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In the Church’s annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is “the last and great day.” It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end—the achievement and fulfilment—of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the “birthday” of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.
This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the “day without evening” of God’s eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to “appropriate” these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.
THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST
The all-night Vigil service begins with a solemn invitation:
“Let us celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit,
The appointed day of promise, and the fulfillment of hope,
The mystery which is as great as it is precious.”
In the coming of the Spirit, the very essence of the Church is revealed:
“The Holy Spirit provides all,
Overflows with prophecy, fulfils the priesthood,
Has taught wisdom to illiterates, has revealed fishermen as theologians,
He brings together the whole council of the Church.”
In the three readings of the Old Testament (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29; Joel 2:23-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28) we hear the prophecies concerning the Holy Spirit. We are taught that the entire history of mankind was directed towards the day on which God “would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.” This day has come! All hope, all promises, all expectations have been fulfilled. At the end of the Aposticha hymns, for the first time since Easter, we sing the hymn: “O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth...,” the one with which we inaugurate all our services, all prayers, which is, as it were, the life-breath of the Church, and whose coming to us, whose “descent” upon us in this festal Vigil, is indeed the very experience of the Holy Spirit “coming and abiding in us.”
Having reached its climax, the Vigil continues as an explosion of joy and light for “verily the light of the Comforter has come and illumined the world.” In the Gospel reading (John 20:19-23) the feast is interpreted to us as the feast of the Church, of her divine nature, power and authority. The Lord sends His disciples into the world, as He Himself was sent by His Father. Later, in the antiphons of the Liturgy, we proclaim the universality of the apostles’ preaching, the cosmical significance of the feast, the sanctification of the whole world, the true manifestation of God’s Kingdom.
THE VESPERS OF PENTECOST
The liturgical peculiarity of Pentecost is a very special Vespers of the day itself. Usually, this service follows immediately the Divine Liturgy, is “added” to it as its own fulfilment. The service begins as a solemn “summing up” of the entire celebration, as its liturgical synthesis. We hold flowers in our hands symbolizing the joy of the eternal spring, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit. After the festal Entrance, this joy reaches its climax in the singing of the Great Prokeimenon:
“Who is so great a God as our God?”
Then, having reached this climax, we are invited to kneel. This is our first kneeling since Easter. It signifies that after these fifty days of Paschal joy and fulness, of experiencing the Kingdom of God, the Church now is about to begin her pilgrimage through time and history. It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our effort towards fulfilment and salvation.
All this is revealed in the three prayers that the celebrant reads now as we all kneel and listen to him. In the first prayer, we bring to God our repentance, our increased appeal for the forgiveness of sins, the first condition for entering into the Kingdom of God.
In the second prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to teach us to pray and to follow the true path in the dark and difficult night of our earthly existence. Finally, in the third prayer, we remember all those who have achieved their earthly journey, but who are united with us in the eternal God of Love.
The joy of Easter has been completed and we again have to wait for the dawn of the Eternal Day. Yet, knowing our weakness, and humbling ourselves by kneeling, we also know the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit who has come. We know that God is with us, that in Him is our victory.
Thus is completed the feast of Pentecost and we enter “the ordinary time” of the year. Yet, every Sunday now will be called “after Pentecost”—and this means that it is from the power and light of these fifty days that we shall receive our own power, the Divine help in our daily struggle. At Pentecost, we decorate our churches with flowers and green branches—for the Church “never grows old, but is always young.” It is an evergreen, ever-living Tree of grace and life, of joy and comfort. For the Holy Spirit—“the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life—comes and abides in us, and cleanses us from all impurity,” and fills our life with meaning, love, faith and hope.
Troparion — Tone 8
Blessed are You O Christ Our God / You have revealed the fishermen as most wise / by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit / through them You drew the world into Your net / O Lover of Man, Glory to You!
Kontakion — Tone 8
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, / He divided the nations; / But when he distributed the tongues of fire / He called all to unity. / Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit!
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The Hieromartyr Dorotheus was bishop of the Phoenician city of Tyre, during the time of the persecution against Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Heeding the words of the Gospel (Mt.10:23), the saint withdrew from Tyre and hid from the persecutors. He returned to Tyre during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great (306-337, May 21), again occupying the bishop’s throne he guided his flock for more than fifty years and converted many of the pagans to Christianity. When the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) began openly persecuting Christians, Saint Dorotheus was already over 100 years old. He withdrew from Tyre to the Myzean city of Udum (present day Bulgarian Varna). Delegates of the emperor arrested him there for his refusal to offer sacrifice to idols. They began to torture the holy Elder, and under torture, he surrendered his soul to the Lord (+ ca. 362) at the age of 107.
Some ascribe to Saint Dorotheus the compilation of a work, “The Synopsis”, a collection of sayings, and including the lives of the holy prophets and apostles.
Troparion — Tone 4
O Dorotheus, wise hierarch of Christ, / you received the light of wisdom as a gift from the Father of lights. / You increased the talents given to you / and in your old age contested beyond the bounds of nature. / And now, O Hieromartyr, you even intercede for our souls!
Kontakion — Tone 3
By preaching the Catholic Faith, O Hieromartyr, / you offered yourself as a godly and holy gift. / First you excelled in asceticism / and then in the contest of martyrdom, / attaining the victor’s prize from Christ our God!
Kontakion — Tone 5
You were resplendent, O blessed Dorotheus, / with virtues brighter than the sun and with your sufferings! / You shine forth and enlighten the land, / dispelling the darkness of idolatry and base heresy. / Therefore, we celebrate your memory with splendour!
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Gomidas (or Cosma) was born in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) around the year 1656.
After being married at the age of 20, he was ordained a priest for the Armenian Church.
Gomidas was assigned to a parish south of Constantinople and became a leader in the movement which sought to reunite the Armenian Church with the Church of Rome. He and his family were officially received into communion with the Roman Catholic Church in 1696.
Soon, other priests and faithful followed the example of Gomidas and his family, which made him an object of scorn and derision among those who continued to maintain the independence of the Armenian Church.
The patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church accused Gomidas of being a “Frank” (a term that could mean either a Roman Catholic Christian or foreigner) and an enemy of the state. After being imprisoned for several months—after which friends were able to purchase his freedom—he was rearrested and executed on November 5, 1707.
Because no Catholic priest came forward to bury him, he was buried by Orthodox priests. As one account of his life notes: “His courage had a profound effect in the longer term, and a century later there were so many Catholic Armenians in Constantinople that ‘Catholic’ was understood to mean one of the Armenian rite.”
Blessed Gomidas Keumurgian was beatified in 1929.
Troparion — Tone 5Soon, other priests and faithful followed the example of Gomidas and his family, which made him an object of scorn and derision among those who continued to maintain the independence of the Armenian Church.
The patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church accused Gomidas of being a “Frank” (a term that could mean either a Roman Catholic Christian or foreigner) and an enemy of the state. After being imprisoned for several months—after which friends were able to purchase his freedom—he was rearrested and executed on November 5, 1707.
Because no Catholic priest came forward to bury him, he was buried by Orthodox priests. As one account of his life notes: “His courage had a profound effect in the longer term, and a century later there were so many Catholic Armenians in Constantinople that ‘Catholic’ was understood to mean one of the Armenian rite.”
Blessed Gomidas Keumurgian was beatified in 1929.
You shared in the apostles’ way of life / and succeeded to their throne, * divinely inspired bishop. / You found access to contemplation in the active life. / Therefore, you rightly taught the word of truth / and struggled for the faith to the shedding of your blood.
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The Ihor Icon of the Mother of God.
The Great Prince of Kyiv Ihor Olhovych (obit. September 19, 1147), prayed before this icon during the last moments of his life. It was in the chapel of Saint John the Theologian in the Dormition cathedral of the Kyiv Caves Lavra. This icon was of old Greek origin and had an inscription saying that it belonged to Great Prince Ihor.
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