The Spirit of Pentecost and the Future of Creation: Reflection on Steven M. Studebaker’s Penumatological Proposal from an Eastern European Perspective

Studebaker’s overarching thesis is that “the Holy Spirit is the telos of redemption and, therefore, the divine person that consummates the fellowship of the triune God.” This thesis reflects not only the trajectory of current pentecostal scholarship, but the very core of Eastern Orthodox pneumatology that has primed the theological imagination and sacramental life of many Eastern European Pentecostals. This present reflection highlights a few questions that invite further engagement and offers a brief contemplation on three related subthemes within the proposal, pointing to some helpful insights from the Orthodox tradition. These subthemes are the event of Pentecost as the theotic telos of creation; the Spirit and the resurrection; and the redemptive significance of Spirit baptism (focusing on the pentecostal experience of glossolalia and xenolalia).