My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the Fourteenth Day of the Month of September the Holy
Orthodox Church Celebrates the Venerable Exaltation of the Precious and Life-creating
Cross of the Lord.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First tone
SAVE, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, grant Thou
unto the faithful victory over adversaries. And by the power of Thy
Cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.
Kontakion Hymn. Forth Tone
THOU Who was raised up on the Cross of Thine own will, O
Christ our God, do Thou bestow Thy compassion upon this,
Thy new commonwealth named after Thee. Gladden with Thy
sovereign might our most Orthodox hierarchs, and vouchsafe
them victory over false teaching; and as Thy help in war may
they possess the weapon of peace, the trophy invincible.
Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the Holy Cross, about the year 325 A.D. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up the pagan Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of the Lord Jesus, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Sacred Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, at that moment a corpse was being carried by to be buried. The Patriarch commanded those who bore the dead body to halt, and he had the crosses placed one after the other on the corpse. When the Cross of Christ was placed on him, the dead man immediately arose, resurrected by the Divine power of the Cross of the Lord. Consequently, the Precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the Christian faithful beheld it they cried out, “Kyrie, Eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”). It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the Venerable and Life-creating Cross and holy nails was taken to her son Emperor Constantine as a blessing. The remaining portion of the Cross was placed in a silver reliquary, she committed it to Patriarch Macarius to be preserved for future generations left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ built by Saint Helen, until the year 614 A.D. At the time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country. Later, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Holy Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem when he restored it to its place.
Saint Helen directed also that a temple be built at Gethsemane where the grave of the Most Holy Theotokos is located and where her Honorable Dormition (Koimisis) took place. She built eighteen other churches, and then, having embellished them with every adornment, she departed for Byzantium, taking with her portion of the Sacred Wood of the Life-creating Cross and the holy nails with which Christ’s divine body was affixed to the Tree. The blessed Emperor Constantine placed the Life-creating Wood in a a golden reliquary and fastened one of the holy nails upon his helmet.
Orthodox Christians Venerate and make the sign of the cross as a powerful physical prayer, a confession of faith in the Holy Trinity, and a reaffirmation of their baptism and identity in Christ. The hand position, moving from the forehead to the stomach, ten to the right and left shoulders, and the use of three joined finger to represent the Holy Trinity, and two remaining fingers united together and touching the palm to represent the two natures of Christ, Divine and human, are key components of this ancient Christian tradition, which serves as a shield against evil and a sign of triumph.
The Cross is the central symbol of All Christians, not only as the instrument of the world’s salvation by the Crucified Christ, but also as the constant witness to the fact–that one cannot be a Christian unless he or she lives with the Cross as the very content of their lives in this world. “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
The holy Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross centers on the paradoxical nature of the Cross as an instrument of shame that became a symbol of victory and the Source OF SALVATION FOR ALL OF MANKIND. Important themes include God’s wisdom overcoming the world’s wisdom, Christ sacrifice providing life and hope, and the call for believers to embrace their own crosses, thereby uniting with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and receiving forgiveness, healing, strength and protection. We often draw parallels to Moses lifting the bronze serpent in the wilderness for healing, so too is Jesus lifted on the Cross for all who look to Him in faith. All Orthodox Christians are encouraged to invoke the Cross’s grace and power in their daily lives, making the sign of the cross at the beginning and end of the day and in times of danger and need. By reflecting Christ’s love, forgiveness, and giving nature, we become living mirrors of God, transformed by the lessons of the His Cross.
Orthodox Christians are given a cross to wear upon their baptism to signify that the believer belongs to Christ and is a member of the Orthodox Church. Gold is chosen because it is a precious metal that is durable and not corrode and can be worn for a lifetime. Gold also symbolizes Divine glory. Wearing the cross around their neck is a constant sign of our faith and the willingness to be obedient to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” [Matthew 16:24).
___________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
+ Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 