Sermon of His Grace, Bishop Partenij of Antania, Delivered on the Feast of Pentecost, During the Divine Liturgy, June 5, 2023
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Beloved in Christ,
Fifty days have passed since the Holy Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ, and on this fiftieth day, the Holy Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles—an event of essential importance within God’s divine plan for the salvation and deification of humanity. Indeed, with this feast, that divine economy reaches its fulfillment, for on this day, the foundation of the Holy Church is established.
The descent of the Holy Spirit occurred in accordance with the promise Christ gave His apostles before His voluntary suffering—that He would send them another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth: “But when the Comforter comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me” (John 15:6). Christ reaffirmed this same promise after His Resurrection, just before His Ascension: “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me… You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:4,8). And indeed, fifty days after His glorious Resurrection, Christ sent the Holy Spirit upon His disciples, among whom was also His most pure Mother. The Spirit descended upon them in the form of tongues of fire: “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:3-4).
Strengthened by the Spirit, the Apostles spread throughout the known world, preaching the Gospel of salvation with unshakable faith, divine wisdom, and the gift of working miracles.
The Holy Spirit is the true Enlightener and Purifier. He descended upon the Apostles to affirm that the Risen Jesus is indeed the Son and Word of God, the Savior of the world, and to grant them the boldness to proclaim this truth everywhere. As we read in Scripture, the disciples—though they had seen the risen Christ—still wrestled with doubts and uncertainties within their hearts. But on this day, when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, He opened their spiritual eyes to comprehend the Scriptures, enlightened them, enabled them to speak in various tongues, and enriched them with life-giving, deifying energy—the grace of the Holy Spirit. From that moment, they became fearless preachers, faithful stewards of God’s manifold grace, and immovable foundations of Christ’s Church.
Having received the Holy Spirit within themselves, the Apostles began to pass Him on to all people, to the entire assembly of believers, and to the whole Church.
We heard that on this day, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire. He did so to signify that just as fire both illuminates and purifies noble metals from impurities, so too does the Holy Spirit illuminate and purify us spiritually. This is His work within the Church. It is important to emphasize that the descent of the Holy Spirit did not occur only once, at that singular moment in time, but continues to this day. The Spirit visits the liturgical gathering of the faithful whenever we assemble in grace. The historical Pentecost is merely the beginning of His ongoing work in the Church.
In truth, the Holy Spirit continually abides in the Church of God. He is present and active in every holy sacrament, especially in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist—which we are now celebrating in this sacred temple. As we offer the gifts of bread and wine, they are transformed by His power into the true Body and Blood of Christ, through which we are sanctified.
Beloved in Christ, the Holy Spirit has filled the Church so that we might also be filled with Him. This is the ultimate goal of our existence within the Church: to strive throughout our lives to acquire the Holy Spirit. Saint Seraphim of Sarov said, “The goal of my life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, this is the purpose of every human being created by God. We Christians are blessed with the divine privilege of being able to acquire the Holy Spirit, so that we may then share Him with the world. For it is only the Holy Spirit who makes a person truly authentic, just as God originally intended and created them. The Spirit restores humanity to its fullness, according to the image and likeness of God. Only a person filled with the Holy Spirit is truly joyful.
The Apostle Paul explains this perfectly by listing the most important fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). These are the characteristics of one who has acquired the Holy Spirit. Among them, we see that such a person is gentle, kind, merciful, and filled with love. It is the Holy Spirit who restores a person to their original beauty and fullness, making them resemble their Creator. Thus, the Spirit of God works to transform each of us into good and perfect human beings.
Science, technology, social media, and artificial intelligence—which now exceeds normal limits—will never make us better or happier people. If these things had the power to perfect humanity, we would not see the prevalence of evil, war, bloodshed, melancholy, depression, and suffering today. On the contrary, it seems as though evil has multiplied in people’s hearts. Furthermore, the boundary between reality and virtuality has grown ever thinner. Life has become a kind of illusion. People no longer live authentic lives but instead inhabit a simulation of life. Sadly, even spirituality has become, for many, nothing more than a simulation.
We Christians must be particularly vigilant against this threat, which endangers the human soul. We are called to be the light of the world, and for this reason, we must labor diligently to acquire the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that, enlightened and guided by Him, we may spread His warmth and light, just as the Apostles did.
The Holy Spirit grants people both courage and the ability to do good works. He even makes the unlearned and uneducated into wise fishers of souls for God. As we sing in the troparion of Pentecost: “Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them drew the world into Your net.” This spiritual fishing for God did not end with the Apostolic Age but continues today with the same divine energy in the Church.
In our own time, the Holy Spirit continues to reveal “wise fishers,” those who bring peace and sanctification to countless souls. If we look back at the past century, many of those recently glorified as saints were not theologians with formal degrees or individuals of extraordinary academic learning, but people of the Spirit. Many of you are familiar with the lives and teachings of the holy elders—Saint Paisios, Saint Porphyrios, Saint Iakovos Tsalikis, and others. Much of their wisdom and their lives have been translated into Macedonian. These were simple monks, not highly educated in worldly matters, yet they were true masters and teachers of divine wisdom. Look at the incredible apostolic work that the Holy Spirit accomplished through them! A vast and far-reaching ministry. This was possible because they allowed the Spirit to work through them, becoming vessels and conduits of His grace through repentance, ascetic struggle, sacrifice, prayer, and mercy.
This, beloved, is what we too must strive for: to acquire the Holy Spirit. First, we must ask for forgiveness, for none of us is worthy to be a dwelling place for the Spirit. Yet, if we approach Him with humility and a sincere desire to partake of His grace, He will come and make His home in our hearts. He will begin to cleanse us from our sins and illumine our souls.
On this great feast day, let us repent of all our transgressions. Let us open our hearts so that the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, may enter within us and grant us His gifts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Amen!
