On the day of the Holy Trinity, the Orthodox Church remembers the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. This happened on the fiftieth day of Easter in the year 33 after the Nativity of Christ. By this day, many people had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three great holidays specified in Deuteronomy, during which every Jew was obliged to visit the temple. The first in importance is Passover - in memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt (celebrated on the 15th of Nissan (March-April)). On the fiftieth day after Passover, Shavuot is celebrated - in memory of the giving of the Ten Commandments to the prophet of God Moses on Mount Sinai. Third - Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles in the month of Tishri (September-October) - in memory of forty years of wandering in a desert.
On the day of Pentecost, there were many Jews in Jerusalem who remembered the giving of the Law to Moses. The eleven apostles, the Mother of God and other disciples, as the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles narrates, gathered in the Upper Room of Zion. According to legend, in the same upper room the Lord Jesus Christ Himself performed the first Divine Liturgy in history - the Last Supper. In the form of tongues of fire and as if in the sound of the wind, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, and they, filled with Divine power, preached about the Resurrection of Christ to a large crowd of Jews in Jerusalem. The preaching of the Apostle Peter had such an effect that about 3 thousand people joined the Church that day. Therefore, we, Orthodox Christians, honor this event as the birthday of the Church of Christ.
Consequently, the teaching about the Church of Christ is closely connected with the teaching about the Holy Spirit. The Ancient Church did not doubt the Divinity of the Holy Spirit until the 4th century: Saint Clement of Rome calls Him the Spirit “holy and right, proceeding from the Father,” therefore, different from the Father and consubstantial with Him. Saint Dionysius of Alexandria writes: “he who utters blasphemy against the good Holy Spirit will not go unpunished: for the Spirit is God.” It was in the 4th century that the Church developed the dogma about the Holy Spirit at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 in Constantinople against Macedonius the Dukhobor, who believed that the Holy Spirit is not God, but a creation of God. Therefore, by the will of the Orthodox Emperor Theodosius the Great, 150 fathers of the Council developed the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and supplemented the Nicene Creed. Among the fathers of the Council are St. Gregory the Theologian (he was the chairman of the Council), Gregory of Nyssa, Meletius of Antioch, Amphilochius of Iconium, Cyril of Jerusalem, etc. Now Orthodox Christians are behind each Divine Liturgy all over the world they sing that they believe “and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets.” Detailed analysis this dogma about the Holy Spirit in Orthodox seminaries The course of dogmatic theology takes approximately two months - two pairs of dogmatic theology per week. Hundreds of Church Fathers wrote about the Holy Spirit in strict accordance with Orthodox doctrine. And this rich heritage cannot be contained in a small newspaper article.
So, the teaching about the Holy Spirit is the teaching about the Church. The opposite can also be asserted: the Holy Spirit fills the Church with life as the Life-Giving One. The Lord Jesus Christ, in his farewell conversation with his disciples, promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the disciples into all truth. Therefore, starting with the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (48 A.D.), described in chapter 15 of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the decision of the council ends with these words that have become the church formula for presenting the council decisions of the Church: “it has pleased us and the Holy Spirit.”
Veritas una, error multiplex, “truth is one, error is diverse,” the wise pagans said. And now, when almost 2 thousand years have passed since the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, numerous false teachings have filled the earth. But the truth of the Church, the Divine truth about the Holy Trinity and the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit - stands unshakable. And both in ancient times and now, the cause of heretical errors is the departure of numerous Christian societies from the Church. Thus, Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit comes not only from the Father, but also from the Son (filioque). Protestants, rejecting the doctrine of Church Sacraments, which the Holy Spirit accomplishes through the shepherds of the Church, have lost not only the institution of the priesthood, but also the very concept of holiness bestowed by the Holy Spirit, because they do not recognize the special merits of the saints of God and their intercession for us before God.
The twentieth century brought even more misconceptions: Pentecostals believe that the Holy Spirit is given and manifested only through the gift of speaking in tongues (glossolalia). So, on the day of the Holy Trinity, “charismatics” walk through Tyumen apartments and explain Orthodox meaning The holiday is so “successful” that the ranks of Pentecostals are increasingly replenished. The so-called “Age of Aquarius”, called “New Age” in sect studies textbooks, brought even more misconceptions. The Holy Spirit is declared simply as “cosmic energy”, which comes from God and is given to any person, regardless of his moral state, if he only meditates correctly.
Many intelligent people with higher education and scientific degrees stand in the middle of the church, spread their arms, groping for the “energy axis of the temple,” and feed on cosmic energy. Others are “charged” by icons. Still others take energy from the sun, wind and mountains... Those who think so are obviously not familiar with the book “The Wisdom of Solomon”, in which it is written: “Wisdom will not enter into an evil soul and will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin” (Wisdom Sol. 14).
Jehovah's Witnesses also believe that the Holy Spirit is a kind of Divine energy. And when you show Jehovah's Witnesses biblical texts (of course, not according to their funny translation of the Bible " New world") that the Holy Spirit participates in the creation of the world (Gen. 1: 2), knows human hearts and the very essence of God (1 Cor. 2: 11), regenerates a person in the sacrament of baptism (John 3: 5), supplies shepherds of the Church (Acts 20:28), forgives sins (John 20:23), directs the apostles to preach (Acts 11:12) or forbids them to go to certain places (Acts 16:7) - they find themselves in great perplexity . All of the listed properties of the Holy Spirit show that He is not energy at all, but God with all the Divine properties.
We can expose errors for as long as we like, but if we do not know the positive teaching of Orthodoxy about the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to defeat errors and achieve the goal of Christian life, which Seraphim of Sarov defined as the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, it is necessary, word by word, to briefly examine the eighth member of the Creed according to the holy fathers of the Church - and then there will simply be no room left for misconceptions about the Holy Spirit. Because the truth is in Christ (John 14:6: I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me), and Christ is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22). And therefore, lies cannot overcome the Church, just as the gates of hell cannot overcome Her (Matt. 16:18).
1. So, the word “Spirit” shows that the Holy Spirit as God is absolutely immaterial and there is no way to force the Spirit to do anything in this world if He Himself does not want to.
2. The word “Holy” suggests that there are also spirits that are not holy, fallen spirits. And there are holy, disembodied spirits who stand before the Spirit as God and serve Him.
3. “Lord the Life-Giving One.” The word “Lord” (in Greek “??????”) means that the Holy Spirit is the same God as the Father and the Son, possesses all the essential properties of God: eternity, immutability, omnipresence, immutability, omnipotence. However, it also has a special property – to give life. He gives life to every living being and especially spiritual life to humans.
4. “Who proceeds from the Father.” These words indicate the hypostatic, personal property of the Holy Spirit, which distinguishes Him from the Father. Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, back in the 3rd century, wrote in his Creed: “And there is one Holy Spirit, who came from God and appeared through the Son (i.e. to people), the Image of the Son, the Perfect Perfect, the Life, the Author of the living, (Holy Source) , Holiness, the Giver of sanctification, in Him appears God the Father, who is over all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all.” As mentioned above, Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Son. And this is the main dogmatic difference between Catholics and Orthodox. Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) in his Long Catechism points out three reasons why Catholics are mistaken in this case: “The doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father cannot be subject to any change or addition. Firstly, because the Orthodox Church in this teaching repeats the exact words of Jesus Christ Himself; and His words are, without doubt, a sufficient and perfect expression of the truth. Secondly, because the Second Ecumenical Council, the main object of which was the establishment of the true teaching about the Holy Spirit, without a doubt, satisfactorily expounded this teaching in the Creed; and the Orthodox Church recognized this so decisively that the Third Ecumenical Council, by its seventh rule, prohibited the composition of a new Creed.” Western Christians introduced the filioque into the Creed back in 586, at the Council of Toledo in Spain, but only after the 11th century did they change the Creed everywhere.
5. “He who is with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.” The Holy Spirit, as true God, has equal Divine dignity with the Father and the Son. He is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. The Son of God Himself commanded: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen". (Matt. 28:19-20). The second letter to the Corinthians (Cor. 13:23) indicates all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity in the One Divine Being: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This exclamation is pronounced by the priest in the temple, ending many prayers.
6. “Who spoke the prophets.” The Holy Spirit, like God, knows the future, and therefore Old Testament He acted through the prophets, revealing the future (2 Pet. 2:15). “And the Lord said to me” (Deut. 9, 12-13; 1 Sam. 15, 16; Isaiah 8, 1-3; Jeremiah 11, 16; Ezek. 44, 2; Hosea 3, 1; Amos 7, 8 ; Zechariah 11, 13 and many others), “Thus says the Lord” (Ex. 10, 3; Joshua 7, 13; 1 Kings 10, 18; 2 Kings 24, 12; 3 Kings. 21, 19; 2 Kings 1, 6; Jeremiah 6, 22 and many others), “And the word of the Lord came to me” (Jeremiah 1, 11-13; 2, 1; 18) , 5; Zahar. 6, 9). What the apostles spoke by the Holy Spirit is stated in the Holy Scriptures (1 Cor. 18). And during the Second Ecumenical Council no one doubted this.
If Orthodox Christians firmly adhered to the teachings of the Church about the Holy Spirit, then the ranks of people in error would not be replenished by Orthodox Christians who have forgotten the foundations of their faith. Right dogmas give birth to right life in Christ, and vice versa. Moreover, the right teaching about the Life-Giving Spirit gives birth to and supports spiritual life in us. As one of the most exalted theologians wrote: Orthodox Church St. Simeon the New Theologian: “Holy Soul, ineffably coming from the Father and coming to us faithful through the Son; The soul of life and reason, the soul of holiness and perfection, the soul of good, wise, humane, pleasant, glorious; The soul, nourishing and at the same time nourishing, merciful, enlightening, strengthening; Divine Soul of patience, Soul, giver of joy, spiritual joy, chastity, wisdom, knowledge, meekness, forbearance, lack of concern for what is here, contemplation of what is there; Soul, driving away despondency, dispelling negligence, driving away vain curiosity and guile; To the soul, declaring the mysteries that are the guarantee of the Kingdom of Heaven, the source of prophecy and teaching, the destroyer of sin, the gate of repentance, the Soul, pointing out like a gatekeeper front door ascetics; To the soul of love, peace, faith, abstinence, to the soul of longed-for love, the giver of this same love, You, Holy Soul, come and dwell in us and abide with us inseparably, inseparably, sanctifying, and transforming, and illuminating our hearts, as one in essence and equal in honor to the Son and the Father, and as the One who adores those who receive Him, destroying all sin and bringing with Your descent all virtue” (Theological Word 3).
Deacon Dimitry MAYOROV,
Tyumen
Divine Revelation and our salvation is the work of the entire Holy Trinity, but God is revealed to us through the Son God's Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and through Them saves us. Christ is close to us, as God became man, and the Holy Spirit is also close to us, since He dwells in us and unites us with Christ.
1. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not manifest himself hypostatically, personally, but as Divine Power. In the Old Testament books He is usually called the Spirit of God. This is what is said about His action during the creation of the world (Gen. 1:2) and about His providential action as the Giver and Preserver of life (Ps. 103:30; 138:7; Job 27:3; 33:4, etc.), but sometimes like the Punisher, for example. Egyptians (Ex. 15:10). They contain evidence of the influence of the Spirit of God on the soul of man, to which he imparts special knowledge and inspiration, making man a prophet, announcer and instrument of Divine providence. It is said about such chosen ones that the Spirit of God was on them, that they were filled with the Spirit of God, that He came down and rested on them (Ex. 313; 1 Sam. 10:10; 19:20; 2 Chronicles: 15:1; Neh. .9.20; 9.30). More than once it is said there about the Spirit of God resting on all the chosen people (Num. 24:2; Neh. 9:20 and 9:30).
The prophets themselves foresaw in the future even more exceptional influences of the Spirit on the special Chosen One - the Messiah. For example, Isaiah says:
“A Child will arise from the root of Jesse... and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The spirit of advice and strength. The spirit of knowledge and godliness” (Isaiah II, 2). There are other prophecies, for example: Isa. 42.1 and Isa. 61.1. The prophets also predicted a special outpouring of the Spirit on the chosen people (for example, Ezek. 37:14; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29). The Apostle Peter refers to the prophecy of Joel on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit. There is evidence in the Old Testament about the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit in the soul of an individual, for example, Ps. 50, etc.
2. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the Old Testament Church.
The very holiness chosen people was determined not only by the fact that he was the custodian of the Word of God (the Law), but also by the fact that the Spirit of God was with him, in his sanctuary and in his prophets. All this served as preparation for the coming of the Savior. The Spirit of God was preparing a place for Him in the world. Faith in prophets never ceased in Israel. The Savior Himself testified to the divine inspiration of David (Matthew 12:3-4), and the Apostles testified to the divine inspiration of the prophets in general. The first events of the New Testament take place in a prophetic environment, since Joachim and Anna, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, Joseph the Betrothed and St. John the Baptist should be called prophets.
3. The Holy Spirit in the Incarnation and Epiphany.
At the conception of the Lord, the Holy Spirit descends on the Ever-Virgin Mary, and at the Baptism of the Savior He appears above Him in the form of a dove. As the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Lord is not separated from the Holy Spirit, but from the time of Baptism he demonstrates this inseparability, although the Gospel notes only individual moments of the Lord’s leadership by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:18; Mark 1:12; Luke 4:14; 4.18).
4. The Lord's teaching about the Holy Spirit.
The Lord began His teaching about the Holy Spirit by speaking of Himself as the Anointed One, predicted by the prophet Isaiah (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1). In a conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord revealed the secret of the second birth of people from the Holy Spirit through baptism (John 3:5-6; 3:8-34), and in a conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4:13-14) and on the feast of Midnight ( John 7.37-39) the mystery of the new grace-filled life in the Holy Spirit, describing it under the image of living water.
The Lord promised the help of the Holy Spirit to those persecuted for His sake (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12) and the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who ask for help” (Luke 11:13). All the miracles of the Lord were evidence of the Holy Spirit as the life-giving power of love, and the Lord called doubt that they were not performed by the power of the Holy Spirit a blasphemy that will not be forgiven (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29).
The Lord's teaching about the Holy Spirit ends in His farewell discourse (John 14, 15 and 16 chapters). In it, the Lord already directly promises to send down the Holy Spirit, “Who proceeds from the Father,” so that He would dwell in the world. Explaining that the sending of the Holy Spirit is conditioned by His, Christ’s, atoning sacrifice, the Lord promises the disciples that the Holy Spirit will remind them of all His words, teach them everything and be their leader. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Christ. From the same conversation it is clear that the Holy Spirit is given only to those who believe in Christ and strive for unity in love. The Holy Spirit unites believers with Christ and among themselves, overcoming everything that can separate people from Christ and from each other. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the “Comforter”; He gives joy that no one can take away.
5. The Descent of the Holy Spirit and the Life of the Church.
Just before His ascension, the Lord solemnly confirmed to the disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5-8), and this promise was fulfilled when, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire on the community of faithful followers of Christ. From this began the life of the Church, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles is the Gospel about the Holy Spirit and the Church.
Those who received the Holy Spirit were radically changed, filled with courage and wisdom, acquired knowledge of previously unknown languages, and became zealous witnesses Christ's Resurrection and Truth. From this day on, all true evangelists of Christ are alive and moved by the single highest inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Who became the Guardian of the Church. From the book of Acts it is clear that He clearly makes Himself known in the prayer meetings of the Church (Acts 4:31) and to every preacher of the Word (Acts 4:8; 5:32; 7:55, etc.). As the overseer of the Church, the Holy Spirit ensures its growth, first among Jews and proselytes (that is, Gentiles converted to the Jewish faith) (Acts 8:15-17; 26-40; 9:17-18 and 31), arranging the internal life of the Church so that nothing hinders preaching (Acts 6:2-7), instructing evangelists (Acts 13:52; 20:22-23), showing them where to go (Acts 10:19-20 ) and where not to go (Acts 16:6-7). The Holy Spirit guides the conversion of pagans, for example, Cornelius the centurion (Acts 10:1-11, 18), and the mission of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas.
The Holy Spirit is so inseparable from the Church that an attempt to deceive her is revealed as a lie told to Himself (Acts 5:3-9). This incident (the sin and death of Ananias and Sapphira) testifies that all power in the Church has its source in the Holy Spirit, of which there is other evidence (Acts 20:28).
6. The action of the Holy Spirit on man.
The Apostolic Epistles reveal more clearly the influence of the Holy Spirit on man in connection with the mysterious providence of God the Father and the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ: The Holy Spirit, together with the Son of God, adopts us as sons to God the Father (Eph. 2:18), makes us sons of God (Rom. 8:14), due to the fact that He Himself is the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Christ (Gal. 4:6; Phil. 1:19; Rom. 8:9). This adoption makes us free, since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of freedom (2 Cor. 3:17), and not the spirit of slavery and fear (2 Tim. 1:7), therefore the children of God do the will of the Father not out of fear, but in power filial love. Together with the Lord, the Holy Spirit frees man from slavery to sin.
7. Fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostolic Epistles also reveal the full meaning of the Holy Spirit for inner life of an individual and lists His spiritual fruits and gifts. These fruits are as follows: goodness, righteousness and truth (Eph. 5:9); and elsewhere: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). This means that those who have received the fullness of the Holy Spirit no longer need guidance. external rules, since the Holy Spirit Himself guides them into all righteousness.
One must distinguish His gifts from the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are not gracious dispositions of the heart, but types of service or human activity for the good of one’s neighbor and the Church. The Apostle Paul says: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit... To one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit... to another faith... to another the gift of healing... to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirits, other different languages, to interpret tongues to another” (1 Cor. 12:1-10). The harmonious combination of the gifts of some Christians with others makes the Church a living organism, the Body of Christ. The gifts of the Holy Spirit also include the gifts of hierarchical service in the Church. But all gifts are only means to acquiring great ones, and among them - the most excellent, at the same time the gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit - love, about which the Apostle Paul says that in comparison with it everything is nothing, since, says the Apostle, even “if I give away All my property, and I will give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does me no good” (1 Cor. 13:3). Following the Apostle Paul, all the Fathers of the Church teach this. At the beginning of the 19th century, perhaps the greatest of Russian saints, Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky taught that the very goal of Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, and that all Christian works and exploits, such as good deeds, fasting, prayer, etc., are only means in relation to this goal. Explaining this teaching to his disciple N. Motovilov, the Monk Seraphim was transformed: his face shone like the sun, and then, having prayed, he gave the opportunity to his disciple to experience all the extraordinary fullness and power of the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely, those that exceed any earthly concept - peace, silence, joy, sweetness, warmth, fragrance, light. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are uncreated: the Holy Fathers call them Divine “energies,” that is, a manifestation of Divine life, which is given to us from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, and which we partake of, bearing the fruits of the Spirit.
The guardian of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Church.
All references to the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture have one unique feature: they do not directly communicate anything about the essence and character of the Spirit. The Bible contains many descriptions of the various activities of the Holy Spirit, but there is not a single doctrinal statement that clearly expresses His nature. A similar silence is observed in early Christian writing. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Prot. Georgy Zavershinsky, author of the book “The Spirit Breathes Where It Wants,” notes: “It is much more difficult and even fruitless to talk about the Holy Spirit, they need to live” - these words of Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern) can characterize the pneumatology of the first centuries of Christianity. For the early Christian communities, the manifestations of the Holy Spirit were a real force, the fulfillment of the Savior's promise (John 14:26, 15:26). They lived by the Holy Spirit, experiencing the Divinity of Christ in Him and being filled with abundant grace-filled gifts. Apparently, this led to the absence of a systematic teaching about the Spirit in the pre-Origen era. There was no need to write and teach in a special way about the One who was really present in Christian communities, enlightening and giving strength to always be ready “to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15 )".
This fact of mysterious understatement gave rise to disputes in the history of the Church about the essence of the Holy Spirit, which flared up in the second half of the 4th century AD. e. And in relatively recent times, the idea that the Holy Spirit is not God (to put it dogmatically precisely - the Third Person of the One God), but only His faceless active force. Among the groups that consider themselves Christian, this point of view is today defended by Jehovah's Witnesses and other anti-trinitarians.
The main argument against understanding the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider it possible for the Holy Spirit to become a Person in the New Testament, if in the Old Testament He is described as the active power of God. Based on this premise, Witnesses cannot accept, as they are written, many New Testament texts that describe the Spirit as a Person. Therefore, Jehovah's Witnesses have to resort to linguistic speculation, declaring that the New Testament authors used the technique of animation (or personification) when they wrote about the Spirit. Thus, analogies are given for the animation of the staff and the right hand of God (Ex. 15:6, Ps. 22:4). However, Witness apologists do not take into account a fundamentally important fact: the clearly artistic imagery of the hymns and psalms cannot be mechanically extrapolated to the narrative and theological passages of other biblical books. This approach completely ignores the special literary genre of Old Testament poetics. Of course, this is affected by the fundamentalist view of the inspiration of biblical texts, the specifics of which are discussed
Indeed, in the Old Testament, with the exception of a couple of places (eg, Isa. 63:10), the Holy Spirit is described as the active power of God. However, even if Jehovah's Witnesses deny a change in the understanding of the essence of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, they cannot deny that, in comparison with the Old Testament, fundamentally new ideas about the Spirit appear in the New. For example, a characteristic difference in the action of the Spirit on man is that in the New Testament He is described as the source of sanctification and righteousness of the believer (Rom. 8:9, 1 Cor. 6:11, 2 Thess. 2:13). In the Old Testament, including non-canonical books, the actions of the Spirit are manifested only in the acquisition of a prophetic gift, special physical strength, miraculous abilities, wisdom, etc. If in the Old Testament the Spirit is described in inanimate images of the world of matter: the breath of life, wind, fire, water and clouds, then in the New Testament already in the form of a dove - an animated creature (Matthew 3:16). In the fourth Gospel, the most theologically mature, the Holy Spirit is described not even in images, but as the Person of the Comforter ( gr.Παρ ά κλητος - defender, intercessor, In. 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7). Moreover, the words of Christ “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:16) do not allow us to perceive the Personality of the Comforter only as a figurative figure of speech. Note that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit others The Comforter, which means the first, is Christ himself. Another Comforter cannot be someone (much less anything!) less than Christ: “It is better for you that I should go; for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; and if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). In general, it must be said that in the Old Testament the Lord of Hosts called Himself the Comforter of His people: “I, I Myself, am your Comforter” (Is. 51:12).
However, the most contrasting difference between the description of the Spirit in the New Testament and the Old is that Jesus Christ becomes the source of the Holy Spirit (John 4:14, 7:37-39, 20:22). He pours out His: “Therefore He, having been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). In the Old Testament paradigm, the source that pours out the Spirit can only be God YHVH (Isa. 44:3, Ezek. 39:29, Zech. 12:10, Joel 2:28). The prophets could only convey the grace of the Spirit, but not pour it out (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13). If in the Old Testament the Messiah, as a man, is only anointed by the Spirit Who abides on Him (Isa. 11:2, 42:1, 61:1), then in the New Testament, after the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is described as Spirit of Christ(Phil. 1:19, Gal. 4:6, 1 Pet. 1:11). No man can pour out the Holy Spirit except God Himself - this basic concept for Judaism of any era. However, the Holy Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are referred to interchangeably in the New Testament (1 Thess. 4:8, Rom. 8:9), which, according to Rabbi E. B. Gertel, sounded “shocking” to a Jew. and a blasphemous statement."
When did the first disciples of Christ become aware of the Holy Spirit as the Divine Person of the Comforter? It is obvious that the experiential knowledge of the Spirit occurred at Pentecost, when the disciples were anointed by Him. Just as the apostles realized the Divinity of Christ only after His resurrection from the dead, so the Divinity of the Spirit was experienced by them during His miraculous outpouring. The first Christians experienced what Christ said about the Spirit as Comforters not at the level of abstract knowledge, but from the very experience of Christian life: “The Spirit also strengthens us in our weaknesses; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be expressed. But he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26,27, cf. 1 Cor. 2:10).
It remains completely unclear why the New Testament authors spoke about the Holy Spirit separately from God the Father in those cases where the Persons of the Father and the Son are mentioned, if the Spirit is only the power of God: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communication of the Holy Spirit with by all of you. Amen" (2 Cor. 13:13), "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you (1 Pet. 1:2). What is the narrative meaning of giving the Spirit independent activity: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and the services are different, but the Lord is the same; and there are diversities of activities, but the same God, who works all things in all” (1 Cor. 12:4-6)? If the Holy Spirit is only an attribute of God the Father, then such a description of his actions looks tautological and redundant, since the Father and Christ are already mentioned. It is not clear how the ap. Paul speaks of “the power of the Holy Spirit,” if He Himself is supposedly the power of God (Rom. 15:13,19)? There is no clear answer to this obvious question in the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses.
For example, in explaining the meaning of baptism “in the name of... the Holy Spirit,” Jehovah’s Witnesses state: “What does it mean to be baptized “in the name of... the holy spirit”? This means recognizing the role and action of the holy spirit." Just above it says: “What does it mean to be baptized “in the name of the Father”? This means recognizing his name, position, power, will and laws." Again, it is not clear why separately recognize the role and action of the Holy Spirit if He is the dependent power of God? Is recognizing the position and authority of God the Father not enough to accept His power?
EvidenceIIcentury
It is logical to expect that if the first Christians professed faith in the Holy Spirit as the Divine Person of the Comforter, then we should have similar evidence already in the 2nd century AD. e. Jehovah's Witnesses state that “the early Christians did not consider the holy spirit to be part of the Trinity. This teaching appeared centuries later." In order to refute this absurd statement, it is enough to turn to primary sources relating to the works of Christian authors of the 2nd century. We find the earliest evidence from the “men of the apostles”:
96-98 AD e.: “Take our advice, and you will not repent. For God lives And Lord Jesus Christ lives and the Holy Spirit, the faith and hope of the elect"[Svshchmch. Clement of Rome. 1 Corinthians 58:2]
107 AD e.: “Obey the bishop and one another, just as Jesus Christ obeyed the Father in the flesh, and the apostles Christ, Father and Spirit, so that there may be unity, physical and spiritual" (Ignatius of Antioch, Magnesians 13)
156 AD BC: “For this and for everything I praise You, I bless You, I glorify You, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest Jesus Christ, Your beloved Servant, through whom glory to You with Him and the Holy Spirit, now and in future centuries. Amen" [Polycarp of Smyrna, Martyrdom, 14.3].
Next in the line of evidence are anonymous Judeo-Christian works of Syrian origin. I – beginning 2nd century n. e.:
OK. 100 AD e.: “And as for baptism, baptize like this: having taught all this in advance, baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) in living water.<…>If there is neither one nor the other, then pour water on your head. three times in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit" [Didache, 7:1,3].
Mid-2nd century: “... having come to the west of the Sun, having seen the Evening Light, we sing Father and Son and Holy Spirit God" [ Evening prayer“Quiet Light”].
Beginning of the 3rd century: “...when we sing glory to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let all the powers shout: Amen! Amen!" [Hymn, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus].
Beginning of the 3rd century: “Come, Gift of the Most High, come, perfect mercy, come, Holy Spirit, come, revealer of secrets, chosen among the prophets...” [The Acts of Judas Thomas, apocrypha].
Of course, critics might argue that second-century pneumatology differs from later formulations of the doctrine of the Trinity and the Divinity of the Holy Spirit in the fourth and fifth centuries. According to the apt expression of Rev. A. Schmemann: “Thought has not yet kept pace with faith, words turned out to be helpless to express experience.” It took time and the historical situation associated with the emergence of heresies for the mystery of the Trinity to be understood at the level of a coherent and systematized presentation. The reason was also that the early writers of that time were more interested in the practice - how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are related to us, than in how They are related to each other.
Such early evidence of the Person and Deity of the Holy Spirit excludes the influence factor Greek philosophy on the very idea of the Spirit as the Third Person of God. The evidence presented comes from a period when church theological thought had not yet begun to speak the language philosophical categories antiquity - which confuses Jehovah's Witnesses so much. In addition, it is extremely important that the Divinity of the Holy Spirit was confessed by Christians not in theological treatises, but in liturgical and prayerful practice - which indicates the universal and authentic nature of this faith.
Zavershinsky, Georgy, priest. The spirit breathes where it wants. Introduction to the Orthodox doctrine of the Holy Spirit. (Series: Byzantine Library). St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2003. 254 p.
A review of the most striking verses and arguments is given in the article by D. Bagdasarov: “Is the Holy Spirit only an active force?”
Hermann Gunkel, The Influence of the Holy Spirit. Fortress Press // Philadelphia. 1979. P. 16-21.
Why a dove? The dove in the biblical tradition symbolizes the new peace that is associated with water. So, after the flood, the dove returns to Noah in the ark, symbolizing the advent of a new world, cleansed by the waters of the flood. The connection with the Jordanian waters of baptism is obvious. Moreover, “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). It is noteworthy that the participle used here merahefet “quiveringly soaring” denotes the hatching of eggs. The last part of the verse thus describes the Spirit as hovering, protecting, and participating in creation. The same verb in Deut. 32:11 is used to refer to an eagle soaring over its young. It is in vain that Jehovah's Witnesses try to use this verse to show that the Person could not be "carried about." Linguistic analysis of the passage shows that the original language depicts Ruach Elohim animate entity .
Bradford E. Hinze & D. Lyle Dabney, Advents Of The Spirit. Marquette University Press. 2001. P. 36-42. Although Witnesses might object by saying that the dove is not a conscious being, such an argument does not prove a denial of the Person of the Holy Spirit. In a similar way, Christ Himself is depicted in the book of the Apocalypse in the form of a lamb - also an unconscious living being.
It is known that Greek word pneuma is neuter, but in the corpus of Johannine writings the Spirit is spoken of in masculine(as “he”), so the pronoun ekeinos in John. 15:26 is masculine, despite the pneuma that follows it.
The only text that speaks of another subject of the outpouring of the Spirit is the words of Divine Wisdom: “Return to my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit on you, I will proclaim my words to you” (Prov. 1:23). Of course, here one can see a mysterious foreshadowing of the incarnate Wisdom of Christ, who poured out the Spirit on His disciples.
See journal: Conservative Judaism, The “Holy Ghost” and Judaism. Vol. 49, No. 2, Winter, 1997, p. 43.
Brownson J. The Odes of Solomon and Johannine Tradition // Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha No. 2 1988. - P. 51
Maksimov Yu. V. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit in early church(I-III centuries). - M.: Bible Patrol Center. research: Imperium Press, 2007. P. 61.
Quotations are given from the monograph: Maksimov Yu.V. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the early Church (I-III centuries). - M.: Bible Patrol Center. research: Imperium Press, 2007. pp. 62-64.
Vladimir Degtyarev,
The period in which we live is often called the time of grace, that is, the period of special work of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, in one of the prophecies speaking about the coming Messiah, a brief but voluminous description of this amazing Person is given. This passage says that He is “the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness” (Isa. 11:2). In the Bible we find the teaching of one God, who is revealed to us in three Persons (1 Pet. 1:2). The Holy Spirit is the third, although this absolutely does not mean, as we will see later, the smallest Person of the Divine Trinity, since He is completely equal with the Father and the Son.
It is necessary to study the biblical teaching about the Holy Spirit, although it is quite a difficult task. Taking a quick look at this topic, it seems that the Bible is less clear about the Holy Spirit than it is about the Father and the Son. This may be partly due to the fact that much of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is the proclamation and glorification of the Son (John 14:26; 16:13-14). However, we see a mention of this amazing Person already in the second verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:2), where He is presented as the One who directly took part in the creation of our world.
The Russian word spirit is the equivalent of the Hebrew word ruach and the ancient Greek word pneuma. Both of these words in the original have the following meanings: breath or wind.
A brief historical overview of the development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
The Church's teaching about the Holy Spirit was not formed immediately. According to the facts we have, in the first centuries of Christianity the doctrine of the Holy Spirit developed very slowly. The Church testified to the Holy Spirit at the moment water baptism and in the Apostles' Creed. Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit indicates that the early Christian Church believed in the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person, although this doctrine was not explicitly expressed at that time. Christians in the early Church understood that the Holy Spirit was the author Holy Scripture. “Origen, for example, said that the Bible 'was written by the Holy Spirit'" (Erikson, Christian Theology, 719). Along with the development of sound doctrine, various false teachings regarding the Holy Spirit began to penetrate into the Church. These false teachings undoubtedly caused problems in the Church , but, nevertheless, God used them to induce sound Christians to seriously apply themselves to the formation of a sound doctrine about the third Person of the divine Trinity.
Montanism (2nd century)
Montanism drew attention to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. This movement, also called the Phrygian heresy, arose in Phrygia around 170 AD. Montanus, the founder of this heresy, and his two followers Prisca and Maximilla declared themselves prophets, and their followers considered Montanus, Prisca and Maximilla representatives of the Holy Spirit on earth. Montanus taught that the era of the Paraclete had arrived, that is, the Holy Spirit, which gives new revelations. He preached the end is near light and called for a strict and highly moral life. This was a time when the Christian life of many churches was not in accordance with the principles of the Gospel. It was precisely the high moral demands that attracted Tertullian to this movement, as well as a number of other believers of that time. Montanism defended its special right to “additional revelation” besides the Bible, which is why the Church rejected it. Thus, the Church confirmed that the revelation from God that we need is contained in Scripture and that the Holy Spirit does not give any other revelation independent of the Bible.
Arianism (IV century)
Arius, who was a presbyter in Alexandria, argued that the Son, that is, Christ, was begotten by the Father and did not exist before His birth. Then, in accordance with the teachings of Arius, the Son created the world, and first He created the Holy Spirit. Arius was opposed by Deacon Athanasius, who later became a bishop. He declared the full divinity of the Holy Spirit, consubstantial or equal with the Father and the Son. To resolve their dispute, by decision of Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicaea was convened in 325. Because main theme Council was the divinity of Jesus Christ, therefore the Nicene Creed about the Son states that He is consubstantial, that is, equal to the Father, and about the Holy Spirit only one thing is said: “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” The divinity of the Holy Spirit is only implied in the Nicene Creed.
Council of Constantinople (IV century)
The Nicene Creed did not clearly state the divinity of the Holy Spirit, so new disputes broke out after the council. The heresy of the Macedonians arose, named Macedonia, bishop of Constantinople. The Macedonians did not recognize the divine nature of the Holy Spirit and considered Him different from the first two Persons of the Trinity. They taught that the Holy Spirit is a creation, not God. This heresy was opposed by Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, who argued “that the Spirit should be given glory, honor and worship in the same measure as the Father and the Son” (Erickson, Christian Theology, 722). The disputes became so heated that Emperor Theodosius had to convene a council of 150 eastern bishops in Constantinople in 381. The Council, chaired by Gregory the Theologian, supplemented the Nicene Symbol the following statement about the Holy Spirit: “[I believe]... in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, whom together with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, speaking through the prophets.” It can be said that the Council of Constantinople affirmed the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, just as the Council of Nicaea affirmed the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Augustine (354-430)
In his work De Trinitate (lat.) "On the Trinity" Augustine argues that the three Persons of the Godhead have one essence. The Holy Spirit, according to Augustine, comes from the Father and the Son.
Council of Chalcedon (5th century)
At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, where the Roman, Constantinople, Antioch and Jerusalem churches were represented, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was finally adopted as complete teaching about the Trinity. Thus, the Divinity of the Holy Spirit was reaffirmed.
Period of Reformation (1517)
The Reformation did not bring any important changes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit already established and set forth in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. Only the development and development of existing formulations continued. This was a time when the Holy Spirit was neglected in the practical life of the Roman Catholic Church. His place in the official church was “taken” by popes, priests, masses, the cult of Mary and saints. Protestant Reformation only rediscovered this great doctrine. But at the end of the 19th century, events occurred that brought the doctrine of the Holy Spirit to almost a dominant place in church discussions. The emergence of the Pentecostal and then charismatic movements, with their inappropriate biblical teaching doctrines of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the manner in which the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians, has led the modern church to seriously study and accurate presentation sound doctrine of this wonderful Person. Moreover, the second half of the 20th century was marked by serious disagreement regarding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. IN last years More and more has been said and more books have been written on this topic than probably any other religious topic.
Vladimir Degtyarev,
Fundamentals of Christian Theology, Zaporozhye Bible College and (DMin Dissertation) Zaporozhye 2007
Great mystery about Holy Spirit! The human mind cannot understand it, and is inclined to reject it Holy Spirit. The Mystery of the Spirit of God about the Holy Spirit opens to the spiritual nature of man. Man consists of spirit, soul and body; man has conscience, feelings and reason. Feelings fill a person’s inner world, conscience weighs, and the mind strives to experience, measure, and evaluate everything. The words of Christ speak about this: “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25). A baby lives simply and therefore many things are revealed to him. Very little is revealed to us about the Spirit of God, and yet we need to know more deeply the Third Person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit is a creative, all-encompassing and life-giving Person
God's Holy Spirit created life at the creation of the world. At a time when the earth was still formless and empty, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (see Gen. 1:2).
When there was no light or other forces of nature known to us, the Spirit of God was already hovering over the waters, for He possesses the creative power from which all other powers flow. During creation, the power of the Spirit of God acted; the organizer of order among chaos became Holy Spirit.
The life of an individual, as well as nations, is arranged by the Holy Spirit. Let's take, for example, Moses, a man by nature timid, indecisive, and tongue-tied. But we read that he freed the people of Israel from the yoke of the Egyptians and brought them to the promised land. Amidst the polytheism that reigned throughout the world at that time, and especially in Egypt, he set an example of the worship of the One Living God. Moses conveyed to the people the laws and commandments of the One Eternal God. The laws given through Him are still alive: “do not kill, do not steal, do not covet someone else’s” and others live in all nations and people know about these laws.
Where did Moses get his strength? We learn this from his own testimony. The Israelis began to grumble about the lack of food and demand meat from him. It was hard for Moses to hear the people's murmuring against God. However, he could not satisfy the demands of the people and told God that he could not bear this people alone, that he was heavy for him and began to ask God for death.
“And the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel whom you know... and take them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you... and I will take of the Spirit that is on you, and will put it on them, that they may bear with you.” you carried the burden of the people, and you were not the only one who bore.”(Num. 11:16,17). Moses was endowed with abundant power from above; this power came from the Spirit of God, who through him accomplished the great work of liberating the people from slavery and accompanying him during his wanderings in the desert.
Holy Spirit dwelled on all the prophets. In the power of the Holy Spirit Elijah labored, and when Elijah was about to be taken from the earth, his servant Elisha asked that the power that was on Elijah be on him doubly. And he received what he asked for. It is written like this: “Whoever gathered much had nothing to spare; and whoever had little had no lack.” (2 Cor. 8:15). Moses and Elijah collected much for the great purpose of God's economy.
The Holy Spirit unites and renews people
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that stones the prophets! Jesus Christ was crucified in it. But after His Resurrection, an amazing awakening began. Many Jews believed in the Messiah, accepted the teachings of Christ, even many of the priests submitted to faith in Him whom they had recently crucified. Believers “...continued constantly in the teaching of the Apostles, in fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers. There was fear in every soul; and many signs and wonders were performed through the Apostles in Jerusalem. Yet the believers were together and had everything in common. And they sold their estates and all property, and distributed it to everyone, depending on the need of each... The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul; and no one called anything of his property his own, but they had everything in common. The apostles testified with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 2:42-45; 4:32-33).
After the resurrection, Jesus gives the disciples the great commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19).
Before ascending from the earth, the Lord promised His disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). Force Holy Spirit, poured out on the day of Pentecost, united the people who came to Jerusalem to worship, removing barriers: nationality, culture, languages, as well as everything that is characteristic of human character: selfishness, pride and enmity. Holy Spirit, having mutually consolidating means, united the believers, bringing them to unanimity. Then the Holy Spirit brings Paul, who was once a persecutor and blasphemer of Jesus Christ, into the battle arena.
The Holy Spirit gives birth to a new life
“Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, so that whoever he found following this teaching, both men and women, would be tied up and brought to Jerusalem. When he walked and approached Damascus..."(Acts 9:1-3). We know what happened to him on the way to Damascus. He was stopped by the Lord Jesus Christ, His great light, from which he lost his sight, and he was led by the hand to Damascus. The Lord sent the disciple Ananias to lay hands on Saul so that he could receive his sight, “...for he is my chosen vessel to proclaim my name before the nations and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15).
“Ananias went and entered the house and, laying his hands on him, said: Brother Saul! The Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the path you walked, sent me so that you could receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”(Acts 9:17)
Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit, became increasingly stronger and confused the Jews living in Damascus, proving that this is Christ (see Acts 9:20). Holy Spirit filled Saul to glorify Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit showed those whom He had chosen for missionary work, saying to the disciples of Christ: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then they, having fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, sent them away.” (Acts 13:2-3). These, being sent by the Holy Spirit, came to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Saul, fulfilled Holy Spirit, broke the resistance of Satan acting in the sorcerer Elimas, for he opposed the word of the apostle, who preached to the proconsul. Elymas sought to turn the proconsul away from the faith. “But Saul, who is also Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit and fixing his gaze on him, said: O full of all deceit and all villainy, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness! Will you stop turning aside from the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you: you will be blind and will not see the sun until the time comes. And suddenly darkness and darkness fell upon him, and he, turning here and there, looked for a counselor. Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, marveling at the teaching of the Lord.” (Acts 13:9-12).
Guidance of the Holy Spirit
Having passed through Phrygia and Galatia, the Apostles were not admitted Holy Spirit preach the word in Asia. Having reached Mysia, they decided to go to Bithynia. But the Spirit did not allow them. “And Paul had a vision at night: a certain man, a Macedonian, appeared, asking him and saying: come to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9). So the Spirit of God called Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia, and Paul, heeding His command, immediately went there. Arriving at Philippi and entering the meeting house, he spoke to the women who had gathered. Lydia from the city of Thyatira, who revered God, listened and the Lord opened her heart to listen to what Paul was saying. Paul entered Lydia's house and baptized her and her household. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles lived for many days in this city and when they went to the prayer house, they met a maid possessed by a divinatory spirit. The Apostle Paul cast out the spirit of divination, for which he was beaten with rods and thrown into prison. At night, Paul and Silas, praying, sang praises to God, and the prisoners listened to them. What the power of prayer does! There was an earthquake, the doors opened and the awakened guard, thinking that his prisoners had escaped, wanted to kill himself. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, Do not do yourself any harm, for we are all here. The guard led them into his house, washed their wounds and was baptized himself and his household. And he rejoiced that he believed in the Lord Jesus.
Holy Spirit does not oppress anyone, He must be accepted voluntarily and willingly. He does not break into the life of a person, family or society! No! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (see 2 Cor. 3:17), there is love and peace. The Lord, through Paul, meekly asked the believers in Ephesus: have you accepted Holy Spirit? And they received Him and began to speak in tongues and prophesy; they became a temple for Holy Spirit.
Blessed is the man who opens the door of his heart to the Lord! The Lord makes him free from sin, alive to the Lord, holy like Jesus. Amen.
Ivan Fedotov,
Commanding Bishop of OTSKHVE
Dream Interpretation
