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Pentecost
AND THERE APPEARED TO THEM DIVIDED TONGUES AS OF FIRE... AND
THEY WERE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
So that by gradual increase ...and progress from glory to
glory, the light of the Trinity might shine upon the more
illuminated
...for this reason it was, I think, that He gradually came
to dwell in the disciples. He measured Himself out to them
according to
their capacity to receive Him: at the beginning of the
gospel, after the Passion, after the Ascension, making
perfect their
powers, being breathed upon them, and appearing in fiery
tongues ...You see lights breaking upon us, gradually, and
knowledge of such order of theology, as is better for us to
maintain, neither proclaiming things too suddenly nor yet
keeping
them hidden to the end ...He said that all things should be
taught us by the Spirit Himself, made clear at a later time,
when such
knowledge would be seasonable and capable of being received
after our Saviour’s restoration; when it would no
longer be received with incredulity because of its
marvellous character. For what greater thing than this did
either He
promise, or the Spirit teach ...If He is not to be
worshiped, how can He deify me by baptism?... And indeed
from the Spirit
comes our new birth, and from the new birth our new
creation, and from the new creation our deeper knowledge of
the
dignity of Him from whom it is derived ...Look at these
facts: Christ is born; the Spirit is His forerunner. He
leads Him up. He
works miracles; the Spirit accompanies them. He ascends; the
Spirit takes His place.
St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Fifth Theological Oration, 26, 27,
28, 29. B#7, pp. 210
‐211.
IF ANYONE THIRSTS, LET HIM COME TO ME AND DRINK
Those who come to the divine preaching and give heed to the
faith must manifest the desire of thirsty men for water, and
kindle in themselves a similar longing; so they will be
able, very carefully, to retain what is said...For to show
that men ought
ever to thirst and hunger, He said ‘Blessed are they who
hunger and thirst after righteousness’ (Matt.5:6) ...
Elsewhere He calls
it, ‘eternal life,’ but here, ‘living water.’ He calls that
‘living’ which ever works: for the grace of the Spirit, when
It has entered
into the mind and has been established, springs up more than
any fountain, does not fail, never becomes empty ...He has
represented its abundance by the expression ‘springing’
...Consider the wisdom of Stephen, the tongue of Peter, the
vehemence of Paul: how nothing bore, nothing withstood them,
not the anger of multitudes, not the risings up of tyrants,
not
the plots of the devils, not daily deaths, but as rivers
borne along with a great rushing sound, so they went on
their way
hurrying all things with them ...When He was about to send
them (after the crucifixion) He said, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit’
(c.20:22) ...and then they wrought miracles.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily LI on John VII, 1. 2. B#58, p.
184.
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul
thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty
land where
there is no water. So I have looked for You in the
sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because your
loving kindness is
better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will
bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your
name. My soul shall be
satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall
praise You with joyful lips ...Because You have been my
help,
therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My
soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.
(Psalm
63:1‐8).
On this Sunday the Kneeling prayers are said at Vespers
which follows immediately after the Liturgy the
three long
prayers are:
The First Prayer: Priest: O Lord most pure, spotless, who
art from everlasting, invisible, ineffable, unsearchable,
unchanging,
unsurpassable, immeasurable, longsuffering, who alone hast
immortality; who dwellest in light unapproachable, who hast
made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that therein is;
who grantest unto all men their petitions before they ask:
We pray
thee, and beseech thee, O Master who lovest mankind, the
Father of our Lord, and God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, who
for us
men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of Mary the ever‐virgin
and
exceeding‐glorious
birth‐giver
of God; who first did teach in words and afterwards did
manifest himself in deeds, when he
suffered his redeeming Passion; who hast given unto us, thy
humble, and sinful, and unworthy servants, a command that we
should offer supplications unto thee with bending; of the
neck and of the knees, both for our own iniquities and for
the
ignorances of the people: Do thou, the same all‐merciful
God who lovest mankind, hear us in that day when we shall
call upon
thee, and more especially upon this day of Pentecost,
whereon, after that our Lord Jesus Christ has ascended up
into heaven,
and had sat down at the right hand of thee, who art both his
God and his Father, he did send down the Holy Spirit upon
his
holy disciples and apostles: which also did rest upon each
one of them, so that they were all filled with its
inexhaustible grace,
and did declare thy majesty in divers unknown tongues, and
did prophesy. Wherefore hearken now to us who pray unto
thee,
and remember us humble and condemned as we are, and turn
again the captivity of our souls, exercising thy loving
kindness
toward us who now offer up our petitions unto thee. Accept
us who fall down before thee, and who cry aloud unto thee,
We
have sinned! We have cloven unto thee even from our mother’s
womb: thou art our God. But because we have passed our
days in vanity, we have stripped ourselves of thine aid, we
have deprived ourselves of every valid defence. But
confidently
trusting in thy bounties, we call unto thee. Remember not
the sins of our youth and our ignorances; and cleanse thou
us from
our secret sins; and forsake us not in the days of our old
age, when our strength faileth us. Even until we return
again into the
earth, abandon us not, vouchsafe us grace to have recourse
unto thee; and receive us, because of thy favour and
graciousness.
Measure our wickedness according to the measure of thy
bounties. Set over against the multitude of our
transgressions the
abyss of thy compassions. Look down from thy holiness on
high, O Lord, upon thy people now present before thee, who
await
thy rich mercies. Visit us with thy loving‐kindness:
deliver us from the assaults of the Devil. Establish our
life in thy holy and
sacred commandments. Commit thy people unto an Angel, a
faithful guardian. Gather us all into thy kingdom. Grant
pardon
unto those who put their trust in thee. Put away from them
and from us all sins. Purify us by the operation of thy Holy
Spirit;
bring to naught the machinations of the enemy against us.
And thereto is added the following Prayer: Blessed art thou,
O Lord, Master Almighty, who hast illumined the day with the
light of the sun, and hast made bright the night with the
brilliant flashes of the lightning; who hast graciously
enabled us to
pass through the long day, and to draw near to the beginning
of the night. Hear our petitions, and the petitions of all
thy
people, and granting pardon unto us for all our sins, both
voluntary and involuntary, accept our evening prayers, and
send
down the multitude of thy mercy and thy bounties upon thine
inheritance. Guard us with thy holy Angels. Arm us with the
armour of thy righteousness. Encompass us round about with
the ramparts of thy truth. Guard us by thy might. Deliver us
from every assault, and from every treacherous plot of the
adversary. And grant unto us that this present evening and
the
approaching night, and all the days of our life, may be
perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless, without stumbling,
untroubled of
dreams; through the prayers of the holy Birth‐giver
of God, and of all the Saints, who, in all the ages, have
been acceptable in
thy sight.
The Second Prayer: Priest: O Lord Jesus Christ our God, who
hast bestowed upon men thy peace and the gift of the Holy
Spirit; who, while thou wast yet with us in the present
life, didst give unto thy faithful people an inheritance
which shall not be
taken from them forever; who this day didst send down thy
grace upon thy disciples and apostles, in manner most clear,
and
didst furnish their lips with fiery tongues; by whom now, we
also, together with all mankind, having received, through
the
hearing of our own ears divine knowledge in our own tongues,
have been illumined with the light of the Spirit, and have
put
away the delusion of darkness by the distribution of the
material and visible tongues of fire, as also by the
marvellous
3
operation of the same, whereby we have been inspired with
faith toward thee, and to glorify thee, together with the
Father
and the Holy Spirit in one Godhead and might, and have been
enlightened with power: Do thou who art the Brightness of
the
Father, of his Essence and his Nature the Express and
Immutable Image, the Fountain of Wisdom and of Grace, open
the lips of
me, a sinner and teach me in what manner and for what needs
I ought to pray; for thou knowest the great multitude of my
sins, but thy loving‐kindness
shall overcome the enormity thereof. For lo! I stand in awe
before thee, and have cast into the
great deep of thy mercy the despair of my soul. Govern my
life, O thou who governest all creation by a word, with the
unutterable might of thy wisdom, O tranquil Haven of the
storm‐tossed;
and make known unto me the way in which I should
walk. Grant unto my understanding the spirit of thy wisdom,
bestowing upon my ignorance the spirit of thy understanding.
Overshadow my deeds with the spirit of thy fear, and renew a
right spirit within me; and by thy sovereign Spirit make
stable
the instability of my thoughts. That being daily guided by
thy good Spirit in that which is profitable for me, I may be
enabled
to keep thy statutes, and ever bear in mind thy glorious
Coming‐again,
and those things worthy of torment which I have
committed. And give me not over to be led astray by the
corrupt pleasures of this present world, but strengthen in
me the
desire to strive for the treasures to come. For thou hast
said, O Master: whatsoever a man shall ask in thy Name, that
shall be
freely received from thy God and father, who is from
everlasting. Wherefore, I, also, a sinner, at this descent
of thy Holy Spirit,
do entreat thy goodness, that thou wilt grant me whatsoever
things I have asked which are unto salvation. Yea, O Lord,
the
bounteous Giver of every benefit; and the Distributor of
blessings,—for its thou who givest most bountifully unto
those who
ask of thee,—thou art pitiful and gracious, and also wast
made a partaker of our flesh, yet without sin, and doest
incline thine
ear with infinite loving‐kindness
unto those who bow the knee before thee; who, also, wast
made the Propitiation of our sins.
Wherefore, O Lord, grant thy bounties unto thy people.
Hearken unto us from thy holy heaven. Sanctify us by thy
saving
might of thy right hand. Cover us with the shelter of thy
wings; and despite thou not the work of thy hands. Unto thee
alone
have we sinned, but thee alone so we serve. We know not to
adore a strange god, neither have we stretched out our
hands, O
Lord, unto any other god. Pardon our iniquities, and accept
this our prayer, which we make unto thee on bended knees.
Extend unto us all the hand of thine aid. Receive our
petitions of all men, as it were incense well‐pleasing,
acceptable before
thine all‐blessed
kingdom. O Lord, Lord, who deliverest us from all the arrows
that fly by day, deliver thou us, also, from all
things that infest the darkness. Accept our evening
sacrifice, even the lifting‐up
of our hands. Grant that we may pass through
the course of the night without sin, untempted of evil
things; and deliver us from every alarm and cowardice that
cometh to us
from the Devil. Grant unto our souls contrition, and unto
our minds anxiety concerning that strict searching out of
the
thoughts which shall come in the dread and just Day of
Judgment. Nail our flesh to the fear of thee, and mortify
our earthly
members: that, in the quietness of sleep, we may be
illuminated by the vision of thy judgments. Remove from us,
also, every
unseemly imagination and hurtful carnal passion. Raise us up
again at the hour of prayer, fortified in the faith, and
advancing
in thy commandments.
The Third Prayer: Priest: O Fountain, ever‐flowing,
living, illumining; Power creative, coeternal with the
Father, O Christ our
God, who hast most excellently fulfilled all the plans for
the salvation of mankind; who didst shatter the bonds
indestructible
of Death, and the bolts of Hell, and didst trample under
foot a host of evil spirits; who didst offer thyself a
blameless victim for
us, giving thine all‐holy
Body for a sacrifice inviolate, and unassailed of every sin,
and who, through that terrible and ineffable
act of sacrifice, didst bestow upon us life eternal; who
didst descend into Hell, and break the everlasting bars, and
show a way
up unto those who abode in the lower world; and having
enticed, by divinely wise allurements, the origin of
mischief and the
serpent of the abyss, and bound him with cords of nethermost
gloom and fire unquenchable in Tartarus, and confined him in
outer darkness, by thine infinite and fettering might, O
Wisdom greatly glorified by the Father, thou didst manifest
thyself as a
mighty helper of the assailed; and didst enlighten those who
sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Do thou, O Lord
of the
everlasting glory and Son beloved of the Father most high,
Light Eternal of Light Eternal, the Sun of Righteousness,
hear us,
who now make our fervent supplications unto thee, and give
rest to the souls of thy servants our fathers and brethren,
and
other kinsmen after the flesh, and of all of the household
of faith, who have fallen asleep, and whom we now call to
remembrance. For thou hast power over all things, and in thy
hand thou upholdest all the ends of the earth. O Master
Almighty, the God of our fathers and Lord of mercy, Creator
of the race of mortals and immortals, and of every nature of
man;
of that which is brought together and is again put asunder;
of life and death; of sojourn in the world that now is, and
of
translation to the world which is to come; thou meetest out
the years of life, and appointest the time of death; thou
bringest
down to Hell, and again raisest up; thou bindest unto
impotency and loosest unto power, ordering things present
according to
their necessity, and appointing things to come as is
expedient, quickening with the hope of Resurrection those
who were
smitten with the sting of death. For thou art, of a truth,
the Master of all men, O God our Saviour, the hope of all
the ends of the
earth, and of those who are afar off upon the sea; Who, on
this last, and great, and redeeming day of the Pentecost
feast, didst
reveal unto us the mystery of the Holy Trinity, one in
Essence, coeternal, undivided and unmingled; and didst pour
out the
indwelling and descent of thy holy and life‐giving
Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, upon thy holy
apostles; and didst
appoint the same to be the heralds of the glad tidings of
our holy faith; and didst make them confessors and teachers
of the
true divine knowledge; who, also, on this all‐perfect
and saving Feast, art graciously pleased to accept
propitiatory prayers for
those who are imprisoned in Hell, promising unto us who are
held in bondage great hope of release from the vileness that
doth hinder us and did hinder them; and that thou will send
down thy consolation. Hear us, thy humble ones, who make our
supplications unto thee, and give rest to the souls of thy
servants who have fallen asleep, in a place of light, a
place of verdure,
a place of refreshment whence all sickness, sorrow and
sighing have fled away: and establish thou their souls in
the mansions
of the Just; and graciously vouchsafe unto them peace and
pardon; for the dead shall not praise thee, O Lord, neither
shall they
who are in Hell make bold to offer unto thee confession. But
we who are living will bless thee, and will pray, and offer
unto
thee propitiatory prayers and sacrifices for their souls. O
God great and eternal, who art holy and lovest mankind; who
hast
vouchsafed unto us at this present hour to stand before
thine ineffable glory, and to sing and to praise thy
wonders: Purify us,
thine unworthy servants, and grant us grace that, with a
contrite heart, and without presumption, we may offer unto
thee the
Thrice‐Holy
hymn of praise and thanksgiving for thy great gifts, which
thou hast bestowed and always dost bestow upon us.
4
Remember, O Lord, our weakness, and destroy us not in our
iniquity, but show great mercy upon our humility; that,
fleeing
from the darkness of sin, we may walk in the daylight of
righteousness; and that, putting on the armour of light, we
may
remain unassailed by any despiteful attack of the Evil One,
and with boldness may glorify in all things thee, the only
true God,
who also lovest mankind. For thine, O Lord and Creator of
all men, is that great and veritable mystery, the
dissolution of thy
creatures for a season, and thereafter their restoration to
wholeness and their rest forever. We acknowledge thy grace
in all
things; for our coming into this world and our going out of
it; for our hopes of resurrection and of the life immortal
faithfully
pledged unto us through thine unfailing promises, the which
we shall receive hereafter in thy Second Coming. For thou
art the
Chieftain of our Resurrection, and the Judge impartial and
gracious to the dead, and the Master and Lord of recompense,
who
didst become a partaker, on equal terms, of our flesh and
blood, because of thine exceeding great condescension; and
when, of
thine own will, that thou mightest place thyself under
temptation, thou didst accept our congenital passions,
because of thy
compassion, and didst suffer through them, being thyself
tempted thereby, thou didst become for us who are tempted
the
helper which thou thyself hadst promised; and thereby hast
thou led us to thy passionlessness. Wherefore, O Master,
receive
thou our prayers and supplications, and give rest unto the
fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters, blood‐relations
and kinsfolk of each and all of us, and unto all souls which
have fallen asleep before us; and establish their spirits in
the hope
of Resurrection unto life eternal, and inscribe their names
in the Book of Life, in the bosom of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and of
Jacob, and in the land of the living, in the kingdom of
heaven, in the Paradise of sweetness; by thy radiant Angels
guiding all
into thy holy mansions; raising up with thee, also, our
bodies, in that day which thou hast appointed by thy holy
and faithful
promise. Because there is no death, O Lord, for thy servants
when we depart from the body and come unto thee, our God,
but a
change from things very sorrowful unto things most salutary
and most sweet, and unto repose and gladness. If, therefore,
we
have in aught transgressed against thee, be merciful unto us
and unto them; because there is no one pure from stain in
thy
sight, even for a single day of his life, save thou alone,
who didst manifest thyself sinless upon earth, O our Lord
Jesus Christ;
through whom also we all trust to receive mercy and the
remission of our sins. Wherefore, in that thou art a
gracious God and
lovest mankind, do thou, both to them and to us, pardon,
remit, forgive our sins, both voluntary and involuntary,
which we
have committed whether wilfully or through ignorance;
whether those which are manifest or those which have escaped
our
notice; whether of deed, or of thought, or of word,
whatsoever they may be, in all our acts and lives. And unto
the departed
also grant thou release and pardon; and bless us who are
here present, granting unto us, and to all thy people, a
good and
peaceful ending, and opening unto us the tenderness of thy
mercy and love toward mankind at thy dread and terrible
Comingagain;
and make us worthy of thy kingdom. O great and most high
God, who alone hast immortality, and dwellest in light
unapproachable; who hast made all creation in wisdom; who
hast divided the light from the darkness, and hast appointed
the
sun to rule the day, the moon and stars also to rule the
night; who hast vouchsafed unto us sinners at this present
hour also to
come before thy presence with confession, and to offer unto
thee our evening sacrifice of praise: Do thou thyself, who
lovest
mankind, direct our prayer as a censer before thee, and
accept it for a savour of sweet incense; and grant that we
may pass
this present evening and the coming night in peace. Endue us
with the armour of light. Deliver us from the terror of the
night,
and from everything that walketh in darkness; and grant that
the sleep, which thou hast appointed for the repose of our
weakness, may be free from every imagination of the Devil.
Yea, O Master, Bestower of all good things, may we, being
moved
to compunction upon our beds, call to remembrance thy holy
Name in the night season: that, enlightened by meditation on
thy
statutes, we may rise up in joyfulness of soul to glorify
thy goodness, offering up prayers and supplications unto thy
tender
love for our own sins and for those of all thy people: whom
do thou visit in mercy, through the intercessions of the
holy Birthgiver
of God. For thou art a gracious God, and lovest mankind, and
unto thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the
Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
The Holy Spirit provides every gift: He inspires prophecy,
perfects the priesthood, grants wisdom to the illiterate,
makes simple fishermen to become wise theologians, and
establishes perfect order in the organisation of the Church.
Wherefore, O Comforter, equal in nature and majesty with the
Father and the Son, glory to You...
In the days of old, pride brought confusion of tongues to
the builders of the tower of Babel, but now the diversity of
tongues enlightened the minds and gave knowledge for the
glory of God. There, God punished infidels for their sin,
while here
Christ enlightened fishermen through the Spirit; there the
confusion of tongues was for the sake of vengeance, while
here
there was variety so that voices could be joined in unison
for the salvation of our souls.
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