Holy Spirit

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    The Undivided Light: The Holy Trinity (Part 4 of 7)

    ByJobin

    Week 4 of The Undivided Light is now up on Seeking Theosis, and this one is on the Holy Spirit.
    The post draws on Ephrem the Syrian, Jacob of Serugh, and Cyril of Alexandria to look at who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does, both in the broad sweep of salvation history and in the specific life of prayer, baptism, and the Qurbana. There is also a brief and honest note on the filioque question, which is something that comes up whenever the Spirit’s procession is discussed, and where the Oriental Orthodox position is clear and worth knowing.
    It is perhaps the post in the series so far that has felt most personally relevant to write. The Spirit is the person of the Trinity closest to us and yet the hardest to speak about directly, and the Syriac fathers have things to say about that which I have found genuinely helpful.

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    The Feast of Pentecost: The Fire Has Fallen

    ByJobin

    *Feast of Pentecost – The Fire Has Fallen*

    Blessed Feast of Pentecost, dear brothers and sisters.

    The nine days of waiting are over. The fire has fallen.

    The feast day reflection is now on the blog, drawing on the prayers and readings of our own Pentecosti service alongside the Syriac patristic tradition.

    It sits with the three-service structure of the feast, the theology of the sprinkling of blessed water, the tripartite gift of the Trinity poured out on the gathered community, and the connection between Pentecost and the theology of theosis that gives the Seeking Theosis blog its name.

    One line from the liturgy has stayed with me through the morning: _the opening prayer that asks to be made worthy to receive the spiritual drink of the new wine of the Comforter Spirit._

    The new wine is being poured on the morning of Pentecosti Sunday. May our vessels be open to receive it.

    Come, Holy Spirit. Ta Ruha d-Qudsha. Come.