Acts 1:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see how they kept watch, "continued in prayer," and indeed "continued with one accord," as though with one soul? These words contain testimony to both.

Joseph perhaps was no longer alive; therefore he is not mentioned here. It is impossible that this man, who believed in Christ before all, should not be a believer now, when even the brethren believed.

For this reason, of course, nowhere is he seen ever regarding Christ as a mere man. Meanwhile the Mother said: "Your father and I have sought You anxiously" (Lk. 2:48).

Therefore he knew Him before all. But to His brethren Christ said: "The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me" (Jn. 7:7).

Look also at the modesty of James. He received the episcopate in Jerusalem, and yet on this occasion says nothing.

Notice also the deep humility of the other disciples. They yield the throne to him and no longer dispute among themselves.

Thus that Church was as though in heaven. There was nothing worldly in it. It shone not with walls and marble, but with the zeal of the persons who composed it.

Man, not nature, brought misfortune. Then a woman became the mother of corruption; but this One conceived in order to give birth to God, bringing forth mortal nature and containing the Divine.

Through Her the Mediator came into the world and raised the true nature of man to the heavens.

The apostles seem to return to Her as to the womb that bore the Savior, in order to be born anew at the descent of the Holy Spirit. See Jn. 3:4.

"We had hoped that He would redeem Israel," many were surely repeating with the travelers to Emmaus. "But He died on the Cross, this prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people."

The Lord rose, but He appeared not to many. As the apostles say, He appeared only to chosen witnesses, the apostles (Acts 10:41), namely, to the eleven, then to the seventy, and once more to five hundred brethren (1 Cor. 15:5-7).

The rest of the believers remained uncertain concerning His Resurrection. They had to remain only with their respect for the memory of the great man of God.

Or they even had to believe the rumor spread by the Jews that the body of Jesus had been stolen by His disciples.

Now the feast of Pentecost was approaching. Jerusalem was again filling with Jews and proselytes from the near and distant countries of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and from the cities of Palestine.

This feast, occurring in summer, was still more convenient for travelers than the early feast of Pascha or the later feast of Tabernacles.

People came there from Parthia, Media, Elam, and Mesopotamia, from the eastern lands. They came from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, from the northern lands.

They came from Arabia, Egypt, and Libya, the southern lands, and from Crete and Rome, the western lands.

Those who knew Jesus and believed in Him already had no one from whom to hear preaching at the feast. His enemies already had no one to fear.

Those who did not know Him and had not been at the last feast of Pascha could now easily receive information about Him, more or less favorable.

But Jesus had prepared witnesses in Jerusalem, ready to proclaim to all who knew Him and did not know Him, and to those who believed and did not believe in Him, that He lives and that He is the Messiah.

He had not twelve such witnesses in Jerusalem alone, but one hundred and twenty. They spoke at the time when the Spirit of God Himself spoke in them.

He is the witness of God, who came to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

When they parted from the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and remained constantly in prayers at the temple, glorifying God for His great works and asking help for their ministry.

The terms προσευχή and δέησις mean, according to Chrysostom's interpretation in Photius, the first, praise of God, and the second, petition.

Blessed among women, She is scarcely exalted above the other believing women by the direct mention of Her name. But there is no doubt that John, to whom She had been entrusted by the Lord from the Cross (Jn 19:25-27), now surrounded Her with all the greater honor, love, and tenderness. So did the other Apostles and all the believers. They now recognized the whole divine majesty of their Teacher and Lord, yet were deprived of seeing Him in a sensory and bodily way. Therefore they surrounded His deeply humble Mother with all the more reverence. She, in Herself, was the summit of the virtues of created beings. Other members of this small community were the Lord's brothers according to the flesh. During the Savior's life they did not join the number of believers for a long time (Jn 7:5). Yet one must suppose that even during the Lord's life they came to believe in Him as the Messiah. We see that the risen Lord appeared especially to one of His brothers according to the flesh, James (1 Cor 15:7). Now they, together with the Apostles and the Theotokos, form the original and foundational Christian community. Finally, the author of Acts indicates one more class of persons included in the first Christian community, the broader class of disciples (verse 15). Together with the Apostles, the Theotokos, and the Lord's brothers according to the flesh, they formed the whole assembly of about one hundred twenty persons (verse 16). There were many more disciples of the Lord and faithful followers of His. Thus the risen Lord appeared to more than 500 brethren at once (1 Cor 15:6). Consequently, the disciples who were counted worthy to be witnesses of the Lord's Ascension and to be, together with the Apostles, foundation stones in the building of the Christian Church, were the best and most capable disciples. They had a more developed spiritual vision. It is very likely that among them were those 70 disciples whom the Lord, during His life, had sent to proclaim the near approach and manifestation of the Kingdom of the Messiah (Lk 10:1 and following). So here is that original community of Christ. Having been witness to the glorious Ascension of its Lord, it now returned, by His command, from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. There it went up into the prayerful upper room of a certain house. The owner, of course, was one of the followers of Jesus Christ and one of the witnesses of His Ascension. The characteristic mark of this community's outward condition was that its members all remained together. Its inward condition is expressed in this: its chief, almost exclusive occupation at that time was prayer. During the hours of prayer gatherings they visited the temple and joined with others in prayer before Jehovah (Lk 24:53). At other times they all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication (verse 14) in the house to which they had all come after the Lord's Ascension. They all continued in prayer and supplication with one accord. However diverse the persons were in character and natural gifts, they were all one in faith in Jesus Christ and in hope in His promise. The prayer of them all, like the prayer of one soul and the word of one mouth, rose to God, the Knower of hearts. Thus the believers prepared themselves to receive the Holy Spirit promised to them.

"When the Spirit takes up His dwelling in one of men, then that man does not cease from prayer; for the Spirit Himself prays unceasingly." Saint Isaac the Syrian, Homily 21.

The apostles had only two spiritual labors: prayer and the preaching of the word of God. From prayer they passed to proclaiming the word of God to men, and from preaching the word they returned to prayer.

They were in unceasing spiritual converse. At one time they spoke with God through prayer; at another, they spoke to men in the name of God.

In both conversations the same Holy Spirit acted (Acts 6:2, 4). What do we learn from the example of the holy apostles?

We learn that after obedience, active obedience to the word of God, one must concentrate all one's activity in unceasing prayer. For unceasing prayer brings the Christian into a state capable of receiving the Holy Spirit.

The Lord had laid various ministries upon the apostles. When He had made them capable of receiving the Holy Spirit, He commanded them to remain in the city of Jerusalem, the city of peace and stillness, apart from every ministry.

"Stay in the city of Jerusalem," He said to them, "until you are clothed with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49).

It is noteworthy that the Most Holy Mother of Christ, who was then staying with the faithful (v. 14), surpassed every creature both in spiritual perfection and in natural closeness to Her Divine Son.

Yet, first, She does not receive apostleship. This means that ministries in the Church are not always received by the most perfect people.

The degree of ministry does not always coincide with the degree of holiness, or even with closeness to the Lord.

Second, She also does not take upon Herself the distribution of ministries, such as apostleship. Their distributor remains the same Lord, who is continually with His Church (v. 24; cf. Mt. 28:20).

Consider then, every prudent person, whether the Shtundist community bears any resemblance to all this. In it all wish to be equal, and all consider themselves entitled, whenever they wish, to number themselves among the teachers of the faith.

Finally, prayer and supplication were for them the best means of preparation for receiving the promised Spirit and for fulfilling the great ministry to which they had been called by Christ.

Together with the apostles, women are mentioned here. These are undoubtedly the women who accompanied the Lord on His journeys through Palestine with the preaching of the Gospel and served Him from their possessions.

The Evangelist Luke tells of them in his Gospel (Lk. 8:2-3). They had come with Him from Galilee to Judea for the last feast of Pascha (Lk. 23:55; Lk. 24:1).

Among them the writer of Acts expressly mentions the most pure Mother of the Lord. Here also were named the brethren of the Lord.

Not long before, they had not believed in Him as Messiah (Jn. 7:5), but now they were already among the faithful. Undoubtedly there were also other believers here, who are mentioned later (v. 16).

But chiefly, prayer and supplication were for them the best means of preparation for receiving the Holy Spirit.

Therefore we too, awaiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit, must likewise continue with one accord in common prayer, that is, in the Church's prayer. It constitutes the fullness of spiritual life in Christ.

For He said: "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt. 18:20). He also commanded the apostles to remain together in order to receive the promised Spirit.

Where there is communion, there is the Lord's mercy. There also is the grace of God with its many varied gifts, needed for our common salvation.

Concerning the women who were with the apostles, it is known that some of them constantly followed Jesus Christ and even served Him from their possessions.

Among these women are known Mary Magdalene; Mary, the mother of James and Joses; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward; and Susanna (see Lk. 8:2-3; Lk. 23:49; Lk. 24:10; Mt. 27:55-56; Mk. 15:40).

Moreover, some apostles, such as Peter, were married. The Theotokos is mentioned here for the last time.

She lived meekly and humbly with John the Theologian (see Jn. 19:26-27), yet was honored by all. This became clear at Her burial, when the apostles gathered to Her tomb from all the ends of the earth.

Her betrothed, Joseph, had died. But his children, known under the name of the brethren of Jesus Christ, and formerly unbelieving in Him (see Jn. 7:5), were now among the faithful.

These were James, Joses, Simon, and Judas (see Mt. 12:47; Mk. 6:3).

The very number of those represented as staying in this upper room does not allow us to think so. The twelve Apostles, the Most Holy Mother of the Lord, the myrrh-bearing women and other pious women, and the other disciples of the Lord were there. The Evangelist counts them all as "about one hundred twenty persons" (Acts 1:16). Would it have been fitting, convenient, or possible for them to dwell in one upper room? What, then, was this upper room? It recalls to me the "large upper room, furnished" (Lk 22:12), mentioned by the same Evangelist. Concerning it the Lord said to Peter and John: "Prepare the Passover there." There He instituted and first celebrated the Mystery of His Body and Blood. Either this is the same upper room in its very place, or at least the two rooms are the same in purpose and dignity. Its purpose was not that people should spend day and night in it, eat and sup, sit and rest there. Its purpose was that those staying in it "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication." In it the Lord's Mystical Supper was celebrated. In it Matthias was chosen for sacred ministry and numbered with the apostolic choir. This was an upper room that rose upward, above everything earthly and worldly. By the pious spirit of those who stayed in it, it touched what is heavenly and divine. Therefore it finally received the highest privilege: heaven and the Godhead appeared there solemnly and wondrously. The Holy Spirit not only animated the Apostles by His almighty breath. He not only enlightened their minds with fiery tongues, enkindled their hearts, and formed their tongues for the worldwide preaching of salvation. He also filled the very place of their stay with His holiness and grace. He "filled the whole house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:2). Once more I ask: what is this upper room? I hope what I have said so far is sufficient to justify the final answer that I give to the proposed question. The upper room of Zion, the apostolic upper room, the upper room of the descent of the Holy Spirit, is nothing other than the first model of the holy Christian temple. Conversely, the holy Christian temple is the repeated, renewed, and multiplied apostolic upper room of the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is true that today you have not heard here "a sound as of a rushing mighty wind" (Acts 2:2). You have not seen fiery tongues. No one here speaks in the different tongues of many peoples. But consider this: even in the apostolic upper room, or otherwise, in the apostolic holy temple, the shaking mighty wind was not heard every day. The fiery tongues appeared only once. Yet at other times that temple was not deprived of the grace with which the Holy Spirit had filled it. Without the original wondrous movement and fiery brilliance, the holy Apostles continued to impart the same gift of the Holy Spirit. They did so in the quiet laying on of hands, which extends by succession even to the present hierarchic sacred actions in our sanctuaries. "Tongues," says the Apostle Paul, "are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers" (1 Cor 14:22). That is, the wondrous gift of speaking different unlearned tongues was sent down by God for people who had not yet believed. Through the given knowledge of a language, instruction in the faith could be given to them. At the same time, the miraculous gift would assure them of the divinity of the faith. But for those who have already believed, this sign is not needed. As the divine faith spread over the earth, the miraculous gift of tongues diminished. Therefore the concealment of this gift is not a lack of grace, but the cessation of need. The Lord does not approve in believers the search for visible, confirming signs. Rather, He ascribes special dignity to the faith that does not require them. "Blessed," He says, "are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29).