Homily on Pentecost – Fr. Gabriel (Galev)
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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Today is a great day – Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire upon the Apostles. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the world and the founding of the Church, the birth of the Church. This day is very significant for us, because on this day God founded the Church, in Which the world, humanity, was given a new principle and purpose, a new way of life, not life in death but life in life. Eternal life, in joy and fullness.
With this event, the entire Dispensation of God for the salvation of man was completed. Until now, God, the Father, had been working through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Son, who was incarnate, suffered, died and rose again, and ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit then came, founded the Church and into It poured all the fullness of grace, and from now on it all remains with man. The more he works, the more he will obtain.
Everything is given to man, all that is needed is for him to make an effort so as to fulfil what God has given him at this moment. Also, as the Holy Fathers say: “The Son glorifies the Father, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, and we, humans, should glorify the Holy Spirit.” This the Holy Fathers did, and, in them rests the fullness of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they showed with the way in which they lived why God sent the Holy Spirit, and why God founded the Church.
Thus, if we are not like the Holy Fathers and if we do not live in the way of life that they lived, we are far from the Church, we are far from healing ourselves, we are far from true life, we are far from grace, from light, from joy, etcetera. That is why those turbulent, changing situations occur in our lives, which are spent more in sadness, in torment and suffering, in uncertainty, than in joy and comfort.
However, we should strive to use the Holy Spirit, so to speak. We should strive to actualise that, which God gives to each of us through the Holy Spirit, and this is achieved in the first instance, through the holy sacrament of baptism. Therefore, we should strive to live a holy- sacramental life, to love one another, to respect one another, so that the Holy Spirit may be in us and among us.
Before the coming of the Holy Spirit, the people were divided by either this or that reason (basis) and later they would all be united in the Church. The many nations become one nation, Christian nation. The Apostles and the Mother of God gathered in the upper room on Pentecost when everyone was in harmony and in one accord, then the Holy Spirit descended.
So too we should know that we should be in one accord with God, and that means that we should all live for one another, not for ourselves. Then we are in harmony with the grace of the Holy Spirit and then the Holy Spirit is in us and amongst us. So let us strive to live the life that God has given us and not deceive ourselves with false hopes, false pleasures, and false goals in this life that are actually more to our detriment than to our benefit.
Father Gabriel Galev
Abbot of the Monastery “St. Clement of Ohrid”,
Kinglake, Melbourne, Australia
08 / 06 / 2025
