Augustine Sokolovski
On Easter Day, the Orthodox Churches hold an evening service that is exceptional. This is one of the two so-called dogmatic vespers. One of them is held on Easter, the other on Pentecost. Both vespers are dedicated to the Lord Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
In the Russian tradition, Pentecost is most often called the day of the Holy Trinity. The dogmatic sense of the Pentecost Vespers is given by the reading of special prayers of invocation of the Holy Spirit. In turn, on Easter Day this is created thanks to the reading of the text from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 19-25.
The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples on the very day of His Resurrection, when the doors of the house where they were gathering were locked in fear (John 20:19). "As the Father has sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had spoken this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (20:19,21-23), - these are the key words for the service.
This is how the Gospel text teaches the revelation that the Lord Jesus is the Giver of the Holy Spirit. Note that this is not about the theology of the Holy Trinity or the procession of the Holy Spirit, which at one time became one of the reasons for the division of the Churches. "Receive the Holy Spirit" is the commandment of the Lord Jesus to the Apostles, which is part of the New Testament narrative of the Resurrection of Christ.
"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25), - the Gospel text says. Like Thomas, who was absent during the appearance, everyone has the right to ask a question.
Perhaps, it would be much easier for Christians if the Lord did not ascend to Heaven. He would stay with the churches, appear, when necessary, share a meal with believers, bless them, moreover, would not let them get sick, and, most importantly, would not allow them to die. Then Christians would be absolutely exceptional people. The Lord is Almighty and He could certainly do this. But He does not. The question arises why?
The Lord Jesus had to become the property of the whole world. He had to ascend. He had to leave to become accessible to the Universe. Just as if the Jewish people had believed in Christ as the Messiah entirely, Christianity would have remained a God-chosen, but exclusively Jewish faith. The whole world would have remained in paganism. So, the Ascension of Christ made the Lord present throughout the Universe. This Presence has been accessible through the Church since Pentecost. Then the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Church was born. The Real Presence is the foundation of sacramental theology.
Faith is necessary for the realization of this presence of Christ. This is absolutely honest on the part of God. He gives Himself to believers. Unbelievers are left to remain in within the area of responsibility of their own choice.
“No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him,” says the Gospel of John (John 1:20). This text is read at the divine liturgy of Easter Monday. Based on biblical revelation, the Church Fathers emphasize that no one has ever seen God the Father. The Father is revealed in the Son of God, Who became man in history in Jesus Christ.
After His Ascension, Jesus ascended and sat at the right hand of God. The human nature of the incarnate Word of God is completely preserved. God has a human heart beating. This is the essence of the Dogma of the Ascension.
After Jesus' Ascension to Heaven, He cannot be physically fixed in any way. He cannot be physically seen or touched, nor can he be caught or detained. As the Lord Himself said to Mary Magdalene: "Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God'" (John 20:17). Jesus ascended and sent down the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and to all those who were in the community on the day of Pentecost, that is, to Mary Magdalene as well (Acts 1:14). Thus, Jesus became the property of the Church in the Spirit. Just as the Son of God reveals the Father, so the Holy Spirit reveals the Son of God, completely, entirely and fully.
Who reveals the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, and this is a great mystery and a great sacrament, is revealed by people who believe in Christ. But here and now this manifestation of the Spirit in people is not perfect, for the world is not perfect and the people living in it are not perfect as well. History is written by the finger of God and is corrected by the mistakes of people.
Therefore, it is necessary for the Lord Jesus to return and complete history. The Church, as a Society of Believers, constantly asks for this in the prayer "Our Father." "Thy kingdom come." Lord Jesus, return quickly, and finally complete all that has gone before. The Lord Jesus will return at His Second Coming. The Heavenly Jerusalem will descend from Heaven.
Then the Holy Spirit will be fully revealed in the Saints of God. How exactly this will happen is a great mystery and is inaccessible to people. Believers are required to live worthy of the commandments. We should live by the example, deeds and grace of the Savior. The main thing is to preach the Gospel to the whole world, as Jesus Himself said after His Resurrection: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19).
"Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). What Apostle Thomas said is both a revelation and a paradigm.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are the three days of Holy Week. They are experienced by believers with special sorrow. This is a great three-day passion narrative. The moon is darkened, and the sun does not shine. Even if the sun shines on these days, this sun has a special dim light.
This sorrow manifests itself everywhere, even in everyday secular culture, often in distorted forms. Friday the thirteenth - what is it? According to the Gospel, Christ was crucified on the eve of the Jewish Passover, which fell on Saturday, the fourteenth day of the biblical month of Nisan. It turns out that Christ was crucified on Friday the 13th.
The Lord was in the Tomb for three days and three nights. Even after the Resurrection of Christ, this time, as a memory, is extremely sorrowful.
According to the Gospel story, in the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to Thomas on the tenth day. It is extremely difficult to even imagine how incredibly hard it was to endure. The Believing Church and the World that does not believe. People blessed by faith, and non-believers deprived of this bliss. Unhappy with unbelief, because Christians did not bring them the Light of Christ. They are in the period of this sorrowful, lonely, desperate ten-day period.
In Scripture, Thomas is often called the "Twin". There are different explanations for this name, proposed by the Fathers of the Church and interpreters of Scripture. One of them, extremely interesting, says that Thomas was very similar in appearance to Jesus. Thus, an amazing parallel arises. The image of Thomas, who could not believe until he saw the Risen One with his own eyes, extends to the entire human world.
The Believing Church and the World of Unbelievers. Two twins. The Church and its twin, the world. The world and its twin, the Church. The moral deeds of unbelievers, wonderful in their caritative power. Community work, social assistance, care for the weakest. This is a special Christianity without Christ. This is the Reverence for life.
Unfortunately, in the end, good deeds without faith often become the subject of manipulation, become the basis of ideologies, feed egoism, and give rise to absurd utopias. The past twentieth century has given many examples of this.
This is the twin of the Lord Jesus, to whom the Church, the wandering Body of Christ on earth, is simply obliged to bring the good news. "Outside the Church there is no salvation. Outside the world there is no salvation either."
When Thomas appeared before the Apostles after the appearance of the Lord that he missed, they did not ask him the usual questions. "Where have you been, why are you late," or something like that. They simply said to him, "We have seen the Lord" (John 20:25). This is the first confession of faith. During Easter, believers constantly repeat these words out loud, dressing them in the bright garments of Easter testimony. Christ is Risen - "We have seen the Risen One.