Homily on the Day of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost)
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate all of you on the feast of Pentecost, on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, on the day of the manifestation of the Consubstantial and Indivisible Holy Trinity!
On the day of Pascha, the Lord granted His disciples a gift from His Spirit. This was not yet the fullness of that gift; nevertheless, it foreshadowed today's feast, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire and thereby transformed them, remade them, leavened them anew, made them new beings, participants in a new life, and brought them — and through them all of us — into the Kingdom of God on earth.
It is noteworthy to recall the Resurrection of Christ. The Apostles were sitting in a small locked room, “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19), discussing the disappearance of the body from the tomb. Suddenly Christ passed through the locked doors and gave them the Life-Giving Spirit, who delivers them from their sins. By His breath Christ dispelled the stale air of that room. In reality, this entire world is one vast stale room in which mankind lives under the oppression of death, bound by space and time, shackled by corruption and decay. Wherever a person goes, he carries destruction and corruption with him.
Man, living within this little room, is compelled to spend his life struggling for a tiny piece of land upon which he dwells. It is no accident that humanity, ever since the Fall, has occupied itself with divisions. First, husband and wife became divided, becoming ashamed before one another; the husband shifted the blame onto the wife, and the wife became estranged from her husband. This division continued further: brother rose against brother. After the Flood came races; after the Tower of Babel came nations, as a great judgment of God. Man began to fight over borders, resources, and wealth. From this arise the wars, hatred, and cruelty that reign in the world. Nations were established by God as a protection against a greater evil — the united rebellion of mankind against God. Yet nations did not allow man fully to recognize in another human being his brother, who is likewise created in the image of God and who is likewise called to become a child of the Heavenly Father.
And into this stale atmosphere bursts the hurricane of the Holy Spirit, who came through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who entreated the Father to give mankind the Comforter: “But when the Comforter comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness concerning Me” (John 15:26).
The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us. Like a river of grace descending from heaven, He washes away the defilement of sin, cleanses impurity, and fills us with strength and life. He drives out from us the foul odor of self-love, nationalism, and selfishness. The Holy Spirit makes human beings children of one Father, members of one people speaking many different languages.
The Holy Spirit granted the gift of Pentecost — the gift of many tongues — as the overcoming of the division of Babel. This gift consists in the proclamation, in many languages, of one and the same message concerning the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, who did not remain in transcendent remoteness, but came to us, because through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, we have access to the Father.
We are no longer Russians, Tatars, Jews, or Chechens, but Orthodox Christians — the people of God, glorifying the one God! Throughout the entire world there resounds a many-voiced yet single hymn in honor of the Holy Trinity. This wondrous unity is not created by man but by God. God creates the great unity of mankind. He overcomes the divisions and fragmentation that once served a useful purpose in restraining humanity's march toward Satan, but which became harmful when they began to hinder the spread of the gospel.
Today, on the feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of our Mother, the Orthodox Church, which was born in the fire of the Holy Spirit, in the great Upper Room on Mount Zion. The Orthodox Church, embracing all nations within herself, gathers them together for the greatest of journeys, as the Lord foretold: “He who believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). The Church gathers us to Christ. Through Baptism we enter into unity with Christ; we are transformed according to Christ and become Christ-like through the power of the Holy Spirit, who crowns us and leads us out of this world.
Thereafter we arrive at the gathering place, where we await those who were born later and labored longer in order to be transformed. And when our entire army has assembled together, the Holy Spirit will take us to our homeland. We shall flee to Heaven. Our homeland lies beyond the cosmos, where God dwells. We shall find our homeland there, where God the Father gathers to Himself those who have been united together, regardless of skin color, origin, wealth, or sinful past—provided only that a person has changed, been transformed, and become fragrant with the Life-Giving Spirit; provided only that he has blossomed.
The Holy Spirit is the source of all life and all transformation. To Him belongs the “responsibility,” if one may so speak, for every salvation, because whoever is found worthy to receive His breath swiftly rises from the earth, grows wings, and ascends to Heaven.
This Spirit, who gives wings and lifts us on high, has come to us today, and we stand before Him awaiting His breath. He is already with us, for in the Mystery of Chrismation we received the Spirit. We partake of the Holy Spirit and were sealed by Him on the day when we were baptized and received His seal. Yet we pray that He may act within us, that He may come and pitch His tent within us. Just as God once dwelt among Israel in the Tabernacle, so may the Holy Spirit enter into our hearts and establish His dwelling there.
And may we all become singers in the great choir whose steward, conductor, and guide is the Holy Spirit, who leads us and enables us to sing to God the Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. In the Holy Spirit we have come to know the mystery of the Trinity; through Him we are sanctified, partake of Holy Communion, and are united with the angels. The Holy Spirit is the source of life both for angels and for men.
May none of us remain spiritually dead. May the Holy Spirit breathe upon us and drive out everything dead from our souls and our bodies. And may it be that on the day of our great gathering, when the Lord comes to assemble His own, the Holy Spirit will raise us up, transform us, and make us alive, so that we may live forever in the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reign eternally — the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, whom we praise, whom we bless, whom we thank, whom we magnify morning, noon, and evening, and before whom, bending the knee, we offer our prayers of thanksgiving.
May the Almighty Lord help us in this!
May the Lord preserve you!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us. Like a river of grace descending from heaven, He washes away the defilement of sin, cleanses impurity, and fills us with strength and life. He drives out from us the foul odor of self-love, nationalism, and selfishness. The Holy Spirit makes human beings children of one Father, members of one people speaking many different languages.
The Holy Spirit granted the gift of Pentecost — the gift of many tongues — as the overcoming of the division of Babel. This gift consists in the proclamation, in many languages, of one and the same message concerning the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, who did not remain in transcendent remoteness, but came to us, because through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, we have access to the Father.
We are no longer Russians, Tatars, Jews, or Chechens, but Orthodox Christians — the people of God, glorifying the one God! Throughout the entire world there resounds a many-voiced yet single hymn in honor of the Holy Trinity. This wondrous unity is not created by man but by God. God creates the great unity of mankind. He overcomes the divisions and fragmentation that once served a useful purpose in restraining humanity's march toward Satan, but which became harmful when they began to hinder the spread of the gospel.
Today, on the feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of our Mother, the Orthodox Church, which was born in the fire of the Holy Spirit, in the great Upper Room on Mount Zion. The Orthodox Church, embracing all nations within herself, gathers them together for the greatest of journeys, as the Lord foretold: “He who believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). The Church gathers us to Christ. Through Baptism we enter into unity with Christ; we are transformed according to Christ and become Christ-like through the power of the Holy Spirit, who crowns us and leads us out of this world.
Thereafter we arrive at the gathering place, where we await those who were born later and labored longer in order to be transformed. And when our entire army has assembled together, the Holy Spirit will take us to our homeland. We shall flee to Heaven. Our homeland lies beyond the cosmos, where God dwells. We shall find our homeland there, where God the Father gathers to Himself those who have been united together, regardless of skin color, origin, wealth, or sinful past—provided only that a person has changed, been transformed, and become fragrant with the Life-Giving Spirit; provided only that he has blossomed.
The Holy Spirit is the source of all life and all transformation. To Him belongs the “responsibility,” if one may so speak, for every salvation, because whoever is found worthy to receive His breath swiftly rises from the earth, grows wings, and ascends to Heaven.
This Spirit, who gives wings and lifts us on high, has come to us today, and we stand before Him awaiting His breath. He is already with us, for in the Mystery of Chrismation we received the Spirit. We partake of the Holy Spirit and were sealed by Him on the day when we were baptized and received His seal. Yet we pray that He may act within us, that He may come and pitch His tent within us. Just as God once dwelt among Israel in the Tabernacle, so may the Holy Spirit enter into our hearts and establish His dwelling there.
And may we all become singers in the great choir whose steward, conductor, and guide is the Holy Spirit, who leads us and enables us to sing to God the Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. In the Holy Spirit we have come to know the mystery of the Trinity; through Him we are sanctified, partake of Holy Communion, and are united with the angels. The Holy Spirit is the source of life both for angels and for men.
May none of us remain spiritually dead. May the Holy Spirit breathe upon us and drive out everything dead from our souls and our bodies. And may it be that on the day of our great gathering, when the Lord comes to assemble His own, the Holy Spirit will raise us up, transform us, and make us alive, so that we may live forever in the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reign eternally — the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, whom we praise, whom we bless, whom we thank, whom we magnify morning, noon, and evening, and before whom, bending the knee, we offer our prayers of thanksgiving.
May the Almighty Lord help us in this!
May the Lord preserve you!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
