The Holy Spirit in the Church of the Apostles
The Holy Spirit in the Church of the Apostles
The Importance of the Coming of the Holy Spirit
The coming of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of the work of the Christian Church.
The Lord Christ began to form the Church when He chose the twelve apostles and sent them . Then He chose seventy others and sent them , along with scattered groups of His loved ones and disciples here and there. But despite choosing the apostles, He did not allow them to begin preaching until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. Thus, that great event was the great turning point in the beginning of preaching on the widest scale.
For the Holy Spirit is the One who granted the power necessary for the work of preaching.
The sending of the Holy Spirit was a promise from the Lord , , . Nevertheless, He said to them: “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high” . From where would that power come to them? He said to them about this: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And then you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” .
The Spirit of God was very necessary, and without Him they could not work:
And we shall see how the Holy Spirit worked with them in preaching and teaching.
So they waited according to the Lord’s command. And all their previous preparation for service, which lasted more than three years, did not make them independent of the Holy Spirit and His work in them and through them. Perhaps those ten days during which they waited were days of prayer, hope, and preparation of the heart for the coming work…
How the Holy Spirit Came
- The Holy Spirit came upon them in the form of tongues of fire. As a result, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” , and they began to speak in the tongues of all the peoples gathered on that great day (about 15 peoples), speaking of the mighty works of God . Peter delivered a speech, with the result that the hearers were cut to the heart, and they received the word with joy, and three thousand souls were baptized on that day .
- But afterward they used to grant the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. This happened with the people of Samaria, as the Scripture says that the apostles sent Peter and John to them, “who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,” “then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” . It also happened with the people of Ephesus, as the Book of Acts says: “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” .
- Then the granting of the Holy Spirit became through the Holy Chrism anointing.
This was because there was no opportunity for the laying on of the apostles’ hands after Christianity had spread into many countries. Therefore, Christianity used what is currently the Holy Chrism. Saint John the Apostle referred to this anointing, saying: “But you have an anointing from the Holy One…” , and also, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you…” , see also .
- As for the priesthood, the apostles received it through the Holy Breath.
For the Lord Christ breathed on their faces and said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” . The Holy Spirit who was in them was forgiving sins or retaining them through them.
However, the apostles later granted the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of priesthood through the laying on of hands. We mention in this regard the saying of Saint Paul the Apostle to his disciple Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus: “I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” . And he said to him concerning his ordination of others: “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins” .
And thus we see in the mission of Barnabas and Saul that they “fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them…” “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia…” . Thus, by the laying on of hands, they were sent by the Holy Spirit. And in the ordination of the seven deacons, the same took place: “whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them” .
+ Thus we see that the laying on of hands was accompanied by certain prayers, which are currently the rite of ordination…
We also see that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples directly from God, since there was no one higher than them to grant Him to them. But after the apostles became “stewards of the mysteries of God” .
+ These stewards of God became the ones who grant the Holy Spirit.
Through the laying on of their hands and their prayers, as in the ordination of bishops, priests, and deacons, or through laying on of hands first and then using the anointing, as in granting the Spirit to the faithful in general. And thus the Spirit who was in them came to others from them in the manner that we have mentioned…
- Currently, we practice the sacrament of the Holy Chrism, or the sacrament of anointing, after baptism.
In the rite of this sacrament, we anoint the child with the Chrism in many places of his body, and we also place the hand on his head and breathe on his face and say to him: “Receive the Holy Spirit…”. As for adult women, the bishop may place his hand on the woman with prayers so that she may receive the Holy Spirit. And he anoints the visible parts of her body…
For better translation support, please contact the center.
