May 31 - Holy Trinity Day

      Tatiana Garina's Text

      The Trinity (Pentecost) is one of the twelve major feasts celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church on the 50th day after Easter in memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and dedicated to the glorification of the Holy Trinity.

      The name Pentecost was given to the feast because the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles occurred during the Old Testament feast of Pentecost, established in memory of the giving of the Law to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. It was celebrated on the 50th day after Easter and coincided with the end of the harvest and the gathering of fruits, the first fruits of which were offered as a sacrifice in the temple.

      Preparing to return to His Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, before His crucifixion, dedicates His farewell conversation with the apostles to the forthcoming descent of the Holy Spirit. The Lord explains to the disciples that the Comforter—the Holy Spirit—will soon come to them to complete the work of salvation for humanity. "I will ask the Father," says the Lord to the apostles, "and He will give you another Comforter, to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth... He will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you... He is the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, will testify about Me" (John 14:16-17).

      This day is called Trinity because it was through the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles that the perfect activity of the third person of the Holy Trinity was revealed, and the teaching of Jesus Christ about the Triune God reached perfect clarity and fullness. God the Father creates the world, God the Son redeems people from the bondage of the devil, God the Holy Spirit sanctifies the world through the establishment of the Church and the universal preaching of faith. The event of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles is considered the beginning of the Christian Church, which is why Trinity is also called the day of the Church's birth.

      The descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples on the day of Pentecost is described in one of the books of the New Testament—the Acts of the Apostles. The event occurred ten days after the Ascension of Christ, when He ascended into heaven in the flesh on the Mount of Olives. The feast of the Old Testament Pentecost had arrived. The apostles and the Mother of God were on that day in the Upper Room in Jerusalem—the same room where the Last Supper took place. It was there, as written in the New Testament, that the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples occurred: "...suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them