After the Saviour's Ascension into the Heavens, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed after Him from the beginning, His Mother, the most holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. Entering into the house where they gathered, they went into the upper room, and there they persevered in prayer and supplication, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, as their Divine Teacher had promised them. In the meanwhile, they chose Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas among the Apostles.

Thus, on this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the tenth day after the Ascension and the fiftieth day after Pascha, at the third hour of the day from the rising of the sun, there suddenly came a sound from Heaven, as when a mighty wind blows, and it filled the whole house where the Apostles and the rest with them were gathered. Immediately after the sound, there appeared tongues of fire that divided and rested upon the head of each one. Filled with the Spirit, all those present began speaking not in their native tongue, but in other tongues and dialects, as the Holy Spirit instructed them.

The multitudes that had come together from various places for the feast, most of whom were Jews by race and religion, were called Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so forth, according to the places where they dwelt. Though they spoke many different tongues, they were present in Jerusalem by divine dispensation. When they heard that sound that came down from Heaven to the place where the disciples of Christ were gathered, all ran together to learn what had taken place. But they were confounded when they came and heard the Apostles speaking in their own tongues. Marvelling at this, they said one to another, "Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" But others, because of their foolishness and excess of evil, mocked the wonder and said that the Apostles were drunken.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven, and raising his voice, spoke to all the people, proving that that which had taken place was not drunkenness, but the fulfilment of God's promise that had been spoken by the Prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I shall pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28), and he preached Jesus of Nazareth unto them, proving in many ways that He is Christ the Lord, Whom the Jews crucified but God raised from the dead. On hearing Peter's teaching, many were smitten with compunction and received the word. Thus, they were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added to the Faith of Christ.

Such, therefore, are the reasons for today's feast: the coming of the All-holy Spirit into the world, the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ's promise, and the fulfilment of the hope of the sacred disciples, which we celebrate today. This is the final feast of the great mystery and dispensation of God's incarnation. On this last, and great, and saving day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Saviour, who were unlearned fishermen, made wise now of a sudden by the Holy Spirit, clearly and with divine authority spoke the heavenly doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were ordained and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of those three thousand souls in one day was the comely and marvellous first fruit.

Some erroneously hold that Pentecost is the "birthday of the Church." But this is not true, for the teaching of the holy Fathers is that the Church existed before all other things. In the second vision of The Shepherd of Hermas we read: "Now brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of exceeding fair form, who said to me, 'Whom thinkest thou the aged woman, from whom thou receivedst the book, to be?' I say, 'The Sibyl.' 'Thou art wrong,' saith he, 'she is not.' 'Who then is she?' I say. 'The Church,' saith he. I said unto him, 'Wherefore then is she aged?' 'Because,' saith he, 'she was created before all things; therefore is she aged, and for her sake the world was framed."' Saint Gregory the Theologian also speaks of "the Church of Christ ... both before Christ and after Christ" (PG 35:1108-9). Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus writes, "The Catholic Church, which exists from the ages, is revealed most clearly in the incarnate advent of Christ" (PG 42:640). Saint John Damascene observes, "The Holy Catholic Church of God, therefore, is the assembly of the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were added all the nations who believed with one accord" (PG 96, 1357c). According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, "The Prophets established the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order" (PG 35, 589 A). The Church existed from the creation of the Angels, for the Angels came into existence before the creation of the world, and they have always been members of the Church. Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, says in his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Church "was created before the sun and moon"; and a little further on, "The Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning" (II Cor. 14).

That which came to pass at Pentecost, then, was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the inauguration of the priesthood of the new Israel. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that "Our Lord Jesus Christ herein ordained the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries ... showing together with the dignity of Apostleship, the incomparable glory of the authority given them ... Revealing them to be splendid with the great dignity of the Apostleship and showing them forth as both stewards and priests of the divine altars . . . they became fit to initiate others through the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit" (PG 74, 708-712). Saint Gregory Palamas says, "Now, therefore ... the Holy Spirit descended ... showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries ... and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors" (Homily 24, 10). And Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem, writes, "After the visitation of the Comforter, the Apostles became high priests" (PG 87, 3981B). Therefore, together with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon them who were present in the upper chamber, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, "ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were also appointed and raised to the high priestly rank, according to Saint John Chrysostom (PG 60, 21). On this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become "partakers of the Divine Nature" (II Peter 1:4). For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples only that they abode in "prayer and supplication" (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they persevered in the "breaking of bread,"that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries-"and in prayer" (Acts 2:42).

The feast of holy Pentecost, therefore, determined the beginning of the priesthood of grace, not the beginning of the Church. Henceforth, the Apostles proclaimed the good tidings "in country and town," preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they judged were worthy to minister, as Saint Clement writes in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (I Cor. 42).

All foods allowed during the week following Pentecost.

The Holy Myrrh-bearers Mary and Martha, together with their brother Lazarus, were especially devoted to our Savior, as we see from the accounts given in the tenth chapter of Saint Luke, and in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of Saint John. They reposed in Cyprus, where their brother became the first Bishop of Kition after his resurrection from the dead. See also the accounts on Lazarus Saturday and the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women.

Saint Dorotheus became Bishop of Tyre in Phoenicia about the end of the third century. During the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, about the year 303, he fled to Odyssopolis in Thrace to preserve his life, and after the death of the tyrants he returned to Tyre. He lived until the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), from whose persecution he again fled to Odyssopolis (or, according to Theophylact of Bulgaria, Edessa), but was found by Julian's men and slain in great torments, at the age of 107, in 361. He was very learned, and has left behind writings in both Latin and Greek relating the lives of the holy Prophets, Apostles, and other Saints.

As it is the custom of the Church, on the day after every great Feast, to honour those through whom it came to pass our Lady on the day after the Lord's Nativity, Joachim and Anna after our Lady's Nativity, the holy Baptist the day after Theophany, and so forth, on this day we honour our God the All-holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by our Saviour to His disciples (John 14:16), Who descended upon them at holy Pentecost and guided them "into all truth" (ibid. 16:13), and through them, us.

Rest from labour.

Saint Hilarion, the fervent zealot for the veneration of the holy icons, was born in 775 and had Cappadocia as his homeland. About 806-811 he became Abbot of the Monastery of Dalmatus (see May 30), but was exiled by the Emperor Leo the Armenian, and later again by Theophilus; he was set free by the pious Empress Theodora, and again became Abbot of the Monastery of Dalmatus from 843 to 845, until the time of his repose.

This Martyr contested in Ancyra during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), when Theotecnus was Proconsul. After the martyrdom of the virgin Tecusa and her seven companions (the virgins Alexandria, Claudia, Phaeina, Euphrasia, Matrona, Julia, and Theodota; they are celebrated on May 18), Saint Theodotus recovered their holy relics and buried them. For this, he was seized by Theotecnus, tormented, and beheaded.

The holy Martyr Theodore was from Euchaita of Galatia and dwelt in Heraclea of Pontus. He was a renowned commander in the military, and the report came to the Emperor Licinius that he was a Christian and abominated the idols. Licinius therefore sent certain men to him from Nicomedia, to honor him and ask him to appear before him. Through them, however, Saint Theodore sent back a message that it was necessary for various reasons, that Licinius come to Heraclea. Licinius, seeing in this a hope of turning Saint Theodore away from Christ did as was asked of him.

When the Emperor came to Heraclea, Saint Theodore met him with honor, and the Emperor in turn gave Theodore his hand, believing that through him he would be able to draw the Christians to the worship of his idols. Seated upon his throne in the midst of the people, he publicly bade Theodore offer sacrifice to the gods. But Theodore asked that the emperor entrust him with the most venerable of his gods, those of gold and silver, that he might take them home and himself attend upon them that evening, promising that the following day he would honor them in public. The Emperor, filled with joy at these tidings, gave command that Theodore's request be fulfilled.

When the Saint had taken the idols home, he broke them in pieces and distributed the gold and silver to the poor by night. The next day a centurion named Maxentius told Licinius that he had seen a pauper pass by carrying the head of Artemis. Saint Theodore, far from repenting of this, confessed Christ boldly. Licinius, in an uncontainable fury, had the Saint put to many torments, then crucified. While upon the cross, the holy Martyr was further tormented -- his privy parts were cut off, he was shot with arrows, his eyes were put out, and he was left on the cross to die. The next day Licinius sent men to take his corpse and cast it into the sea; but they found the Saint alive and perfectly whole. Through this, many believed in Christ. Seeing his own men turning to Christ, and the city in an uproar, Licinius had Theodore beheaded, about the year 320. The Saint's holy relics were returned to his ancestral home on June 8.

The Great Martyr Theodore is also commemorated on February 8.

Saint Melania was a lady of noble birth, most wealthy and renowned, a descendant of Roman consuls, and of Spanish origin. When her husband and two of her children died, she departed for Egypt to visit the monks living at Mount Nitria. She distrubuted her wealth to those that were in need there, as well as to the confessors of the Faith who were being persecuted by the Arians. In three days alone, she fed some 5,000. Then, when these Orthodox Christians were exiled to Palestine, she also went to Jerusalem. There, at her own expense, she built a convent for virgins, and reposed therein in holiness about the year 410. Her granddaughter Melania the Younger is celebrated on December 31.

Saint Cyril of Belozersk, a Muscovite born in 1337, was tonsured in the Simonov Monastery in Moscow where he was later made abbot. Renouncing this position, at a revelation from the Mother of God he set out for the wilderness of Belozersk (White Lake) to live the life of a hermit. Later, when others desiring to lead the monastic life had gathered under his direction, he founded the Monastery of Belozersk. Throughout his life he had a very great reverence for the wonderworker, and was adorned with all the vitues, above all humility. Once, through the working of the enemy, one of his monks conceived an unendurable hatred for him; after being tormented by it for a whole year, he finally decided to reveal it to Cyril. When the monk was overcome with grief and shame at his malice towards such a venerable man, Cyril comforted him, affectionately telling him, "All the others are in error concerning me; only you have perceived my unworthiness," and forgiving him, sent him away in peace. Saint Cyril reposed on this day in 1427 at the age of ninety.

After he established a number of monasteries and churches in his native Ireland, Saint Columba founded the renowned monastery of Iona, off the coast of Scotland. Having guided many in the path of salvation, reposed in peace in 597.

On this day we commemorate Saint Cyril's falling asleep. On January 18 we commemorate the occasion of the Saint's restoration to his see in Alexandria after he had suffered a brief exile because of the machinations of the Nestorians. Shortly thereafter the Third Ecumenical Council was convoked in Ephesus and the blasphemous doctrine of Nestorius was condemned. See January 18 for Saint Cyril's life and works.

The holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina were from the town of Cardamon (or Crodamon). Antonina was arrested by Festus the Governor and, because she refused to deny Christ, he had her placed in a brothel. But Alexander, sent by divine providence, came in unto her and gave her his cloak; with her head covered, she escaped without having been defiled. When Alexander was discovered, he was taken before Festus, and with Antonina was tortured and burned to death.

The Holy Martyrs of China were native Chinese Orthodox Christians brought up in piety at the Russian Orthodox Mission in Peking, which had been founded in 1685. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 against the foreign powers occupying China, native Chinese Christians were commanded by the Boxers to renounce Christianity or be tortured to death. Two hundred and twenty-two members of the Peking Mission, led by their priest Metrophanes Tsi-Chung and his family, refused to deny Christ, and were deemed worthy of a martyric death.

The commemoration date of the Chinese Martyrs varies between June 10th and June 11th in Orthodox practice throughout the world.