When did the apostles receive the seal?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

From the Coptic Orthodox perspective, the Apostles received the seal of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

While the Apostles are unique because they lived through the transition from the Old Covenant to the New, we distinguish their experience in two main stages:

1. The Divine Breath (The Authority)

On the evening of the Resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to the Apostles in the Upper Room. He "breathed on them" and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23).

• This was the Sacrament of Priesthood.
• They received the Spirit specifically for the authority to administer the mysteries (sacraments) and to govern the Church.

2. Pentecost: The Seal and the Power

The "Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit"—which we receive today in Chrismation—was given to the Apostles at Pentecost.

• The Descent: The Holy Spirit descended in the form of "tongues of fire."
• The Indwelling: This was the moment the Holy Spirit came not just to work with them, but to dwell within them and remain with them forever.
• The Perfection: St. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Athanasius teach that Pentecost was the "perfection" of their initiation. It was their baptism "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

How the Seal Was Passed Down

Because the Apostles were the "foundations" of the Church, they received the Spirit directly from Christ (the Breath) and Heaven (the Fire). However, for the converts they baptized, the Apostles passed on this "seal" through the Laying on of Hands.

• In the Book of Acts (8:14-17), when people in Samaria were baptized, the Apostles Peter and John traveled there and laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
• This "Laying on of Hands" is the origin of our Sacrament of Chrismation. As the Church grew and the Apostles could not be everywhere at once, they (and their successors, the Bishops) consecrated the Holy Myron oil to carry that same Apostolic blessing and "seal."

Liturgical Connection

In the Coptic Church, during the Third Hour prayer of the Agpeya (which commemorates Pentecost), we pray: "O Lord, who at the third hour didst send down Thy Holy Spirit upon Thy holy disciples and honored apostles, take Him not away from us, O Good One, but renew Him within us."

When Moalem Ibrahim Ayad or Moalem George Mikhail leads the congregation in the "Hymn of the Holy Spirit" during the Feast of Pentecost, we are celebrating that same "seal" that was first imprinted on the Apostles in the Upper Room.

Summary: The Apostles received the authority of the Spirit on Resurrection Sunday, but they received the Permanent Seal and Indwelling Power of the Spirit at Pentecost. That same Apostolic seal is what is placed upon every Coptic Orthodox Christian today at their baptism through the 36 crossings of the Holy Myron.