That is why Pentecost is also called the birthday of the Church. Pentecost was to be observed in ancient Israel on the 50th day after the priest waved a selected sheaf of the first grain that had been harvested in the spring (Leviticus 23:15-21). It is the festival observed by Jews, Shavuoth, sometimes called in the Old Testament the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 23:15; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9-12). Lines from Handbook of the Christian Year (Abingdon, 1986) repeat a widespread notion about the meaning of Pentecost: "For Christians, Pentecost commemorated the birthday of the church…" (p. 21). The authority that Christ gave his Apostles through the Holy Spirit extends through the bishops today. And like any birthday, it's a cause for celebration. While with them, he said: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. Pentecost is the beginning of the Christian Church. Because you are part of the body of the Church, Pentecost is the Church's birthday, and yours as well. Even more important than looking backward and remembering what God did two th… Can anyone explain? Pentecost marks the 50th day after the Passover, and the first day of the Pentecost season that continues to Advent – Nov. 28 this year. The fellowship that was built around Jesus when he lived here on earth, died and rose from the dead was to be extended to the entire world. Did you know that the feast of Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the Church? It is an apt metaphor: The Church, which you could say had been growing in utero in the persons of Mary, the Twelve, and the small community of disciples, now emerges into the world. It’s Pentecost Sunday, the 50th and last day of Easter. Even if they would receive this Spirit at the same time, it would be quite different. The Church, like Mary, is about new life. The coming of the Spirit into human hearts and minds on that Day of Pentecost in the early 30s was God’s sign that in Christ he was creating a new people — a new Israel — an Israel of the Spirit (Galatians 6:16) that included Jews and Gentiles alike. Pentecost is when the Christian church received, and was empowered to carry out, its grand assignment of evangelism. The word Pentecost comes from a Greek word meaning fiftieth. These two loaves were symbols of the two bodies from which the church was to be formed: the Jews and the Gentiles. Pentecost is the beginning of the Christian Church. The reference to the event as the "birthday of the church" is, so far as I know, a more informal label, not an official one. Pentecost is the day the Church was empowered to fulfill God’s eternal mission. Pentecost is our birthday as a believing people. this in the correct way. Pentecost: The Birthday of the Church Pentecost is the birthday of the Church because from that point on the apostles carried the message of Christ to the whole world. It is an apt metaphor: The Church, which you could say had been growing in utero in the persons of Mary, the Twelve, and the small community of disciples, now emerges into the world. Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church © Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. The word Pentecost is Greek and it means "50th day." Many Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit in worship activities on Pentecost, or as it is sometimes called, Whitsunday. This name is said to arise from the ancient practice of newly baptized individuals wearing white robes during this time. Christophe Boisvieux/Getty Images. The Jewish Festival of Pentecost (called Shavuot, meaning "weeks" in Hebrew) falls on the fiftieth day after the original Passover. Dispensational theology on the other hand, teaches that the church was born on the Day of Pentecost and did not exist in history until that time. Just as God was present in His son Jesus, God is now present through His Holy Spirit. See, I wish to "cast my lot," so to speak, with the dissenters: It is not particularly helpful to speak of Pentecost as the birthday of the church. Stephen Freeman It is a commonplace in some circles to celebrate Pentecost as the Church’s “Birthday.” It is well-intentioned, perhaps even true in some sense, but tends to render the Church as something it is not. This body of Christ is the group that was born at Pentecost where the gift of the Spirit was first received. On Pentecost, we invite the same Spirit that filled the disciples that day to transform our lives. Likewise, it is not Traditional (as in Catholic Tradition) to celebrate the ‘birth of the Church’ on Pentecost – 52 days after the Church was born on Good Friday, as unanimously taught by the Fathers of the Church.. This festival had come to signify for Jews the commemoration of the giving of the Law of Moses (the Torah) at Mount Sinai in the third month after the Exodus Passover (Exodus 20–24). Stephen De Young Rev. . Marking the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, it celebrates the birth of the Church because when the apostles received the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, they were emboldened to go out and preach the Gospel to everyone even in foreign languages. Same Spirit that filled the disciples that day to transform our lives people.. Festival when Christians celebrate the gift how is the pentecost the birthday of the church the two bodies from which Church. 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