When is Pentecost 2017? Meaning of Christian Event
This year, the Christian tradition of Pentecost comes around on Sunday, June 4. What does the celebration of the Pentecost signify for faithful Christians around the world?
On Pentecost Sunday, Christians celebrate the ascension of Jesus Christ and the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon his apostles. It is the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gathered disciples of Jesus Christ, taking on the form of rushing wind and tongues of fire, which separated to settle on each of them present. The event was narrated in the Book of Acts, as summarized by Belief Net.
The relevant passage was in the second chapter of the Book of Acts, in verses one through four. A passage describing the event in the Holy Bible reads: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the houses where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, and the spirit gave them utterance"
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Christians today commemorate the Pentecost not just as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, but also as an event signifying the birth of His church. It is from that day that the Apostles were fully equipped to go out and spread the message of Jesus and perform his ministry.
The Pentecost, like Easter Sunday, is one of the first celebrations inaugurated by the Church, having been mentioned in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. The word "Pentecost" itself is derived from the Ancient Greek word "Pentēkostē," meaning the fiftieth day. On the Jewish calendar, the Pentecost is determined to be 50 days from Passover.
Nowadays, the Christian calendar marks the date in the ecclesiastical year as always on the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday. With Easter falling on April 16 this year, counting seven weeks from that date points to June 4.
