June 12, 2012
Brooklyn, NY: Pentecost in the Parish of our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice"

On Sunday, June 3, the parish of the Church of our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice" on Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, NY celebrated the feast of Holy Pentecost. Summer has arrived, nature is reborn, and alongside the world’s awakening our spiritual lives begin anew. After all, it was on the day of Pentecost that our Church was born, and even the green color of the priests’ vestments on this day becomes a symbol of the life bestowed upon us by the Pre-Eternal Counsel of the Holy Trinity.

This day, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and they were reborn. They were transformed from fishermen tormented by fear into fearless preachers, warriors for Christ, whose lot it would be to overturn the whole universe.

It was out onto the roof of the building that the apostles came after the Miracle of Pentecost. "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:3-4). This year, the Brighton parish’s roof was Seaside Park, located on the corner of Surf Avenue and Ocean Parkway. The Lord Himself adorned this temple in the park: the grass, flowers, and clouds were all perfect for the feast.

The portable wooden iconostasis was set up on the park’s concrete concert stage. The faithful gathered for the start of Liturgy, while passersby stayed to stare in awe, and in most cases stayed until the end of the service.

City officials only granted permission to hold the service in the park on the eve of the feast. As a result, we were unable to inform everyone we would have liked about the service, although it turned out that, when the service ended, 52 people had come to Holy Communion.

A relatively large number of people gathered for rector Priest Vadim Arefiew’s sermon: parishioners, mothers and children wandering the park, and their African-American and Mexican neighbors. Far from everyone present understood Russian, but all were captivated by the priest’s words. Perhaps it was, in honor of the Miracle of Pentecost, "...because that every man heard them speak in his own language" (Acts 2:6).

A true miracle took place – three easily distinguishable crosses appeared in the clouds in the sky during confession, which aroused a pious commotion among the faithful.

After the Liturgy, Vespers was served, during which stichers were sung glorifying the Holy Spirit, and three prayers were read for the Church, for the salvation of all those praying in church, and for the repose of the souls of all the departed, as well as those "held captive in Hades." During the reading of these prayers, parishioners stood on their knees in the park’s grass and flowers. These flowers were a powerful reminder that, under the influence of God’s grace, human souls bloom with the fruit of the virtues.

In the church building itself in Brighton, the assistant rector, Priest Paul Ivanov, celebrated the Divine Liturgy simultaneously. In that church, which can hold 30 people, several hundred parishioners gathered. For those who were unable to fit inside the church, the services were broadcast over speaker into the church courtyard. Over 150 people came up to Communion.

Such radiant feasts as Pentecost Sunday, in addition to the shared joy, also make painfully clear the main problem facing the Church of our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice" ‒ the parish needs a larger church. Help us build it!

Elena Soboleva
www.svdom.org


Photos by Russ Roland

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese