Acts 19:1-10 “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit”
While Apol′los was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve of them in all.
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God; 9 but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the hall of Tyran′nus [from the fifth hour to the tenth.] 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Ephesus, in the Roman province of Asia (modern Turkey) was a major cosmopolitan and religious center in the first century, so it isn’t surprising that Paul settled here for two years to work and teach. Once he wore out his welcome at the synagogue he took the disciples with him and moved to a local hall (or school, schole). It would have been available at low cost, or perhaps rent-free during the mid-day hours (11am-4pm) when most people then as now in the Greek-speaking world had their main meal and afternoon rest before returning to work or social activities. Saint John Chrysostom notes that Paul “speaking boldly” meant openly and courageously, not aggressively. His decision to move was to reduce the level of tension for everyone concerned.
Why “boldly”? It means, he was ready to confront dangers, and disputed more openly, not veiling the doctrines. “But when some were hardened, and spoke evil of the way, having departed from them, he separated the disciples.” He put a stop, it means, to their evil-speaking: he did not wish to kindle their envy, nor to bring them into more contention. Hence let us also learn not to put ourselves in the way of evil-speaking men, but to depart from them: he did not speak evil, when himself evil spoken of. “He disputed daily,” and by this gained the many, that, being badly treated and badly spoken of, he did not utterly break away from them, and keep aloof. The evil-speakers are defeated. They calumniated the doctrine itself; therefore so as neither to rouse the disciples to wrath, nor them, he withdrew, showing that everywhere alike they repel salvation from them.
The core group he took with him were those disciples of John the Baptist he had first encountered in Ephesus. Paul gently and respectfully built on their devotion to the Forerunner (whom they probably met while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem) to introduce them to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit.
Here and throughout the book of Acts faith in Christ, made alive by receiving the Holy Spirit, is shown to be the engine of the Church’s life and mission. Today as well our churches can “become centers of spiritual power” by refocusing on the inner life of the Spirit, says Father Edward Rommen, an OCA priest who also teaches mission studies at Duke University. In his book, Get Real: On Evangelism in the Late Modern World (2010) he cites the 14th century revival of spiritual life in Russia. It began in monasteries but “triggered ‘one of the most remarkable missionary movements in Christian history.’ He goes on to say that, “We need a new kind of Christian, willing to withdraw from the lies of the late modern context and quietly exemplify the new life in Christ. These would be people who realize that we cannot simply organize, market, manage or resource evangelism into being.” Without necessarily being monastics, this new kind of Christian takes his or her inspiration and training from the centuries of experience found in the monastic tradition. Such people “will devote themselves to living the faith and confidently rely on the Spirit to draw and attract others, to establish the evangelistic contact with those already prepared by God himself” (200-201.)
This is especially relevant as we consider how to expand the mission of Orthodox Christianity in North America.
Archpriest Daniel Donlick
I was grateful to be present at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary last Saturday with His Beatitude, two-dozen priests and many former students, family and friends to honor Father Daniel Donlick’s fifty years of ordained priestly service together with his wife, Matushka Dolores. For almost all of that time Father Daniel served the Saint Tikhon’s Seminary community in one capacity or another, including Academic Dean. He is now almost completely blind, yet he is an example of patience and joy. In 2013 he gave the commencement address at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary. He told the graduates that they will face many uncertainties in their future lives as servants of Christ. “But have no fear. Remember the Lord’s words, ‘I will be with you even unto the close of the age.’ What a privilege and joy it is to serve the Lord!”