Domingo das línguas de fogo

Feast of the Coronation of the Emperor of the Holy Spirit

This description of a unique Portuguese feast, related to the Order of Christ, seems to me to be resonant of ancient mysteries and inner workings. The description was extracted and condensed by a friend from "Do Imperio do Espirito Santo ao Imperio da Filosofia" by Antonio Quadros, pp 326 - 339, in Memorias das Origens, Saudades do Futuro:

It is a "unique" Feast created by the Portuguese, for Portuguese citizens only or those of Portuguese speaking countries or communities, to experience as a Pentecostal act.

Probably dates back to the early 14th century by way of Dom Dinis, Isabel his Queen, the Franciscans of the Convent of Alenquer (note: Queen Isabel purportedly had a prophetic dream in which she saw the plans for the (future) Church of the Holy Spirit in Alenquer and immediately sent word to the "judges" of that town and ordered them to send four masons and six workers to begin construction of the foundations on that site...), intimately tied to the Order of Christ who took it on its voyages of discovery and settlement to Madeira, the Azores and elsewhere. The Feast is however circumscribed to those places where Portuguese is spoken, in Brazil, in the Azorean immigrant communities in the USA, and here and there in (continental) Portugal, namely Penedo and Tomar. It is strongest however on all the islands of the Azores where it has deep roots.

The feast joins the sacred and the profane in a grassroots and spontaneous fashion, and to which, in older times, royalty, the aristocracy and the knights also joined in a display of universal brotherhood...

...the symbolic tongues of fire of the Divine Paraclete, all bear witness to a grand universal project...

What this feast does on an annual basis is to ritualize the prophecy of the future Empire of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Truth, which is called ruah by the Jews; pneuma by the Greeks and spiritus by the Latins...

The Feast of the Coronation of the Emperor of the Holy Spirit symbolizes also another prophecy: not only peace on earth and good will among men, but also the reconciliation among the three great religions of the Book, perhaps among all the religions of the world through the means of the symbolism of the hovering dove, the tongues of fire and the Spirit of Truth...

http://www.thornr.demon.co.uk/kchrist/espirito.html

"Não o esqueçamos neste altura do nosso livro: era o projecto político da sinarquia templária, herdada pela Ordem de Cristo, o Império (do Espírito Santo) acima dos Reinos e dos vários Cultos de origem bíblica monoteísta e até dos pagãos.
Mas tal projecto só seria verdadeiramente viável através de uma teoria laicista, qual a preconizada por um Dante, que, sob o domínio carismático de um Imperador directamente ungido e coroado por Deus-Espírito, pudesse esbater o poder radicalista das ortodoxias religiosas. Se todo o domínio espiritual fosse destas, o diálogo tornar-se-ia impossível devido ao rigorismo teológico dos eclesiásticos.
Mas se, mesmo com o predomínio religioso do Cristianismo, o acento recaísse sobre o Espírito Santo, sobre a Terceira Pessoa, sobre o Quinto Evangelho ou sobre o Evangelho Eterno, quiçá fosse possível aceder à concepção de um

Deus
Homem de outro Deus maior

, no verso de Pessoa, de um Deus-Espírito no qual coubessem o Deus trinitário do Cristianismo e ainda Jeová e Alah, e mesmo o Deus Desconhecido ou aqueles Deuses únicos e recônditos cujo Mistério subjaz a todos os Politeísmos.
Como aboná-lo?
Talvez começando por recordar a tolerância religiosa vigente em terra portuguesa até que a Contra-Reforma entre nós penetrasse ; a liberdade de que gozaram islamitas e judeus...

in "Portugal, Razão e Mistério", por António Quadros, volume II, página 154

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Christ in the House of His Parents. Sir John Everett Millais

Sketches for Christ in the House of His Parents. Sir John Everett Millais

Christ in the House of His Parents (1850) is a painting by John Everett Millais depicting the Holy Family in Saint Joseph's carpentry workshop. The painting was extremely controversial when first exhibited, prompting many negative reviews, most notably one written by Charles Dickens. It catapulted the previously obscure Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to notoriety and was a major contributor to the debate about Realism in the arts.

The painting was immensely controversial when first exhibited because of its realistic depiction of a carpentry workshop, especially the dirt and detritus on the floor. This was in dramatic contrast to the familiar portrayal of Jesus, his family and his apostles, in costumes reminiscent of Roman togas. Charles Dickens accused Millais of portraying Mary as an alcoholic who looks

“

...so hideous in her ugliness that ... she would stand out from the rest of the company as a Monster, in the vilest cabaret in France, or the lowest gin-shop in England.

”

Jesus was a "wry-necked boy in a nightgown who seems to have received a poke playing in an adjacent gutter."^[3] Other critics suggested that the characters displayed signs of rickets and other disease associated with slum conditions. Because of the controversy Queen Victoria asked for the painting to be taken to Buckingham palace so that she could view it in private.

Do You Want the Baptism With Fire?

Do You Want the Baptism With Fire? Are you sure you know what it is?

Question:

"What is the "baptism of fire"?"

Answer:

The "baptism of fire" is only mentioned in two places in the Bible:

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."" (Luke 3:16)

John the Baptist said that Jesus will baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and there are several interpretations of what this might mean:

1. Some people believe that Christians will automatically be "baptized with fire" at the same time that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit (such as the "tongues of fire" that came onto the disciples at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4). In other words, being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire is essentially one act (one baptism).

2. Another interpretation is that Christians need to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit after salvation, but we also need to receive a separate "baptism of fire" which will "set us on fire" for the Lord (or for evangelism, etc.). In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians. A similar view says that Christians will be refined by "fire," which would also mean that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire are two separate baptisms for Christians.

3. A third interpretation is that Christians will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, but non-Christians will be "baptized with fire" (i.e. the "lake of fire" in Revelation 20:15). In other words, Christians will never receive the "baptism of fire."

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http://www.layhands.com/WhatIsTheBaptismOfFire.htm

Todos os Santos (All Saints)

The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.
St Peter of Damascus, in his "Fourth Stage of Contemplation," mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and Monastic Saints (PHILOKALIA [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting from the OCTOECHOS, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first stichology.

St Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to St Peter's five categories. The list of StNicodemus is found in his book THE FOURTEEN EPISTLES OF ST PAUL (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians 12:28.

The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories: "Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous…."

Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not appear in the above lists. Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs, they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to being executed for their faith. St Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a saint.

http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSM=6&FSD=3