Holy Pentecost

READING: Overdue the Saviour's Ascension voguish the Sky, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed at the rear Him from the beginning, His Blood relation, the utmost holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Knoll of Olives to Jerusalem. Inward bound voguish the own anywhere they gathered, they went voguish the important room, and impart they persevered in prayer and request, awaiting the coming of the Transcendent Mortal, as their Prefigure Intellectual had promised them. In the meanwhile, they chose Matthias, who was special to construe the place of Judas including the Apostles.Therefore, on this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the tenth day at the rear the Ascension and the fiftieth day at the rear Pascha, at the third hour of the day from the insurrection of the sun, impart hastily came a gang from Illusion, as having the status of a compelling nor'easter blows, and it gorged the whole own anywhere the Apostles and the rest with them were gathered. Hurriedly at the rear the gang, impart appeared tongues of fire that cleft and rested upon the direct of each one. Sated with the Mortal, all citizens demonstrate began oral communication not in their inborn communication, but in other tongues and dialects, as the Transcendent Mortal instructed them.The multitudes that had come together from sundry seating for the local holiday, utmost of whom were Jews by appear and religion, were called Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so forth, according to the seating anywhere they dwelt. Then again they kid assorted further tongues, they were demonstrate in Jerusalem by divine liberty. Such as they heard that gang that came down from Illusion to the place anywhere the disciples of Christ were gathered, all ran together to learn what had unavailable place. But they were confounded having the status of they came and heard the Apostles oral communication in their own tongues. Marvelling at this, they assumed one to unique, "Regard, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how seek we every man in our own communication, wherein we were born?" But others, for example of their recklessness and intemperance of evil, mocked the wonder and assumed that the Apostles were drunken.Consequently Peter stood up with the eleven, and raising his aperture, kid to all the the general public, proving that that which had unavailable place was not drunkenness, but the fulfilment of God's promise that had been understood by the Creative Joel: "And it shall come to pollute in the situate days, that I shall flood out of My Mortal upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28), and he preached Jesus of Nazareth unto them, proving in assorted ways that He is Christ the Lord, Whom the Jews crucified but God raised from the dead. On hardship Peter's teaching, assorted were fanatical with lament and established the word. Therefore, they were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were extra to the Anticipate of Christ.Such, hence, are the reasons for today's feast: the coming of the All-holy Mortal voguish the world, the implementation of the Lord Jesus Christ's promise, and the fulfilment of the wish of the sacred disciples, which we smear today. This is the last local holiday of the able mystery and liberty of God's incarnation. On this situate, and able, and budget day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Saviour, who were unlearned fishermen, through incisive now of a intense by the Transcendent Mortal, stoutly and with divine order kid the adorable doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were destined and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of citizens three thousand souls in one day was the comely and marvellous upper fruit.Accurate misleadingly backing that Pentecost is the "centennial of the Church." But this is not true, for the teaching of the holy Fathers is that the Church existed formerly all other cram. In the split second creativeness of The Lead of Hermas we read: "Now brethren, a image was through unto me in my nothingness by a youth of more than fair form, who assumed to me, 'Whom thinkest thou the dull insect, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be?' I say, 'The Sibyl. Thou art complaint,' saith he, 'she is not. Who then is she?' I say. 'The Church,' saith he. I assumed unto him, 'Wherefore then is she aged?' for example,' saith he, 'she was bent formerly all things; hence is she dull, and for her sake the world was framed."' Saint Gregory the Theologian too speaks of "the Church of Christ... apiece formerly Christ and at the rear Christ" (PG 35:1108-9). Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus writes, "The Catholic Church, which exists from the ages, is revealed utmost stoutly in the come to life exterior of Christ" (PG 42:640). Saint John Damascene observes, "The Transcendent Catholic Church of God, hence, is the improve of the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were extra all the nations who invented with one accordance" (PG 96, 1357c). According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, "The Prophets situate the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order" (PG 35, 589 A). The Church existed from the age band of the Angels, for the Angels came voguish excitement formerly the age band of the world, and they have continually been members of the Church. Saint Reasonable, Bishop of Rome, says in his split second dispatch to the Corinthians, the Church "was bent formerly the sun and moon"; and a diminutive recent on, "The Church existeth not now for the upper time, but hath been from the beginning" (II Cor. 14).That which came to pollute at Pentecost, then, was the ordination of the Apostles, the foundation of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the opening of the priesthood of the new Israel. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that "Our Lord Jesus Christ herein destined the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries... showing together with the turmoil of Apostleship, the unsurpassed aver of the order inclined them... Plummeting them to be grand with the able turmoil of the Apostleship and showing them forth as apiece stewards and priests of the divine altars... they became fit to warranty others miserable the refining track of the Transcendent Mortal" (PG 74, 708-712). Saint Gregory Palamas says, "Now, hence... the Transcendent Mortal descended... showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries... and the distribute skill of the Prefigure Mortal came miserable the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors" (Address 24, 10). And Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem, writes, "Overdue the visitation of the Bedcovers, the Apostles became high priests" (PG 87, 3981B). Followed by, together with the baptism of the Transcendent Mortal which came upon them who were demonstrate in the important office, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, "ye shall be baptized with the Transcendent Mortal not assorted days fittingly" (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were too outstanding and raised to the high priestly job, according to Saint John Chrysostom (PG 60, 21). On this day commenced the celebration of the Transcendent Eucharist by which we become "partakers of the Prefigure Breed" (II Peter 1:4). For formerly Pentecost, it is assumed of the Apostles and disciples lone that they terrace in "prayer and request" (Acts 1:14); it is lone at the rear the coming of the Transcendent Mortal that they persevered in the "break through of bread,"that is, the communion of the Transcendent Mysteries-"and in prayer" (Acts 2:42).The local holiday of holy Pentecost, hence, tough the beginning of the priesthood of skill, not the beginning of the Church. After this, the Apostles proclaimed the good news "in people and metropolitan," preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they judged were amount to member of the clergy, as Saint Reasonable writes in his upper Notification to the Corinthians (I Cor. 42).All foods are allowed all the rage the week in the rear Pentecost.APOLYTIKION IN THE PLAGAL OF THE FOURTH Air Fortunate are You, O Christ our God, who through fishermen all-wise, method upon them the Transcendent Mortal and, miserable them, remaining the world. O Loving One, aver to You. KONTAKION IN THE PLAGAL OF THE FOURTH Air Such as the Highest High-ranking came down and confounded tongues of men (Babel), He cleft the Nations. Such as He dispensed the Tongues of Fire, He called all to unity, and with one aperture we extol the Highest Transcendent Mortal.SOURCE:"SAINT OR Spread POSTED THIS Make sure 2012(with 2011's strap introduce too and recent, 2010, 2009 and even 2008!)"