we apostles of God have remained idle for a tenth day? While the apostles were discussing these things among themselves and were eagerly awaiting the promise, still far off from their hope, behold, suddenly the gates of the heavens are opened, and the armies of the archangelic powers cried out, and the sea of the air was agitated with fear, and the cymbals of the clouds sent forth the sound of royal crashes, and the whole region of the earth was shaken by earthquakes like a reed by the wind, and the vast abyss of the sea was covered with a fiery sheet. And Luke, the writer of the apostolic Acts, bears witness to my word, saying, as you just heard: When the day of Pentecost was fully come, the apostles were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. As it gave, not as it was commanded. Have you seen the greatness of the feast? Have you seen the gift of the Holy Spirit? Have you seen the shame of the heretics who fight against the Spirit? They celebrate Pentecost and they shoot arrows at the Spirit. Who forges tongues, if not the clay-molder of tongues? Who shapes a great mouth, if not he who prepared the donkey to speak with articulate words? Who makes the unlettered wise, if not only the Holy Spirit? But immediately those on the opposite side will say: And from where is this clear, that the Holy Spirit gives wisdom and the knowledge of tongues? From where? Hear the Lord, heretic, speaking to his own disciples for a long time: Take no thought when they bring you before rulers and governors how or what ye shall speak, for it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of my Father which speaketh in you. Oh, what paradoxical matters! The Holy Spirit descended in fire, it sat as fire upon each of the apostles, and being fire it did not burn the apostles, but enlightened them. Why? Because it was not caustic, but illuminating; or rather, it was both caustic and illuminating, burning the blasphemers, enlightening the pious. For just as worldly and material fire burns thorns, and melts wax, and dissolves lead, and dries clay, and brightens silver, and purifies gold, and illuminates a house, so also the immaterial fire, the Holy Spirit, wipes away sins, withers a covetous heart, wipes out a deceitful person, purifies a repentant soul, brightens a faithful man, illuminates the house of the church. And in another way, the Holy Spirit descended in fire, so that we might know clearly that the Holy Spirit is of the divine essence. For the Lord our God himself is fire according to the saying which declares: Our God is a consuming fire. And wherever you seek God showing a divine sign and providing a mystery, you will find him doing it in fire. For so also when he led the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt he provided for them a pillar of fire, not burning but guiding. So also when God made his first appearance to Moses he sent forth his voice through a flame of fire from a bush, not that he might hear but that he might teach. So also when showing himself to Daniel, God showed himself seated on a throne of fire, not to harm the prophet but to show everywhere what God is. But some will certainly say that these are the characteristics of the old testament. Show us, he says, that in the new testament also God works wonders in fire; for those are messages of the old. Listen, friend; if you are ignorant, learn; but if you know, be reminded.

ἀπόστολοι θεοῦ δεκάτην ἡμέραν ἀργοὶ διατελοῦμεν; Ταῦτα τῶν ἀποστόλων πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἀντιβαλλόντων καὶ εἰς μακρὰν ἔτι τῆς ἐλπίδος τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν καραδοκούντων, ἰδοὺ ἀθρόον οὐρανῶν μὲν ἀνοίγονται πύλαι, ἀρχαγγελικῶν δὲ δυνάμεων ἔκραζον στρατιαί, τὸ δέ γε τοῦ ἀέρος πέλαγος ἐθορυβεῖτο δειλίᾳ, τὰ δὲ τῶν νεφῶν κύμβαλα βασιλικῶν πατάγων ἦχον ἐξέπεμπον, ἅπαν δὲ τὸ ἐπίγειον χωρίον ὡς κάλαμος ὑπὸ ἀνέμου τοῖς σεισμοῖς ἐδονεῖτο, τὸ δέ γε τῆς θαλάσσης ἄπειρον κύτος πυρίνῃ σινδόνι κατεσκέπετο. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ μου τῷ λόγῳ ὁ συγγραφεὺς τῶν ἀποστολικῶν Πράξεων Λουκᾶς λέγων, καθὼς ἀρτίως ἤκουες· Ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ἦσαν ἅπαντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ οἱ ἀπόστολοι. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἦχος ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον οὗ ἦσαν καθήμενοι, καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις καθὼς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἀποφθέγγεσθαι. Καθὼς ἐδίδου, οὐ καθὼς ἐκελεύετο. Εἶδες ἑορτῆς μέγεθος; Εἶδες ἁγίου πνεύματος δωρεάν; Εἶδες αἰσχύνην τῶν πνευματομάχων αἱρετικῶν; Πεντηκοστὴν ἑορτάζουσι καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοξεύουσιν. Τίς γλώσσας χαλκεύει, εἰ μὴ ὁ τῶν γλωσσῶν πηλοπλάστης; Τίς μέγα τορνεύει στόμα, εἰ μὴ ὁ τὴν ὄνον ἔναρθρα λαλεῖν παρασκευάσας; Τίς τοὺς ἀγραμμάτους σοφιστεύει, εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα; Ἀλλ' εὐθέως ἐροῦσιν οἱ ἐξ ἐναντίας· Καὶ πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον, ὅτι τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα δίδωσι τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν εἴδησιν τῶν γλωσσῶν; Πόθεν; Ἄκουε τοῦ κυρίου , αἱρετικέ, λέγοντος πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μαθητὰς ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν χρόνων· Μὴ μεριμνήσητε ὅταν προσάγωσιν ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ ἄρχοντας καὶ ἡγεμόνας πῶς ἢ τί λαλήσητε , οὐ γὰρ ὑμεῖς ἐστε οἱ λαλοῦντες, ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρός μου τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν ὑμῖν. Ὢ τῶν παραδόξων πραγμάτων. Ἐν πυρὶ κατῆλθε τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ὡς πῦρ ἐκαθέσθη ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ πῦρ ὑπάρχον οὐκ ἔκαυσε τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ἀλλ' ἐφώτισεν. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι οὐκ ἦν καυστικόν, ἀλλὰ φωτιστικόν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ καυστικὸν καὶ φωτιστικόν, τοὺς βλασφήμους καῖον, τοὺς εὐσεβεῖς φωτίζον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ κοσμικὸν καὶ ὑλῶδες πῦρ ἀκάνθας μὲν καίει, κηρὸν δὲ τήκει, μόλιβδον δὲ λύει, πηλὸν δὲ ξηραίνει, ἄργυρον δὲ λαμπρύνει, χρυσὸν δὲ καθαίρει, οἶκον δὲ φωτίζει, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἄϋλον πῦρ, τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἁμαρτίας ἐξαλείφει, καρδίαν πλεονεκτοῦσαν μαραίνει, ἄνθρωπον δόλιον ἐξαλείφει, ψυχὴν ἐπιστρέφουσαν καθαίρει, ἄνδρα πιστὸν λαμπρύνει, ἐκκλησιαστικὸν οἶκον φωτίζει. Ἄλλως δέ, ἐν πυρὶ κατῆλθε τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἵνα γνῶμεν σαφῶς ὅτι τῆς θεϊκῆς ἐστιν οὐσίας τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα. Αὐτὸς γὰρ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ ἐστι κατὰ τὸ φάσκον ῥητόν· Ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον. Καὶ ὅπου δ' ἂν ζητήσῃς τὸν θεὸν θεϊκὸν σημεῖον ἐπιδεικνύμενον καὶ μυστήριον παρέχοντα, ἐν πυρὶ αὐτὸν εὑρήσεις ποιοῦντα. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐξαγαγὼν στύλον πυρὸς αὐτοῖς παρεκατέστησεν, οὐ πυρπολοῦντα ἀλλ' ὁδηγοῦντα. Οὕτω καὶ πρώτην ἐμφάνειαν ὁ θεὸς τῷ Μωϋσεῖ ποιούμενος διὰ φλογὸς πυρὸς βάτου τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φωνὴν ἐξέπεμψεν , οὐχ ἵνα ἀκούσῃ ἀλλ' ἵνα διδάξῃ. Οὕτω καὶ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ἐμφαίνων ἑαυτὸν ὁ θεὸς ἐν θρόνῳ πυρὸς ἑαυτὸν καθήμενον ἔδειξεν, οὐχ ἵνα ζημιώσῃ τὸν προφήτην ἀλλ' ἵνα δείξῃ πανταχοῦ ἐν τίσι θεός . Ἐροῦσι δὲ πάντως τινὲς ὅτι ταῦτα τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης τὰ γνωρίσματα. ∆εῖξον ἡμῖν φησιν ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ καινῇ διαθήκῃ ὁ θεὸς ἐν πυρὶ θαυματουργεῖ· ἐκεῖνα γὰρ τῆς παλαιᾶς μηνύματα. Ἄκουε, φίλε· εἰ μὲν ἀγνοεῖς, μάνθανε· εἰ δὲ οἶδας, ὑπομνήσθητι.