The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
mankind draws = its first=20 breath of the Spirit of God

The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles was mankind=92s = first=20 inspiration of breath from the Spirit of God. Remember Ezekiel=92s = prophecy about=20 the valley full of human bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Remember how, by his = word,=20 bone joined to bone, how the bones were then covered with sinews, flesh = and=20 skin, but how they as yet had no breath in them. And Ezekiel = =93prophesied unto=20 the wind.=94 He prophesied, =93and the breath came into them, and they = lived"=20 (Ezekiel 37:9-10). That valley full of bones is fallen mankind, which, = estranged=20 from God, did not have life in it. As the prophet said, it did not have = breath=20 in it.=20

However, the Lord did not abandon mankind. Through a variety of = providential=20 actions, He prepared it for life. By the time Our Lord and Savior had = appeared,=20 mankind could be described as completely prepared for new life; it = resembled a=20 solid body, with bone upon bone, covered with sinew and skin, lacking = only=20 breath. The Holy Gospels clearly state that little more was needed, and = that the=20 time for it to quicken had arrived.=20

Why was the Holy Spirit yet lacking? Because Jesus had not yet been=20 glorified. But then the Lord was Resurrected and Ascended in glory to = Heaven.=20 The Spirit of God descended, and, drawing It in, mankind came alive. The = Apostles, all the Church gathered together in the Upper Room on Mt. = Zion, were=20 the lips through which mankind drew its first breath of the Spirit.=20

In ordinary respiration, air is inhaled into the lungs. It passes = through a=20 large channel to progressively narrower ones until it has spread = throughout. The=20 lungs receive the life-giving air, and the process of respiration, = inhaling and=20 exhaling, is the actual means by which its life-giving power is = distributed.=20

So it is with the Holy Spirit. Once mankind has inhaled the Spirit of = God, it=20 continues to breathe with it. The Holy Church is the set of lungs where = this=20 takes place. The Holy Mysteries of God and other actions of = sanctification=20 comprise the channel into the lungs. The rhythmic movement of the chest = is the=20 annual rhythm of all of the church=92s liturgical actions, e.g. Great = Lent and its=20 attendant rites, followed by the celebrations of the Pentecostarion, = followed=20 once again by the fast, and then festal days, and so on, just like the = rhythmic=20 movement of the chest.=20

The Church of Christ, the Christian faithful - wherever they might be = =96 thus=20 breathe. Because Christianity exists within mankind, all of mankind = draws breath=20 from It, but not everyone communes of the quickening action of that = Divine=20 Breath. This is because one part of mankind has damaged organs of = respiration,=20 while another does not submit itself to the benevolent influence of this = respiration.=20

Full inspiration requires that the pathways in the lungs be neither = damaged=20 nor clogged. Likewise, for the Spirit of God to have Its full effect = upon man,=20 the organs He Himself had ordered to communicate Himself must be whole. = That is=20 to say, all of the Divine Mysteries and liturgical functions, as = established by=20 the Holy Apostles under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, must be = preserved=20 intact. Where they have been damaged, the breathing of the Spirit of God = is=20 incomplete, and, it follows, does not impart Its full effect. ...=20

At the same time, let us not exalt ourselves, asserting that we = possess the=20 healthy means to breathe with the Spirit of God, true Holy Mysteries and = the=20 real structure and organization of the Church. Wherever we do not = breathe the=20 Spirit of God, there is no life. The Church breathes with this Spirit, = and we=20 must as well. The lips through which the Divine Spirit is received, the = heart=20 that opens to receive It, is living faith.=20

Participation in the Mysteries and liturgical actions according to = the order=20 of the Holy Church brings one into contact with It. To make It one=92s = own, one=20 must act upon Its inspiration expressed in the demands of conscience and = the=20 Commandments of the Gospel. One who follows that way of life breathes = with the=20 Spirit and is enlivened by It. True evidence of spirituality is prayer, = that=20 which is justly called the breathing of the Spirit. One who prays well, = in a=20 collected manner and fervently, both in church and at home, breathes = with the=20 Spirit.=20

Bishop Theophan the Recluse=20

Taken from http://www.stjohndc.org/Fathers/0106d.htm

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The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostlesmankind draws = its first=20 breath of the Spirit of God

The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
mankind draws = its first=20 breath of the Spirit of God