PENTECOST...

"When the day of Pentecost had come...there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of [the apostles]. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1, 3-4)

While some groups such as Pentecostals heavily emphasize every believer speaking in tongues, pointing to the day of Pentecost as the proof that those who are filled with the Holy Spirit will utter things that are indiscernible, Orthodox Christians have a completely different interpretation.  For us, the apostles speaking in "tongues" was threefold:

Firstly, it witnessed to the Jews making their pilgrimage into Judea for Pentecost.  These Jews were from all over the Roman Empire and spoke a variety of languages.  The apostles did not utter foreign languages and dialects just so that they could prove they had God’s Spirit, it was to minister to those around them.  Therefore, the diverse tongues served a specific purpose.

Secondly, the tongues showed the universality of the Christian faith. No longer was it just a Jewish Messiah who had come to free the Jews. But the very first act of the Holy Spirit was to enable the apostles to reach out to every Kingdom of the world.  Thousands were added to their numbers that morning.

And lastly, it shows that the Holy Spirit is present within us as fire. Our God is a consuming fire and the tongues of fire represent both the illuminating and caustic properties of God's dwelling within us: illuminating if our hearts are inclined toward repentance; caustic if we seek earthly treasures and pleasures of the flesh.

Fr. John