources for a long time (until the 4th century) do not give clear information about the scope of the term Pentecost. It is used in one of two meanings. In most cases, it is understood as a fifty-day holiday period after Easter, less often as a holiday of the last day of the named cycle. Moreover, often these qualifications cannot be separated from each other even within the same text (cf. Irenaeus of Lyon, Tertullian, Eusebius of Caesarea and others).
With numerous testimonies about the holiday in question in Africa, Alexandria, Caesarea, Asia Minor, nevertheless, in the well-known Syrian monuments of the III-IV centuries (including in the works Saint Ephraim Sirina) Pentecost is not mentioned at all, despite the fact that the Paschal celebrations are described in detail.
The eventful and liturgical history of Pentecost is closely connected - especially in the first centuries of its existence - with the Ascension. The latter, as some ancient sources say (the Syrian "Didaskalia" of the 3rd century, for example), was celebrated - at least in some areas - not on the fortieth, but on the fiftieth day after Easter.
Holiday in Orthodox worship
The Apostolic decrees contain the following instruction: “Having celebrated Pentecost, celebrate one week, and after it fast one week” (book 5, chapter 20). In addition, it is forbidden to work during this period, “because then the Holy Spirit came, bestowed on those who believed in Christ” (book 8, chapter 33). The feast week after Pentecost, although not a formal afterfeast, speaks of the special position of this holiday, which lasted a whole week. This cyclicality, however, was not accepted everywhere.
So, in Jerusalem of the 4th century, fasting began the very next day after Pentecost.
But it was in the holy city that the holiday in question was one of the most significant in the church calendar. And so it was celebrated magnificently and on a large scale. We find clear evidence of this in the pilgrim Etheria. On this day, fully revealed character traits Jerusalem worship, due to the unique position of the city. This stationary rank was characterized by various processions during services or between them, the performance of worship in different churches, the recollection of certain events, if possible, at the place where they were carried out: “The feast in honor of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity continues in the Holy Land, as it should be, three days. This such a long church celebration here is explained both by the topographical position in the Holy Land of revered places and shrines, with which the events from the history of our economy in the Old and New Testaments remembered by the Orthodox Church on these sacred days are connected, and by some special circumstances of a later time in the history of our Russian colony. in Jerusalem, and missionary activity» .
The festive service of Pentecost consisted of a night vigil, a liturgy and a daytime meeting that took place in the Church of the Resurrection, at the Cross, in the Martyrium, on Mount Zion, where the Acts of the Apostles were read and a sermon sounded, which necessarily said that the Zion Church was built on the site the houses where the apostles lived, as well as in the church on Olivet (there was a cave in which the Lord taught the closest followers). See one of the testimonies of A.A. Dmitrievsky: “The Vigil is performed under the oak of Mamvri according to the rank of the Trinity service with access to the lithium to bless the bread, with magnification, with the reading of the akathist to the Holy Trinity according to the 6th song of the canon and with anointing with oil. Early in the morning, at about 5 o'clock, here, under an oak, on a stone throne with a portable antimension, a solemn liturgy is performed by the cathedral, headed by the father archimandrite, and not far from this place, a table set up serves as an altar. During the small exit with the Gospel and during the great exit with the holy gifts, they go around the sacred oak tree. During the liturgy, many of the pilgrims partake of the holy mysteries. At the end of the Liturgy, a moleben to the Holy Trinity is served and procession throughout the mission domain with the overshadowing of the cross and the sprinkling of holy water on all four sides of it.
In other words, the daily liturgical circle was so rich that it closed only after midnight.
Descriptions later than those of Etheria (for example, the Armenian edition of the Jerusalem Lectionary) give very similar ideas.
Divine services in Constantinople from the 8th century were performed according to the so-called song sequence. The Typicon of the Great Church in the corresponding section has festive elements, which is expressed in the abolition of the evening and morning variable antiphons, in the singing of only three small antiphons and immediately "Lord, cry out." After entering, three parimias are read - the same ones that are heard in the service at the present time. At the end of Vespers, the troparion of the feast is sung three times by the singers on the pulpit with the verses of the 18th Psalm. After Vespers, the reading of the Apostle is scheduled until the time of the pannihis.
Matins is celebrated on the pulpit (which, again, speaks of the solemnity of the service). Its usual seven variable antiphons are abolished, and immediately after the first (permanent) antiphon, the song of the prophet Daniel is placed (Dan. 3: 57-88). To the verses of Ps. 50 the troparion of the feast is sung. After Matins, the word of St. Gregory the Theologian for Pentecost is read: “On the feast of a short philosophy of wisdom.”
Between Matins and Liturgy, the patriarch performs the sacrament of baptism, which was an ancient Christian tradition, about which Tertullian, St. Gregory the Theologian and others wrote.
At the liturgy, festive antiphons and readings of Acts are set. 2:1-11 and Jn. 7:37-52; 8:12, which are accepted even now. There is no after-feast of Pentecost in the Typicon of the Great Church, although on the weekdays of the week following the feast there are several special remembrances (of the archangels Michael and Gabriel, the Mother of God, Joachim and Anna), which give distinctive properties to the week. There are also no kneeling prayers at Vespers of Pentecost in the analyzed charter.
But they are regulated by the Studio statutes. In them, the celebration of Pentecost already has quite modern look. It is preceded by the ecumenical memorial Saturday. The remembrance of the Holy Spirit is timed to Monday. And most importantly: the whole week is the afterfeast of Pentecost, and Saturday is its giving.
Thus, the Studian-Aleksievsky Typicon of 1034, preserved in Slavic translation - a manuscript of the 70s of the XII century, does not provide for an all-night vigil. At Vespers, the first kathisma “Blessed is the husband” is prescribed, at “Lord, I have called” stichera for nine (as on any Sunday, but here stichera are only for the holiday). Further, the entrance and three parimias, on the verse, the stichera of the seventh tone of the “Paraclete that has” (in the current edition - “The Comforter that has”) is sung three times, on “Glory, and now” - “To the King of Heaven” (sixth tone). Afterwards, the troparion of the feast "Blessed art Thou, Christ our God" is sung.
At Matins, only the first kathisma is relied upon, then (after the sedal of the feast and the reading of the word of St. Gregory the Theologian) “From my youth”, the prokeimenon and the gospel of the feast (no polyeleos are used according to this Typicon). The ninth Sunday Gospel is used as a festive one.
The Studian Rule codifies the correspondence of the weeks after Pascha to a certain tone (in order), starting with the first tone in the week of Antipascha. The introduced correlations are manifested not only in the singing of the texts of the Oktoech, but also in the fact that some chants of the Triodion can also be composed in ordinary voice. Pentecost corresponds to the seventh tone. And at Matins the canon of the seventh tone is sung. On him, which is extremely rare, St. Cosmas of Mayum composed his canon in the 8th century. In addition to him, the canon of the fourth voice is also sung - creation Reverend John Damascus.
On praises there are stichera of the fourth tone “Glorious Day” (the same as in the modern service, only it is noticed about them that the second and third are similar to the first, but, despite some metrical coincidences, this is not so), morning stichera on the verse . Doxology is not sung.
The liturgy includes festive antiphons, and the entire service (Prokimen, Apostle, Alleluiarium, Gospel and Communion), of course, is also a feast.
According to the Jerusalem Rule, the Pentecost holiday cycle has the same structure as in the Studian Codex: commemoration of the dead on the Saturday before Pentecost, six days of afterfeast with a celebration on the following Saturday. The day of the feast is celebrated with an all-night vigil, consisting of great vespers with litiya and matins.
Pentecost in Russian Orthodox Church: liturgical-eorthological continuity and rethinking
In the Russian Church, the meaning of the holiday gradually changed, and it began to be called the Holy Trinity.
In this regard, Archpriest Nikolai Ozolin states: “The Feast of Pentecost, which was on the site of the current Trinity Day, was a holiday of historical, and not openly ontological significance. Since the XIV century in Rus', it reveals its ontological essence ... Veneration of the Spirit of Comforter, Divine Hope as spirituality femininity is intertwined with the cycle of representations of Sophia and is transferred to the day following the Trinity - the day of the Holy Spirit ... The Trinity Feast, presumably, first appears as a local feast of the Trinity Cathedral as a celebration of Andrei Rublev's "Trinity". It is very likely that Trinity Day was originally correlated in the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost with the second day of the holiday, called the day of the Holy Spirit, and was understood as the Council (Synaxis) of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. And “the so-called “Old Testament Trinity” becomes a festive icon of this “Monday of the Holy Trinity” in Rus' among the disciples St. Sergius» .
And in general, the liturgical form of Pentecost, which, in accordance with various classifications, refers to the Lord's, passing, great (twelfth) holidays, despite the fact that it was established in Russia in line with continuity, is distinguished by certain specifics.
So, until the middle of the 17th century in Rus', where the described holiday could also be called the word Rusalia (referring, however, not to the content of the pagan holiday, as one might think, but to its date, which falls on the period of Pentecost), on its day not there was an all-night vigil. But Vespers with Litium and Matins were served separately. After vespers, a moleben followed with the canon of the Trinity; before Matins - the "midnight prayer service" (that is, according to the order of the usual prayer service) with the singing of the canon of the Trinity from Oktoikh. Instead of the trinity troparia "It is worthy to eat" "To the King of Heaven" is established. Vespers is celebrated shortly after the dismissal of the Liturgy.
On Monday of the Holy Spirit, the Metropolitan served the Liturgy in Spirit Monastery.
The peculiarities of the service of Pentecost include the fact that immediately after the liturgy, great vespers are performed. Three prayers of St. Basil the Great are read on it with kneeling.
The feast of Pentecost has six days of afterfeast. The giveaway is next Saturday.
For completeness of the description, it should be noted that the week after Pentecost, like the Light Week, is continuous (fasting on Wednesday and Friday is cancelled). This resolution of fasting is established in honor of the Holy Spirit, whose coming is celebrated on Sunday and Monday, and in honor of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and in honor of the Holy Trinity.
Kneeling Prayers at Vespers of Pentecost
The prayers of kneeling at the Vespers of Pentecost have a great symbolic meaning, both specifically eorthological and general theological. They were introduced into worship in order to preserve and strengthen believers in a humble state, to make them capable, following the example of the apostles, of the most chaste accomplishment of worthy deeds in honor of the Holy Spirit, as well as to receive the priceless gifts of the grace of God (it is no coincidence that the parishioners at this Vespers stand on knees for the first time since Easter).
The compilation of these prayer books is sometimes attributed to St. Basil the Great, and therefore dates back to the 4th century.
The current service of Vespers of Pentecost specifies three genuflections with the reading of several prayers at each of them. In the first of them - “Most pure, not defiled, without beginning, invisible, incomprehensible, unsearchable”, - offered up to God the Father, believers confess their sins, ask for their forgiveness and grace-filled heavenly help against the wiles of enemies, the second - “Lord Jesus Christ our God, peace Yours given by man" - is a petition for the gift of the Holy Spirit, instructing and strengthening in the observance of the commandments of God to achieve a blessed life, in - "The ever-flowing, animal, and enlightening source", - addressed to the Son of God, who fulfilled all the care (dispensation) of human salvation kind, the Church prays for the repose of the departed.
At the first bow, two prayers are read (the first is actually the prayer of kneeling, the second, as part of the song following, was the prayer of the first small antiphon). Two prayers are laid on the second kneeling: the last is the prayer of the second small antiphon, written out in the modern Book of Hours at the end of the first part of Great Compline. On the third kneeling, three prayers are set, although in fact there are four of them, since the second is the prayer of the third small antiphon until the words “To you, the only true and humane God”, with the words “Your fear is truly” the third prayer begins, which in the context of the song vespers of this of the day was usually used together with the next as a dismissal prayer; the fourth prayer is directly the prayer of the dismissal of the Constantinople Song Vespers (according to the modern Missal, this is the seventh lamp prayer).
It is obvious that even in its present form, the rites, which have undergone a number of changes over the centuries, bear a clear imprint of the Constantinople song edition.
As already mentioned, there are no kneeling prayers in the Typicon of the Great Church.
In the most ancient Byzantine Euchologies, their set is extremely unstable. Not without interest are the indications of the Slavic Glagolitic Euchologion of the 10th-11th centuries, which gives only kneeling prayers - the first, third, fourth, without any additions. In more recent times, kneeling prayers seem to have been individually adapted to the practice of the Great Church. In the same period - from the 10th century - other variants of the celebration of the Pentecost Vespers appeared, according to which elements of the Palestinian liturgical practice are mixed with the rule of song following (the Canonary of the 10th-11th centuries, the Messinian Typicon, the Georgian Euchologies and some others). In connection with the rite of kneeling prayers, the prayer to the Holy Spirit, attributed to Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople, requires a separate note, with the following beginning: “To the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Lord of the self-significant, everlasting and eternally existing.” She is known from Slavic manuscripts and printed editions. So, in the collection of St. Cyril of Belozersky, it is placed instead of the prayer "God the Great and Most High" - during the third kneeling. The Treasury of Peter (Grave) indicates that the above words are read before the prayer "God is great and high." Prayer is also recorded in the early printed Moscow Typikons of the 17th century. But in the reformed Charter of 1682, references to the prayer of Patriarch Philotheus were excluded.
Holiday in Western tradition
To the all-night service on the day of Holy Pentecost, as well as to the feast of Easter, mass baptisms were usually timed to coincide. And this custom is still preserved in relation to adults who receive baptism in Roman Catholic Church.
In the liturgy, this feast is equated with Pascha in its significance.
The famous golden sequence “Come, Holy Spirit” (“Veni, Sancte Spiritus”), a hymn belonging to an unknown author of the 13th century, is sung during the festive mass of Pentecost.
Patristic exegesis
Since the 4th century, the feast of Pentecost has definitely become widespread, acquiring ever greater solemnity and importance. This is proved by numerous sermons written by the Holy Fathers (Blessed Augustine, Saints John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian and others).Undoubtedly, the dogma of the Trinity is at the center of Pentecostal homiletics. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “That which saves us is the life-giving power, which we believe under the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But those who are completely incapable of perceiving this truth, due to the weakness that has befallen them from spiritual smoothness ... are accustomed to look at the one Divinity, and in the one Divinity they comprehend the only power of the Father ... Then ... the Only Begotten Son is revealed through the Gospel. After this, we are offered perfect food for our nature - the Holy Spirit.
The holy fathers think a lot about the gift of tongues: “If someone asks any of us: “You received the Holy Spirit, why don’t you speak in all languages?” - should answer: “I speak in all languages, because I am in the Church, in that body of Christ that speaks in all languages.” And truly, what else did God signify then, if not that, having the Holy Spirit, his Church would speak in all languages ”( blessed Augustine).
Iconography of the holiday
The fact that a certain shift in the eorthological accent and even the naming of the holiday took place in the Russian Orthodox Church received an interesting reflection in iconography.
The festive rows of the iconostasis from the 16th century often include the icon of the Trinity at the site of the feast of Pentecost. Sometimes the Trinity is placed at the end of the row - before the Descent of the Holy Spirit (there is a distribution of these icons over two days - the feast itself and Monday of the Holy Spirit). Let us also compare the following fact: an official of the 17th century (from Novgorod Sophia Cathedral) prescribes to put two icons of the feast on the lectern at once in the morning: the Holy Trinity and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. This practice is completely unknown to the Byzantine and post-Byzantine traditions.
After the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the tenth day came - the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ. The Jews then had a great feast of Pentecost in memory of Sinai law. All the apostles, along with Mother of God and with other disciples of Christ and other believers, with one accord were in the same upper room in Jerusalem. It was the third hour of the day, according to the Jewish account of hours, that is, according to ours, the ninth hour of the morning. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the whole house where the disciples of Christ were. And fiery tongues appeared and stopped one at a time on each of them. Everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to praise God in different languages, which they did not know before. So the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of the Savior, descended on the apostles, in the form of fiery tongues, as a sign that He gave the apostles the ability and strength to preach Christ's teachings to all peoples; descended in the form of fire as a sign that it has the power to scorch sins and purify, sanctify and warm souls.
On the occasion of the feast of Pentecost, in Jerusalem at that time there were many Jews who came from different countries. Hearing the noise, a huge crowd of people gathered near the house where the disciples of Christ were. All the people were amazed and asked each other: “Are they not all Galileans? How do we hear each of our own languages in which we were born? How can they speak with our tongues about the great things of God?” And they said in bewilderment: "They drank sweet wine."
Then the apostle Peter, standing up with the other eleven apostles, said that they were not drunk, but that the Holy Spirit had descended on them, as had been foretold by the prophet Joel, and that Jesus Christ, Whom the Jews had crucified, had risen from the dead, ascended into heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on them. Concluding his sermon on Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter said: “Therefore, know for sure, all the people of Israel, that God has sent this Jesus, whom you crucified, as the Savior and Christ.”
Peter's sermon had such an effect on those who listened to it that very many believed in Jesus Christ. They began to ask Peter and the other apostles: “What shall we do, brothers and sisters?”
Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; then you will also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Those who believed in Christ willingly accepted baptism, there were about three thousand people that day. Thus, the holy Church of Christ began to stand on earth.
From the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Christian faith began to spread rapidly, with the help of God; the number of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ increased day by day. Taught by the Holy Spirit, the apostles boldly preached to everyone about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, about His suffering for us and the Resurrection from the dead. The Lord helped them with many great miracles, which were performed through the apostles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Initially, the apostles preached to the Jews, and then dispersed throughout different countries to preach to all nations. For the celebration of the Sacraments and the preaching of the Christian doctrine, the apostles ordained bishops, presbyters, and deacons through the laying on of hands.
That grace of the Holy Spirit, which was clearly given to the apostles, in the form of fiery tongues, is now served in the Holy Orthodox Church invisibly - in her holy Sacraments, through the successors-apostles - the pastors of the Church - bishops and priests.
The feast of the Holy Trinity is also called Pentecost because the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles took place on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ. The feast of Christian Pentecost contains a double celebration: both to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, and to the glory of the Most Holy Spirit, who apparently descended upon the Apostles and sealed the new eternal covenant of God with man.
The first day of Pentecost, Sunday, the Church dedicates primarily to the glory of the Holy Trinity. This day is popularly called Trinity Day. The second - Monday - to the glory of the Holy Spirit, which is why it is called the Spiritual Day.
The Church begins the celebration of the Holy Spirit, as usual, with the evening Divine Liturgy on Trinity Day, at which the three prayers of Basil the Great are read with kneeling, in which we confess our sins before the Heavenly Father and, for the sake of the great sacrifice of His Son, we ask for mercy; we also ask the Lord Jesus Christ to grant us the Divine Spirit, for the enlightenment and affirmation of our souls, and, finally, we pray for the departed fathers and our brothers, may the Lord rest them "in a place of light, greenery and peace."
With fiery tongues the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the upper room of Zion— so the ancient prophecy came true, which the Lord proclaimed through the prophet Joel: “And it will come to pass after that, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream, and your young men will see visions. And also on my servants and maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28,29).
The grace-filled power of the Spirit helped the apostles to found the Church and carry the Christian sermon throughout the world, and the world has heard and continues to hear the call of Christ: "Whoever is thirsty, come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). And every person is free to respond to this call or not.
And in the Church, to this day, continues to operate Spirit Comforter, with no less force than in the time of the apostles. And the source of pure, transparent water of the grace of the Holy Spirit is open to everyone who is thirsty. May God grant everyone to be able to taste this water, so that they “thirst forever” (John 4:14).
The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost is described in the Acts of the Holy Apostles (Acts 2:1-18). On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ (the tenth day after the Ascension), the apostles were in Jerusalem, “... suddenly there was a noise from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the whole house where they were. And divided tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and rested one on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:2-4).
The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost appeared in the world in a visible way and perceptibly for the human soul - with the gifts of saving grace.
It was the outpouring of the love of Christ into their hearts by the Holy Spirit.. They felt in themselves the strength and boldness to do everything, to give their whole lives for the glory of God and the salvation of people.
The Holy Spirit brings into existence (“realizes”) and animates all creation; everything lives and moves in Him: “everything that was created, as God He strengthens, keeps in the Father by the Son.”
The depth of gifts, the wealth of glory, theology and wisdom are given by the Holy Spirit. They are given to all the source of Divine treasures, holiness, renewal, deification, reason, peace, blessing and bliss, for He is Life, Light, Mind, Joy, Love and Goodness.
On the day of Pentecost, for the first time, the mystery of the Divine Being, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, was clearly revealed.
History of the Holy Trinity
On this day, Jews from different cities and countries were in the city on the occasion of the holiday. Hearing the noise, they gathered in front of the house where the apostles were, and when they heard that inside they were speaking in various dialects, they were astonished. Some of them mocked the apostles and "said, they have drunk of sweet wine" (Acts 2:13).Then Peter, standing with the eleven, proclaimed to them: Men of the Jews, and all who dwell in Jerusalem! this be known to you, and heed my words: they are not drunk, as you think, for now is the third hour of the day; but this is what was foretold by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; and your youths will see visions, and your elders will be enlightened by dreams. And on My servants and on My handmaids in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:14-18)
Appearance of the Holy Trinity St. Alexander Svirsky
The disciples were gathered in prayer, in remembrance of their murdered and resurrected Teacher.. And suddenly tongues of fire descended upon them; The Spirit of God descended on them with fire, they were filled with inspiration - the apostles were no longer the same as they were fifty days before. Then, frightened, they huddled in fear that their Teacher had been defeated, killed.
Now the same people filled with this inspiration, this breath eternal life, filled with God's presence, went out to the people around them and without fear, with courage, which they themselves could not have had a clue about before, they began to talk about Christ as God who became a man, they began to talk about God as Love, love immeasurable , immeasurable, which embraces, embraces everything and everyone.
And the same inspiration filled them with such boldness and such courage, thanks to which they went not only to preaching, but to suffering, to beating, to torment and torment, to dungeons, and, ultimately, to death.
The Spirit of God was poured out on them; The spirit of sonship: as the Son of God, so they became the sons of God, and just as the Savior Christ came into the world to save people at the cost of His life, so they gave their life and their death to people so that they would hear that God is love that there is meaning in the world, that we are dear to God, and that human society must be built on new principles - not on the principles of violence, lies, oppression, but on the basis of love, mutual recognition, on the principles of the sacrifice of the one who knows, and for the sake of who doesn't know yet. Christ said to two disciples: As the Father sent me, so I send you: to death, to life, to victory.
Start church year even in apostolic times it was supposed to be the celebration of the Resurrection of the Savior. Second oldest Christian holiday was day of Pentecost into which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles.
According to legend, on the site of the Zion Upper Room, where the apostles stayed on the day of Pentecost, the first Christian church was built, which survived even during the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 by Roman legionnaires. One fragment from the writings of Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon contains a mention of the feast of the New Testament Pentecost (end of the 2nd century).
In ancient times it was also called feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit. On this day the Church was born. Since that time, the Holy Spirit has been gracefully present in the life of the Church and performs all her Sacraments. The divine service of the holiday was formed and enriched gradually by the works of St. Gregory the Theologian (4th century), St. Roman the Melodist (V - per. half of the VI century), Saints Cosmas of Mayum and John of Damascus (VIII century), Theophan, Metropolitan of Nicaea (IX century) and Emperor Leo (886 - 912).
Day of the Holy Trinity.
Stichira imp. Leo Come to the Trinitarian Deity let's worship marks the beginning of the celebration of Pentecost as a holiday in honor of the Trinitarian God - the Most Holy Trinity. The Lord Himself pointed out to His disciples the special theological meaning of this great New Testament event: When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me (John 15:26).
During the seven weeks of Pentecost, according to the charter, prostrations are not allowed. At the end of this period, three kneeling prayers are read, composed by St. Basil the Great.
But since it is forbidden to make great prostrations on Sunday throughout the year, and the feast of the Holy Trinity always takes place on Sunday, immediately after Divine Liturgy committed Monday Vespers Honoring the Holy Spirit. During this Vespers we kneel for the first time (after the burial of the Shroud).
The dogma of the Holy Trinity is the main dogma in Christianity. He explains the whole work of the redemption of sinful mankind. Everything is based on faith in the Triune God christian doctrine. All of our worship, public and private, begins with the glorification of the Holy Trinity. Prayers to the Holy Trinity accompany a person from his birth to death. The first words that the Church addresses to a newly born baby are “ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit».
In the sacrament of Baptism, the Church resurrects the baby "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the sacrament of Chrismation, the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” is placed on him. From adolescence, the penitent is forgiven for confession of his sins "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
In the name of the Holy Trinity, the sacrament of Marriage is performed. Finally, the priest's prayer at the burial of the deceased: "For Thou art the Resurrection..." ends with an appeal to the Holy Trinity.
The custom of decorating the temple with branches, flowers and grass dates back to ancient times. The Old Testament Pentecost was the feast of the gathering of the firstfruits (Ex 23:16). In the courtyard of the Temple, people brought the first fruits of the harvest and flowers. In the New Testament time, the trees and plants in the temple symbolize the renewal of people by the power of the descended Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is the second of the three great holidays of the ancient Hebrew people, it was established in memory of the giving of the law to the people at Mount Sinai; celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. Pentecost came at the end of the harvest and the gathering of fruits, the first fruits of which were sacrificed in the temple, where people from everywhere gathered in huge masses. On the day of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit took place on the apostles, as a result of which this holiday passed to the Christian church, retaining the same name, sometimes replaced by others - the day of St. Trinity, the descent of the Holy Spirit, etc. From Pentecost, liturgical weeks are counted, with their ordinary gospel and apostolic readings, up to the week of the Publican and the Pharisee (32 weeks in total), before Great Lent.
Lopukhin A.P.
In ancient times, the name meant both the entire period of time separating the feast of Easter from the feast of Pentecost, and the feast in memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, or Pentecost in the proper sense. In the Apostolic Decrees there is a direct commandment - to celebrate Pentecost (book 5, ch. 20); in another place of the same Decrees (book 8, ch. 33), among the days on which slaves must be free from work, Pentecost is also mentioned after Pascha and Ascension.
In the IV century. Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, blessed. Augustine and others often mention the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit under the name of Pentecost. There is a legend that on the site of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, the first Christian church was built, which in the 4th century. was renewed by St. Elena. Fifty days after Easter is already in ancient church were distinguished by some features; so, in these days, as now, it was necessary to read the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Special solemnity attached to the feast of Pentecost the custom of the ancient church to perform baptism on this day over the catechumens.
In the 8th century St. John of Damascus and Cosmas of Mayum composed many hymns in honor of the feast of Pentecost, which the church sings to this day. On the feast of Pentecost, immediately after the liturgy, Vespers is performed, during which the clergy read royal doors, with kneeling, three prayers composed by St. Basil the Great.
On the feast of Pentecost, according to custom, churches and houses of believers are decorated with trees, grass and flowers. This represents the beginnings of a renewed spring, but at the same time indicates the renewal of people by the power of the descended Holy Spirit.
Dedicating the fiftieth day after Pascha to the memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the Holy Church on the following day (Monday) especially glorifies the Most Holy Spirit.
Those who do not confess the Most Holy Trinity cannot have a part in the saving actions of Her Persons and, therefore, receive salvation.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible, who betrayed us the confession of Himself!
HOLY PENTECOST
Troparion, tone 8
Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, / Who are the wise catchers of appearances, /
sending down on them the Holy Spirit, / and by them catch the world, /
Glory to Thee, love of mankind.
Kontakion, tone 8
When the tongues merged, / the Most High divided the languages, /
when you spread out tongues of fire, / in union the whole call, /
and in accordance we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.
magnificence
We magnify Thee, / Life-Giver Christ, / and honor Your All-Holy Spirit, /
Thou hast sent him from the Father / Thy divine disciple.
Honorer, voice 4
Apostles, the descent of the Comforter is sighted, surprised, /
how the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of fiery tongues.
