Sunday, June 3, 2012
We celebrate the feast of Pentecost
And the coming of the Spirit,
the appointed day of the promise,the fulfillment of hope.
How majestic and great is the mystery!
Therefore we cry aloud to you:
“Glory to thee, O Lord and Creator of all.” –Hymns for Pentecost
In the New Testament, the pentecostal feast is fulfilled and made new by the coming of the “new law,” the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ…When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed as resting upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…Acts 2:1-4).
The Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to his disciples came on the day of Pentecost (Jn 14:26, 15:26; Lk 24:49; Acts 1:5). The apostles received “the power from on high,” and they began to preach and bear witness to Jesus as the risen Christ, the King and the Lord. This moment has traditionally been called the birthday of the Church. On Pentecost we have the final fulfillment of the mission of Jesus Christ and the first beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom of God mystically present in this world in the Church of the Messiah.
Services
Vigil for Pentecost – Saturday June 2 – 6:30pm
Divine Liturgy – Sunday June 3-10:00am
Kneeling Vespers – Sunday June 3 – 1:15pm
Pentecost Monday Divine Liturgy 7am