The Feast of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost is celebrated each year on the fiftieth day after Pascha and ten days after the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. The feast day always falls on a Sunday, and is a commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, a feast of Jewish origin and tradition. It is also a celebration of the establishment of the Church (sometimes referred to as the "Birthday of the Church"), and is seen as the culmination of the revelation of the Holy Trinity.

The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles. We are told that the Apostles were gathered together in one place in Jerusalem when suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing wind, filling the entire house where they were sitting. Then, tongues of fire appeared and sat upon each of the Apostles. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, and with great enlightenment.

Among the thousands present in Jerusalem for the feast, on the day of Pentecost about three thousand of them were baptized after hearing Peter and the Apostles preach in their own tongues. The newly baptized continued daily to hear the teaching of the Apostles, as these earliest Christians met together for fellowship, the breaking of bread, and for prayer.

Many wonderful signs and miracles were done through the Apostles in those days, and thus the Church grew daily as many were being saved and came to believe.

- adapted from various sources, with special acknowledgement to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (http://www.goarch.org/)