28.

 Summarize your understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.

            The Life-giving Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy and Life-creating Trinity, and He is completely one with the Father and the Son. Concerning Christ's work of redemption and the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification, they are very much interconnected. As St. Athanasius taught in this regard, “The Word took flesh that we might receive the Holy Spirit.” Moreover, because the Church is the Body of Christ, it is also the temple and dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. St. Irenaeus instructed that “where the Church is, there is the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit is, there is the Church.”

            The Holy Spirit came to the Christian Church at Pentecost (Acts 2: 3) as the final fulfillment of Christ's earthly mission, and as the completion of the Old Testament prophecy that in the time of the Messiah-King, the Spirit of God would be “poured out on all flesh” (Joel 2:28, Acts 1:14). With His descent, the Apostles were given the gift of inspired preaching and the gift of preaching in various languages previously unknown to them. Regarding this event, which is celebrated every year on the feast of Pentecost, it is explained that:

The Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire to show that He is not separate from the living Word and also to empower the Holy Apostles with the use of words, for they were to teach the multitudes and bring them to Christ. He descended, then, in the form of fire to show, on the one hand, that God is a consuming fire, while on the other hand, the need of purification, and His grace rested upon them in tongues. In former times those who were of one language were confused and divided into a multitude of tongues, but now those who knew only one language received a multitude of tongues so that they could gather those of different languages who were scattered to the far reaches of the world. This all happened on a day of festival so that there would be a larger number gathered together, and so that through them the news would be spread far and wide. Also, so that those who had been present at the time of Pascha and who had seen all that had happened to Christ would have reason to be amazed. This happened on the day of Pentecost because it was fitting that the grace of the Holy Spirit be poured out at the same time that the Old Law had been received, just as Christ was the new and true Pascha in place of the old Passover [Synaxarion of the Lenten Triodion and Pentecostarion, p. 239].

In addition to the descent upon the Apostles, there is a special ministry of the Holy Spirit to those within the Church. Regarding this ministry and the manifestation of God's grace in the Church's Holy Mysteries, Vladimir Lossky writes:

As [the Holy Spirit] descended upon the disciples [at Pentecost] in tongues of fire, so [He] descends invisibly upon the newly baptized in the Sacrament of Holy [Chrismation].... The Holy Spirit is operative in both Sacraments. He recreates our nature by purifying it and uniting it to the Body of Christ. He also bestows... divine grace upon human persons. It is on account of this intimate connection between the two Sacraments of Baptism and [Chrismation] that the uncreated and deifying gift, which the descent of the Holy Spirit confers upon the members of the Church, is frequently referred to as baptismal grace.... Baptismal grace, the presence within us of the Holy Spirit... is the foundation of all Christian life [Mystical Theology, pp. 170-71].

The Church lives by the Holy Spirit, Who insures the existence of God's kingdom on earth. The Holy Spirit guides Christians to God's life, truth and love. As Christ told the Apostles, “When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you in all truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come” (Jn 16:13).

            Moreover, through the Holy Spirit, Christians are made children of God. As the Apostle Paul instructs: “All who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery... but you received the Spirit of sonship. When we cry, Abba! Father! it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness to our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:14-15). The Holy Spirit also gives Christians life. As St. Paul writes: “If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit Who dwells in you” (Rom 8:11).

            The Holy Spirit also appears and is recognized by His actions in other ways. From sacred history, the action of the Holy Spirit is seen in the ancient gifts of divinely inspired prophecy; in the superhuman strength of the martyrs, who were subjected to torments for their Christian faith; in the preservation of the truths of Sacred Tradition from distortion; and in the Church's preservation of divine Truth.

            Furthermore, the Holy Spirit gives Christians every gift from God and divine help for those spiritually laboring to gather within themselves spiritual fruits. Among these gifts, St. Paul enumerates the following: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discerning of spirits, and the gift of tongues and their interpretation (1 Cor 12:4-11). Elsewhere, St. Paul shows that the Holy Spirit gives the possibility of sharing God's divine nature and life, and the ability to love one another. In his epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul teaches:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.... For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Gal 5:22-25, 6:8).

Ultimately, a complete listing of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not possible. As St. John the Baptist stated: “God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (Jn 3:34); and as St. Paul stated: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Cor 12:7). Also, the gifts of the Holy Spirit have degrees, and in order to acquire them, repentance is necessary. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

            The Orthodox Church lays great stress upon the work of the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the All-Holy Spirit. With its every sacramental action, and most notably at the climax of the Eucharis-tic Prayer, the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked. Moreover, introducing the Trisagion is the following prayer, one which is also recited at almost every Orthodox service, and which is recited by Orthodox in their daily private prayers that begin each day. Through this prayer to the Holy Spirit, Orthodox place themselves under His protection:

O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art every where present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Importantly, this prayer is an affirmation of an additional ministry of the Holy Spirit, one outside the purview of question 28. In addition to the special ministry of the Holy Spirit — that is, His work in the Church, there is a general ministry as well, one towards all creation. In this general ministry, the Holy Spirit fills all things with the energies of God in His role as the divine agent of Him by Whom “all things consist” (Col 1:17). St. Athanasius of Alexandria notes in this regard that the Son is said to be co working with the Father in creation and with the Spirit in consummation, so the Spirit co-works with the Father in creation and the Son in redemption. The Holy Spirit works in all creation, in providence, and in the entire history of salvation, activities that are general operations shared in by the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

            As one writer also notes, the Holy Spirit creates (Gen 1:2, Ps 104: 30, Job 33:4); He redeems (Isa 44:3,23); and He offers gifts to creatures (Gen 2:7, 41:38, Exod 28:3, 31:3). It is also noted that the Holy Spirit illumines reason, enables political order, and restrains the capacity for humanity to destroy itself. Additional “general operations” of the Holy Spirit that are shared with the Father and Son include (but are not limited to) the offering of life, supporting newly given life, and nurturing and strengthening continuing life — all life, whether plant, animal or human.