When a traveller sees a distant ray of light in the night, he rejoices and directs his steps towards this light, not questioning from what source it comes. Only when he approaches the source of light does he begin to question it. The Christian faith has brought people to the mysterious eternal light of the Divine that Christians are closely observing.
The Messiah has brought you close enough to this light of eternity for you to see and distinguish three candles. Three eternal candles – one Fire. Three majesties – one King. Three miracles – one Mystery. Three Persons – one Being. Three hypostases – one God, Whose great name is the Holy Trinity. Holy Trinity in One. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — always and forever one God.
At the foot of this life-giving mystery, the Seraphim and Cherubim hide their faces in sacred awe, divine ecstasy and infinite bliss while the countless angelic hosts […] sing in chorus the magnificence of the One Living God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3).
The immense sun in the firmament of heaven represents the Trinity in Unity, the Sun constituted by the inseparable unity of flame, light and heat. Every atom on earth is a trinity. The human soul, this image of the Triune God, consists of three main inseparable forces – the feelings, the mind and the will. This triplicity however does not divide the soul into three souls. The soul is one whole; its three forces constitute a unity and remain in unity.
However, the world knows God as the Trinity not through images of nature, not through shadows and symbols, but through the heavenly revelation declared by Our Lord Jesus Christ. From Him the human race learned about the parenthood of God the Father, the sonship of the Son of God and the procession of the Holy Spirit. He brought us, wandering in the darkness of night, to the eternal Divine light, and we began to see and distinguish the Three in One – the Three miracles in one Mystery, the Three Hypostases in the One Deity.
It is revealed to us that the Holy Spirit is not a creation of God, but God Himself. He is the Life-Giving God, Who by His presence creates life, gives strength, infuses wisdom and inspires joy. From the eternal Father He proceeds eternally. He is consubstantial with the Father and with the Son, forming with them one power, worshipped and glorified. He differs only hypostatically. A special Hypostasis distinguishes Him from the Father and the Son. He is however worthy of the same adoration and glory. The prophets spoke by the Holy Spirit. He instilled heavenly wisdom in ordinary fishermen. He gave the weak men and women who suffered for Christ, invincible strength, a power that is stronger than death.
Faith in the Holy Spirit of God is based not on conjectures or constructs of the mind, but on reality revealed, experienced and witnessed. Before learning the mysteries of heaven, anyone who wishes to become a witness of this reality must cleanse the heart of sin and sanctify it with prayer. Then the Holy Spirit will appear to him, the Spirit of truth and life, the Spirit of wisdom and joy, the Spirit of freedom and sonship. The Holy Spirit will then testify to his spirit the entire truth of Christ’s revelation about God, about the soul, about the path of salvation and about the eternal Kingdom of God.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the knowledge of God as the Trinity came to people. He gave us this knowledge not in the form of a philosophical teaching, but in the form of the appearance of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These manifestations and actions of the Living God in His Three Hypostases are real. The manifestations of the Father on the Jordan River and Mount Tabor are real. The miraculous incarnation of the Son of God, and His deeds, suffering, and Resurrection are real. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and His work in them, as well as in the saints, the righteous and all of God’s Church from the beginning to the present is also real.
Always and forever – one God, one Eternal King, one power, one glory, one love, one joy, one light, one essence – one God.
Prayers of the Feast
Troparion, tone 8
Blessed art Thou, Christ our God, Who didst make the fishermen wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them didst draw the world into Thy net. Lover of men, glory to Thee.
Kontakion, tone 8
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, He divided the nations, but when He distributed the tongues of fire, He called all to unity. And with one accord we glorify the All-Holy Spirit.
Magnification
We magnify Thee, O Christ the Giver of life, and we honor Thine All-Holy Spirit, Whom Thou didst send from the Father to Thy divine disciples.
