History of Pentecost

HISTORY OF PENTECOST

The Feast of Pentecost is taken from the Greek word πεντηκόστη, which means “the 50th,” referring to the fiftieth day after the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter.

• In the Jewish calendar, this aligns with the harvest festival Shavuot, known as the “Feast of Weeks,” which occurs seven weeks (7 × 7 days) or 50 days (inclusive) after Passover. It is a “fixed” date holiday. This year’s Jewish Pentecost began at sundown on May 21.

• In the Christian calendar, Passover played a role in several of Jesus’ visits to Jerusalem. Most famously, Pentecost, which followed Passover, marked the coming of the Holy Spirit, with “tongues as of fire” upon the Disciples of Jesus and the sound of a rushing wind, as recounted in the New Testament Book of Acts, Chapter 2. Because Emperor Constantine moved the date of Easter from its close connection to Passover to the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox,it became a “floating” date holiday. This year’s Christian Pentecost Sunday is May 24.

Pentecost in Church History

Pentecost marked the beginning of the work of the Church following Jesus’s Resurrection. The New Testament tells us that Jesus remained with his Disciples for 40 days following his Resurrection before his Ascension into heaven (celebrated last Sunday), so this would mark ten days following the Ascension of Jesus. This event was associated with the Disciples speaking in other languages.

Pentecost, by Duccio di Buoninsegna

Many visitors to Jerusalem were likely there for the Feast of Pentecost, one of the three Jewish holidays called Pilgrimage Festivals, when all Israelites who were able were expected to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem as commanded by the Torah. These visitors were curious about the meaning of the flames, wind, and foreign tongues, some of which were familiar to them. The Apostle Peter gave his first sermon, and the Church in Jerusalem grew from 120 believers to 3,000.

Parallels Between the Jewish and Christian Pentecosts

There is a Jewish tradition that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses at Mount Sinai on Pentecost. That event, recounted in the Book of Exodus, Chapters 20 and following, recounts how the Jews were led through the wilderness by a pillar of fire by day and a pillar of smoke by night. When Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, he discovered that the people had built a golden calf idol and were worshipping it. Judgment fell upon the disobedient people, according to Exodus 32, and 3,000 were killed. 

At the Christian Pentecost, as recounted in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit comes upon the Disciples as tongues of fire, the law is written on their hearts, and the Church now numbers 3,000.

Pentecost Observance

While Ascension Sunday is not as widely celebrated in the US as in parts of Europe, especially Germany, neither is Pentecost Sunday, apart from more liturgical churches. However, it is more widely observed across Europe:

• Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain and among Anglicans and Methodists in other countries for the Christian holy day of Pentecost.

• In Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Lutheran churches, the Sunday of Pentecost itself is called Trinity Sunday.

• It is known as Green Sunday or Green Holiday in parts of Eastern Europe. There, it is marked by green decorations and green branches – perhaps a reference to the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which decorates synagogues with greenery.

• In Rome, at the oldest building in the world, now used as a church, the centuries-old Rose Petal ceremony at the Pantheon features local firefighters from Rome’s Vigili del Fuoco atop the largest free-standing concrete dome in the world, pushing rose petals through the 9-meter-wide oculus to depict descending flames. See the video here.

Rose Petal ceremony at the Pantheon, Rome. Image: The Italy Edit

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com