1. Сошествие Святого Духа на апостолов

Even before the beginning of the sufferings on the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly warned His disciples about sending them another mentor - the Holy Spirit, and before ascending to heaven He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from above. According to the commandment of the Lord, the apostles remained in Jerusalem with one accord in prayer. At this time, their number was replenished by the election of Matthias as an apostle in the place of the fallen Judas 1. On the tenth day after the Ascension of the Lord there were two holidays: the Jewish one - Pentecost 2 and the Christian one - the Resurrection. From early morning the apostles gathered together to pray. According to legend, the Most Holy Mother of the Lord was with them. At nine o'clock in the morning (according to Jewish reckoning, the third hour), a noise was heard in the sky, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the entire house where the apostles were. After this, divided tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and rested, one on each of them: this was a sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit. The apostles suddenly seemed to be transformed; their souls were enlightened, and all the words of the Lord were remembered with complete clarity and presented in their new true meaning. At the same time, they acquired vigor and courage to preach the holy faith and became ready to lay down their lives for it. Along with this, they also received special emergency aids for preaching, among other things, the gift of tongues 3 . Having been clothed with power from above, they immediately began to publicly preach about the greatness of God. The Holy Spirit, according to the Savior’s promise, abides in the Church and will remain until the end of the age. – The election of Matthias was carried out like this: the Apostle Peter invited the believers to elect a worthy person in the place of Judas, and it was an indispensable condition that he be a witness to the public ministry of the Lord, and especially His resurrection; believers chose two persons: Joseph and Matthias; After a common unanimous prayer, Matthias indicated the lot. – This holiday was established in memory of the Sinai legislation. On the same day, the Jews brought the firstfruits of the spring harvest to God. – The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be distinguished between permanent and extraordinary. The Holy Spirit awakens a person from sinful sleep and leads him to repentance, reconciles him with God, revives, strengthens, heals, nourishes him, helps the believer in the fight against passions, teaches him to pray, unites him with God and makes him a partaker of eternal life. These are constants, i.e. continuing for all times of the Church of Christ, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gift of tongues, the gift of miracles and prophecy. They were needed primarily for the initial spread of the Church. You might be interested in: