05/30/2026
This Sunday, May 31st is Holy Pentecost.
Celebrated 50 days after Pascha, this day will commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. It marks the birth of the Church - the beginning of the mission to spread the Gospel.
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where we were sitting. 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, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:2–4).
In the Church’s annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is “the last and great day.” It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end—the achievement and fulfillment—of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the “birthday” of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/05/31
