Day of the Holy Spirit – Kommersant

The day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, according to the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church since the time of St. Sergius, hegumen of Radonezh (XIV century), is celebrated on the second day of Pentecost, when the icon of the Holy Trinity is brought to the center of the church. If at the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, quietly and secretly, then on Pentecost the sending of the Holy Spirit was accompanied loudly and powerfully. The apostles in Jerusalem saw fiery flames. And this was a visible sign of the presence and action of God, when God endows the disciples of Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faith, mercy, temperance (Gal. 5: 22-23). Never before has the Holy Spirit manifested Himself in the world with such power as the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. And this meant that the apostles were called to the greatest task – to preach the Risen Christ. To do this, they needed to disperse the darkness of pagan obscurantism and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. They had a hard fight with the devil, as the father of lies. Through the fiery flames they receive the gift of knowledge of the languages ​​and dialects of the peoples, to whom they will soon turn their word filled with action, the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were faced with the task of changing the worldview of all mankind and thus filling the course of human history “Behold, I am making all things new…” (Rev. 21:5). The Apostle Paul addresses us: “Don’t you know that the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Therefore, if we diligently fulfill the commandments of God, then the Holy Spirit will also dwell in us. The grace of the Holy Spirit will change our spirit, soul and body. The precious gifts of the Holy Spirit will burn everything impure in us, every fear and fear. Quiet fellowship with the Holy Spirit will be for all of us the goal of life, and we will stand before God as the abode of the Holy Spirit! I sincerely congratulate you on the day of the Holy Spirit!

Metropolitan of Belgorod and Starooskolsky John