The Fiftieth Day after Pascha

The Great Feast of Pentecost

June 19, 2016

Hymns of the Day

Troparion of Pentecost – Tone 8

Most blessed art thou O Christ our God, who when thou hast made the fishermen most wise, did send down upon them the Holy Spirit; and by them didst draw the world into thy net, O Lord of mercy, glory to thee.

Kontakion of Pentecost – Tone 8

When the High One descended, confusing tongues, He divided the nations. And when He distributed the fiery tongues He called all to one unity. Wherefore, in unison we glorify the most Holy Spirit.

Epistle – Acts 2:1-11

When the day of Pentecost had come, the Disciples were all together in one place.  And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.  And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.  And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?  Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

Gospel – John 7:37-52; 8:12

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’”  Now this He said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  When they heard these words, many of the people said, “This is really the prophet.”  Others said, “This is the Christ.”  But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”  So there was a division among the people over Him.  Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”  The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”  The Pharisees answered them, “Are you led astray, you also?  Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd, who do not know the Law, are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our Law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”  They replied, “Are you from Galilee too?  Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee.”  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Feast of Holy Pentecost

The Feast of Holy Pentecost is celebrated each year on the fiftieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter) and ten days after the Feast of the Ascension of Christ. The Feast is always celebrated on a Sunday.

The Feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, a feast of the Jewish tradition. It also celebrates the establishment of the Church through the preaching of the Apostles and the baptism of the thousands who on that day believed in the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Feast is also seen as the culmination of the revelation of the Holy Trinity.

Orthodox Christian Celebration of the Feast of Pentecost

This great Feast of the Church is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom on the Sunday that is the fiftieth day after the celebration of Pascha. The Liturgy is conducted on the day of the Feast, and is preceded the evening before by a Great Vespers service and on the morning of the Feast by the Matins service. On the day of the Feast a Vespers service is conducted that includes the kneeling prayers. These prayers mark the beginning of the practice of kneeling during the Liturgy at the time when the holy gifts of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. The practice of kneeling has been suspended during the Paschal season. On the Monday following the Feast, the Divine Liturgy is conducted in commemoration of the All-holy and Life-creating and All-powerful Spirit, Who is God, and One of the Trinity, and of one honor and one essence and one glory with the Father and the Son (From the Synaxarion of the Feast).

[www.goarch.org]