Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald The Church has her origin with Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit, not with a human teacher, or group,
nor a code of conduct or religious philosophy. Orthodoxy
believes that the Church has her origin in the Apostolic
Community called into being by Jesus Christ, and enlivened by
the Holy Spirit. The Feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated
fifty days after Easter, commemorates the "outpouring'' of the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and marks the beginning of the
mission of the Church to the world. The Orthodox Church believes
that she has maintained a direct and unbroken continuity of
love, faith, and order with the Church of Christ born in the
Pentecost experience. THE TIME OF PERSECUTION The earliest
Church, which is described in the Epistles and the Acts of the
Apostles, did not confine itself to the land of Judea. She took
very seriously the command of Our Lord to go into the whole
world and preach the Gospel. The words of Christ and the event
of His saving Death and Resurrection were de