Pentecost

how so ironic that mr. falwell passed away a few days ago...he represented the covenant of law....the arrival of the Spirit the covenant of grace....

Oh, we don't miss it either at my Orthodox parish -- in fact, the service is extra-long tomorrow, oy. But you really don't hear much about Pentecost in our culture. Seriously, do Pentecostals observe the holy day that gives their movement its name? I wonder.

The singing of "O Heavenly King," after its 50 Day absence from our liturgical and devotional life, is a great joy. Also, notice the Kneeling Prayers read during the Vespers after Liturgy today: theologically rich! Interestingly, the designation of Pentecost as the "Birthday of the Church" has been the source of some debate, since many of the Fathers explicitly taught that the Church had existed since the Old Testament Prophets, or even from the beginning of creation. For example, according to Saint Gregory the Theologian, "The Prophets established the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order" (PG 35, 589 A). Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, says in his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Church "was created before the sun and moon"; and a little further on, "The Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning" (II Cor. 14). But nonetheless, Happy Feastday!

TO affirm Sigarilis and the comment on our perspective of "time," recall that medieval theologians likened the "bush that burned but was not consumed" to Mary's perpetual virginity. Early sacred art promoted the perpetually "fascinating parallelisms" of the Incarnation in a distinctive four-quarter-double-overlay format in icons of the type "Mother of the Burning Bush," following quote from http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102500 (celebrated not on Pentecost but Sept 4) "The Unburnt Bush Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is based on the miracle witnessed by Moses in the Old Testament. In Chapter 3 of Exodus God calls Moses on Mt. Horeb from the midst of a bush which "was burning, yet it was not consumed" (Ex. 3:2). Moses is informed that he will lead the Hebrews out of their slavery in Egypt, and then God tells him His name, "I am Who am" (Ex. 3:14).
The Church has always regarded the Unburnt Bush on Horeb as a type of the Most Holy Theotokos giving birth to the Savior Christ, while remaining a Virgin. This imagery is to be found in the Church's hymnography (for example, the Dogmatikon at Saturday Vespers in Tone 2), and also in iconography.
One of the earliest depictions of the Mother of God as the Unburnt Bush shows her holding her divine Son in the midst of a burning bush. Moses is shown to one side, removing his sandals, for that place was holy (Ex. 3:5).
Most icons now depict the bush in a symbolic fashion. There are two overlapping diamonds: one red (representing the fire), the other green (representing the bush), forming an eight pointed star. The Theotokos is shown in the center.
In the four corners of the green diamond are the symbols of the four Evangelists: a man (St Matthew), a lion (St Mark), an ox (St Luke), and an eagle (St John). These symbols are derived from Ezekiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:7. Archangels are depicted in the four corners of the red diamond.
The design of the icon has become more complex over time. Now we can see archangels, Moses and the burning bush (Ex. 3:2), Isaiah and the seraphim with the burning coal (Is. 6:7), Ezekiel and the gate through which only the Lord may enter (Ez. 44:2), and Jacob with the ladder (Gen. 28:12). The Theotokos is shown holding Jacob's ladder which leads from earth to heaven. Sometimes the Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) is shown in the center of the icon's lower border.
There is an old story about a fire which was consuming several wooden buildings. In the midst of the fire an old woman stood in front of her house holding an icon of the "Unburnt Bush." A witness happened to see her there, and marveled at her faith. The next day he returned to the spot and was astonished to see the old woman's home completely unscathed by the fire, while all the other houses around it were destroyed. This may explain why the Mother of God, through her Icon of the Unburnt Bush, is regarded as the protector of homes from fire.
It is believed that the earliest icons of the Unburnt Bush originated at St Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai." A selection of other artworks (ancient and modern, East, West and Coptic) that repeat the theme (for those of us who have lost this
Russian Oklad showing evangelist symbols (associated with visions of Jeremiah/Ezekiel) in relief, with closeups of cleaned and restored corners beneath: http://www.icon.lt/images/080d.jpg Moses on Sinai http://www.icon.lt/images/080e.jpg Isaiah's vision http://www.icon.lt/images/080f.jpg Ezekiel's vision http://www.icon.lt/images/080g.jpg Jacob's ladder Image from a recent Ebay listing http://www.tertiasp.ru/50-03.jpg Mass produced enameled cast-brass for the common man's home http://www.iconastas.co.uk/stock.asp?code=453055694 Holy Transfiguration Monastery http://www.thehtm.org/images/a-9.jpg Mosaic at Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, California http://www.saintgregorys.org/Arts/Objects/BurningBush.html Moses and the Burning Bush Icon from St Tikhon's Bookstore http://www.stspress.com/detail.aspx?ID=233 Icon written by Nasef Lateef at Coptic net http://www.coptic.net/pictures/Icon.MosesAndTheBurningBush.jpg Western treatment in illustrated Manuscript c 1480 http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=1851

Glad to oblige!
I learnt after some recreational googling this afternoon that the Russian icon title is Mother of God of the Unburnt Thornbush "Matachka Bozhaja Neopalimaya Kupina" Haven't found a counterpart in Greek, it seems this motive was a Slavic innovation: after the fall of Constantinople artists relocated to the Russian Third Rome and with renewed vigor dedicated themselves to developing their sacred craft. Here's a page (translatable in AltaVista's BabelFish) with more details (angelic themes likened to the traditional eight gifts of the Holy Spirit, received at Confirmation/Chrismation, personified as virtues): http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ru_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.loukin.ru%2Fstat%2Fbmkupina%2Fkupina.htm [http://www.loukin.ru/stat/bmkupina/kupina.htm I could quite easily imagine them as personifications of the eight beatitides of Christ's Sermon on the Mount ie the Gospel values by which we can live the moral law!

Anglicans consider Pentecost a principal feast day and celebrate it under the name Whitsunday. We attended worship at a very high, Anglo-Catholic parish in Freeport (Bahamas) -- my Presbyterian kids' first exposure to bells and smells. There was as much incense as I've ever seen. Whitsunday is such a big deal in the Bahamas that Whitmonday is an official holiday.