Christianity

Pentecost

When is Pentecost in 2027, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles fifty days after Easter: the story in Acts, red vestments and baptisms, Whitsun customs and the Orthodox Rusalii.

Next date

Sunday, 16 May 2027

In brief

I.Pentecost, from the Greek for “fiftieth”, comes fifty days after Easter.
II.It celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem, told in the Acts of the Apostles, and is often called the birthday of the Church.
III.The apostles were gathered for the Jewish feast of Shavuot, which Greek-speaking Jews called Pentecost.
IV.Western churches wear red for the tongues of fire; Orthodox churches fill with green branches, and Romanians call the feast Rusalii.

Chapter I

What it celebrates

The Acts of the Apostles tells that on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection, the apostles were gathered in Jerusalem when a sound like a rushing wind filled the house and tongues as of fire rested on each of them. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in other languages, and pilgrims from many lands heard them in their own tongues. Peter preached to the crowd, and, Acts says, about three thousand were baptised that day.

The apostles had come together for Shavuot, the Jewish feast of weeks, fifty days after Passover. Christians came to see Pentecost as the completion of Easter and the beginning of the Church’s mission to the world.

Chapter II

How it is kept

In Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches the clergy wear red, the colour of fire, and the ancient hymns Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Sancte Spiritus call on the Spirit. Many churches baptise or confirm on this day. The Monday after, Whit Monday, is a public holiday in much of Europe.

Orthodox churches celebrate Pentecost as the feast of the Holy Trinity. Churches and homes are decked with green branches, flowers and fresh grass, and the next day honours the Holy Spirit. In Romania, where the feast is called Rusalii, people bring branches of lime and walnut to church.

Chapter III

Around the world

In Rome, red rose petals are dropped through the opening of the Pantheon’s dome at the end of Mass. In Russia, birch branches fill the churches. Pentecostal churches, named after the feast and its gifts of the Spirit, now count hundreds of millions of members, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Questions people ask

Why is it called Whitsun in English?

Whit Sunday, “white Sunday”, probably comes from the white robes of those baptised at Pentecost, a favourite day for baptisms in the early medieval Church.

Do Orthodox and Western Christians keep Pentecost on the same day?

Only when their Easters coincide. Each counts fifty days from its own Easter, so in 2027 Western Pentecost is on 16 May and Orthodox Pentecost on 20 June. For the Orthodox it is also the feast of the Holy Trinity.

Sources and further reading

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Pentecost”
Linda Woodhead, Christianity: A Very Short Introduction, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (Allen Lane, 2009)

← All festivals · ↑ Back to top