On the Feast of Pentecost and Holy Trinity Sunday (popularly known as “Great Sunday”), His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chișinău.
Concelebrating to the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova were Archpriest Vadim Cheibaș, Secretary of the Metropolis, and the Cathedral clergy.
During the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence ordained Daniil Gherciu—a graduate of the Faculty of Theology in Iași, prmotion of 2023—as deacon.
This feast commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Holy Apostles, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (2:1–4), and marks a crucial moment in the life of the Church.
Together with Pascha, Pentecost is the most ancient Christian feast, celebrated from the time of the Holy Apostles. It is mentioned by St Paul (1 Corinthians 16:8), St Luke (Acts 20:16), and listed among feasts in early canonical writings such as the Apostolic Constitutions. Church Fathers including St Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and St Epiphanius referenced it, while the Council of Elvira (c. 300) and the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea, 325) confirmed its liturgical importance. The Western pilgrim Egeria (late 4th century) also described its celebration in Jerusalem. Until the late 4th and early 5th centuries, Pentecost was observed as a double feast: both the Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. From around the year 400, the Ascension was fixed on the 40th day after Pascha, and Pentecost became exclusively the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the Vespers service was celebrated, during which Metropolitan Vladimir and the concelebrating clergy read the traditional kneeling prayers—offering thanksgiving to God and asking for His continued mercy and grace upon His people.
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