The Ascension of the Lord
The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Son and the Father, because all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity have a common essence or nature, and a common energy or intention glory.
Why did the Holy Spirit appear as fire?
You have heard that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in tongues of fire. But why did the Holy Spirit, co-eternal with the Father and the Son, appear as fire?
The Holy and Great Feast of Pentecost
The feast of Pentecost is a feast of the Holy Spirit, because we learn from the descent of the Holy Spirit that God is threefold.
The Saturday before the Feast of Pentecost
On the Saturday before Pentecost we commemorate all departed pious Christians, with the idea that the occasion of the coming of the Holy Spirit not only consists of the economy of the salvation of man, but that the departed also participate in this salvation.
The Unity of the Church: Sunday of the First Ecumenical Council
Content of the Gospel reading of the last Sunday before Pentecost is an excerpt from the last prayer of Jesus addressed to his Father just before his crucifixion.
The Divine Ascension of the Lord
Interpreting these passages, in which we can see both Christ’s command and the Disciples’ obedience to it, we can observe some interesting points.
Homily on the Ascension
Today, my beloved, is a great feast of the Master, the Ascension of the Lord. What is the story of the day?
Sunday of All Saints
Initially, the most ancient Fathers made this a Feast solely of the Martyrs who suffered throughout the world, as attested by the encomium of Saint John Chrysostom, in which he praises only the Martyrs. The later Fathers, however, made this Feast more general, calling it the “Sunday of All Saints”, including in it Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Hierarchs, Ascetics, and all the Righteous together, of every age and race.
The Holy Pentecost
We have received this Feast from the Hebrew Bible; for, just as the Hebrews celebrate their own Pentecost, honoring the number seven, and because they received the Law fifty days after the Passover, so also do we, celebrating fifty days after Pascha, receive, instead of the Law, the All-Holy Spirit, Who gives us laws, guides us into all truth, and decrees what is pleasing to God.