Homily Three for the Feast of Pentecost
By St. John of Kronstadt
By St. John of Kronstadt
"We hymn the Trinity of one essence, the Father and the Son, with the Holy Spirit: for so did all the Prophets and Apostles and Martyrs preach."
We celebrate one of the greatest events in the world and in the Christian Church, an event that is both miraculous and also salvific and joyful for the entire Christian world; namely, we celebrate the descent upon the Apostles of the Holy Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, sent down from God the Father by the Son of God Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven.
He (Christ) said to His disciples before His suffering: "I go to Him that sent Me... But because I have told you this, your hearts are filled with sorrow. But I tell you the truth, It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:5–7). The Almighty and Life-giving Spirit of God, co-essential and co-enthroned with the Father and the Son, solemnly and truly descended upon the Disciples of the Lord, and in their persons upon the Christian Church, for the assimilation by men of the great work of redemption accomplished by the Son of God, for the rebirth by the fire of the Holy Spirit of the Apostles and all who were with them, for the communication to them of the gift of invincible courage and strength, and the gift of speaking in all languages, the gift of Divine love, all-embracing and inseparable, such love as the Lord Jesus Christ had for men, who laid down His life for men. The Holy Spirit filled the Apostles with the gift of wisdom, the power to regenerate men from the old creation into the new through faith in Jesus Christ and by means of preaching and the mysteries – baptism, chrismation, the sacred rite of the Body and Blood of Christ. He gave them and their successors, the bishops, the power and wisdom to bind and loose the sins of men, to clarify the faith and the teaching of the faith, to write divinely-wise Gospels and Epistles, to convene Synods for clarifying the God-revealed teaching and exposing heresies and schisms, to establish rules of faith and conduct, to consecrate churches and ordain people to sacred offices, and in general to improve the newly founded Church of Christ. The Holy Spirit revealed Himself in the world in wondrous Divine actions in all the greatness of His Divinity, as the Creator and Maker of human nature, as the Self-existent Life and Source of life for all rational creatures, as the Source of wisdom and power.
This is the great feast that the Holy Orthodox Church is now celebrating throughout the world!
This day is called the feast of Pentecost, because the Holy Spirit descended by the will of God the Father and by the intercession of Christ God on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ God from the dead. It is also called the feast of the Holy Trinity, because the Holy Trinity shone forth clearly on this day: the Father, who sent His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; the Son, who requested the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon His chosen ones, thereby laying a firm foundation for His Church, which the gates of hades will not prevail against (Matthew 16:18).
What wondrous, saving effects the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles produced are shown by the Book of Acts of the Apostles and the infallible history of the Church. The Apostles carried the holy gospel to all ends of the world of that time, preaching it to all nations and reviving the world with their preaching and miracles - and with what faith and love, with what selflessness, with what invincible power they carried the preaching of Christ throughout the world! They conquered and subdued scholars, philosophers, rhetoricians, kings and kingdoms to Christ - the entire universe, subdued them with the meekness and power of their preaching and countless miracles. With joy they endured torment and death for Christ and His teaching, for the sake of future immortal life and for the salvation of believers. They so valued the truth of Christ's teaching that, with all their love for people, they were ready to excommunicate from the Church anyone who would teach differently than they taught according to the revelation of God. "If we, or an angel from heaven, teach you differently than we have preached, let him be anathema" (Gal. 1:8–9). And for the truth of God-revealed teaching they were always ready to die. Meanwhile, at the present time, many who call themselves Christians have become so disbelieving and have so debased the word of God that they have considered it a simple human word, like Count Tolstoy and his comrades, and they dare to distort it according to their wild understanding and taste, as they would never dare to do with the word of an earthly Tsar or writer, even Pushkin or someone else - and they teach completely differently than the Holy Gospel teaches.
Further, the miraculous and saving actions of the Holy Spirit were expressed in the most diverse gifts to His believers: in the gift of prophecy, miracles, interpretation of scripture, in the gift of tongues, all kinds of healing, especially in the selfless love of believers for one another, a love that considered everything common and that distributed the essential needs according to the needs of each. Moreover, the sustaining actions of the Holy Spirit have been expressed in the unanimous and concordant gatherings of the Holy Fathers at the ecumenical and local synods, during which the chaff of harmful heretical teachings was swept away as with a shovel, restoring the consensus of the faithful along with the desired peace of the entire Church. To this day, the Orthodox Church steadfastly preserves the truths of the teachings of faith and has not compromised a single dogma, to its honor and glory and for the salvation of its children.
Then, the wondrous actions of the Holy Spirit in the Church of God were expressed in the marvelous wisdom of the Holy Fathers – the ecclesiastical orators – particularly in the 4th century, such as Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, and many other ecclesiastical orators of the following centuries; especially in the liturgical hymns of our Church and in the countless canons that adorn its worship; in these, the greatest spiritual wisdom and boundless emotion are manifested, touching the depths of every believing soul.
And what can be said about the gracious deeds of the Holy Spirit, about the invincible strength and courage in the exploits of countless confessors and martyrs for the faith, among whom were many young children; who joyfully accepted every torture and amazed even the most hardened of tormentors with their courage and patience? What can be said about the feats of the venerable men and women who mortified all the passions of flesh and spirit through prayers, vigilance, fasting, purity, humility, kindness, and patience? They, in the flesh, resembled angels and burned with fervent love for God, like Cherubim and Seraphim, and in them Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, dwelled eternally.
These are the actions of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Church of Christ, after the descent upon the Apostles and in subsequent times.
I turn to the present time. Is there a manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in believers today? Without a doubt, there is, but little. The gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit are also now manifested in Christian love and selflessness for the benefit of one's neighbor in various charitable institutions, this love was especially manifested in former wars - in the diligent care of doctors and nurses for wounded and sick soldiers, in general, in selfless deeds for the good of neighbors, the Tsar and the Fatherland, in generous benefits to those who suffered from fires, floods, famine, and epidemic diseases; in general, in various selfless services to God and neighbors. The gifts of the Spirit of God are also manifested today in the miraculous power of prayer in the multitude of healings of all kinds of sick people.
That is one side. But on the other side, never before has unbelief and mockery of faith and the Holy Church so taken hold of the so-called intelligentsia as now; never has rapacity so boldly laid its hand on the property of others as now; never has the squandering of the property acquired by ancestors been so insane as now; never have marriages been so pushed around and trampled upon as now; never has the integrity of physical and spiritual nature been valued so low as now; never has drunkenness been so strong as in our civilized age.
What can correct us? O Holy Spirit, Heavenly King, breathe repentance with tenderness into those who have sinned; come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
