Pentecost - what is it? Pentecost: what do we celebrate?

On this day more than two thousand years ago there was an event, equal to which it is difficult to find in the entire history of mankind. On this day the disciples of Christ descended to the Holy Spirit and the foundation of the future Church of Christ. Exactly fifty days separated this event from the day when, correcting death, the Teacher rebelled from their coffin. In memory of this holiday is established. His name is Pentecost. What it is?

Days spent with students

The Holy Gospel narrates that after the resurrection of His own from the dead, Jesus Christ remained among his disciples for forty days. He repeatedly appeared to them, staying in a new, non-material body, which in the future will be acquired by all who have acquired eternal life. At the end of forty days the Savior ascended to heaven, performing this in the sight of his disciples. He made them witnesses of a miracle in order to even more brighten the faith in their hearts.

Leaving them until the time of one, Christ commanded his disciples to endlessly stay in Jerusalem, to pray and wait for His messenger, the comforter - the Holy Spirit. The apostles, with all the warmth of accepting Master's words into their hearts, nevertheless could not quite clearly understand what the Holy Spirit is. Nevertheless, all the following days they were filled with a feeling of approaching joy.

The miracle that happened in the Zion chamber

The book "Acts of the Apostles" tells how they gathered together daily in a special room - the Zion room. It was under this name that it entered the New Testament. Nearby was the house of the youngest and favorite disciple of Jesus - the Apostle John. On the day of His crucifixion, the Savior entrusted him with the care of His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since then, She has been constantly at his house.

Having gathered together with the Most-holy Virgin and the Apostle John, the disciples of Christ indulged in prayers and reading of the Holy Scripture. This went on for ten days, until what Jesus predicted before His ascension was accomplished. In the New Testament, the scene of the descent into the Apostles of the Holy Spirit is described very vividly and emotionally. When this happened, it is not difficult to calculate. It is known that the Lord ascended on the fortieth day after His Resurrection. We add here ten days, which the apostles spent in the Zion room, and we will get fifty - Pentecost!

What is it and how it happened, we learn in detail from the book "Acts of the Apostles". It says that on the day of the Jewish harvest of the first harvest, at three o'clock in the afternoon, suddenly there was a loud noise in the air, as is the case during the hurricane, and the tongues of fire lit up the room. But, it was not an ordinary fire, but the one that comes now before the Passover at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Brightly shining, he did not burn, and did not cause pain. It was not a real fire. Shining over the heads of the astonished miracles of the apostles, the tongues of flame were insinuated on each of them.

The Birth of the Christian Church

The action of Grace, descended on them with the Holy Spirit, immediately made itself felt. The apostles felt an incredible surge of strength and energy. They were filled with a feeling of love for God and people, and a readiness to give everything to the apostolic ministry. To fulfill this, each of them miraculously vouchsafed the gift of speaking in tongues, hitherto unknown to him, which enabled him to carry the word of God to different nations and countries.

The apostles, united by the grace of God, who bore them, showed themselves a new one church. Therefore, the Day of Pentecost is considered to be the birthday of the Christian Church. From that day on, an endless stream of people's souls flowed into its maternal embrace. And it was from this day that the apostles began their ministry, bringing to the people the light of Divine truth.

The meaning of the feast of the Holy Trinity - Pentecost

The feast of Pentecost is one of the most important in Orthodoxy. It is close in importance to such solemn days as Easter and Christmas. This is not accidental, because the concept of the Holy Trinity is the basis of the Christian faith. In 381 the Church Council, held in Constantinople, accepted the dogma of the three divine hypostases: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. From these days, and a holiday was established, which we now call the Trinity - Pentecost. What it is, was clearly and clearly formulated in the documents of the Council, and it is they who are guided to the present day.

Since this holiday is the birthday of our church, it is always celebrated with special joy. It has become a tradition to prepare treats on this day and invite relatives and friends to the table. Everyone knows the custom of decorating on the day of Pentecost houses and interior rooms of churches with flowers and birch branches. By the way, not necessarily birch. In some places, bunches of fragrant herbs, such as sage or lovage, are used. This is an ancient custom. It is based on the fact that God in His triunity brought life, which in this case is symbolized by green branches of trees and bunches of grass.

Church service on this holiday

The service of Pentecost is always held in churches solemnly, and at the same time joyful. On this day the whole clergy appears in vestments of green color. It is unusually organically combined with the greenery of the birch trees decorating the room. Parishioners stand holding flowers and bouquets from the same birch branches in their hands, and when at the end of the service they sprinkle them over their heads for sprinkling, the temple turns into a living spring grove.

Pentecost Pentecost

Another festive tradition is connected with this holiday. In the Orthodox Church it is customary to celebrate the day, which is called the Pentecostal Pentecost, that is, half of those days that separate the Bright Resurrection from the day of the Holy Trinity. The name of the holiday goes back to the Gospel times. In the New Testament, we read how the Lord in the last year of His earthly life, entered the church and taught there on the day of the repose of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles. The gospel shows that all those present were amazed at the depth and wisdom of his words. In honor of this teaching, the feast of the Pentecostal Pentecost is established. He prepares us for the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrew holiday roots

It is interesting to note that there is a Jewish holiday - the Old Testament Pentecost. What it is? The fact is that among the ancient Jews there was a custom on the fiftieth day after their exodus from Egypt (the Jewish Passover) to celebrate the holiday of the first fruits of the harvest of wheat. Mention of him is found in many ancient authors. For example, Josephus, in his writings, calls him Pentecost. Under the same title, it appears in the writings of many other Greek and Byzantine authors.

This holiday was established in honor of the fact that on this day of liberation from Egyptian slavery the Jewish people received on the mountain Sinai stone tablets with the ten commandments inscribed on them. They began to be called the Zion law, and were the starting point for creating the religious and legal basis for the future state. Of all the Orthodox holidays that are celebrated today, only two have Old Testament roots, this is Easter and Holy Pentecost.

Celebration in the first centuries of Christianity

Up to now, there has been a lot of evidence of how this day was celebrated in the first centuries of Christianity. Of particular interest are the records of a pilgrim from Western Europe, written in the IV century. In them she talks about how the All-Night Vigil was held on Friday in the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem, as the Bishop of the Gospel read, and when dawn began, everyone went to another church-the main church, in which the sermon lasted until the third hour of the day.

But this was not yet the end of the service, for after a short rest everyone led by the bishop went to Zion, where excerpts from the "Acts of the Apostles" were read, telling of the descent of the Holy Spirit to the apostles. Ended that day, the service on the Mount of Olives, in the place where the Savior ascended. Such a lengthy service, attended by not only Christians who lived in Palestine, but also pilgrims from distant countries, speaks of the high status of this holiday and the understanding of the attendees of the significance of the event.