Archpastoral Message of His Eminence Archbishop Daniel
on the Great Feast of Pentecost
June 8, 2025
To the Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics, and
Beloved Faithful of the Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest
Dear Ones in Christ,
We celebrate the feast of Pentecost
and the coming of the Spirit,
the appointed day of the promise, the fulfillment of hope.
How majestic and great is the mystery!
–from Vespers of the Feast
I greet you with joy and gladness as we gather throughout our Diocese to celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the manifestation of the Holy Trinity, and the beginning of the Church’s divine mission. This Feast of Pentecost is also personal for each one of us as we remember that, just as the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples and apostles at the first Pentecost, we, too, have received the Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
This gift of the Holy Spirit is promised in the Holy Scriptures. In the Book of the Prophet Joel, we read the words “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people” (Joel 2:8). The Lord Jesus repeats that promise in the Gospel of John: Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you… However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you (cf. John 16:7-14).
These promises were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended with power upon the Apostles who then inaugurated the mission of the Church in the world. Jesus Himself had prepared the Eleven for this mission, appearing to them on many occasions after his Resurrection (Acts 1:3). Prior to His Ascension into Heaven, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-5); that is, he asked them to stay together to prepare themselves to receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. And so they gathered in prayer with Mary in the Upper Room, awaiting the fulfillment of the promise (Acts 1:14). To stay together in prayerful unity was a condition laid down by Jesus for the disciples and apostles to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The basis of their unity was their persistent prayer. In this example of prayer we are offered a significant lesson for every Christian community, every family, every parish, and every monastery. The basis for our unity and oneness of mind is our common prayer. Our ability to walk in the Spirit, to live the Christian life, and to proclaim the Gospel is founded and built upon our life of prayer, both personal and communal.
However, sometimes we have the impression that our lives as Orthodox Christians and our effectiveness in preaching the Gospel depends primarily on careful programming and its subsequent intellectual and practical implementation. The Lord certainly asks for our collaboration in such initiatives; He asks us to use our planning abilities, our intellectual and real-world talents, in service to the Gospel. But before any of our efforts, His initiative is necessary: the Holy Spirit—Who leads, guides, and inspires us—is the true protagonist of the Church, the One Who plays the chief role in leading and guiding us. Like the Apostles, we need to pray and wait for the Lord to guide and inspire us before we go into the world to preach the Saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today we acknowledge that our human pride and arrogance always create divisions, build walls of indifference, hate, and violence. Following in the path of the divisions created by the building of the tower of Babel, humanity still lives fragmented. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, heals our hearts and makes us capable of understanding the languages and lives of all. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, re-establishes the conduit of true communication, which is love itself. Recalling Babel and its disunity and the unity created by the Gift of the Holy Spirit, today we sing:
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.
Therefore, with one voice we glorify the All-holy Spirit.
We celebrate today because the promised Comforter, the Spirit of the Father, has been given to us, indeed, poured out upon us. The Spirit of Truth will enable us to understand that Christ’s work is a work of love: love of the One Who gave Himself, love of the Father Who has given Him. This is the mystery of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit illuminates the human spirit and transforms it, calling us all to unity.
Today, the Church, gathered in prayer with Mary the Ever-Virgin Birthgiver of God, implores and entreats: O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things; Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One!