Did the Apostles Have the Holy Spirit Before Pentecost? #
New-Ritualist: It’s true that all the apostles fell into error, or even disbelief, regarding Christ’s resurrection, but this was before the day of Pentecost when they did not yet possess the Holy Spirit at all. After they received Him, however, they were no longer able to fall into error—neither as a group nor individually.
Old-Ritualist: You’ve stated several inaccuracies here. First, it’s untrue that the apostles had no Holy Spirit at all before Pentecost. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself clearly testifies that the apostles had the Holy Spirit even before Pentecost. In His farewell discourse before His Passion, He told them, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17, reading 48). In the Commentary commentary, it explains: “He comforts the apostles, saying, ‘The world cannot receive Him (the Holy Spirit), but a precious gift is granted to you, and He dwells with you; and more, He is in you. That which is with you represents external aid; that which is in you is an indwelling and empowering, manifesting God’s presence in you, for ‘I will dwell and walk among you, and I will be your God.’ He says, ‘The world cannot receive the Spirit because it does not know Him, but you know Him.’ Why? ‘Because you are not of this world, and therefore are His companions; and He remains with you now and will always be within you’” (Commentary, John 14:16-17, p. 234). From this, it’s evident that the apostles possessed the Holy Spirit even before Christ’s Passion, not merely from Pentecost onward.
Moreover, it is incorrect to claim that, after Pentecost, none of the apostles could fall into error. It’s known that some did fall into heresy even afterward, such as those among the Seventy: Nicholas, Demas, Phygellus, and Hermogenes, one of whom even became a pagan priest (see the preface to the old-printed Acts of the Apostles). Among the Twelve, although none fell into error after Pentecost, they did not rule out the possibility of it for themselves. On the contrary, they said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8, reading 69). The Council of Carthage, interpreting these apostolic words, anathematizes those who claim that this was said only out of humility and not because the apostles themselves acknowledged this as true (Canon 128, full translation). The supreme apostle Paul also states, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8, reading 199). Notably, according to Saint John Chrysostom, this was said by Paul in response to claims that the apostles James and John were preaching something contrary to Paul’s teaching (see his homily on Galatians). While those who claimed James and John taught contrary to Paul were indeed lying, the significant point is that Paul did not dismiss the possibility of apostles falling into error after Pentecost. Instead, he said, “If even we do so, I do not spare them, nor do I spare myself, nor even angels from heaven.” And he did not say, “If one of us errs,” but rather, “if we,” meaning all the apostles together. So, while none of the Twelve erred in faith, they did not claim that they were incapable of error; rather, they admitted the opposite. Meanwhile, your hierarchs, even while erring in faith, stubbornly maintain that they cannot err.
New-Ritualist: You are wrong to say that the apostles had the Holy Spirit before Pentecost. The Gospel states, “For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39, reading 27). And in the Commentary, it is explained that the apostles performed miracles before Christ’s Passion not by the Holy Spirit but by Christ’s power and authority.
Old-Ritualist: It is not I who say that the apostles had the Holy Spirit before Christ’s Passion; it is Christ Himself who said, “He dwells with you.” I merely pointed out these words of the Savior. But how can we reconcile this with the arguments you presented? The Commentary continues: “The power of the Spirit was indeed in the prophets and apostles even before the Cross, but not as it was after the Ascension—that is, not as abundantly, such that it could be compared to rivers. Therefore, the evangelist rightly said that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given—meaning, not yet poured out in such abundance as it would be later. Although He was present even before the Cross, it was not in fullness, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. Here, the evangelist refers to the Cross as the glory, because through the Cross, the Lord defeated the enemy and took His place as King” (Commentary in Russian translation). I read this in Russian for clarity. Let me read another testimony:
The Spirit was given to the disciples by Christ three times. Before the Passion, He manifested Himself only faintly; after the Resurrection, He was more fully revealed; after the Ascension, He descended fully, completely illuminating and sanctifying them. Even before the Passion, the apostles cast out demons and performed various healings through the help of the Holy Spirit and grace. Ultimately, after the Resurrection, the grace of the Holy Spirit was abundantly poured out; not only did it act in the apostles, but thousands upon thousands were filled by it. Because the believers longed to receive this grace, it was said that “the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified”; for He calls both the Cross and the Resurrection glory (Gospel Teachings, Eighth Sunday, p. 155-156).
Thus, the apostles had the Holy Spirit even before Pentecost, though not to the same degree as after.
It is also important to consider who the apostles were before the crucifixion of Christ and who the bishops were who fell away during Nikon’s time. The apostles were individuals personally chosen by Jesus Christ as the most virtuous and worthy among all people (Luke, reading 23), endowed with the power and authority to perform miracles and heal every disease and affliction (Matthew, reading 34; Luke, reading 40), given authority to “tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt them” (Luke, reading 51), and given the power over unclean spirits to cast them out (Matthew, reading 34). They were granted knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Mark, reading 16), and their names were written in heaven (Luke, reading 51), so much so that Christ called them His friends (John, reading 51) and declared them morally pure (John, reading 50) because the Holy Spirit dwelt within them (John, reading 48). This is who the apostles were.
Now, who were the bishops under Nikon? To understand this, it is best to consult someone who knew them better and more closely than anyone else. And who knew them better and more closely than anyone else? Of course, no one other than Nikon himself, as he was their direct superior and even their ordainer. What does he testify about them? His testimony is such that it is frightening and shameful to repeat. Without hesitation, he openly referred to them as a “Jewish gathering” and, more than that, even a “demonic assembly” (History of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Macarius, vol. 12, pp. 364, 405), describing their actions as uncanonical and their pronouncements as reckless (History of Russia, S. Solovyov, vol. 11).
After such statements, is it possible to imagine that, while the apostles might have fallen into disbelief regarding Christ’s resurrection, the bishops during Nikon’s time were somehow incapable of any error? If such individuals as the apostles, whom Christ called His friends, could fall into disbelief regarding His resurrection, then certainly bishops of the mid-seventeenth century—whom Nikon himself considered a demonic assembly—could err concerning church traditions. It is hardly necessary to elaborate that such a “demonic assembly” could not have possessed the Holy Spirit. And if the apostles, who had at least a measure of the Spirit, fell into the aforementioned disbelief, then how much more likely were those who had none at all.