Dr Augustin Sokolovski
On the Second Sunday after Holy Pentecost, the Church commemorates all the Saints of Russia, all those who have shone forth in the Russian land, all the Saints of the Russian Church. This feast differs in several important respects from the preceding Feast of All Saints.
First and foremost, the Feast of All Saints possesses an eschatological character. It is not merely a commemoration of all the saints taken together, nor simply the celebration of the heavenly patrons of individual Christians. Rather, it is a profound theological feast. It reminds us that the Son of God revealed the Father, that the Holy Spirit revealed the Son, and that the Holy Spirit is revealed in the saints, manifesting already in the present age that glory which shall be fully revealed at the glorious Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3, For this reason, the Feast of All Saints is universal in scope. It embraces all the righteous, regardless of nation, language, or historical era, revealing the fullness of the Church triumphant in the Kingdom of God. The Feast of All Saints contains but a single appointed reading from Holy Scripture. This bears witness both to its great antiquity and to its place within the ancient liturgical tradition of the Church, as preserved in the Triodion. Moreover, it forms the culmination of the Paschal and Pentecostal cycle, after which the Fast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul begins.
The feast of All Saints Who Have Shone Forth in the Land of Russia first appeared, according to historians, in the middle of the sixteenth century, when the Russian Church began the systematic glorification of her saints. Through this feast, the Church gave thanks to God for the abundant fruits of holiness manifested throughout the centuries in the Russian land. In the seventeenth century, however, the feast largely fell into disuse in the aftermath of the Old Ritualist schism. During the Synodal period it was gradually forgotten.
Yet, at the tragic dawn of the Bolshevik persecutions, following the fall of the Russian Empire, the All-Russian Church Council of 1917–1918 restored the commemoration of All Saints Who Have Shone Forth in the Land of Russia and gradually returned it to the liturgical life of the Church. Following the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War, it became firmly established as a feast celebrated throughout the Russian Orthodox Church. Its watchword, which during the years of militant atheism became a courageous confession of faith, is found in the hymn:
“O Holy Rus', preserve the Orthodox Faith, for therein is thy strength and establishment.”
Unlike the Feast of All Saints, therefore, this commemoration is not principally eschatological but historical and ecclesial. Through it, the Russian Church offers thanksgiving to God for His providential guidance throughout her history. Moreover, the feast has acquired a distinctly penitential character, especially since its restoration in the twentieth century. This dimension should not be forgotten.
On this same day, many Local Orthodox Churches, together with the monastic republic of Holy Mount Athos, celebrate all the saints who have shone forth within their own lands and traditions. Thus, this feast reminds us that holiness is revealed within every local Church and that we are called to rejoice together in the communion of all the faithful.
The appointed Gospel reading for the Second Sunday after Pentecost recounts the calling of the Apostles according to the Holy Gospel of Matthew. There our Lord says: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
These words admit of a twofold understanding. First, the fishermen of Galilee became true fishers of men, drawing souls into the Kingdom of God through the preaching of the Gospel and the apostolic mission. Second, they became fishermen for the sake of mankind. No longer would they labor merely for earthly sustenance or worldly purposes; rather, they would offer Christ Himself to humanity—the Bread of Life and the Savior of the world.
The conjunction of this Gospel reading with the commemoration of the Saints of Russia reveals the deepest meaning of the feast. Its evangelical message and spiritual summons consist in this: that the vocation of every Christian and of every local Church is service. As this ministry unfolds, the true calling of both the individual believer and the Church as the community of the faithful is revealed ever more fully.