The word of the shepherd on the day of the feast of the giving of Pentecost. Sermon by Archbishop Artemy on the Day of the Commemoration of the Feast of Pentecost Commemoration of the Feast of Pentecost Service

On June 22, Saturday 1st after Pentecost, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the celebration of the feast of the Holy Trinity - Pentecost.

The Holy Trinity. Copy of the icon of St. Andrew Icon Painter

Troparion of the Feast of Pentecost, Tone 8

Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, / even wise are the fishers of the manifestation, / having sent down the Holy Spirit to them, / / and thereby catch the universe, Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.

Kontakion of the feast of Pentecost, tone 8:

Whenever tongues of fusion descended, / dividing the tongues of the Most High, / when distributing fiery tongues, / the whole call is united, / / and in agreement we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.

Giving is called the last day of the afterfeast of the Twelfth (such is the feast of the Holy Trinity - Pentecost) and great feasts lasting many days (great non-twelfth feasts have no afterfeast and no giving). In orthodox liturgics, it is accompanied by no less celebrations than the day of the feast itself. The Greek analogue of our giving is apodosis, which is translated from Greek as “return”.

Giving is nothing more than the return of the believing heart to rethink the holiday after a certain time. In early Christian times, this was practiced strictly on the 8th day.

It is difficult to say whether the celebration of giving was widespread in the local non-Jewish Christian communities from the earliest, apostolic times. But history brings us true information that already under Emperor Constantine I, 8-day celebrations were held in honor of the consecration of the basilicas of the cities of Jerusalem and Tire. Later, this tradition spread to the twelfth annual feasts, and in the 4th century the celebration of Pascha and Pentecost began to be celebrated everywhere, and in the East - also Epiphany and, later, the Nativity of Christ. Approximately, in the 17th century, a tradition appeared to celebrate the giving of the days of memory of the saints of God, in particular the holy Primate Apostles Peter and Paul, the holy martyr-archdeacon Lawrence, the holy martyr Agnes.

The Holy Trinity.

Painting of the crypt of the temple in honor of the Monk Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky

During the divine service dedicated to the celebration of the holiday, according to the liturgical tradition, all the hymns and prayers of this day are sung and read. When the Twelfth Feasts are celebrated, Matins is served with great doxology, and during the Liturgy the Apostle and the Gospel of the day are read.

Speaking about giving a church holiday, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) writes that the Lord sometimes gives Grace associated with this or that event, precisely on this last day of the afterfeast. Why? Probably for the same reason that Christ, who first hid from the eyes of Luke and Cleopas, who recognized him, then appears again to his disciples. A person cannot fully realize the value of what does not move away from him at least for a while. In order to assimilate a sacred concept both with the mind and soul, one must be imbued with it for several days, and then let go during the giving, looking forward to its return. Sabbath can hardly be tightly tied to any calendar day - it is rather a special state.

On the day of the holiday, as well as on the holiday itself, it is necessary, if possible, to avoid any work and do works of mercy for the glory of God. And this is also a great time to take a critical look at your own faith, to find those weak points in it that need God's help and healing. Everyone can and, perhaps, should ask themselves: will I go to this celebration of surrender as to the service itself on the “red” day of the church calendar? Do I realize in what purity and holiness my thoughts should be kept in honor of the day when the special Grace of the Lord appeared? Can I, on the occasion of the feast, offer the prescribed sacrifice to God, which in the New Testament time is expressed not in the blood of bulls and goats, but in the very “contrite spirit” described by the holy king and prophet David?

And in general, do I know how important this final cycle of the Church's remembrance of God's feast is? Only an understanding of all this will help determine how authentic or, conversely, how formal one's own faith is. One should understand this not in order to reproach and humiliate oneself endlessly, but in order, having understood and accepted the state of one's soul that exists, to tirelessly move towards the better. To a worthy surrender of earthly life and reunion with the Savior.

Of course, these are no longer apostolic times, and not every working person can afford to go to church services and take communion at the end of the afterfeast, as it should be. But giving, like the memory of the holiday, should be kept in the heart. This is first of all…

Icon of the Holy Trinity. Reverend Andrei Rublev

Trinity: in the circle of Divine light

Holy Trinity Day is one of the main Christian holidays.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity refers us to the story of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together with one accord. And suddenly there was a noise from heaven, as if from a rushing strong wind, and filled the whole house where they were. And divided tongues appeared to them, as if of fire, and rested one on 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 2:1-4).

The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost appeared in the world in a visible way, with the gifts of saving grace for the human soul. It was on the day of the Holy Trinity that the disciples of Christ founded the Church. And the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles points to the cornerstone in its foundation - the Trinity of God. This image of the trinity was embodied in his "Trinity" by the great icon painter Andrei Rublev.

Icon painter by the Spirit of God

June 26 is the day of remembrance of St. Andrei Rublev, who in spirit is one of the disciples of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Unfortunately, we know not so much about Andrei Rublev himself. We do not know exactly when he was born, although researchers give an approximate date - 1360. We do not know what his name was before he was tonsured. We don't even know the date of his death. Presumably, Andrei Rublev died in the fall of 1427. Such a conclusion can be drawn if we rely on the life of Abbot Nikon, compiled by Pachomius Serb, which says that Andrei Rublev died shortly after the completion of the painting of the Trinity Cathedral and before Nikon of Radonezh himself reposed, and the date of death of the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery is known for sure - November 17, 1427. But it is not so scary that we know so few facts from the biography of Andrei Rublev - after all, we are well aware of the main points of his spiritual life.

It is known that the life of the great icon painter was closely connected with two monasteries - the Trinity-Sergius and the Moscow Spaso-Andronikov. It is known that the young years of the monk passed in the first monastery, and there he took the tonsure. We also know that the artistic skills of the monk Andrei Rublev were highly valued in Russia and he was entrusted with painting great cathedrals: Blagoveshchensky in the Moscow Kremlin, Uspensky in Vladimir, Trinity in the monastery of the Reverend. But, of course, monk-icon painter Andrey Rublev left a special gift to humanity by painting a unique icon of the Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity. A follower of hesychasm, he managed to embody in it the silent conversation of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, permeated with the energy of Divine light.

Three angels descended from heaven

When hegumen Nikon of Radonezh, who after the death of St. Sergius of Radonezh became rector of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, decided to decorate the new white-stone Trinity Cathedral, erected on the site of an old wooden church, he called on Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny not only to paint the temple with frescoes, but also to paint a large number of icons for a multi-tiered iconostasis. As the Stroganov icon-painting original reports, “Reverend Andrei of Radonezh, an icon painter, nicknamed Rublev, painted many holy icons, all miraculous, and before that you live in obedience to the Reverend Father Nikon of Radonezh. He ordered with him an image to write the Most Holy Trinity, in praise of his father, St. Sergius the Wonderworker ... ”This icon was to be located on the right side of the Royal Doors.

Rublev's "Trinity" was based on a well-known biblical story. As the Old Testament tells, three beautiful young men appeared to the elder Abraham, and he, together with his wife Sarah, treated them under the canopy of the oak of Mamre, secretly guessing that he was offering hospitality to the Lord Himself. “And the Lord appeared to him at the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance to the tent, during the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood opposite him. Seeing, he ran towards them from the entrance to the tent and bowed to the ground. And he said: Lord! if I have found favor in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant; and they will bring some water and wash your feet; and rest under this tree. But I will bring bread, and you will refresh your hearts; then go; as you pass by your servant. They said: do as you say. And Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said: quickly knead three sats of the best flour and make unleavened bread. And Abraham ran to the flock, and took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the boy, and he hastened to prepare it. And he took butter, and milk, and a calf that had been cooked, and set it before them, and he himself stood beside them under a tree. And they ate” (Gen. 18:1-8).

On the icon of Rublev there is neither Abraham and Sarah, nor the slaughter of a calf, nor food. Only the figures of three Angels and the Chalice in the center of the table, and in the background the Mamre oak, a house and a rock. The icon painted by Andrei Rublev has acquired a new, evangelical meaning. In place of the biblical story about Angels descending from Heaven in order to tell Abraham the good news, a completely different story came, symbolizing the New Testament. And the Chalice on the table ceased to be a symbol of an ordinary meal, turning into a prototype of the Eucharist. The humble monk Andrew revealed to us the Mystery of the Eternal Council, at which the Son voluntarily accepts the Chalice with the head of a calf. This is the image of the Sacrifice that Christ made out of love for people and which changed the history of mankind. The Old Testament Trinity is being replaced by the Life-Giving Trinity.

Symbol of Love and Sacrifice

According to the figurative expression of Blessed Augustine, it is more difficult to comprehend the Mystery of the Holy Trinity than to scoop out the sea with a spoon. But Andrei Rublev seems to have managed to lift the veil. However, perhaps each of us, peering into the great creation of monk Andrei, will be able to discover something of his own.

But let's take a closer look at the icon. Three Persons of the Holy Trinity appear before our eyes - on the icon they are located in the order in which they are confessed in the Creed. The first Angel, sitting on the left, symbolizes God the Father, the second, in the center of the icon, - God the Son, and the third, on the icon on the right, - the Holy Spirit. One involuntarily marvels at the spirituality of the Angels: their bodies are slender and light, weightless.

The angel, symbolizing God the Father, is dressed in a blue robe - this is a symbol of His Divine, Heavenly nature; and the light purple himation - the outer garment - testifies to the Divine incomprehensibility and royal dignity of this Angel. Above His head stands a house with an altar. This is not only the dwelling of Abraham, but also a symbol of the Divine House, an image of house-building. In the whole appearance of the Angel, paternal authority is felt: His head is almost not inclined, and his gaze is turned to two other Angels, who, having bowed their heads, listen to Him with reverence.

The second angel is placed in the middle part of the icon. Its middle position is determined by the significance of the second Person in the bosom of the Holy Trinity. An oak tree stretches its branches over His head, and the vestment corresponds to how the Savior is usually depicted. The lower robe has a dark purple color, which marks the incarnation, and the blue cloak, loosely folded around the body of the Angel, indicates His Divine dignity.

The Angel's head is tilted to the left, towards the Father. His whole posture speaks of a readiness to go through a path full of suffering to the end. No objections, no contradictions, no doubts on the part of the Son of God - only readiness. It is no coincidence that this Angel has a blue color in his upper robe - a symbol of Divine splendor. This means that God wants to reveal Himself in Jesus Christ. A gold clave is sewn on the chiton - a symbol of the purity and perfection of the human nature of Christ. Clave is also interpreted as a sign of the messenger, a sign of the special messianic role of the Savior. Behind the Angel is a tree, which not only symbolizes the Oak of Mamre from the Old Testament, but also the image of the “tree of life”, the path to which, after the expulsion of the first people from Paradise, was ordered to block.

In the Angel, placed on the right side of the icon, we see the image of the Holy Spirit. The line of His bowed head repeats the line of the bowed head of the middle Angel. In all appearance, unconditional readiness and devotion are visible, and the facial expression reveals in Him the Comforter, Who both pacifies and supports. His undergarment is a dark, translucent blue. Top - the lightest smoky green. As you know, the green color in icon-painting symbolism means eternal life, it is the color of hope, flowering, spiritual awakening. Behind the Angel is a mountain - the oldest symbol of all that is sublime. In the Bible, the mountain is an image of the "rapture of the spirit." It is not for nothing that many significant events take place on the mountain: Moses receiving the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the Ascension of Christ on the Mount of Olives.

All three Angels hold rods in their hands, signifying Divine authority. And the whole composition is inscribed in a system of concentric circles that can be drawn along the halos, along the outlines of the wings, along the movement of angelic hands, and all these circles converge in the center of the icon, where the Chalice is depicted. The Holy Trinity seems to be in a single circle of Divine light.

Before us is not just a meal, but the Eucharistic meal. The table on the icon is not just a symbol of the meal in general - it is both an altar and at the same time the Throne, the Holy Sepulcher. In Rublev's Trinity, the Mortal Cup is a pledge of the future life and evidence of love, for the sake of which the Savior sacrifices Himself.

A special symbol of the "Trinity" is unusual colors, the same sky-blue, called "Rublev's cabbage rolls". With the help of this paint, Andrei Rublev tried to convey the sublime Heavenly beauty, which can be revealed to the earthly gaze.

Silent conversation

Creating his "Trinity", the silent Andrei Rublev focused on the silent conversation that the three Angels of God lead when making a decision. We understand that only with the unequivocal consent of all three of its participants, God can save this sinful world. But only One can fulfill this plan - Jesus, the Son of God, and God the Father is ready to sacrifice His beloved Son for the sake of saving the world. The conversation goes without words, and we see only a hint of agreement in the way the left and middle Angels bless the Chalice. The blessing of the Chalice by the Angel in the middle is a sign of His readiness to accept the sacrifice: “My Father! If possible, let this cup pass from me; however, not as I will, but as You” (Matthew 26:39). God the Father inspires Him to this feat, His countenance expresses deep sadness. The Holy Spirit appears here as the Comforter.

Rublyov's "Trinity" is an icon-painting of an act of the greatest, according to the teachings of the Christian Church, sacrificial love. And therefore, coming to the temple on the day of the Holy Trinity and the feast of the giving of Pentecost, let us remember the words from Blessed Augustine, who called on everyone “to believe that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the One God, the Creator and Ruler of the created Universe; and that neither the Father is the Son, nor the Holy Spirit is the Father or the Son, but that the Trinity consists in mutual communion of Persons and in an equal unity” (Blessed Augustine “On the Trinity”, part 2, book 9). And to believe in the Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible.

22 June 2019

Today is the day of the observance of the feast of Pentecost or the feast of the Holy Trinity. And many who go to church often ask, what is Pentecost? Such a strange name, right? Pentecost means fifty. In biblical history, who knows the Bible, in the Old Testament there was the feast of Pentecost, that is, the fiftieth day when God's chosen people got rid of captivity and left Egypt.

And the prophet Moses the God-seer ascends Mount Sinai, where God miraculously appears to him. He talks with God face to face, and God, in the person of Moses, gives mankind the Commandments, the Tablets of the Covenant. The commandments of love for God and the second tablet are the commandments of love for man. And he says that the whole meaning of human life is the comprehension of Divine love, entry into this love. And this is the salvation of man.

And on the fiftieth day after Easter, after the Resurrection of Christ, all the apostles gathered in Jerusalem, because on that day they came to the Jerusalem Temple and everyone took part in the divine service. So did the apostles. They lived in the upper room, in such a small house, I was in this house when I made the pilgrimage and Jerusalem. Such a small room, a small house, where a dozen and a half people can hardly fit. And in this upper room, the grace of the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and in their face descended on all those who believe in Christ. And, speaking more deeply, descended upon our Orthodox Christian Church. And the Church is all of us together believing in God and giving ourselves to God. And we are a single, divine-human organism.

And this grace of the Spirit of God transformed the apostles. They are simple men, they worked as fishermen, and you know when people are simple, what level they have, what conversations they have and what interests they have. And suddenly, they become… incomprehensible! They transform everything around them. They proclaim the Word of God. Yes, they heard the words of Christ, yes, they followed Him, but they received the Grace of the Spirit of God, which transformed them. They began to understand what is sometimes incomprehensible to the human mind. They began to understand with their hearts what is sometimes incomprehensible to a human being. Faith works wonders! And they were transformed and went to this transformation to call all peoples, the whole universe, our entire human world.

Many believers even know from their own experience how a person changes when the grace of God touches him. It's hard, you fall, you cry, you kneel, but grace touches your heart and everything goes away. You come to the temple and feel such joy, you feel the presence of God nearby, and nothing is scary anymore, and you are no longer afraid of anyone and nothing. And death, as they say, is not terrible. And there are millions of such examples in the Church. The whole host of saints. Therefore, tomorrow we will celebrate the Cathedral of All Saints Who Pleased God.

This is how the grace of the Spirit of God has transformed our land. People have become saints. The early Christians called each other brothers and sisters. They called Christians saints, and this is indeed their true name, a true appeal to them.

And today the Church also addresses us, the saints, calling us to become what we should be. In the Gospel we heard today the instruction in the apostolic epistles that “you are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth” and we must save ourselves, and when you yourself are saved, others around you are saved. And what is the meaning of our life, our salvation? In the acquisition of the grace of the Spirit of God, as Seraphim of Sarov taught, and the Apostle Paul says: "You are the temple of God and the Spirit of God lives in you."

Each of us is a temple, this is a small room, this Zion, where the Lord appeared to the disciples and transformed them. Every person, his heart, is the throne of the Living God. This is what the Church reminds us of today, and then the feast of All Saints, calls for holiness, true Christian life, Amen.

The sermon was delivered on the feast day of Pentecost 2016 in the church of St. Nicholas in the village of Berestovitsa

That is why TV is so harmful: it gives great food for dreams, it takes over the mind, and so powerfully that everyone who has ever watched TV knows how difficult it is to break away from it - it pulls like a magnet. Although later you feel emptiness in your soul, you are ready to curse yourself: again you lost time, again your head hurts, time was killed, but what did you gain? They say: here, we need to find out the news. Well, I found out. What did this knowledge give you? Nothing. What's the weather like tomorrow? Look at the thermometer and see. Moreover, everyone knows that fifty percent will guess, and fifty percent will lie. Well, look out the window, think for yourself and guess. Maybe even more accurate. So we need to try to get rid of these habits, especially by fasting. Maybe during this time we will wean ourselves from them altogether - and if not, the Dormition Fast is ahead, we will still wean. Fasting is the time when we put aside all entertainment and live the monastic life. This is very useful for us.

"Psalmody with Contrition". We live at the end of the Christian era, and throughout the history of the Church, a lot of wonderful prayers have accumulated, from which our prayer book is composed. The ancient fathers - and these words were spoken in the third century, that is, one thousand seven hundred years ago - did not have a prayer book. Then the monks had only one book - the Psalter. They prayed, chanting psalms, and this was called psalmody. Why psalmody with contrition? Many of us, when we pray, begin to dream, to take our minds far, to different elements of the world, to imagine something about ourselves. This way of praying is wrong. We must always pray with contrition, with repentance, always realizing who we are and who is the One to whom we pray. You need to pray in such a way that you never admire yourself, don’t think about how you look from the outside, don’t rejoice that you have read a lot. Prayer should have only one fruit - contrition of heart. Often we set aside a prayer book or a Psalter with the feeling that we have prayed well. It means we prayed badly. Because when a person evaluates himself and begins to praise, this is not the result of good prayer. Good prayer is the one that ends in tears when a person breaks his heart, when he feels that he is such a sinner that he is not worthy of being a doormat in a bathhouse or at the entrance to the subway, on which all feet are wiped. When, as a result of prayer, a person approaches this feeling, it means that the prayer was true.

It is very important to have silence “and think of nothing else but the expectation of the Lord.” "Expectation" means "expectation". The Lord commanded us to be always ready to meet the Heavenly Bridegroom: "Watch, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come." That is, we must always be ready to meet the Lord, wait for the Lord the Holy Spirit to visit us. You must watch your heart all the time. All the time we only need to think about this: how to please God so that the Lord comes to us and is always with us, so as not to offend Him in any way, so that He never departs from us. Here we are now working, restoring the temple, and sometimes we are so carried away by work, communication with people - after all, all good people gather, nice, sweet, kind - that this takes us away from the most important thing. And we must always remember: to whom are we doing this? The very Lord God. Everything must be done before Him, for His sake; every gesture, every deed must be dedicated to Him. The apostle Paul said: "Whether you eat or drink ... do everything to the glory of God." So that any work done by us is for the sake of God: behold, Lord, look, it is for You that I work. Never forget the main purpose of our existence: why do we live? To glorify God in deed, in word, in thought, and in one's whole life. Of course, we are sinful, weak people, we are distracted all the time, we forget, we sometimes quarrel with someone, we condemn - but then catch yourself, repent and start over, work again for the Lord. And so we will be less and less and less distracted by worldly fuss and serve God more and more.

Another elder said: “Let us take care of meekness.” And the Lord said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.” A meek person means a gentle, inoffensive person, not pushing ahead, calm, reasonable. We must strive for meekness so that we are not contentious, irritable, insisting on our own, impudent, like worldly people. We shouldn't be like that. We must take care at all times to be meek. I got excited - just think: meekness has left me, this is bad, which means that I am no longer a disciple of Christ.

"Take care of malice." Care must be taken to mourn for Christ. Always rejoice in every sorrow. Get sick, suffer, work hard, bend your back, sweat your legs, press your knees a little to the floor, force yourself. To try yourself - not to wait until some kind of illness comes, but to force yourself a little, a little always to do it through force. A little, because if you do a lot through force, then you will completely fail, this is unreasonable. To force a little, to add this malice to yourself, all the time for the sake of God to do more: pray, get tired - well, just a little more. And so in everything.

"Take care of longsuffering." Some say: I've been praying for two months now - and nothing. You have to pray for a long time - ten, twenty years. You have to train yourself to be patient. To achieve the Christian life, one must learn to endure for a long time.

"Take care of love." Any malice, hatred, irritation against each other, resentment - God forbid, this must be completely thrown away from us. All the time you have to think: am I acting with love? What is more important to me: some business or the person himself? We are often ready to attack, offend, scold a person for the sake of a cause. But still, a person is more valuable than a deed. And we must always remember that our main business on earth is to acquire love, and to take care: am I acting out of love? Sometimes, from other people in relation to us comes discord, anger. But this is God with them, if only there was nothing from us. This is the Christian life.

And the elder said: "The purpose of a Christian is to imitate Christ." And how can we imitate Christ if we do not know Him? Therefore, the Gospel, as I have said a thousand times and will say a thousand more times, we need to know by heart. Without knowing the Gospel, it is impossible to live at all. It should be our main food. We must read the Gospel every day, at least one chapter at a time, read with concentration, with attention, meditate. Some say: I have no time. To read a chapter is forty seconds with a certain skill, who reads slowly - one and a half - three minutes. You can find one and a half minutes out of twenty-four hours for the Lord and for the salvation of your soul! No matter how tired, no matter how difficult it is - and you read, reflect. And so you read it once, twice, a hundred, a thousand times you read the Gospel - and gradually your mind will assimilate it. Of course, who started late, it is more difficult for him. And no one is to blame, it was necessary to go to church since childhood. But the Lord will always help if we pray before reading the Gospel: “Lord, help me, give me understanding.”

And having known the Gospel, we will know the life of Christ, we will know His feelings, His words, His deeds. And then we will always have an example before our eyes. Here's a situation - and you don't know what to do. Ask yourself the question: if our Lord Jesus Christ were in my place, what would He do? And immediately you will have the answer: this is how you should do it. Because the Man Jesus Christ, while living on earth, did not commit a single sin. Here we have an image. Any most holy people had some flaws, it is inevitable, all people are sinful compared to God. Ambrose Optinsky was a naughty boy as a child. Sergius of Radonezh did not study well in childhood. Everyone had some shortcomings, but then the grace of God made up for everything. This is how we should, imitating Christ, make up for our weaknesses, draw closer to the Kingdom of Heaven. And Petrovsky Post will help us with this. Save me, God.

On Wednesday of the 4th week (week) after Easter, the Orthodox Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost, that is, half the time from Easter to Pentecost. In 2010, this day falls on May 5 (April 22, old style).

This holiday has no prefeast. Midsummer is celebrated for 8 days; starting from Wednesday of the 4th and ending (not excluding Sundays) on Wednesday of the 5th week, when the Giving (the last day of the afterfeast, the end) of the Feast of Midnight is celebrated.

In the divine service of this feast, it is always said about water: "Drink the waters of my thirsty soul for piety after the feast...".

Church tradition connects this Old Testament holiday with the preaching of Christ in the temple, which is mentioned in the Gospel of John.
The Savior entered the Temple in Jerusalem and delivered a sermon in which he spoke of Himself as the Messiah, on the day when the Jews celebrated the Mid-Ten of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three great national Jewish holidays, established in memory of the forty-year wandering of the Jews in the desert (during this holiday, the people settled in booths, huts made of tree branches). The Feast of Tabernacles also had a half-life, i.e. like half way from Passover to the Feast of Tabernacles.

It lasted eight days, of which the first and last were especially holy. The last, eighth day of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles was accompanied by the following rite: with a large gathering of people, the high priest left Solomon's temple to the source of Siloam, at the foot of Zion; with a golden cup he drew bright and pure water; at the sound of trumpets he returned to the temple, mixed water with wine and poured it on the altar. The people during this ceremony did not stop singing the great alleluia, six psalms. This rite recalled the miraculous drinking of the Jews in the desert with water extracted by Moses from the rock.

Pointing to this rite as a transformation, Jesus Christ declared Himself to be the source of the true water of life. Christ taught in his sermon that the one who believes in Him, having been filled with the true water of life from Him, will himself become a vessel of grace, from which streams of various gifts of the Spirit of God will emanate in abundance. "Whoever believes in Me, rivers of living water will flow from his womb," Jesus said in his sermon. The entire service of the New Testament feast of Mid-Midday is based on this gospel text.

In the midnight hymns, the Resurrection of Christ is glorified, then it is reminded of the approaching feast of Pentecost, when the Risen Lord sent down the Holy Spirit to His disciples.

On the day of Mid-Midday, Great Vespers is served with Old Testament readings.

The Day of Giving of the feast of the Trinity-Pentecost is another reason to return to the events of the celebration, to rethink it...
WHAT IS A "HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY"?

Giving is called the last day of the afterfeast of the Twelfth and great feasts, lasting many days (the great non-twelfth holidays have no afterfeast and no giving). In orthodox liturgy, it is accompanied by no less celebrations than the day of the feast itself. What is the sacred meaning of this church action, whose other name - apodosis - is translated from Greek as "return"?

The tradition of celebrating the most famous and important events of Christian life for several days came to the New Testament worship from the Old Testament - in the Pentateuch of Moses, the Lord says to Israel: “... within seven days, offer sacrifice to the Lord; on the eighth day you will have a sacred meeting, and offer sacrifice to the Lord: this is the giving of a feast, do not work any work ”(Lev. 23:36). The same commandment to the people of God is repeated in the Book of Numbers: “On the eighth day, let the celebration of the feast be with you; do no work; and offer a burnt offering…” (Num. 29:35-39).
Giving is nothing more than the return of the believing heart to rethink the holiday after a certain time. In early Christian times, this was practiced strictly on the 8th day. The custom of dedicating the 8th day of the afterfeast to the "gone" great event has been preserved in the liturgics and non-Orthodox churches for many centuries - the 8-day period, starting on the day of the holiday itself and ending with the giving away, is today referred to in them as an octave.
It is difficult to say whether the celebration of giving was widespread in the local non-Jewish Christian communities from the earliest, apostolic times. But history brings us true information that already under Emperor Constantine I, 8-day celebrations were held in honor of the consecration of the basilicas of the cities of Jerusalem and Tire. Later, this tradition spread to the twelfth annual feasts, and in the 4th century the celebration of Pascha and Pentecost began to be celebrated everywhere, and in the East - also Epiphany and, later, the Nativity of Christ. Approximately in the 17th century, a tradition appeared to celebrate the giving of the days of memory of the saints of God - in particular, the holy chief apostles Peter and Paul, St. Lawrence, the Roman martyr-archdeacon, the holy martyr Agnes.

During the service dedicated to the celebration of the holiday, according to the liturgical tradition, all the hymns and prayers of this day are sung and read. During the observance of the Twelve Feasts, Matins is served with great doxology, and during the Liturgy the Apostle and the Gospel of the day are read. Fomino Sunday, or the Week of Antipascha, is endowed with special significance for the time of feasting. During this week and the very day of the celebration of the feast, the story of the assurance of Thomas the unbeliever is remembered, it is customary to read the kontakion, and the prokeimenon of Antipascha and the holy apostle are also involved.
There are holidays in the Orthodox Church, the celebration of which, due to various historical reasons, is not celebrated. These today include, for example, the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Nativity and the Beheading of the Holy Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, the Circumcision of the Lord and the feast day of the holy supreme apostles Peter and Paul. The traditions of Christian worship, as we see, are changing (and this is natural, since the Church is a living divine-human organism, it cannot exist without changes), but the essence remains the same.
Speaking about giving a church holiday, Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) writes that the Lord sometimes gives Grace associated with this or that event, precisely on this last day of the afterfeast. Why? Probably for the same reason that Christ, who first hid from the eyes of Luke and Cleopas, who recognized him, then appears again to his disciples. A person cannot fully realize the value of what does not move away from him at least for a while. In order to assimilate a sacred concept both with the mind and soul, one must be imbued with it for several days, and then let go during the giving, looking forward to its return. Sabbath, that is, the celebration of the Old and New Testaments, can hardly be tightly tied to any calendar day - it is rather a special state.

That is why Saturdays in the Old Testament Scriptures are called the day of the week, and calendar dates, and even years. The giving of the feast is also "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Keeping in himself the feeling of afterfeast for 8 days, a Christian learns to feel a part of God's Grace constantly - and this is the surest step towards achieving what the Holy Scripture says: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
On the day of the holiday, as well as on the holiday itself, it is supposed to avoid any work as much as possible and do works of mercy for the glory of God. And this is also a great time to take a critical look at your own faith, to find those weak points in it that need God's Help and Healing. Everyone can and, perhaps, should ask themselves: will I go to this celebration of surrender, as to the service itself on the “red” day of the church calendar? Do I realize in what purity and holiness my thoughts should be kept in honor of the day when the special Grace of the Lord appeared? Can I, on the occasion of the holiday, offer the prescribed sacrifice to God, which in the New Testament time is expressed not in the blood of bulls and goats, but in the very one described by the holy king and prophet David, “a broken spirit”?
And in general, do I know how important this final cycle of the Church's remembrance of God's feast is? Only an understanding of all this will help determine how real or, conversely, how formal one's own faith is. One should understand this not in order to reproach and humiliate oneself endlessly, but in order, having understood and accepted the state of one's soul that exists, to tirelessly move towards the better. To a worthy surrender of earthly life and reunion with the Savior.
Of course, now is not the time of the apostles, and not every working person can afford to go to the service at the end of the afterfeast and take communion, as it should be. But giving, like the memory of the holiday, should be kept in the heart. This is first of all…
Victoria Matveeva
Source:

The Trinity also mourns for us,
We haven't all lost faith yet.
Russia will also settle down on Earth
And people will satisfy their sorrows.

And the secret will be revealed to the heart:
The light of the past shines into the future.
Darkness was defeated by the Sergius Trinity -
And Rublev's "Trinity" shone.

And the believing heart will tune in
On the marvelous creation of Shmelev -
On the “Praying Man”… Hallowed be the Trinity
At the end of the second millennium.
(V.Sprinchan)

We celebrate Trinity throughout the week, which is called Trinity Week!
“The after-feast of faith, and the final feast we celebrate brightly, this is Pentecost, promises of fulfillment and suggestions: in this fire, the Comforters descend to the earth, as if in the form of a tongue, and enlighten the disciples, and this non-botanical show. Light come Comforter, and enlighten the world. "
The holiday is given on Saturday on the eve of All Saints' Day, therefore the Trinity week is otherwise called All Saints.

Our photo album HOLY TRINITY, GLORY TO YOU!https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.473437289466287.1073 742266.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=201347c3e5

"Like we have three holidays in a year: The first holiday is Semik honest, Another holiday is Trinity Day, And the third holiday is Bathing" Semik is Thursday in the last week before Trinity-Pentecost.

We celebrate Semik honestly, as it was customary in Holy Russia from ancient times: face to face with nature, although squeezed by stone city walls! In Semik we go on a date with birch trees. After all, very soon, on Trinity, we will bring a birch tree to our house!
Our photo album SEMIK HONEST!https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.287145788095439.1073 741937.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=68cf5925d6

Snow-white birch trees are waiting,
On the bark, frozen, tender tears fall ...
We cut the branches and tie tight ones into bunches.
It smells of bitterness, cool, woody.
We will clean our whole house with fragrant leaves,

On the grass, in flowers and with a green branch,
Let's meet the Trinity before the old icon...
(Author unknown)
Our photo album BLESS US, HOLY TRINITY, GO TO THE FOREST...https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.287796061363745.1073 741943.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=146f3d5a64

We clean our house with fragrant branches,
And grass, and golden flowers.
On the grass, in flowers and with green branches
Let's meet the Trinity before the ancient icons!
Our photo album TRINITY! DECORATE THE HOUSE!https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.289700867839931.1073 741948.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=20e76c49f2

Our photo album TRINITY PARENT SATURDAY.https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.289603461183005.1073 741946.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=8fe892b80d

Curl, curl
Wreaths for the Trinity!
Let's make wreaths
Let's roll green!
Stop, my wreath,
Green all week
And I, young
Fun all year long!
Our photo album TRINITY WREATHhttps://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.289820184494666.1073 741949.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=4690e110c1

The church on the hill is sunny,
Like tongue twisters, ringing bells.
The cheerful ringing is bright - today is a holy day:
Golden bees hum heavily.
Singing flies through the windows of the church,
And the "King of Heaven" trembles in the air.
All flowers, blades of grass rustle quietly,
Somewhere dewdrops - the lights are burning.
This God lit candles flowers,
Clouds-sheep stretch away ...
(author unknown)

Our photo album TRINITY HAS COME! https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.289882464488438.1073 741950.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=27373482ef

On Trinity Day there is a wonderful custom
Come to church with flowers...
How much strength in him, both meek and domineering
Soften a frozen heart!
Spring morning: and shine and coolness,
And songs of merry birds,
Church all green
All in the brilliance of the dress,
And joy emanates from the faces.
And people pray diligent prayer
Creator of world beauty;
And breathe in their hands with tender freshness
And pour the aromas of flowers.
And with their fragrance to the vault of heaven
The prayers of the hearts rush;
And it is sweetly believed that heeds the people,
As beloved children, Father!
Great custom...
How harmonious is the convergence of spring and the prayer of the saint!
How it touches the soul, how prayer wakes up
Nature with its beauty!
(author unknown)

Our photo album TRINITY DAYhttps://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.289589777851040.1073 741945.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=8fcc0ede00

Remember Sergei Yesenin:
Trinity morning, morning canon,
In the grove along the birch trees there is a white chime ... "
How gratifying to walk around the city on Trinity Day from birch to birch and listen to this chime ...
Our photo album TRINITY: WHITE CHIMhttps://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.290030761140275.1073 741951.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=bf89607f81

The Monday following Pentecost is a feast day in honor of the Holy Spirit. This holiday was established by the Church "for the sake of the greatness of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, as one is (from) the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity", in opposition to the teachings of heretics who rejected the Divinity of the Holy Spirit and His consubstantiality with God the Father and the Son of God.
Our photo album SPIRIT DAY!https://www.facebook.com/ media/set/ ?set=a.290536961089655.1073 741954.100004000613160&typ e=1&l=7dc6dbe4a7

"At all times the Holy Spirit is with them,
Rest in the hearts, bloom in the eyes;
Everywhere they always shine
Fishermen emit fiery words...
Savior Redeemer and Spirit Comforter,
Father Without Beginning Creator God and Only Begotten Son,
Equal to this deity,
And the Holy Spirit, wholly full of being,
Holy God, from Your Wisdom, Creator,
Holy Strong-Strong, marvelous in all languages!
Holy Immortal King, I always thank you!
Receive from us, Thy servants, the singing of this praise today,
Singing to You forever, we bow our head!"
(Folk verse "On the Descent", sung by kaliks passing on Spirits Day in Holy Russia) Our photo album of SPIRIT DAY: WE CELEBRATE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!