Orthodox birthday. Can an Orthodox person celebrate a birthday? Priest Andrey Chizhenko discusses

Everyone is used to the fact that a birthday is a holiday, but few people know that you need to start preparing for this holiday a month in advance. On our birthday, we receive energy that will nourish us for a whole year, until the next birthday.
We are given a certain limit and it is undesirable to squander it right and left, because this will lead to exhaustion, to illness. Approximately a month before the birthday, all people feel weakened, many chronic diseases worsen, even in the middle of summer there are colds. A month before the birthday, we are already energetically weakened, and this leads to physical weakness. If during the year life was very stressful, stressful situations often occurred, then already a few months (two or three) before the next birthday, we will feel an inexplicable weakness. I don't want to scare you by preparing you for trouble before your birthday. On the contrary, knowing about the features of this period, one can more easily relate to its problems. Many note that they have become distracted, it is difficult to concentrate even on their favorite activities, things fall out of their hands, apathy appears, an indifferent attitude to what is happening around. Many become nervous, irritated, because before the birthday, not only physical, but also mental exhaustion is felt. Some people feel tired from communication, quarrel with friends. It is always better to know about the date of birth of those with whom you often communicate, so as not to be offended by the harshness that escaped from their lips. If someone in their hearts scolds you, criticizes you before his birthday, know that these are just nerves, emotions that he will later regret. This is not an easy time - before the birthday. But for any problems of this period there is one unique remedy - rest. Throughout the year, it is important to save energy - not to get annoyed, not to allow negative emotions into the soul, at least not to keep them in oneself for a long time, try not to overeat. But before a birthday, this is especially important. Imagine that every year on your birthday, the cosmos gives you twelve (according to the number of months) vessels with living water. In the first, second, third .... months you can still waste unwisely living water, and, having spent water from five vessels in three months, you will not feel weakness. But by the last, twelfth month of your year, you have, for example, one vessel filled by a third. You have to save. And the easiest way to save energy is in peace, developing goodwill towards others. Before your birthday, it is best to go on vacation, leaving all your affairs, and if you do the same things, then relax more often, be alone, especially in nature. The greatest dislike of a person for himself on his birthday is manifested at the festive table, when he forces his exhausted body to process tasty, but, as a rule, very unhealthy food. Probably, many will be outraged when I call to refuse the festive table, but such a call is aimed at maintaining your health. At least keep your head up and treat yourself to healthy, living food - fresh fruits and vegetables.
Birthday has become such a familiar holiday, especially for those who have celebrated it more than a dozen times. But I consider this day to be truly magical, because it lays a bridge between Earth and Heaven, along which the most precious gift hurries to us - the life-giving energy of God's love. I would like to advise everyone to spend this day quietly and calmly, you can celebrate it later. Silence and tranquility will create favorable conditions for accepting the gift of heaven.
Together with the energy on our birthday, we also receive a task for the next year, hints about the best way solutions to upcoming challenges. On this day, intuition is sharpened for many, and even clairaudience and clairvoyance appear. Every year on our birthday, we can turn to heaven, to God with innermost desires and the most important questions, because it is on this day of the union of Earth and Heaven that it is easiest to get help from above, revelation. Appreciate this unique day - your birthday, protect yourself from the kitchen fuss and drunken feasts - you will only benefit from this, becoming healthier and happy man. I know many cases of such amazing coincidences. One lady enthusiastically told me the story of how, on the first day after her birthday, she rode a boat on a large lake and unexpectedly met a former classmate who was vacationing here in the vastness of this reservoir. And then for the whole month she was surprised at unexpected meetings with old acquaintances, and most of the meetings took place with the participation of the water element - during the rain, by the pond and even in the pool. The lady spent the whole second day with a friend, and in the second month she was invited on tour to another city by old friends. And so coincided all twelve months. You can live in obedience to the laws of the flow of the river of life, or in the first twelve days after your next birthday, you can protect yourself from everything that you don’t want to face during the year. This is how we model the coming year. For example, you do not want to get sick, then take care of your health before your birthday so as not to start New Year in a sick state.
If you want to have more opportunities to do what you love, try to devote the first twelve days after your birthday to it, and circumstances will turn out so that the whole year will be the opportunity to do what you like. But how will the year turn out if you spent the first days on vacation, away from your usual affairs, from work? As many months as days you will rest, you will be able to avoid stressful situations, work will not strain you. Write down the events of the first 12 days and find out your forecast for the year. It is very important to monitor your emotional state, because what it will be in the first twelve days, it will remain so for the whole year. It happens that after the birthday there are no significant events that could be recorded in order to have a forecast for the year. On the third day after his birthday, my student had a strange sense of insecurity associated with his work. He began to imagine how long the organization in which he works will last, and whether their activities are really necessary for society. And in the third month of his year in this organization there were rumors about the upcoming administrative leave. And the rumors turned out to be true. One born materialist, as he says about himself, on the seventh day was in the grip of a strange unfounded lyrical feeling. He wanted romance, on this day he even composed poetry and walked in the forest, which happened to him extremely rarely. For him, such events were very unusual, and without even writing them down, he remembered them, which was useful to him in the seventh month of the year. That month he met his love... And the period of romance and lyrics began. It will not be possible to absolutely change your emotional state and life in the first twelve days after your birthday, but everyone is able to take care of themselves more, get rid of bad mood, melancholy, and irritation more stubbornly. so that during the year there are not so many troubles, try at least once to write down everything that happened to you in your soul in the first twelve days after your birthday, and compare it with the events of the year - this will make your life more interesting. You will never cease to be amazed at the incredibly accurate similarity of the events of the year and the first twelve days after the birthday.

"The ritual of laying the solarium".
Every year a person, as is customary, celebrates his birthday, sometimes without even realizing the full significance of this event. Since childhood, he used to consider this holiday something special and memorable - when people around him give him gifts, they say kind words. With age, his feelings become less strong and bright. And the days of his birth are no longer so memorable to him - as if they are becoming something ordinary. But the time of the new “birth of the Sun” is the most significant event of the year! However, no one taught him how to spend this day correctly, did not teach him to understand that it was this time that the ancient wise people chose in order to change the course of a person’s life for the better. After all, it is by the Sun that all life on Earth determines the cycles of its Life. At this time, a person can perform a special magical ritual and begin new life. And for this it is good, of course, to know the exact time of your birth and the position of the degree of the Sun in the horoscope. Every year your Sun hits this degree at different times and even sometimes at different days. Without this knowledge, it is more difficult to bookmark a strong Solar. But if you cannot consult an astrologer, do not worry. We will help you to do everything possible so that the year following your birthday is Successful and Happy! For this, only one thing is required - your desire. Among your acquaintances, for sure, the vast majority habitually celebrate their unique birthday: they prepare a table for guests or spend large sums on a good restaurant, they try their best to cheer up the guests so that the next day they almost get sick from such a “holiday”. However, the result of these efforts is only the next year, similar as two drops of water to all other past years.
What is SOLYAR - from the point of view of an astrologer, this is the exact time of the conjunction of the Sun with the degree of its natal position - the position at the time of the birth of a person. But you can consider the day of the Solar - the day of your birth, and the ritual itself to start a little earlier in time - early in the morning.
For many people, the period before SOLYAR or their birthday - especially the last week, is not by chance the most difficult of the year - after all, you need to let go, finish many unresolved affairs during the year, forgive someone, remember someone, repay your debts and get someone else's. All year long, a person could live in a hurry and accumulate small debts to the world because of his ignorance, laziness, inattention ... And now, the hour is approaching when everything old, obsolete, unnecessary must go. And before laying down his solarium, it is useful for a person to start remembering what this year was like, what special events, achievements, victories and defeats he had.
So what else does a person need to know in order to competently conduct a Magic ritual to attract success, good luck and health in the coming year? He can write down all the events of the past year on paper, he can even create a special viewing album, where all the pictures are removed from him in the reverse order - so that the events clearly emerge in his memory. In this work, his friends and relatives can help him. They, together with him, can remember many events of this year - and talk to him about what was hidden, about which they did not want to talk about before. At this time, a person must constantly remember that it is important for him to open up, not to hold a grudge against the past, not to hide what he really feels, but to be SINCERE and HONEST - FIRST OF ALL WITH YOURSELF. It is best to do this based on the position of the planets in the horoscope at the time when the past year is remembered. But if this is not possible, then you can limit yourself to a simple recapitulation.
In front of the Solar itself - early in the morning - stand for 10 minutes in cool salty water, imagining. How water "takes" last year and all that must go with it. It is good to hold a wax church candle in your right hand.
After that, you can proceed to the Solar ritual itself, which is designed for 12 days and helps a person bring something new into 12 areas of his life - astrologically 12 houses. Each "house" denotes one area - unique, inimitable for its owner - so you need to read it carefully, it means.
Every day, starting from the first day, you must live very actively - because how you live it, so it will be the whole year.

THE 12 DAYS FOLLOWING YOUR BIRTHDAY ARE CONSIDERED DAYS OF THE SOLUTION.
So the FIRST day corresponds to the 1st house, the Second day to the second house, and so on.
Houses describe the structure of a person's being.
1 - appearance, character, temperament of a person;
2 - money, valuables, movable property;
3 - close environment, neighbors, contacts, schooling, short trips;
4 - parents, home, family, real estate, end of life;
5 - creativity, love, children, childbirth, entertainment, art, speculation;
6 - work, service, health and illness;
7 - matrimony, partners, obvious enemies;
8 - sex, other people's money, psychological crises, death, inheritance, occultism;
9 - worldview, religion, philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel;
10 - career, recognition, honors, goals in life, bosses;
11 - hopes, friends, surprises;
12 - secret in life, isolation, monastery, serious illnesses, mysticism.

If you want all these parts of your life to be in order, then you need to live each of the 12 days very actively. And since each person's horoscope is unique, one must be careful to fulfill all one's wishes. VERY IMPORTANT that you have NEW you need QUALITIES OF CHARACTER, so that you don’t just “shoot back”, but would you feel these qualities inside yourself.
And now - in more detail about the houses:
FIRST HOUSE- denotes the impression that a person makes on others: this is a person’s appearance, his personal ideas about himself, his talents, temperament, activity, ability to be the first.
On this day, creativity and activity should be shown in everything. Your future health you get through dousing, sports exercises. SHOULD BE very independent and try to become visible within your environment - but this does not mean that you need to suppress others and be overly selfish. Women are encouraged to dress up and make up - to create a new strong look. Maybe even completely change outwardly. On this day, it is better not to invite guests - try to pay more attention to yourself.
SECOND HOUSE- denotes property, the ability to earn and spend money, practical knowledge and skills obtained by one's own efforts, business activity, property, wealth and wealth.
On this day, it is not very useful to accept gifts, be greedy, be proud of your material possessions. It is good to make a donation or give away with all sincerity something that is still of value to you. If you consider yourself a "silverless" and earning money is given to you with great difficulty, then you, on the contrary, can devote the whole day to earnings. Try to understand that you simply “made up” your poverty and from this day on you have every right to wealth. On this day, you must definitely earn something and be sure to spend it with benefit, check all your accounts, debts - do not borrow on this day and do not lend money to others;
THIRD HOUSE- denotes brothers and sisters, neighbors and relations with them, exchange of thoughts, curiosity, speech, contracts, agreements, news. Near travel.
On this day, in order to avoid "punctures", it is best to remain silent more or speak very little and to the point. The motto of this day is "THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BAZAR". You can go on a short trip. It is most useful on this day to do the opposite of what you usually do when communicating with other people. If you are a “silent person” by nature, it is useful to contact more, exchange your thoughts and ideas. It is good to refrain from watching TV and reading on this day. It is better to spend this day in nature or with brothers and sisters.
FOURTH HOUSE- denotes parents, your roots, ancestors in general, home and family, the end of life, peace of mind, familiar environment, emotional security, support for survival.
Watch where you want to go during this day - you may want to spend the day in the forest or in nature, or in a place where you can remember your family, ask him for help and support. It is best to visit relatives on this day. It is good to do housework, put the garden in full order. On this day, it is better not to start anything new, not to be active, but it is better not to allow inaction, laziness, sadness, tears on this day so that they do not accompany you throughout the next year.
FIFTH HOUSE- denotes children, creative professions, creativity itself, hobbies, hobbies, free time, random happiness, love, romantic adventures, the desire to be noticed and appreciated in society, popularity, spending on entertainment.
On this day, it is better not to get involved in love adventures, not to be tempted by them even if there are strong temptations and temptations, you should not gamble and make expensive purchases. It is good to be with children - watch them play and you will see how much joy, attention and spontaneity is in it. You can also do something that you have never done before today. We advise you to remember your childhood years - to do something that your parents categorically forbade you then. In love adventures, on the contrary, abstinence is needed - then you will make up your own. An important place is occupied by natural communication with your own or other people's children.
SIXTH HOUSE - denotes your health and care for it, service and daily work, care for others, and duties, subordination, discipline, relationships in the service, work environment, professional skills, work with tools and mechanisms
THIS IS A HEALTH DAY. A day when you can fully devote yourself to business, everyday worries. On this day, you can move up the career ladder as if you had years of hard work. DAY OF CALM. But try to avoid routine. See if you are being dragged into your whirlpool by small everyday affairs, behind which it is easy not to see the main, important. It’s good to try a new diet on yourself this day or arrange a light meal for yourself.
SEVENTH HOUSE- denotes a spouse, partners and enemies, personal relationships with people, responsibility to them; marriage, divorce, separation, breakup, litigation, trade, transactions, competition, co-authorship.
If you live with a partner, then it would be very good to spend this day together and discuss joint plans for the future - they may consist in the fact that you will start doing something that you did not dare to do. Maybe you will finally speak out directly and clarify a lot in your relationship. It’s good to remember all your partners and understand what worked out for you and what didn’t and why. It is better not to sue, not to divorce, not to conclude contracts. But if on this day you still have to sign important papers, be sure to check them more than once.
EIGHTH HOUSE- denotes death, changes, trials, crises, the end of old conditions, the beginning of new ones; conception and birth, sex; losses and gains due to reasons beyond human control; other people's values.
THIS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT DAY- it needs to be done in solitude - to recapitulate oneself in order to get serious changes in behavior and thoughts. Sex, interference in someone else's life and jealousy are contraindicated on this day. It is especially important to learn to control your emotions and feelings. Be prepared for the fact that on this very day something outdated, although still expensive, will leave your life. Losses in this mean liberation and are a good omen. This day is not to be feared.
NINTH HOUSE- denotes knowledge that expands one's horizons, worldview, higher education, travel, distant relatives, people from afar, with a different view of the world, long trips and travel, especially for educational purposes.
You CAN learn something new - it's very good! It is good to meet guests from afar, to go on a long journey if you intend to travel all next year. On this day, it is important not to sit at home. Go to a museum, an exhibition, a library, read an educational magazine. But it is on this day that you cannot teach anyone yourself. You can not teach relatives, friends and even children, although you may be very drawn to this.
TENTH HOUSE- denotes power, the embodiment of ideas, profession, career, social position, authority, practical goals and results in life, assessment of your merits - both glory and shame, relations with superiors, state authorities, personal power and its use, manifestation of ambition, strategy for moving towards the goal, practical life choice.
DON'T RULE, DON'T BE PROUD, DON'T SET GOALS THAT ARE FALSE. On this day there may be desire feel like a boss, but the initiative is not desirable. If you are not an ambitious person at all in life, then you need to do the opposite - reach the heights, set high and difficult goals and objectives, plan real actions and look at the possibility of achieving a practical result. Be sure to remember all your bosses and mentally thank them for the "science".
ELEVENTH HOUSE- denotes friends, hopes for the future, plans, faith and dreams of a person, his idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhappiness, patrons.
This is the day of changing your Destiny. Well, if your hopes come true - then you can make new plans! On this day, you can GATHER ALL YOUR FRIENDS FINALLY AND HAVE A GRAND BIRTHDAY DAY! From whom on this day literally - STOPPED - he is not your friend! You can even not invite guests to your place on purpose, but check who will come to you today even without an invitation - that means he is your real friend.
TWELVE HOUSE- denotes restriction, renunciation and liberation from the old, unnecessary, purification, religious actions.
A DAY OF PRAYER, SOLITATION AND REST. It is good to sum up the entire Ritual. Feel your strength, visit the Temple. On this day, one must be patient, be peaceful and compassionate to the needs of other people. It is very good to help someone in a difficult situation and completely free yourself from the burden of memory, from all past years, forgive your offenders, feel love for the whole world, for all people.
When you spend all 12 days following these rules, you definitely need to remember them throughout the year. Try to live the way you did in these 12 days. The easiest way is to write down the events of these days in a diary and reread it. But there is another way. Each of the 12 months following the birthday is also associated with the Solar - the first month - 1st house, the second month - 2nd house, and so on. You can continue to live by these rules all year long. And then things will start to change in your life. You may come new love, new job. You can become more successful, happy and healthy.
In fact, this short article is only an attempt to set you up for serious attitude on the subject of birthday. Bookmarking a solarium is a laborious and individual matter, so it is always better to get a full consultation from a specialist than to miss a whole year of your Life.

Birthday rituals:

For the ritual you need - candles: white, golden, green, pink
incense: rose and mint
crystal: rose quartz
blank paper, pen
then light candles, incense, write the full name on a piece of paper, and fold the piece of paper several times. Put in the middle of the candles, and rose quartz on it.
then read the words:

"I (name) came to this joyful and happy world.
Confidently walk on the chosen path.
May my mind be clear.
Let the happy light illuminate my way.
May the path I choose lead to goodness and prosperity.
Let love surround me until the end

Birthday ritual from Lyudmila-Stefania:

On your birthday, you can perform a ritual to change your fate. On this day, when you came into this world, the whole Universe is open before you. The energy flows of the universe fill you vitality, so generously that thanks to these forces, you can not only improve, but even change your destiny in the direction you wish. It is customary to give gifts on a birthday, and this tradition was not born in vain in this world. All the forces of the Universe are at your disposal on this day, and if you sincerely ask the Universe for help, you will truly receive a generous gift that will help you change your destiny for the better. It is not for nothing that the Bible says: “Knock and it will be opened to you.”
If you have any desires, dreams, plans, you write all this on pieces of paper, having seriously considered what you want to write about, and correctly formulating your desires, in the moment here and now. For example, “I am Lyudmila, Sergey, Alexander ... I have a monthly income of 120,000 rubles, and for the year I have a profit of 1,500,000 rubles, my income (my profit) is constantly increasing and this makes me happy. You can draw, or pick up pictures with the image of what you want to have. And during the ritual, looking at this picture, you will imagine how you become the owner (of a beautiful three-room apartment, a magnificent car), i.e. you become the owner of what you want to have.
For the ritual, it is necessary to have for the signs of the elements of Fire - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius.
The matter is red, 5 candles - orange candles or yellow.
For signs of the elements Earth - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.

Matter green, 5 candles - white or silver.
For signs of the elements Air - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.
Matter of blue color, 5 candles of golden or red color.
For signs of the elements Water - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces.
Matter blue, 5 candles purple or green.
You fumigate the room with incense, sprinkle it with holy water, spread the fabric on the floor, draw a circle with chalk, you can sprinkle it with rose petals. In the circle there is a table on which a white cloth is laid, and on it with an orange or red felt-tip pen you draw a star, but not upside down, but straight, and place the candles along the rays of the star. You put your photo on the star. There are 3 carnations in the vase. On the table are sheets of paper written by you with your desires, plans, dreams, there are also symbols of all 4 elements. Water in a small container (can be holy), it is better if this container is crystal, in a small container there is salt, symbolizing the element Earth, 12 red candles, symbolizing the element Fire, which are located around the star, creating a kind of circle, incense, symbolizing the element Air. Choose incense according to your zodiac sign:
Aries - Aroma Mint, Bergamot, Cedar
Taurus - Cinnamon, Ylang-Ylang, Bergamot
Gemini - Orange, Sandalwood, Rose
Cancer - Roses and Rosemary
Leo - lemon, rosemary, grapefruit
Virgo - Mandarin, cedar, ylang-ylang
Libra - frankincense, thyme, ylang-ylang
Scorpio - pine, sage, carnation.
Sagittarius - ylang-ylang, grapefruit, lavender,
Capricorn - coriander, cloves, fir;
Aquarius - nutmeg, cedar, rosemary
Pisces - lemon, grapefruit, ylang-ylang.
You turn on music, light incense and candles. First, light the candles on the star, saying, “I whisper with gratitude to the Creator the Great, I have His Part of the Spirit in me, I thank him for everything.”
Then you light 12 red candles (which form a kind of circle near the star), pronouncing, before lighting (each) candle, the words: “The star of luck constantly shines above me, and illuminates my path to happiness and success. Today I have been given at my disposal all the Forces of the Universe and the Universe.
Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus,
Mercury, Sun and Moon
I am at this hour with a great request
Please open the Star Gate for me
I beg you to help me with this
To change my life
And nourished by your strength
well-being, health, success, luck, get
I trust and pray for your help and protection
I will get abundance, wealth, health, happiness
Prosperity and good luck will enter my life forever
Everything in this life will come to me, everything that I want will come
I love you with this love
I go through my life
Warmed by star love,
I will enter the Star Gate and open the doors of happiness
Then read the plot 12 times.
To the great Creator I give praise
For your life, for kindness and affection
I sing a hymn to my immortal soul
I will walk the path outlined for me without fear.
My guardians, all holy angels
Without you, my life is a dense dark forest.
Simple words sound in my soul
The words of the Creator of the Creator of Heaven.
I turn to the Creator on my birthday
To the Universe, Angels and Spirits to all saints
I will ask them for the fulfillment of desires,
Love and happiness to all loved ones and relatives.
I ask myself good luck, happiness, strength
To live life without problems.
To always be nice to people
To always be young and not grow old at all.
I want well-being and prosperity
Success, happiness, joy, victories
I want the love of the Universe, the wisdom of the Universe
Good health and long life.

And then you take the sheets you wrote with plans, dreams, desires and start working with your desires, plans, dreams. Work slowly, with a sincere belief that everything that you are doing now will bring you the most magnificent results in the form of miraculous changes in your life, the fulfillment of your desires and the realization of your plans. Carefully work through every point of your plan, every desire. Then, when you have done this work, you read the plot 12 more times, thank the Creator Higher power, Guardian Angels and Guardian Spirits. The ritual is over, the candles must burn out completely. I wish everyone happiness, prosperity, joy in life, good health and love. Be happy and loved!
When planning for the future, I skillfully combine consistency and flexibility.
I bring beauty and order to my surroundings.
In all areas of life, I am consistently successful.
Thanks to the infinite power of my subconscious, nothing is impossible for me!
To achieve what the soul desires.
Light three candles and read 12 times in a row. Candles should burn out completely.
Oh my God,
Bless and have mercy.
Olya-yaksh and the devil-knight himself,
Pass through the gate, through the window,
Through the black pipe
To my oak table.
Bring me golden dust
Pulverized hare lip
And three bones from a heifer.
Like the moon at its hour
Walks across the sky
So I, God's servant (name), will be lucky from this hour.
Sand in the sea, Word, deed - constipated.
Key, lock, tongue. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Prayer to the Lord God on your birthday.

Lord God, Lord of the whole world, visible and invisible. All the days and summers of my life depend on Your holy will. I thank You, most merciful Father, that You allowed me to live one more year; I know that because of my sins I am not worthy of this mercy, but You show it to me according to Your indescribable love for mankind. Extend Thy mercies to me, a sinner; continue my life in virtue, tranquility, in health, in peace with all relatives and in harmony with all neighbors. Give me an abundance of the fruits of the earth and all that is necessary to satisfy my needs. Most of all, cleanse my conscience, strengthen me on the path of salvation, so that, following it, after many years of life in this world, passing into eternal life, I would be honored to be the heir to Your Kingdom of Heaven. Himself, Lord, bless the year I begin and all the days of my life. Amen.

Protected from misfortune and misfortune.
Read only on your birthday
Angel of my birth, send me your blessings
From trouble, grief deliverance.
From my enemies nine nine times,
From slander and blasphemy in vain,
From a sudden and terrible illness,
From the tip in the dark, from the poison in the bowl,
From the beast in the thicket, from the gaze of Herod and his army,
From anger and punishment
From animal torment, from eternal cold and fire,
From hunger and a rainy day - save me, save me.
And my last hour will come, my angel, be with me.
Stand at the head, ease my departure.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

This holiday got its name Pentecost, firstly, because it was celebrated in the Old Testament Church, and secondly, because Pentecost falls on the 50th day after the Resurrection of Christ. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles is the "completion" of the new, eternal Covenant of God with man.

Many theological ideas and events of the Christian era were the implementation of the Old Testament types and portents.

The Old Testament was necessary to prepare the ground in mankind for the acceptance of the New Testament and the Christian gospel. So the name match church holiday Pentecost with the Old Testament is not accidental: the Christian Pentecost was the realization of the prototype that was given in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament annual cycle, three main holidays were distinguished: Easter, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Old Testament Passover became a prototype of the New Testament Passover. The first was a remembrance of the exodus of the Israelite people from Egyptian slavery, and the second became the celebration of Christ's victory over the bonds of death and the liberation of those who believed in Him from slavery to sin. Similarly, it happened with Pentecost, which turned from a holiday of an individual people into a celebration for all mankind. The Old Testament Pentecost is a remembrance of the giving of the Law to the people of Israel. The New Testament is the day on which, through the gift of the Holy Spirit to humanity, the work of saving the entire human race was completed.

The Old Testament Pentecost was celebrated on the 50th day, that is, seven weeks after Easter (it can be noted that the seven-week cycles had a special meaning in the Old Testament calendar). Christian Pentecost is also celebrated on the 50th day after the day of the Resurrection of Christ.

It is important to understand that Pentecost is a key event in the history of mankind, which crowned the work of God's saving economy. Departing for His suffering on the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the disciples: “It is better for you that I go; for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn 16:7). Thus, it was precisely in the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles that the fulfillment of Christ's earthly ministry consisted. From the moment of Pentecost, a qualitatively different era of the existence of mankind begins, when people who believe in Christ form a church community, the mystical body of the Church, in which the Holy Spirit lives.

The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost appeared in the world in a visible way and perceptibly for the human soul - with the gifts of saving grace.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the community of disciples, as the beginning of the Church of Christ, and it became, as it were, a single body, enlivened by the soul. Since that time, the Church of Christ began to grow through the assimilation and attachment of other souls to itself.

The Holy Spirit produced an extraordinary beneficial effect on the disciples of Christ and the apostles: they completely changed, they became, as it were, different people; they felt in themselves such a love for God and people that they had no idea about before. It was the outpouring of the love of Christ into their hearts by the Holy Spirit. They felt in themselves the strength and boldness to do everything, to give their whole lives for the glory of God and the salvation of people.

The Holy Spirit brings into existence (“realizes”) and animates all creation; everything lives and moves in Him: “everything that was created, as God He strengthens, keeps in the Father by the Son.”

The depth of gifts, the wealth of glory, theology and wisdom are given by the Holy Spirit. They are given to all the source of Divine treasures, holiness, renewal, deification, reason, peace, blessing and bliss, for He is Life, Light, Mind, Joy, Love and Goodness.

“The Holy Spirit gives everything, sharpens prophecies, performs priests, teach non-bookish wisdom, show fishermen theologians, gathers the whole church council ...”.

On the day of Pentecost, for the first time, the mystery of the Divine Being, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, was clearly revealed. The dogma of the Holy Trinity is fundamental in Christianity. He explains the whole work of the redemption of sinful mankind. All Christian doctrine is based on faith in the Triune God.

All of our worship - public and private - begins with the glorification of the Holy Trinity. Prayers to the Holy Trinity accompany a person from his birth to death. The first words that the Church addresses to a newly born baby are "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the sacrament of Baptism, the Church resurrects the baby "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the sacrament of Chrismation, the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” is placed on him. From adolescence, the penitent is forgiven for confession of his sins "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." In the name of the Holy Trinity, the sacrament of Marriage is performed. Finally, the priest's prayer at the burial of the deceased: "As You are the Resurrection ..." ends with an appeal to the Holy Trinity.

Pentecost - according to church hymns, there is a feast "after-festival", final. It is the completion of all great holidays - from the Annunciation Holy Mother of God, until Easter and the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pentecost is the glorious end of the long, cross, thorny path of the salvation of the world by the God-man Christ, the day of the birth of the Church of Christ, within whose fence people are saved by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost was established by the apostles themselves. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles annually celebrated the day of Pentecost and commanded all Christians to remember it (1 Cor. 16:8; Acts 20:16). Already in the Decrees of the Apostles (book 5, ch. 20) there is a direct commandment to celebrate Holy Pentecost: “Ten days after the Ascension, there is the fiftieth day from the first day of the Lord (Easter), let this day be a great feast. For at the third hour of this day the Lord Jesus sent the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The feast of Pentecost, called the day of the Holy Spirit, has been solemnly celebrated by the Church since the earliest times. It was given special solemnity by the custom of the Ancient Church to perform the baptism of the catechumens on this day (hence the hymn of the liturgy: "They were baptized into Christ ...").

In the 4th century, St. Basil the Great, kneeling prayers read at vespers so far. In the 8th century, St. John of Damascus and St. Cosmas of Maium composed many hymns in honor of the holiday, which the Church still sings.

We believe that the Son of God became a man named Jesus for our salvation. The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity assumed human nature. With the coming of the Holy Spirit begins the personal participation of God in the life of every person who believes in Christ and enters the Church. This is extremely important. God must work in everyone. Thanks to the Baptism and Confirmation we have received, God Himself, the Holy Spirit, is truly present in each of us. The Apostle Paul writes to Christians: “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). If Pentecost had not happened, if people had not believed in Christ, God could not have acted in them as He pleased. Christ became for us the “Firstborn of the dead” (1 Cor 15:20), freeing human nature from slavery to sin, and after His Resurrection in the people redeemed by Christ, who freely desired this, God’s action became possible. The salvific economy of Christ enabled humanity, which voluntarily gave itself into slavery to sin, to return to the Creator's plan for it without violating the principle of freedom, which is a great gift of God and a great mystery.

Of course, in part the action of God in people was carried out already in the Old Testament times. God Himself spoke to His people through the mouths of the prophets. It is obvious to Christians that the Holy Spirit worked in the prophets (1 Peter 1:21). AT Holy Scripture There are references to the Spirit of God and even the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. However, the Old Testament could not yet contain the doctrine of God, One in Three Persons, therefore these references were only a foreshadowing of the Christian doctrine of the Hypostasis of the Holy Spirit.

The question arises why, before the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, God could not act in people, although at the same time he acted, for example, through the prophets. And why, at the same time, the prophets, in whom God Himself acted, all the same, like other people, fell into hell. This is a mystery, we can only say that such was God's disposition about the world, that even the most holy and righteous people of the Old Testament needed the Coming of Christ.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit descends already on all those who believe in Christ. He can act in different ways: He gives the gift of prophecy to someone, teaching to someone, miracle-working to someone (1 Cor 12), but He acts in each of us. The gift of confession by Christians of their faith is of particular importance. The Lord Jesus Christ, addressing His disciples, most of whom later suffered martyrdom, said: “When they betray you, do not worry about how or what to say; for in that hour it will be given to you what to say, for you will not speak, but the Spirit of your Father will speak in you” (Mt 10:19-20). And the apostle Paul adds: “No one can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3; cf.: 1 John 4:2-3). No wonder the most important sign of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles was that they suddenly began to speak in the languages ​​of various peoples, to which they soon went to preach Christ.

The same idea about the connection between the word of prophecy and preaching and the action of the Holy Spirit is reflected in the Creed. The Holy Spirit is here called "Lord," that is, "God"; “Life-giving”, that is, Giving life; "bowed down and glorified" with the Father and the Son, that is, He who receives equal honors with Them - in other words, Equal to Them; "coming from the Father"; and, finally, "who spoke the prophets," that is, who spoke through the prophets.

In the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, it is fundamentally important that Orthodoxy professes the Holy Spirit as proceeding "from the Father", but not "from the Father and the Son", as they say in the Creeds of Western Catholic heretics. It is not uncommon in Western heretical theology to come across the idea that the Holy Spirit is some kind of force acting between the Father and the Son (say, "love between the Father and the Son"). This turns the Holy Spirit from the Third Person of the Trinity into something impersonal, almost an attribute of the Divine (as an example, the theology of the Jehovists sectarians). In the work of one American researcher, I recently came across the statement that, speaking of the Holy Spirit, modern ordinary Christians understand Him as some kind of especially joyful mood during their prayer, a pleasant emotional mood, and so on. In such false understandings, the cause of which, apparently, should be considered the unnecessary addition made many centuries ago in Spain to the Latin text of the Creed: Filioque (“and the Son”), lies the most serious deviation of Western Christianity from the apostolic teaching. The Holy Spirit is not an attribute of the Divine, not a mood, and not even the grace or energy of God. The Holy Spirit is God Himself, the Third Hypostasis of the Most Holy Trinity, equal to the other two — the Father and the Son. God is one, and in Him are three Persons, one of which is the Holy Spirit.

not without reason Orthodox holiday Pentecost combines two different themes: the actual commemoration of the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, as well as the glorification of the dogma of Holy Trinity. To us, heirs of the Byzantine liturgical tradition, this seems perfectly natural; however, in other traditions, the feast of the Trinity may be celebrated separately (for example, in the Roman tradition, on the Sunday after Pentecost). The existence of two types of icons of this holiday is connected with this. One depicts the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles: the apostles sit in a circle, and a certain gray-haired man comes out of the basement, which symbolizes the cosmos, that is, the created world, which comes from the darkness of ignorance of God to the knowledge of God. The second type of icon is the well-known and beloved by many "Trinity". In fact, it depicts an Old Testament event - the hospitality of Abraham, but this image has long been perceived in the Church as a symbolic expression of the dogma of God the Trinity.

At the same time, numerous hymns glorifying the revelation of the Trinity to people are also contained in the service of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, because this revelation began at the moment of the baptism of the Son of God, when, according to the Gospel, the Father testified, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. This event is the basis of our Christian Baptism and Confirmation, when the Holy Spirit descends on each baptized person, just as He once descended on Christ according to His human nature at His Baptism. Every baptized person experienced, so to speak, a “personal Pentecost”, when in Chrismation after Baptism he was anointed with holy chrism with the words: “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” These words mean that a person received the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit was given to him after the person was crucified and resurrected with Christ in Baptism, and that this Spirit remains with him, and Confirmation, as it were, “seals” His presence, indicating that the Holy The Spirit will never be taken away from the newly baptized. Such is the connection between the doctrine of the Trinity and Baptism. At Pentecost, the apostles - and in their person the whole Church - on their own personal experience understand what the Trinitarian dogma is.

Schema-Archimandrite John (Maslov). From lectures on liturgy.