Pentecost
An icon of the Christian Pentecost, in the Greek Orthodox tradition. This is the Icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. At the bottom is an allegorical figure, called Kosmos, which symbolizes the world.
Observed by	Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and other Christians.
Type	Christian
Significance	Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus
2011 date	June 12 (both Western and Eastern)
2012 date	May 27 (Western) June 3 (Eastern)
Celebrations	Religious (church) services, Festive meals, Processions, Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, Folk customs, Dancing, Spring & woodland rites, Festive clothing.
Observances	Prayer, Vigils, Fasting (pre-festival), Novenas, Retreats Holy Communion, Litany
Related to	Shavuot, historically and symbolically; Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter; and Ascension, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi which follow it.

Pentecost (Ancient Greek: Πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα], Pentēkostē [hēmera], "the Fiftieth [day]") is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the remaining eleven Apostles of Christ. In the Eastern churches, Pentecost can also refer to the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost, hence the book containing the liturgical texts for Paschaltide is called the Pentecostarion. The feast is also called Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit, especially in England, where the following Monday was traditionally a holiday. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name.^[1] Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.

Among Christians, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Twelve apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.^[2] For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthday of the Church."

The Pentecostal movement of Christianity derives its name from the New Testament event.

Old Testament[link]

Pentecost is the old Greek and Latin name for the Jewish harvest festival, or Festival of Weeks (Hebrew חג השבועות Hag haShavuot or Shevuot, literally "Festival of Weeks"), which can be found in the Hebrew Bible, Shavuot is called the Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: תועובשה גח, chag ha-Shavuot, Exodus 34:22 , Deuteronomy 16:10 ); Festival of Reaping (Hebrew: ריצקה גח, chag ha-Katsir, Exodus 23:16 ), and Day of the First Fruits (Hebrew םירוכבה םוי, Yom ha-Bikkurim, Numbers 28:26 ).

Extra-Biblical and Post-Biblical Jewish Texts[link]

The Talmud refers to Shavuot as Atzeret (Hebrew: תרצע, literally, "refraining" or "holding back"), referring to the prohibition against work on this holiday and to the conclusion of the holiday and season of Passover. Since Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover, Hellenistic Jews gave it the name Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, "fiftieth day").

According to Jewish tradition, Pentecost commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus. The Talmud derives this from a calculation based on Biblical Texts. ^[3]

The Jewish Encyclopedia points to the similarities between the Christian and Jewish Pentecost, as an outpouring of the Spirit or the giving of the Law in seventy languages. Similarly, many consider the events of each historical Pentecost to be the birthday of each religion respectively.

It is also noteworthy that the same building on Mount Zion is traditionally revered by Jews as David's Tomb and by Christians as the Cenacle (The Upper Room), and that there is a Jewish tradition that David was born and died on Pentecost.

New Testament[link]

The biblical narrative of Pentecost, where the 12 Disciples of Christ (Acts 1:13,26) along with about 108 other individuals (Acts 1:15), including many women, among whom was Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14) received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, is given in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. As recounted in Acts 2:1–6:^[4]

While those on whom the Spirit had descended were speaking in tongues, the Apostle Peter stood up with the eleven and proclaimed to the crowd that this event was the fulfillment of the prophecy ("I will pour out my spirit")^[6] In Acts 2:17, it reads: "'And in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:41 then reports: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."^[7]

Peter stated that this event was the beginning of a continual outpouring that would be available to all believers from that point on, Jews and Gentiles alike. (Acts 2:39)

===Location of the first Pentecost===l

The Cenacle on Mount Zion, claimed to be the location of the Last Supper and Pentecost. Bargil Pixner^[8] claims the original Church of the Apostles is located under the current structure.

Traditional interpretation holds that the Descent of the Holy Spirit took place in the Upper Room, or Cenacle while celebrating the day of Pentecost (Shavuot). The Upper Room was first mentioned in Luke 22:12-13 ( "And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.").^[9] This Upper Room was to be the location of the Last Supper and the institution of Holy Communion. The next mention of an Upper Room is in Acts 1:13-14, the continuation of the Luke narrative, authored by the same biblical writer.^[10] Here the disciples and women wait and they gave themselves up to constant prayer: "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Then the greatest event in history with exception of Jesus' Resurrection, took place in Acts 2:1–2, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.",^[11] "they" refers to the aforementioned disciples and women,; the "place" referring to the same Upper Room where these persons had "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication".^[12]

Alternative interpretations suggest that "the house" mentioned was in fact the House of God, Herod's Temple.

Date[link]

Under the calendar of Ancient Israel the date of Pentecost was fifty days from First Fruits, though dates were disputed, as in the Dead Sea scrolls.^[13]

In Christian tradition Pentecost is part of the Moveable Cycle of the ecclesiastical year. According to Christian tradition, Pentecost is always seven weeks after Easter Sunday; that is to say, 50 days after Easter (inclusive of Easter Day). In other words, it falls on the eighth Sunday, counting Easter Day. The date of Easter may be calculated using a procedure known as Computus.

Since the date of Easter is calculated differently in the East and West (see Easter controversy), in most years the two traditions celebrate Pentecost on different days (though in some years the celebrations will coincide, as in 2010 and 2011). In the West, the earliest possible date is May 10 (as in 1818 and 2285), and the latest possible date June 13 (as in 1943 and 2038). In the East, this range of possible dates presently corresponds to May 23 through June 26 on the Gregorian calendar.

Liturgical celebration[link]

Eastern churches[link]

St. Andrew's Cathedral, St. Petersburg, decorated for Pentecost.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pentecost is one of the Orthodox Great Feasts and is considered to be the highest ranking Great Feast of the Lord, second in rank only to Easter/Resurrection Sunday/Passover. The service is celebrated with an All-night Vigil on the eve of the feast day, and the Divine Liturgy on the day of the feast itself. Orthodox temples are often decorated with greenery and flowers on this feast day, and the celebration is intentionally similar to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Mosaic Law.

The feast itself lasts three days. The first day is known as "Trinity Sunday"; the second day is known as "Spirit Monday" (or "Monday of the Holy Spirit"); and the third day, Tuesday, is called the "Third Day of the Trinity".."^[14] The Afterfeast of Pentecost lasts for one week, during which fasting is not permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the liturgical color used at Pentecost is green, and the clergy and faithful carry flowers and green branches in their hands during the services.

An extraordinary service called the Kneeling Prayer, is observed on the night of Pentecost. This is a Vespers service to which are added three sets of long poetical prayers, the composition of Saint Basil the Great, during which everyone makes a full prostration, touching their foreheads to the floor (prostrations in church having been forbidden from the day of Pascha (Easter) up to this point).

All of the remaining days of the ecclesiastical year, until the preparation for the next Great Lent are named for the day after Pentecost on which they occur (for example, the 13th Tuesday After Pentecost).

The Second Monday after Pentecost is the beginning of the Apostles' Fast (which continues until the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29). Theologically, Orthodox do not consider Pentecost to be the "birthday" of the Church; they see the Church as having existed before the creation of the world (cf. The Shepherd of Hermas)^[15]

The Orthodox icon of the feast depicts the Twelve Apostles seated in a semicircle (sometimes the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) is shown sitting in the center of them). At the top of the icon, the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, is descending upon them. At the bottom is an allegorical figure, called Kosmos, which symbolizes the world. Although Kosmos is crowned with earthly glory he sits in the darkness caused by the ignorance of God. He is holding a towel on which have been placed 12 scrolls, representing the teaching of the Twelve Apostles.

In the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Pentecost is one of the seven Major "Lord's Feasts". It is celebrated at the time of ninth hour (3:00pm) on the Sunday of Pentecost by a special three-segment prayer known as the "Office of Genuflection (Kneeling Prayer)". This feast is followed with the "Apostles Fast" which has a fixed end date on the fifth of the Coptic month of Epip [which currently falls on July 12, which is equivalent to June 29, due to the current 13-day Julian-Gregorian calendar offset]. The fifth of Epip is the commemoration of the Martyrdom of St. Peter and Paul. The ninth hour is the hour at which the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles according to the book of Acts Chapter 2.

Western churches[link]

A Protestant church altar, decorated for Pentecost with red burning candles and red banners and altar cloth depicting the movement of the Holy Spirit

A Protestant church altar and font, decorated for Pentecost with red flowering plants and green birch branches

The liturgical celebrations of Pentecost in Western churches are as rich and varied as those in the East. The main sign of Pentecost in the West is the color red. It symbolizes joy and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Priests or ministers & choirs wear red vestments, and in modern times, the custom has extended to the lay people of the congregation wearing red clothing in celebration as well. Red banners are often hung from walls or ceilings to symbolize the blowing of the "mighty wind"^[16] and the free movement of the Spirit.^[17] They may depict symbols of the Holy Spirit, such as the dove or flames, symbols of the church such as Noah's Ark and the Pomegranate, or especially within Protestant churches of Reformed and Evangelical traditions, words rather than images naming for example, the gifts and Fruits of the Spirit. Red flowers at the altar/ preaching area, and red flowering plants such as geraniums around the church are also typical decorations for Pentecost masses/services. These symbolize the renewal of life, the coming of the warmth of summer, and the growth of the church at and from the first Pentecost. These flowers often play an important role in the ancestral rites, and other rites, of the particular congregation. For example, in both Protestant & Catholic churches, the plants brought in to decorate for the holiday may be each "sponsored" by individuals in memory of a particular loved one, or in honor of a living person on a significant occasion, such as their Confirmation day. These dedications are then printed in bulletins distributed at the service.^[18]

In the German speaking lands, in Central Europe, and wherever the people of these nations have wandered, green branches are also traditionally used to decorate churches for Pentecost. Birch is the tree most typically associated with this practice in Europe, but other species are employed in different climates.

The singing of Pentecost hymns is also central to the celebration in the Western tradition. Hymns such as Martin Luther's "Come Holy Spirit God & Lord" ("Komm Heiliger Geist Herre Gott"),^[19][20] Charles Wesley's "Spirit of Faith Come Down"^[21][22] & "Come Holy Ghost Our Hearts Inspire" ^[23] or Hildegard von Bingen's "O Holy Spirit Root of Life" ^[24][25] are popular. Some traditional hymns of Pentecost make reference not only to themes relating to the Holy Spirit or the church, but to folk customs connected to the holiday as well, such as the decorating with green branches.^[26] Consider "Oh that I had a Thousand Voices" ("O daß ich tausend Zungen hätte")^[27][28] by German, Johann Mentzer Verse 2: "Ye forest leaves so green and tender, that dance for joy in summer air…" or "O Day Full of Grace" ("Den signede Dag")^[29][30] by Dane, Nikolai Grundtvig verse 3: "Yea were every tree endowed with speech and every leaflet singing…". In the Roman Catholic Church, Veni Sancte Spiritus is the sequence hymn for the Day of Pentecost. This has been translated into many languages and is sung in many denominations today. See also Veni Creator Spiritus.^[31][32]

Trumpeters or brass ensembles are often specially contracted to accompany singing and provide special music at Pentecost services, recalling the Sound of the mighty wind.^[16] While this practice is common among a wide spectrum of Western denominations (Eastern Churches do not employ instrumental accompaniment in their worship) it is particularly typical, and distinctive to the heritage of the Moravian Church.^[33]

Another custom is reading the appointed Scripture lessons in multiple foreign languages recounting the speaking in tongues recorded in Acts 2:4-12 ^[34]

In the Middle Ages, cathedrals and great churches throughout Western Europe were fitted with a peculiar architectural feature known as a Holy Ghost hole; a small circular opening in the roof that symbolized the entrance of Holy Spirit into the midst of the assembled worshippers. At Pentecost, these Holy Ghost holes would be decorated with flowers, and sometimes a dove figure lowered through into the church while the story of the Pentecost was read. Holy Ghost holes can still be seen today in European churches such as Canterbury Cathedral.^{[citation needed]}

An Episcopal church in the United States with red balloons on Pentecost

Similarly, a large two dimensional dove figure would be, and in some places still are, cut out of wood, painted and decorated with flowers, to be lowered over the people, particularly during the singing of the sequence hymn, or Veni Creator Spiritus. In other places, particularly Sicily and the Italian peninsula, rose petals were and are thrown from the galleries over the congregation calling to mind the tongues of fire. In modern times, this practice has been revived, and interestingly adapted as well, to include the strewing of origami doves from above, or suspending them – sometimes by the hundreds – from the ceiling.^[35] In some cases, red fans, or red handkerchiefs are distributed to the assembled worshippers to be waved during the procession, etc. Other congregations have incorporated the use of red balloons, signifying the "Church's Birthday" into their festivities. These may be carried by worshippers, used to decorate the sanctuary, or released all at once.

For some Protestants, the nine days between Ascension Day, and Pentecost are set aside as a time of fasting, and world-wide prayer in honor of the disciples' time of prayer and unity awaiting the Holy Spirit. Similarly among Roman Catholics, special Pentecost Novenas are held. The Pentecost Novena is considered the first Novena, all other Novenas offered in preparation of various festivals and Saints days deriving their practice from those original nine days of prayer observed by the disciples of Christ. While the Eve of Pentecost was traditionally a day of fasting for Catholics, today's canon law no longer requires it. Both Catholics and Protestants may hold spiritual retreats, prayer vigils and litanies in the days leading up to Pentecost. In some cases vigils on the Eve of Pentecost may last all night. Pentecost is also one of the occasions specially appointed for the Lutheran Litany to be sung.^[36]

A stained glass window at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina which depicts the flame of fire upon the heads of the disciples

From the early days of Western Christianity, Pentecost became one of the days set aside to celebrate Baptism. In Northern Europe Pentecost was preferred even over Easter for this rite, as the temperatures in late spring might be supposed to be more conducive to outdoor immersion as was then the practice. It is proposed that the term Whit Sunday derives from the custom of the newly baptized wearing white clothing, and from the white vestments worn by the clergy in English liturgical uses. The holiday was also one of the three days each year (along with Christmas and Easter) Roman Catholics were required to confess and receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in order to remain in good church standing.^[37] Holy Communion is likewise often a feature of the Protestant observance of Pentecost as well. It is one of the relatively few Sundays some Reformed denominations may offer the communion meal, and is one of the days of the year specially appointed among Moravians for the celebration of their Love Feasts. Ordinations are celebrated across a wide array of Western denominations at Pentecost, or near to it. In some denominations, for example the Lutheran Church, even if an ordination or consecration of a deaconess is not celebrated on Pentecost, the liturgical color will invariably be red, and the theme of the service will be the Holy Spirit. And above all, Pentecost is a day for the Confirmation celebrations of young people. Flowers, the wearing of white robes, or white dresses recalling Baptism, rites such as the laying on of hands, and vibrant singing play prominent roles on these joyous occasions, the blossoming of Spring forming an equal analogy with the blossoming of youth.

The typical image of Pentecost in the West is that of the Virgin Mary seated centrally and prominently among the disciples, with flames resting on the crowns of their heads. Occasionally parting clouds suggesting the action of the "mighty wind",^[16] rays of light, and/or the Dove, are also depicted. Of course, the Western iconographic style is less static and stylized than that of the East, and other very different representations have been produced, and in some cases have achieved great fame, such as the Pentecosts by Titian, Giotto and el Greco.

Paul already in the 1st century notes the importance of this festival to the early Christian communities. (See: Acts 20:16 & Corinthians 16:8) Since the lifetime of some who may have been eye-witnesses, annual celebrations of the descent of the Holy Spirit have been observed. Before the Second Vatican Council Pentecost Monday as well was a Holy Day of Obligation during which the Catholic Church addressed the newly baptized and confirmed. Since that time however Pentecost Monday is no longer solemnized. Nevertheless it remains an official church festival in many Protestant churches, such as the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and others. In the Byzantine Catholic Rite Pentecost Monday is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation, but rather a simple holy day. In the Roman Catholic Church, as at Easter, the liturgical rank of Monday and Tuesday of Pentecost week is a Double of the First Class^[38] and across many Western denominations, Pentecost is celebrated with an octave culminating on Trinity Sunday.

A typical Western image of the Pentecost. Duccio di Buoninsegna (1308) Tempera on wood

Marking the festival's importance, in several denominations, such as the Lutheran and United Methodist churches (and formerly in the Roman Catholic Church), all the Sundays from the holiday itself until the next Advent in late November or December are designated the 2nd, 3rd, Nth, Sunday after Pentecost, etc. Throughout the year, in Roman Catholic piety, the Pentecost is the third of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, as well as being one of the Stations of the Resurrection, or Via Lucis.

In Evangelical churches, where a lesser degree of emphasis on the liturgical year is generally placed, Pentecost may indeed be one of the greatest celebrations in the year. In many other cases though, Pentecost may be a holiday ignored in these churches. Perhaps ironically, this includes many Pentecostal congregations. Christians of these traditions may be surprised to learn of the significance assigned to the holiday by others, and in fact in many evangelical churches in the United States, secular Mother's Day is more celebrated than the ancient and biblical feast of Pentecost.^[39] (This tends to be much less the case among evangelicals in countries where Pentecost is prominently celebrated, such as Germany or Romania.) Nevertheless, today many evangelicals are discovering the liturgical calendar and observe Pentecost as a day to teach on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile across denominational lines Pentecost is becoming an opportunity for Christians to honor the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and celebrate the birth of the church in an ecumenical context.^[40][41]

Classical compositions for Pentecost[link]

The Lutheran church of the Baroque observed three days of Pentecost. Some composers wrote sacred cantatas to be performed in the church services of these days. Johann Sebastian Bach composed several cantatas for days of Pentecost, including Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 in 1714. Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel wrote cantatas such as Werdet voll Geistes (Get full of spirit) in 1737.^[42]

Western depiction of the Pentecost, painted by Jean Restout, 1732

Olivier Messiaen composed an organ mass Messe de la Pentecôte in 1949/50. In 1964 Fritz Werner wrote an oratorio for Pentecost Veni, sancte spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit) on the sequence Veni sancte spiritus, and Jani Christou wrote Tongues of Fire, a Pentecost oratorio. Richard Hillert wrote a Motet for the Day of Pentecost for choir, vibraphone, and prepared electronic tape in 1969. Violeta Dinescu composed Pfingstoratorium, an oratorio for Pentecost for five soloists, mixed chorus and small orchestra in 1993.

Customs and traditions[link]

In Italy it was customary to scatter rose petals from the ceiling of the churches to recall the miracle of the fiery tongues; hence in Sicily and elsewhere in Italy Whitsunday is called Pasqua rosatum. The Italian name Pasqua rossa comes from the red colours of the vestments used on Whitsunday.

In France it was customary to blow trumpets during Divine service, to recall the sound of the mighty wind which accompanied the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

In the north west of England, church and chapel parades called Whit Walks take place at Whitsun (sometimes on Whit Friday, the Friday after Whitsun).^[43] Typically, the parades contain brass bands and choirs; girls attending are dressed in white. Traditionally, Whit Fairs (sometimes called Whitsun Ales)^[44] took place. Other customs such as morris dancing^[45] and cheese rolling^[46] are also associated with Whitsun.

Public holiday[link]

Since Pentecost itself is on a Sunday, it is automatically a public holiday almost everywhere. Additional restrictions to Sunday opening hours may apply.

Pentecost Monday is a public holiday in many European countries including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania (since 2008), (most parts of) Switzerland, Ukraine and also in the African nations Senegal, Benin and Togo.

In Sweden it was also a public holiday, but Pentecost Monday (Annandag Pingst) was replaced by Swedish National Day on June 6, by a government decision on December 15, 2004. In Italy and Malta, it is no longer a public holiday. It was a public holiday in Ireland until 1973. In the United Kingdom the day is known as Whit Monday, and was a bank holiday until 1967 when it was replaced by the Spring Bank Holiday.

Literary allusions[link]

According to legend, King Arthur always gathered all his knights at the round table for a feast and a quest on Pentecost:

So ever the king had a custom that at the feast of Pentecost in especial, afore other feasts in the year, he would not go that day to meat until he had heard or seen of a great marvel. ^[47]

German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe declared Pentecost "das liebliche Fest" – the lovely Feast, in a selection by the same name in his Reineke Fuchs.^[48]

"Pfingsten, das liebliche Fest", speaks of Pentecost as a time of greening and blooming in fields, woods, hills, mountains, bushes and hedges, of birds singing new songs, meadows sprouting fragrant flowers, and of festive sunshine gleaming from the skies and coloring the earth - iconic lines idealizing the Pentecost holidays in the German speaking lands.

Further, Goethe records an old peasant proverb relating to Pentecost in his "Sankt-Rochus-Fest zu Bingen" ^[49]

– Ripe strawberries at Pentecost mean a good wine crop.

Alexandre Dumas, père mentions of Pentecost in Twenty Years After (French: Vingt ans après), the sequel to The Three Musketeers. A meal is planned for the holiday, to which La Ramée, second in command of the prison, is invited, and by which contrivance, the Duke is able to escape. He speaks sarcastically of the festival to his jailor, foreshadowing his escape : "Now, what has Pentecost to do with me? Do you fear, say, that the Holy Ghost may come down in the form of firey tongues and open the gates of my prison?" ^[50]

William Shakespeare mentions Pentecost in a line from Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene V. At the ball at his home, Capulet speaks in refuting an overestimate of the time elapsed since he last danced: "What, man? 'Tis not so much, 'tis not so much! 'Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio, Come Pentecost as quickly as it will, Some five-and-twenty years, and then we mask'd." ^[51] Note here the allusion to the tradition of mumming, Morris dancing and wedding celebrations at Pentecost.

See also[link]

Christianity portal

• Pentecontad calendar
• Whit Monday
• Cenacle

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pentecost

• Pentecost on RE:Quest
• A collection of 22 prayers for Pentecost
• "Pentecost" article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• "Pentecost" article from the Jewish Encyclopedia
• Feast of Pentecost Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
• Explanation of the Feast from the Handbook for Church Servers (Nastolnaya Kniga) by Sergei V. Bulgakov
• Pentecost or Whit Sunday Celebration

Rodney Lee Parsley (born January 13, 1957) is a prominent American Christian minister, author, television host and evangelist. He is senior pastor of World Harvest Church, a large Pentecostal church in Columbus, Ohio and founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity, a Christian grassroots advocacy organization. He is also founder of Breakthrough (a media ministry), the Bridge of Hope missions organization, Valor Christian College, Harvest Preparatory School, World Harvest Ministerial Alliance, Metro Harvest Church (an inner-city and prison outreach), Latin Harvest Church (a Spanish-language church in Columbus) and The Women's Clinic of Columbus.

He has been a guest on many media programs, including CNN's Larry King Live.

World Harvest Church[link]

The genesis of Parsley's church came into being in 1977, when as a Bible college student he began leading a Bible study in his parents' back yard. Seventeen people attended the first service.^[1] Soon it was decided that the Bible study should become a church. It originally became known as Sunset Chapel, and later Word of Life Church in Canal Winchester, Ohio, a southeast Columbus suburb.

The church's first permanent facility was built in 1979. It is now known as Alpha Hall, which is one of four buildings on what for many years was the campus of Valor Christian College (the college moved to the main church campus in 2011). Growth soon required an addition to that building, and several years later the church built a bigger structure adjacent to Alpha Hall, which is now known as Dominion Hall. In 1986, ground was broken on 57 acres (230,000 m²) to begin what is now the church's Columbus campus. When it was dedicated, it was renamed World Harvest Church in honor of Lester Sumrall, who had befriended Parsley years earlier and became the younger pastor's mentor.^[2]

World Harvest Church Columbus now includes a 5,200-seat sanctuary, children's and youth ministries, Ministry Resource Centers and administrative offices. Harvest Preparatory School, a private Christian school serving students in preschool through grade 12, also operates on the church grounds.^[2] About 10,000 people attend services at World Harvest on a weekly basis.^[3]

Other ministry activities[link]

Breakthrough is an outreach of Bridge of Hope, an international missions organization that is perhaps the least recognized of Parsley's ministry activities. Over the past 20 years, Parsley has led numerous humanitarian projects around the world, supported by gifts from his church members, churches affiliated with the World Harvest Ministerial Alliance and television viewers.

Bridge of Hope has an exhaustive record of work in Sudan, where a civil war has persisted for years. Parsley's involvement with Sudan began with his lobbying for the federal Sudan Peace Act, and has encompassed the purchase of freedom for Sudanese Christian slaves as well as food, medical supplies and equipment for freed slaves. Bridge of Hope has purchased the freedom of more than 31,000 slaves and provided more than 16,000 "survival kits" -- aid packages consisting of a tarp, mosquito netting, a cooking pot and food to sustain a family for a month.^[4]

Bridge of Hope has also completed projects in the African nations of Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique.^[5] The organization's history also includes projects in Europe, Asia, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.^[6] its most recent international projects have been in Haiti (both before and after the January 2010 earthquake there) and Guatemala.^[6]

Domestically, Bridge of Hope has been involved in disaster relief, providing food, water, ice and cleaning supplies in the wake of disasters including Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike. Following these disasters, Bridge of Hope was named a First Responder by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.^[7]

Valor Christian College was founded in 1990 as World Harvest Bible Institute, and was later known as World Harvest Bible College. It attracts students from across the United States and around the world for ministry training in pastoral leadership, missions, evangelism, music ministry, youth ministry, media ministry, advanced leadership and interdisciplinary studies. It is accredited by the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools to offer associate of applied science degrees.^[8] Online classes were offered for the first time in the fall of 2010.

The Women's Clinic of Columbus opened in June 2008 across the street from a Planned Parenthood facility. It offers free pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds and counseling for women in unexpected pregnancy situations.

Personal life[link]

Parsley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised primarily in the Columbus area.^[3] His parents grew up in eastern Kentucky, and traveled there often to visit relatives when Parsley was a young boy. Young Parsley was raised as a Free Will Baptist, and had a born-again experience at Christian Center Church in Gahanna, Ohio, in the 1970s. After high school, he worked in real estate and at a pet-food factory before enrolling at Circleville Bible College (now Ohio Christian University).^[3] Parsley came under the influence of Lester Sumrall, an Indiana-based evangelist, missionary and broadcaster, as a young pastor. Sumrall became Parsley's spiritual mentor, and the two traveled together often.^[3] He is married to Joni Parsley. They have a son, Austin, and a daughter, Ashton, both young adults.^[9]

Parsley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry from Ohio Christian University, a Doctor of Divinity (honorary) from Indiana Christian University and a Doctor of Humanities (honorary) from Liberty University.^[10]

Political activism[link]

Parsley is a political independent.^[11] He is a frequent critic of liberal positions on social issues, including abortion^[12] and the movement to expand the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples,.^[13]

Parsley became increasingly involved in U.S. politics following his work on the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. During the summer of 2004, Parsley announced the establishment of the Center for Moral Clarity. He openly criticized Sweden for the conviction of Åke Green under Sweden's hate crimes legislation.^[14]

On October 3, 2004, Parsley gave a sermon titled "Uncensored: While Freedom Still Rings". In the two-part sermon, Parsley expressed opposition to the view that there is a separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution; to same-sex marriage; to partial-birth abortion; to hate speech legislation in California, Canada, and Sweden; to sexual orientation themes in children's books; to racism; and to poverty. Parsley has said that the U.S. government, by funding Planned Parenthood, is complicit in "genocide" against African Americans, because Planned Parenthood performs abortions in the black community.^[15]

A few weeks before the 2004 elections, Parsley encouraged his congregation and television audience to vote for Ohio's state constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The amendment passed by a wide margin of voters from both political parties. Parsley has also encouraged citizens of other states with similar marriage amendments on their ballots to vote similarly, and headlined the "Silent No More" tour to register Christian voters.

Parsley has called upon Christians to counter the claims of Islam, noting that it is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception" and "America was founded in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed."^[16] The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God." And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit."^[17]

Writings[link]

Parsley is an author of several books, including Silent No More, which was released in April 2005 by Charisma House. The book encourages Christians to participate in the political process, and especially to make sure their votes reflect their values. Concerning poverty, Parsley writes that government should "get out of the way," removing many constraints on capitalism. "If the government were to reduce the level of taxation, remove industrial restraints, eliminate wage controls, and abolish subsidies, tariffs, and other constraints on free enterprise," he writes, "the poor would be helped in a way that AFDC, social security, and unemployment insurance could never match."^[18]

The sequel, Culturally Incorrect: How Clashing Worldviews Affect Your Future, was published in June 2007 and soon appeared on the industry's best-seller lists.^[19] "Culturally Incorrect" identifies postmodernism - erroneously identified by Parsley as the belief that there is no such thing as absolute truth - as the cause of many of the culture's major ills, and calls upon Christians to impact the culture through prayer, service to the poor and activism.

Parsley's latest book, "Living on Our Heads: Righting an Upside-Down Culture,^[20]" was released in August 2010.

McCain 2008 endorsement[link]

Parsley personally endorsed the presidential campaign of Republican nominee John McCain, who called Parsley a "spiritual guide".^[21] McCain had actively sought Parsley's endorsement during his Republican primary battle with Mike Huckabee, who was drawing substantial support from the religious right.^[22]

McCain later rejected Parsley's endorsement based on Parsley's statements regarding Islam.^[23] Parsley was quoted as stating that he "do[es] not believe that our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed” and that Muhammad is "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil".^[24][25]

In repudiating Parsley's comments, McCain stated, "I believe there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America, and I believe that even though he endorsed me, and I didn't endorse him, the fact is that I repudiate such talk, and I reject his endorsement."^[26] McCain further distanced himself from Parsley, stating, "I've never been in Pastor Hagee's church or Pastor Parsley's church. I didn't attend their church for 20 years, and I'm not a member of their church. I received their endorsement, which did not mean that I endorsed their views."^[27]

Thereafter, Parsley withdrew his endorsement of McCain's candidacy.^[28]

Criticism of Parsley[link]

Parsley is identified as a prominent player in the dominionist movement by both TheocracyWatch ^[29] and commentator Bill Moyers.^[30]

Some have also criticized Parsley for his recent book, Silent No More, because of the book's explanation of Islam and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides for a separation of church and state (among other social issues), and for his support of faith healing. Parsley supports that claim that Islam is an enemy of the United States and Christianity.^[31]

In January 2006, a group of 31 Columbus, Ohio, area pastors charged that Parsley and another central Ohio religious leader had violated federal tax laws. The complaining clergy alleged that Parsley violated the tax-exempt status of his church by supporting various political causes.^[32][33]

Parsley has since publicly stated that the Internal Revenue Service notified him in September 2006 that Reformation Ohio, an evangelistic organization named in the complaint, was in no jeopardy of losing its 501 c-3 status, and in 2008 also notified World Harvest Church that nothing improper was discovered.^[34]

Author Chris Hedges' 2006 book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America quoted Parsley as using militaristic metaphors in a sermon concerning his critics:

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rod Parsley's official website
• Rod Parsley at the Internet Movie Database
• Fitzgerald, Frances (July 31, 2006). "Holy Toledo". New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact1. 
• Posner, Sarah (October 23, 2005). "With God on His Side". The American Prospect. http://prospect.org/article/god-his-side. 
• Corn, David (March 11, 2008). "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam". Mother Jones. http://motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/mccains-spiritual-guide-destroy-islam. 

Raymond Burr
From the film Please Murder Me (1956)
Born	Raymond William Stacey Burr (1917-05-21)May 21, 1917 New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Died	September 12, 1993(1993-09-12) (aged 76) Healdsburg, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1940–93
Spouse	Annette Sutherland ?-1943 (her death) Isabella Ward 1948-1952 (divorced) Adrina Laura Morgan ?-1955 (her death)
Partner	Robert Benevides 1960-1993
Children	Michael Evan Burr 1942-1953

Raymond William Stacey Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor,^[1] primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside.^[1] His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film,^[2] usually as the villain.^[3] He won two Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961^[4] for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. His second hit series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations.^[4] He is also widely known for his role as Steve Martin in both Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and Godzilla 1985.

In addition to acting, Burr owned an orchid business and had begun to grow a vineyard. He was a collector of wines and art, and was very fond of cooking.^[5]

After his death from cancer in 1993, Burr's personal life came into question as details of his known biography appeared to be unverifiable.^[6][7]

In 1996, Raymond Burr was ranked #44 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[8]

Early life[link]

Burr was born Raymond William Stacey Burr in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada,^[5] to William Johnston Burr (1889–1985), an Irish hardware salesman,^[9] and his wife Minerva (née Smith, 1892–1974), a concert pianist and music teacher, who was of English and Scottish descent.^[9] After his parents divorced, Burr moved to Vallejo, California^[5] with his mother and younger siblings, Geraldine and James Edmond. He attended a military academy for a while and graduated from Berkeley High School.^[10]

In later years, Burr freely invented stories of a happy childhood. He told the Modesto Bee in 1986, for example, that when he was twelve and a half years old, his mother sent him to New Mexico for a year to work as a ranch hand. He was already his full adult height and rather large and "had fallen in with a group of college-aged kids who didn't realize how young Raymond was, and they let him tag along with them in activities and situations far too sophisticated for him to handle."^[11] He developed a passion for growing things and, while still a teenager, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps for a year.^[11] Throughout his teenage years he had some acting work, making his stage debut at age 12 with a Vancouver stock company.^[5]

Burr may have served in the Coast Guard, but never in the United States Navy as he and his publicists later claimed.^[12] Nor was he seriously wounded in the stomach during the Battle of Okinawa in the latter stages of World War II.^[13] Other invented biographical details that were made include years of college education at a variety of institutions, world travel, an acting tour of the United Kingdom, and success in high school athletics.^[14] Such claims were accepted as fact by the press during his lifetime^[1][5] and by his first biographer.^[15]

Early career[link]

In 1937, Burr began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse. In 1941, he landed his first Broadway role in Crazy with the Heat. He became a contract player at RKO studio, playing a film noir villain in Raw Deal (1948).

Burr appeared in over 60 movies between 1946 and 1957. In 1976, Richard Schickel cited his performance in Pitfall (1948) as a prototype of film noir in contrast with the appealing television characters for which Burr later became famous.^[16] He received favorable notice for his role as an aggressive prosecutor in A Place in the Sun (1951), co-starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Shelly Winters. Perhaps his best-known film role of the period was that of a suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly.^[1][5] He played the part of reporter Steve Martin in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956).^[17]

Burr emerged as a prolific television character actor in the early-to-mid 1950s. He made his television debut on the April 24, 1952 episode "The Tiger" of Gruen Playhouse on the DuMont TV network. (At about the same time, Burr guest-starred on an episode of The Amazing Mr. Malone on ABC.) This part led to other roles in such programs as Dragnet, Chesterfield Sound Off Time, Four Star Playhouse, Mr. & Mrs. North, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The Ford Television Theatre, and Lux Video Theatre.

During this time, Burr's distinctive voice could also be heard on network radio, appearing alongside Jack Webb in the short-lived Pat Novak for Hire on ABC radio, as well as in early episodes of NBC's Dragnet.^[3] He also made guest appearances on other Los Angeles-based shows, such as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and landed a starring role in CBS's Fort Laramie (1956),^[18] which depicted 19th-century life at old Fort Laramie.^[19] One year later, Burr became a television star as Perry Mason.

[edit] Perry Mason and Ironside

In 1956, Burr auditioned for the role of District Attorney Hamilton Burger in Perry Mason, a new courtroom drama based on the highly successful novels written and created by Erle Stanley Gardner that was to air on CBS. William Talman tried out for the title role. The producers of the show allowed Burr to try for the title role and when Gardner, who was present at the audition, saw him he declared, "He is Perry Mason."^[3] Mason eventually became the role with which Burr was most closely identified.^[20] The series ran from 1957 to 1966, and Burr won Emmy Awards^[4] in 1959 and 1961 for his performance as Perry Mason. The series has been re-run in syndication ever since.^{[citation needed]} Beginning in 2006, the series has become available on DVD, with each calendar year seeing the release of one season as two separate volumes. Though Burr's character is often said never to have lost a case, he did lose two murder cases in early episodes of the series, once when his client misled him and another time when his client was later cleared.^[21]

In the early 1960s, Burr narrated one film and appeared in several others sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service. They were designed to educate the public about accident prevention.^[22]

Burr moved from CBS to Universal Studios, where he played the title role in the television drama Ironside, which ran on NBC. In the pilot episode, San Francisco Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside is wounded by a sniper during an attempt on his life and is left an invalid in a wheelchair. This role gave Burr another hit series, the first crime drama show ever to star a disabled police officer. The show, which ran from 1967 to 1975, earned Burr six Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.^[4] Burr's weight, always an issue for him in getting roles, became a public relations problem when Johnny Carson began making jokes about him during his Tonight Show monologues. Burr refused to appear as Carson's guest from then on and told Us Weekly years later: "I have been asked a number of times to do his show and I won't do it. Because I like NBC. He's doing an NBC show. If I went on I'd have some things to say, not just about the bad jokes he's done about me, but bad jokes he does about everybody who can't fight back because they aren't there. And that wouldn't be good for NBC."^[23] In later life his distinctive physique and manner could be used as a reference that would be universally recognized. One journal for librarians published a writer's opinion that "asking persons without cataloging experience to design automated catalogs...is as practical as asking Raymond Burr to pole vault."^[24]

NBC failed in two attempts to launch Burr as the star of a new series. In a two-hour television movie format, Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence aired in February 1976 with Burr again in the role of the lawyer who outwits the district attorney. Despite good reviews for Burr, the critical reception was poor and NBC decided against developing it into a series.^[25] In 1977, Burr starred in the short-lived TV series Kingston: Confidential, a critical failure that was scheduled opposite the extraordinarily popular Charlie's Angels. It was cancelled after thirteen weeks.^[26] Burr took on a shorter project next, playing an underworld boss in a six-hour miniseries, 79 Park Avenue^[27] One last attempt to launch a series followed on CBS. The two-hour premiere of The Jourdan Chance aroused little interest.^[28]

In 1985, Burr was approached by producers Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman to star in a made-for-TV movie Perry Mason Returns.^[29] Burr recalled in a 1986 interview, "They asked me to do a new "Godzilla" the same week they asked me to do another Perry Mason, so I did them both."^[30] He agreed to do the Mason movie if Barbara Hale returned to reprise her role as Della Street.^[31] Hale agreed and when Perry Mason Returns aired in December 1985, her character became the defendant.^[29] The rest of the original cast had died, but Hale's real-life son William Katt played the role of Paul Drake, Jr.^[29] The movie was so successful Burr made 26 more before his death.^[1] Many episodes were filmed in and around Denver, Colorado.^[2]

By 1993, when Burr signed with NBC for another season of Mason films, he was using a wheelchair full-time because of his failing health. In his final Mason movie, The Case of the Killer Kiss, he was shown either sitting or standing while leaning on a table, but only once standing unsupported for a few seconds.^[32] Twelve more Mason movies were scheduled before Burr's death, including one scheduled to film the month he died.^[33]

In 1993, as he had with the Perry Mason TV movies, Burr decided to do an Ironside reunion movie. In May of that year, The Return of Ironside aired, reuniting the entire original cast of the 1967-1975 series.^[34] Burr's illness precluded any further such reunions.^[33]

Other work[link]

In 1973, Burr starred in one-hour television drama, Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John. He portrayed Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, as he tried to prevent the forced return of Jewish children from Istanbul to Nazi Germany.^[35]

Burr co-starred in such TV films as Eischied: Only The Pretty Girls Die and Disaster On The Coastliner (both 1979), The Curse of King Tut's Tomb and The Night the City Screamed (both 1980), and Peter and Paul (1981). He also had a supporting role in Dennis Hopper's controversial film Out of the Blue (1980) and spoofed his Perry Mason image in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982).

Burr reprised his 1956 role in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in Godzilla 1985: The Legend Is Reborn.^[36] The film won Burr a nomination for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor.^[37] Burr delivered the film's closing lines: "For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain."^[38]

Burr also worked as media spokesman for the now-defunct British Columbia-based real estate company Block Bros. in TV, radio, and print ads during the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[39]

In 1983, he made a rare stage appearance when he starred in the thriller Underground at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto and after a UK tour, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London.^[40]

On January 20, 1987, he hosted the television special that later served as the pilot for the long-running series Unsolved Mysteries.^[41]

Personal life[link]

Burr married actress Isabella ("Bella") Ward on January 10, 1949. They lived together for less than a year and divorced after four years. Neither remarried.^[42] At various times in his career, Burr or his managers offered biographical details that appear spurious or unverifiable. These include marriage to Scottish actress Annette Sutherland, supposedly killed in the same plane crash as Leslie Howard. A son, Michael Evan, was said to have resulted from another invented marriage to Laura Andrina Morgan. Burr provided the only evidence of the boy's existence and death from leukemia at age 10.^[43] As late as 1991, Burr told Parade magazine that when he realized his son was dying, he took him on a one-year tour of the United States. He said, "Before my boy left, before his time was gone, I wanted him to see the beauty of his country and its people."^[1] His publicist knew that Burr worked in Hollywood throughout the year he said he was touring with his son.^[44] As with Burr's claims to have served in the U.S. military, many of these fictions were believed and widely reported.^[5][45]

In the late 1950s, Burr was rumored to be romantically involved with Natalie Wood.^[6] Wood's agent sent her on public dates so she could be noticed by directors and producers and so that the actors could present themselves in public as heterosexuals. The dates also helped to disguise Wood's intimate relationship with Robert Wagner, whom she later married.^[46] Burr felt enough attraction to Wood to resent Warner Bros.' decision to promote her attachment to Tab Hunter instead. Robert Benevides later said: "He was a little bitter about it. He was really in love with her, I guess."^[47][48]

Sexual orientation[link]

In the mid 1950s, Burr met Robert Benevides (1929–present), a young actor and Korean War veteran, on the set of Perry Mason. According to Benevides they became a couple about 1960 and he gave up acting in 1963^[49][50] and later became a production consultant for 21 of the Perry Mason TV movies.^[51] Together they owned and operated an orchid business and then a vineyard,^[52] in the Dry Creek Valley. They were partners until Burr's death in 1993.^[51] Burr left Benevides his entire estate, including "all my jewelry, clothing, books, works of art,...and other items of a personal nature."^[53]

Later accounts of Burr's life explain that he hid his homosexuality to protect his career. In 2000, AP reporter Bob Thomas recalled the situation:^[49][54]

It was an open secret...that he was gay. He had a companion who was with him all the time. That was a time in Hollywood history when homosexuality was not countenanced. Ray was not a romantic star by any means, but he was a very popular figure...if it was revealed at that time in Hollywood history [that he was gay] it would have been very difficult for him to continue.

Art Marks, a producer of Perry Mason, recalled Burr's talk of wives and children: "I know he was just putting on a show....That was my gut feeling. I think the wives and the loving women, the Natalie Wood thing, were a bit of a cover."^[55] In 2006, Dean Hargrove, who worked on Perry Mason Returns, said: "I had always assumed that Raymond was gay, because he had a relationship with Robert Benevides for a very long time. Whether or not he had relationships with women, I had no idea. I did know that I had trouble keeping track of whether he was married or not in these stories. Raymond had the ability to mythologize himself, to some extent, and some of his stories about his past...tended to grow as time went by."^[56]

A 2007 memoir by actor Paul Picerni described several experiences with Burr about 1951 on the set of A Place in the Sun, when he felt Burr expressed sexual interest in him. He wrote: "I saw him staring at me. With his big blue eyes. And with this strange expression on his face. For the first time in my life, I felt like a DAME. Then it hit me: He'd been giving me all this bullshit about his wife and his two kids in London, when in fact he was gay, and he was makin' a move on me!" He remembered Burr "was a great guy and very subtle in his homosexuality."^[57]

Hobbies[link]

Burr had many hobbies over the course of his life: cultivating orchids, collecting wine, art, stamps, and seashells. He was interested in cooking, flying, sailing, and fishing. According to A&E Biography, Burr was also an avid reader with a retentive memory. He was also among the earliest importers and breeders of Portuguese Water Dogs in the United States.^[58]

He developed his interest in cultivating and hybridizing orchids into an orchid business with Benevides. Over twenty years, their company, Sea God Nurseries, had nurseries in Fiji, Hawaii, the Azores, and California, and was responsible for adding more than 1,500 new orchids to the worldwide catalog.^[49] Burr named one them "Barbara Hale Orchid" after his Perry Mason costar.^[59][60]

Raymond Burr Vineyards

Together Burr and Benevides cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Port grapes, as well as orchids, at Burr's farmland holdings in Sonoma County, California. After Burr's death, Benevides named the property after Burr: "I finally decided it should be called Raymond Burr Vineyards. He didn't want it named after him, I know that. We had talked about that possibility and he didn't like that at all, but we're making great wines now. It's a memorial to him, to his idea, and I think it deserves to be named after him."^[49] The land is still in production and is known as the Raymond Burr Vineyards.

In 1965, Burr purchased the Naitauba, a 4,000 acres (16 km²) island in Fiji. There, he and Benevides oversaw the raising of copra (coconut meat) and cattle, as well as orchids.^[49][60] They spent two months a year there and Burr planned to retire there permanently. Medical problems made that impossible and he sold the property in 1983.^[61]

Philanthropy[link]

Burr was a well-known philanthropist.^{[62][63][64][65]} He gave enormous sums of money, including his salaries from the Perry Mason movies, to charity. He was also known for sharing his wealth with friends. He sponsored 26 foster children through the Foster Parents' Plan or Save The Children, many with the greatest medical needs.^[11] He also gave money and some of his Perry Mason scripts to the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California.^[65] Burr raised money for the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in Sanibel, Florida, donating a considerable collection of Fijian cowries and cones from his island in the Fijis.^[65] In 1993, Sonoma State University awarded Burr an honorary doctorate.^[66] He supported medical and education institutions in Denver, and in 1993, the University of Colorado awarded him an honorary doctorate for his acting work.^[67] Burr also founded financed the American Fijian Foundation that funded academic research, including efforts to develop a dictionary of the language.^[68]

Burr made repeated trips on behalf of the United Service Organizations (USO). He toured both Korea and Vietnam during wartime and once spent six months touring Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. He sometimes organized his own troupe and toured bases both in the U.S. and overseas, often small installations that the USO did not serve, like one tour of Greenland, Baffinland, Newfoundland, and Labrador.^[69] Returning from Vietnam in 1965, he made a speaking tour of the U.S. to advocate an intensified war effort. As the war became more controversial, he modified his tone, called for more attention to the sacrifice of the troops, and said: "My only position on the war is that I wish it were over."^[70] In October 1967, NBC aired Raymond Burr Visits Vietnam, a documentary of one of his visits that received mixed reviews, ranging from "The impressions he came up with are neither weighty nor particularly revealing" (Chicago Tribune) to "His questions...were intelligent and elicited some interesting replies." (Los Angeles Times).^[70]

Illness and death[link]

During the filming of his last Perry Mason movie in the spring of 1993, Raymond Burr fell ill. A Viacom spokesperson told the media that the illness might be related to the malignant kidney that Burr had removed that February.^[33] It was determined that the cancer had spread to his liver and was at that point inoperable.^[71] Burr threw several "goodbye parties" before his death on September 12, 1993, at his Sonoma County, California ranch near Healdsburg.^[5] He was 76 years old.

Burr was interred with his parents at Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. On October 1, 1993, a gathering of about 600 family members and friends of Burr mourned him at a memorial service at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California.^[72] The private memorial was attended by Robert Benevides, Barbara Hale, Don Galloway, Don Mitchell, Barbara Anderson, Elizabeth Baur, Dean Hargrove, William R. Moses, and Christian I. Nyby II.

R. William Ide III, president of the American Bar Association, paid tribute to the way Burr's Perry Mason presented lawyers "in a professional and dignified manner" and helped "to educate many people who previously had not had access to the justice system." Though lawyers once complained of the character's implausibly perfect track record, Ide complimented Burr because he "strove for such authenticity in his courtroom characterizations that we regard his passing as though we lost one of our own."^[21] The New York Times added that Mason "made the presumption of innocence real...[and] also made lawyers look good.^[21] Not long before Burr died, Mason was named second after F. Lee Bailey in a poll that asked Americans to name the attorney, fictional or not, they most admired.^[21]

Because Burr had not revealed his homosexuality during his lifetime, initial press accounts gave it sensational treatment. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that People magazine was preparing a story on Burr's "secret life" and asked: "Are the inevitable rumors true?"^[6][7] The Sunday Mail invented a feminine Burr "wearing a pink frilly apron and doing the ironing. He fussed around like the woman of the house."^[73]

Burr bequeathed his estate to Robert Benevides and excluded all relatives, including a sister, nieces, and nephews. His will was challenged by a niece and nephew, Minerva and James, the children of his late brother, James E. Burr, without success.^[74] The tabloids estimated that the estate was worth $32 million, but Benevides' attorney, John Hopkins said that was an overestimate.^[75]

Recognition[link]

Burr won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series twice, in 1959 and 1961, for his performance as Perry Mason. He was also nominated a further seven times, once for Mason and six times for Ironside. For the latter role, he was also nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, awards the Raymond Burr Award for Excellence in Criminal Law.^[21]

Burr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6656 Hollywood Blvd.^[76]

In 2008, Canada Post issued a postage stamp in its "Canadians in Hollywood" series featuring Burr.^[77]

Burr received the 2009 Canadian Legends Award and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.^[78]

The garden at the entrance to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in Florida honors Burr, who was a benefactor and fund-raiser for the Museum.^[79]

The Raymond Burr Performing Arts Centre in New Westminster, British Columbia, opened in October 2000, near a city block bearing the Burr family name, and closed in 2006. Originally a movie theatre, under ownership of the Famous Players chain (as the Columbia Theatre), it was an intimate, 238-seat theatre. Initial plans included expanding the venue to a 650-seat regional performing arts facility. When in operation, it was the custom to have a picture of Raymond Burr included somewhere on each set, with the first toast on the opening night of every production always dedicated to his memory. The Centre was commonly referred to as the "Burr Theatre," or simply as "the Burr." It is owned by the City of New Westminster, which placed it for sale on 15 June 2009.^[80]

Selected filmography[link]