Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church

Go to our new festival website for all the latest details! http://www.saratogarussianfestival.com

The Feast of Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday, is always celebrated 50 days after Pascha, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word “pentecost” in Greek literally means “fifty.” At Pentecost, the disciples received the gift of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in the form of fiery tongues. This outpouring of the Spirit fulfilled the promise that Christ had made to His disciples while He was still with them.

Life in the Church is a constant victory over time. "Past," "present," and "future" in the usual human meaning vanish in the Church. "Past" becomes often truly "present," future has already been achieved in the past, and "present" loses its significance and wanes in the unfading light of the only Church measure of "time" -- eternity. Thus, through Christ's redeeming sacrifice, the future Kingdom of God and the future everlasting life have already been returned to us.

The most ancient Christian writers unanimously testify that the Holy Forty Day Fast was established by the apostles in imitation of the forty-day fast of Moses (Exodus 34), Elijah (3 Kings 19), and mainly by the example of Jesus Christ fasting for forty days (Mat. 4:2).

The services of healing through anointing of the sick must be understood and experienced as corporate acts of worship.