Sermon on the day of the erection of the honorable cross of the Lord. Sermon by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

O many-chanted Tree of the Cross! O life-giving Tree of the Cross! O blessed Tree of the Cross! O honorable Cross, all-joyful sign of our redemption!

Show us, sinners, the path of saving life.

Our friends! “...the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”(1 Cor. 1:18). And yesterday you and I visibly touched this power, becoming participants in the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Life-Giving Tree floated past each of you, carried from the Holy of Holies, from the earthly sky, from the altar of the Lord. It floated, rose to a height, and sank to the ground in order to rise again, covering all directions of the world, so that everyone could see, understand and feel the power and authority of this great sign of victory.

It was not through human invention that this wondrous holiday, which absorbed three different-time events in the history of the Life-Giving Tree, entered the world, and it is not through human efforts that it has been preserved in the world for seventeen centuries. The Gospel reading of the holiday points to the power that constantly and autocratically controls the changeable and fickle world. The strength and power of the Cross is made up of the great sacrifice - the suffering of the Savior on the cross, beginning with His unrighteous condemnation to death until the piercing of the rib of His most pure body, from which flowed blood and water, feeding the world into Eternal Life. And the Gospel ends with the assurance that the truth of this terrible story is attested by an eyewitness to that Calvary sacrifice and is conveyed so that those who hear it will believe.

The Orthodox Church, born on the eve of the appearance to the world of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and which, in the person of the apostles, became an eyewitness to the great feat of love - even to death and death on the cross - has since accepted the sign of the Cross as a saving symbol for believers, and not only as a symbol, but as a saving symbol. the power with which enemies are defeated.

Evidence of the veneration of the Cross of the Lord has been preserved in the writings of the apostles that have reached us and in the writings of the teachers of the Church. And living examples of this power, appearing at all times, gave rise to a special rule of veneration of the Cross, established at the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which took place in 680 in Constantinople.

Its 73rd rule reads: “Since the Life-giving Cross has shown us salvation, it is fitting for us to use every diligence, so that honor may be given to that through which we were saved from the ancient Fall.”

The first is the terrible and glorious Cross of the Lord, which from an instrument of execution became an instrument of power and glory. This is the Cross that lifted the innocent and voluntary Sufferer Christ the Savior from earth to heaven and nailed with Him the sins of the whole world. The cross, watered with His pure blood and with it washed away all sinful filth. The cross, which has absorbed many evil glances, ridicule and blasphemy. The cross, at the foot of which only two people cried: the Mother of the Crucified One, whose very heart was pierced by the weapon of the Cross, and the only disciple whose love was not frightened away by the horror of suffering.

This Cross rose above the world for a short time, only to be hidden in the ground for a long time by human malice. But this short time was enough for the Life-Giving Cross to conquer the world and revive it.

The Lord Jesus Christ entered His glory through a long and difficult path of humility, but the humiliation of the Life-Giving Tree on which He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world lasted incomparably longer. All the ends of the universe were already filled with the glory of the Crucified One, and the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross, hidden in ignorance and ignominy, awaited its time for another three centuries.

Already the Cross crowned the Church of Christ, already the sign of the cross, by the power of Christ crucified on it, strengthened the human weakness of the first Christians who went to suffer for their faith, and the only Life-giving and Savior Tree was still hidden from human gaze.

Christianity expanded and strengthened. Already the powers that be were thinking about the Divine origin of the Crucified and Ascended to the Cross. Emperor Constantine the Great was honored with all his army to see the sign of God - the Cross shining from the stars in the sky and the radiance of the inscription around it: “By this you conquer.” And the sign of the Cross gave him the path to many victories in battles.

Such phenomena revived in the minds of Christians the memory of the first Cross of the Lord, and with it the faith that this great shrine could not perish. By this time, the Church was already filled with many living testimonies of the feats of bearing the cross, and it so lacked for the triumph, glory, and joy of that only Cross, from which victory over death shone forth. And the work of searching for the Cross of the Lord was taken upon by eighty-year-old Helen, the mother of the first Christian emperor Constantine. The Holy Spirit inspired this queen (later called Equal-to-the-Apostles), to the glory of the Crucified One and to the joy of Orthodox Christians, to put in a lot of work and effort to acquire the shrine.

The pagan emperors and the malice of the Jews tried to completely destroy in man the memories of sacred events and sacred places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for people and was resurrected. The Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha ​​were covered with earth, and a pagan temple was erected on the site of an artificial hill.

And now the Christian queen was looking for traces of the lost treasure among the Jews hostile to Christianity.

And how great is the power and authority of God, you can judge for yourself: in response to the queen’s question addressed to the elder Jews: “Where did your ancestors hide the Cross of Christ?” - they pointed her to a certain old Jew Judas, who, in response to a repeated question, apparently against his will, led her to the site of the temple of Venus and said: “In this very place you will find the Cross of your Christ.”

Judas betrayed Christ to the Cross, and three hundred years later another Judas will contribute to the manifestation of the glory of Christ.

After the removal of the temple, the search continued for a long time, and hopes gave way to hopelessness, until the Lord Himself deigned to reveal to people the shrine resting in the ground. The fragrance of the Holy Spirit coming from the earth put an end to the search.

But again the pious seekers were perplexed. Instead of one coveted Cross, they found three, and completely identical ones. The tablet with the inscription, which at one time was on the Cross of the Savior, was found later in another place.

Saint Macarius, who led the search together with Queen Helena, exclaimed: “If God’s Providence did not deign to leave the Cross of the Lord in the ground forever, then will it allow it to remain in obscurity? Will he allow us to give honor to the cross of the thief instead of the Cross of the Lord? God Himself will show us the Cross of our Savior.”

All three crosses were brought into the house of the pious wife, who was lying on her deathbed. After a fiery prayer, the saint one by one laid crosses on the dying woman. And only with the latter’s touch did the power of life enter the sick person.

Those present at the miracle unanimously gave glory to the Cross of the Lord. But this certificate was not enough for the glory of the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross. It was God's providence that the glory of the Lord's Cross should shine forth even to those who did not want to recognize it, so that by the power of the Honest Tree unbelief and the enemies of the Lord's Cross would be crushed.

Returning from the healed woman’s home to Golgotha, Christians met a funeral procession. Filled with faith, the pious Saint Macarius boldly applied the Cross of the Lord to the deceased, and the Cross of the Conqueror of Death and Hell, again breaking the bonds of death, revived the deceased.

The news of the perfect miracle, which shocked those present, flew around Jerusalem in the blink of an eye and gathered believers and non-believers to the foot of the Cross at Golgotha. And countless people wanted to see the wonderful Tree at least from afar.

Saint Macarius and Queen Helena, standing on a dais, erected the Holy Cross as high as possible on all four sides, so that everyone could bow to it. The people, overwhelmed with awe, exclaimed in great numbers: “Lord, have mercy!”

The power of the influence of the Life-Giving Tree was so great that Jews were baptized in large numbers, and among them was Elder Judas, who pointed out the place of hiding of the Cross of the Lord, received the name Cyriacus in baptism and became, by the grace of God, the Bishop of Jerusalem at the end of his life, and for a short period of life in Christianity he himself ascended to his martyr's cross during the reign of Julian the Apostate.

This is how the acquisition of the Cross of the Lord took place. Three hundred and twenty-six years after the crucifixion of the Savior, the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord again became a preacher of the power and Divinity of Christ.

“It is worthy and righteous to worship the Cross of Christ,” says Saint Demetrius of Rostov, the Russian Chrysostom, in his homily on the Exaltation, for with this blessed Tree death was put to death and life was given. By the Tree of Paradise we were put to death, and by the Tree of the Cross we were revived; the first to be expelled from paradise, the second to ascend to heaven; The enemy defeated us first, we defeat the enemies second.”

After the discovery of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a majestic and extensive temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which included both the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha.

The temple took ten years to build and was consecrated on September 13, 335, and the next day the Cross of the Lord was erected in the temple, and on this day it was established to celebrate the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

And the Church sang for the first time on this day: “We bow to Your Cross, Master, and glorify Your Holy Resurrection!”

And on the same day, one more, third event is remembered, connected with the life of the Cross of the Lord.

From 614 to 628, the Honest Tree suffered captivity from the Persians. God's providence preserved the Tree even there, in a foreign land. The pagans, amazed by the miracles that accompanied the ark with the Cross, did not dare to boldly touch the Christian shrine. The victory of the Greek Emperor Heraclius over the Persians returned the Cross to Jerusalem. Both the return of the Cross and its erection over the Holy Sepulcher took place precisely on the day of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Tree of the Holy Cross.

Thus, my dears, three events at different times from the life of the Cross of the Lord illuminate this day. And I repeat as a reminder to you - this is the discovery of the Tree of the Cross, and the construction of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord on Calvary, and the bringing of the Life-giving Cross into this temple, and the last return of the Life-giving Tree from captivity and its installation on Calvary, in its original place.

Twenty centuries have passed since the greatest event of the Savior’s sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, when Christ ascended into heaven in glory. The cross remained on earth, continuing to do the great work begun on Calvary. And to this day the Cross lives as a living person, as a person, accepting both boundless love and equally boundless hatred.

And just as at the first Saving Cross of the Lord, at one time, love and malice, loyalty and betrayal opposed each other - so at all times in the life of the world the Cross is destined to be a stumbling block. For some - the atheists - it is a cruel and hateful field of suffering, leading to death. Sorrows and sufferings of earthly life are the lot of all earthly beings. For others - followers of Christ - the cross of the same sorrows and suffering becomes a favorite field of highest spiritual pleasure, the path of following the beloved Christ into eternal life to glory.

The cross continues to live in the world for some for salvation, for others for greater destruction. The struggle between evil and good at the foot of the Cross continues for the sake of love or hatred for the One by whom the Tree of the Cross was sanctified.

Let's not go deep into history for examples, let's take living examples of our days. What anger and rejection of the Cross is now being shown by all those who have left the Orthodox Church of Christ, and especially Protestants and sectarians who blaspheme the Cross of Christ, our sign of the cross and accuse the Orthodox of idolatry for venerating the Cross. The Cross is the guardian of the entire universe, the Cross is the guardian and affirmation of every person in the truth - does not exist for them.

And with the rejection of the Cross, they reject the very path of salvation, the path of following Christ. And they become the playground of demons on the way to destruction.

Here's another example. In 1992, love for Christ brought pilgrims from all over the world to Jerusalem to celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ. And the blessed fire in the lamps had not yet gone out, but in the hearts there was a trembling, just experienced miracle of the descent of God’s grace and Easter Sunday joy, and Easter week, like a single day, rejoiced in the Church of God, and the blasphemous, impudent heart, breathing malice, was preparing an act of terrible blasphemy. On Saturday of Bright Week, a criminal hand uprooted the Holy Cross, which had stood on Calvary for centuries.

But God cannot be mocked. The blasphemers swear at themselves. The Lord sees this struggle from the height of His glory, and the invincible victory - the Cross of Christ - until the last day of the world, until the day of the glorious and terrible second coming of the Lord, is given to the faithful as a weapon against enemies, visible and invisible.

And the appearance of the Lord of Glory on earth will be revealed only by the great sign in heaven of the Cross of the Lord, which will be seen by all the peoples of the earth, which everyone will see. They will see, and weep, and tremble.

And this will be the third greatest appearance of the Cross on the eve of the appearance of the Savior at the Last Judgment.

Let us, dear ones, confirm our thoughts with the life-giving power of the Cross of Christ, let us direct our reverent attention to it, and especially on this day of his feast we will lift up and glorify him in our souls and bodies; Let us bow before the Cross with tenderness of heart and contrition of spirit, for it is impossible to worthily glorify both the incomprehensible power and the greatness of the Cross of the Lord.

And in order to be at least to a small extent ready for us to perceive this incomprehensible phenomenon, the Holy Church, in its Charter, commands us: “On the day of the Exaltation of cheese, and eggs, and fish, we will not dare to touch,” since the veneration of the Cross consists of mortification of the flesh.

Merciful Lord, preserve, bless and save us with the invincible and Divine power of Your Cross! Amen.

On September 27, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - one of the 12 main, or twelfth, holidays of the Orthodox Church.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross: history

On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, they remember how Queen Helen, Equal to the Apostles, found the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The cross was found in 326 near Mount Golgotha ​​in Jerusalem. Since the 7th century, the memory of the return of the Life-Giving Cross from Persia by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (629) began to be associated with this day.

The holiday is called the Elevation of the Cross, because both upon the acquisition and upon the return of the Cross, the primate raised (Erected) the cross three times so that everyone could see it.

Equal to the Apostles Tsar Constantine wished to build churches of God on places sacred to Christians in Palestine (that is, at the place of birth, suffering and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, etc.) and to find the Cross on which the Savior was crucified. With great joy, his mother, St., undertook to fulfill the king’s desire. Queen Equal to the Apostles Helen.

In 326, Queen Helena went to Jerusalem for this purpose. She put in a lot of work to find the Cross of Christ, since the enemies of Christ hid the Cross by burying it in the ground. Finally, she was pointed to an elderly Jew named Judas, who knew where the Cross of the Lord was. After much questioning and persuasion, he was forced to speak. It turned out that the Holy Cross was thrown into one cave and covered with garbage and earth, and a pagan temple was built on top. Queen Helen ordered the destruction of this building and the excavation of a cave.

When they dug up the cave, they found three crosses in it and a tablet lying separately from them with the inscription: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” It was necessary to find out which of the three crosses is the Cross of the Savior. The Jerusalem Patriarch (Bishop) Macarius and Queen Helen firmly believed and hoped that God would indicate the Holy Cross of the Savior.

On the advice of the bishop, they began to bring crosses one after another to one seriously ill woman. No miracle happened from the two crosses, but when the third cross was laid, she immediately became healthy. It happened that at that time the deceased was being carried past for burial. Then they began to lay crosses one after another on the deceased; and when they laid the third cross, the dead man came to life. In this way they recognized the cross of the Lord, through which the Lord performed miracles and showed life-giving the power of His Cross.

Queen Helena, Patriarch Macarius and the people around them bowed to the Cross of Christ with joy and reverence and kissed it. Christians, having learned about this great event, gathered in countless numbers to the place where the Cross of the Lord was found (found). Everyone wanted to venerate the holy life-giving Cross. But since it was impossible to do this due to the multitude of people, everyone began to ask to at least show it. Then Patriarch Macarius stood on an elevated place and, so that everyone could see, several times erected(lift) him. The people, seeing the Cross of the Savior, bowed and exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!”

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Kings Constantine and Helena, over the place of the suffering, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, built a vast and magnificent temple in honor of Resurrection of Christ. They also built temples on the Mount of Olives, in Bethlehem and in Fevron near the Oak of Mamri.

Queen Helena brought part of the Holy Cross to her son, Tsar Constantine, and left the other part in Jerusalem. This precious remnant of the Cross of Christ is still kept in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

Icons of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The most common plot of the icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross developed in Russian icon painting in the 15th-16th centuries. The icon painter depicts a large crowd of people against the backdrop of a single-domed temple. In the center on the pulpit stands the Patriarch with the Cross raised above his head. The deacons support him by the arms. The cross is decorated with plant branches. In the foreground are the saints and everyone who came to worship the shrine. On the right are the figures of Tsar Constantine and Queen Helena.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 1

Kontakion, tone 4

Greatness

We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, through which You saved us from the work of the enemy.

Choruses

Irmos of the 9th song

Hymns to the Cross of the Lord

Choir of the Orthodox Brotherhood in the name of the Archangel Michael.

Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving Thy residence through Thy Cross.

Participated in the Exaltation of the Cross and the Sunday of the Cross

Having ascended to the cross by will, grant to Thy new residence Thy bounty, O Christ God; We rejoice in Your power, giving us victories as our companions, Your help, the weapon of peace, the invincible victory.

Choir of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra and MDA

Rejoice Life-Giving Cross .

Rejoice, life-giving Cross, invincible victory of piety, the door of heaven, the affirmation of the faithful, the fence of the Church, by which aphids were ruined and abolished, and the mortal power was trampled upon, and we ascended from earth to heaven, an invincible weapon, resisting demons: glory to the martyrs, the saints, as truly fertilizer: refuge salvation, grant the world great mercy.

Prayers to the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

First prayer

Be the Honest Cross, guardian of soul and body: in your image, casting down demons, driving away enemies, exercising passions and bestowing reverence, life, and strength, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the honest prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God. Amen.

Second prayer

O Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! In ancient times you were a shameful instrument of execution, but now you are a sign of our salvation, ever revered and glorified! How worthily can I, the unworthy, sing to You and how dare I bend the knees of my heart before my Redeemer, confessing my sins! But the mercy and ineffable love for mankind of the humble Boldness crucified upon you gives me, so that I may open my mouth to glorify You; For this reason I cry to Ti: Rejoice, Cross, the Church of Christ is the beauty and foundation, the whole universe is the affirmation, all Christians are the hope, kings are the power, the faithful are refuge, Angels are glory and praise, demons are fear, destruction and driving away, the wicked and infidels - shame, the righteous - pleasure, those burdened - weakness, those overwhelmed - refuge, those who are lost - a mentor, those possessed by passions - repentance, the poor - enrichment, those floating - a pilot, the weak - strength, in battle - victory and conquest, the orphans - faithful protection, widows - intercessor, virgins - protection of chastity, hopeless - hope, sick - a doctor and the dead - resurrection! You, typified by the miraculous rod of Moses, are a life-giving source, watering those thirsty for spiritual life and delighting our sorrows; You are the bed on which the Risen Conqueror of Hell rested royally for three days. For this reason, morning, evening, and noon, I glorify Thee, blessed Tree, and I pray by the will of the One who has been crucified on Thee, may He enlighten and strengthen my mind with You, may He open in my heart a source of more perfect love, and may all my deeds and paths be overshadowed by You. May I take out and magnify Him who is Nailed to You, for my sin, the Lord my Savior. Amen.

Worship of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, it is necessary to celebrate the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy. But now they rarely serve all night long, so the central point is the festive divine service on the eve of the holiday - a vigil.

The Exaltation is the Twelfth Feast of the Lord (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ). Therefore, its service does not connect to any other service. For example, the memory of John Chrysostom is postponed to another day.

It is interesting that during Matins for the Exaltation of the Cross the Gospel is read not in the middle of the church, but in the altar.

The climax of the holiday is when the leading priest or bishop, dressed in purple vestments, carries out the Cross. All those praying in the temple kiss the shrine, and the primate anoints them with holy oil. During the general veneration of the Cross, the troparion is sung: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your holy resurrection.”

The cross lies on the lectern until October 4 - the day of the Exaltation. At the offering, the priest takes the cross to the altar.

Rite of the Exaltation of the Cross

The Rite of the Exaltation of the Cross is performed at Matins after the great doxology and singing of the troparion Save, Lord, Your people..., consists of a five-fold overshadowing of the Cross and its elevation to the cardinal directions (east, south, west, north and again to the east). An important change, compared to studio monuments, is the addition of five deaconal petitions to the rite (corresponding to the five overshadowings of the Cross), after each of which a hundredfold Lord, have mercy. In addition, according to the Jerusalem Rule, before raising the Cross, the primate must bow to the ground so that his head is a span from the ground (Greek. spithame, about 20 cm). During the correction of liturgical books in the Russian Church in the 2nd half. XVII century The order of the overshadowing of the cardinal directions during the rite was changed: the Cross is erected to the east, west, south, north and again to the east. This order has been maintained to this day.

SERMON

FOR ERECTION

OF THE LORD'S CROSS

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Saint Helen Equal to the Apostles, mother of Tsar Constantine, by a miracle of God found the Life-giving Cross of Christ in the Holy Land. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem raised the found Cross up so that people could see it and prayerfully touch it. Since that time, the Church has been celebrating the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. Since that time, the song has been heard in the Orthodox Church: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your holy Resurrection.”

As then in the city of Jerusalem, and later in Constantinople, so now in all Orthodox churches on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, the Holy Cross is raised and worn for worship by believers. And God-fearing Christians with reverence, with tears and tenderness, bending the knees of their hearts, kiss the Life-giving Cross, giving thanks on it to the crucified Our Lord Jesus for His love and for the salvation He accomplished on the Cross! The song flows everywhere on this day: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your holy Resurrection.”

What is the Holy Cross of Christ for us, Christians? Why do we worship him? Why do we piously, reverently kiss him and call on his life-giving, saving power?

For us, believers, the Cross is, first of all, the banner of our life. The army has its own banner. This banner is a symbol that unites all warriors. Each regiment cherishes its banner like a shrine, guarding it until the last drop of blood of the last soldier. There is no greater shame and dishonor than losing the banner of your regiment! For us, Christian believers, the banner of Christian truth is the Cross of Christ. This is how the Savior Himself defined: “Whoever wants to come after Me must deny himself and take up your cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). Believers take up the cross at the moment of holy Baptism. Christians sanctify their thoughts and feelings with the cross; consecrated with a crossmovements of the mind and heart; The cross sanctifies our entire life, our works, our victories and defeats, our joys and sorrows, our illnesses and earthly well-being. The holy cross precedes every church procession. The holy cross crowns the temples of God. The Church repeatedly blesses the faithful with the Holy Cross during services. Things and objects are consecrated with the cross. The cross is given into the hands of the deceased as a symbol of victory and the banner of Christianfidelity. The cross marks the final path of “the whole earth.” The cross crowns the graves of believers in commemoration of the fact that a follower of Christ lies here.

The Cross of Christ is a consolation for us in struggle and patience. At the moment when we are overwhelmed by sin, evil, annoyance, condemnation, envy, jealousy or other indecencies, it is necessary to look at the Cross and remember the words of the Crucified One: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29 ). Whoever does this will always emerge victorious in the fight against all temptation and sin.

If our life's cross is sometimes too heavy, if we become exhausted, our strength lies in the power of the Cross. The power of the Cross of Christ in any everyday difficulties is our faithful help. No matter what kind of earthly cross a person has, the reverend fathers teach, one must remember that it is borne first of all by the Savior, and then by you, the person. Therefore, believe and hope that the power of the Lord will always be with you. With such confidence you will not perish, but will have eternal life.

The Cross of Christ is for us the banner of our victories, both temporary and eternal. With it we defeat the enemy. The enemy of our salvation, according to the teaching of the Holy Church, fears the cross and trembles, not daring to look at its power. The Sign of the Cross will appear in heaven on the last day, when Christ comes to judge the living and the dead. The fiery Cross in the sky will be a sign of the eternal glory of Christ and His victory. Then everyone who appeared before the Face of eternal Truth - both those who revered the Cross in earthly life and those who did not - will be judged by the power of the Cross, the sign of eternal truth and eternal victory. Blessed then will be those who revered the Cross of Christ, for they will receive “much reward in heaven,” like the Apostle Paul, who loved repeat: But I do not desire to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). The cross is the banner of our life, consolation in struggle and patience, the banner of our victories. Let this reflection strengthen us in deep veneration of the Life-giving Cross. For if we were born with the Cross, then naturally we must live and die with the Cross. And if we live and die with the Cross, then we will win with the Cross. We worship Your Cross, Master, and we sing and glorify Your holy Resurrection. Amen.

Prot. Dmitry Smirnov

Today we throughout the Church glorify the Cross of the Lord. The reason for this event was historical. Queen Helena organized an expedition to find the Tree of the Honest Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, and with a large number of accompanying people - both labor and soldiers - headed to Jerusalem. And they began to search, because Jerusalem was completely destroyed by Roman troops under the leadership of two emperors - Titus and Vespasian. On this occasion, the victorious Arch of Titus is still located next to the Colosseum in Rome - as a sign of victory. And they began to ask local residents, because in ancient times, by the grace of God, there were no newspapers and no televisions either, so people communicated only by word of mouth. There were no books, and if there was Holy Scripture, only a small number of people could read it. Therefore, people’s heads were completely free, like a clean, clear sheet, and they remembered a lot of what dad said, what grandmother said, what great-grandfather said. And after interviewing local residents, they established the place that is Mount Golgotha, carried out excavations and found the Cross of the Lord. They found out which of the three crosses belonged to the Savior, placing it on the deceased, as the funeral procession walked past. The deceased has risen. This amazed everyone so much that they decided to establish the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in honor of this event. Exaltation - because then the Cross was erected so that all the people could see it. And we still celebrate this holiday since the time of Queen Helena. And even in our temple a small piece of the Tree of the Lord is kept by the grace of God, and in many churches there are small particles of the Tree of the Lord, they have spread throughout the world and are a source of God’s grace.

But in addition to the Life-Giving Tree of the Lord itself, the Cross has a spiritual meaning for every Christian. The Holy Church chose the memory of the erection of the Cross as the second holiday of the church year, the twelfth, the greatest, in order to remind us again and again not only of this shrine, but also of our destiny. Not a single person, without carrying his cross or carrying it with grumbling, no matter how heavy this cross may be, unfortunately, cannot achieve the Kingdom of God, which the Lord wants to give to everyone. Why is this so? Because a person enters the Kingdom of God when he has completed all the virtues within himself.

Why is the cross so important? Why does the Church decorate churches and sacred robes with the cross of the Lord, why do priests and laity wear the cross on themselves? To remind you all the time how salvation happens. Salvation is possible only through the cross, and the very death of Christ the Savior points to this. Man, like any animal, wants to live well, satisfyingly, happily, not get sick, so that no one offends him. But if someone, God forbid, manages to organize a serene, calm life for himself, if he has no losses at all in his life, if no one offends him, unfortunately, such a person will not be saved. Why is this so? How does our salvation work here? For salvation, the most important virtue is humility, so that a person acquires a peaceful spirit, so that nothing disturbs a person: neither people, nor politics, nor neighbors, nor children, nor grandchildren, nor sons-in-law, nor daughters-in-law. Imagine, nothing disturbs, there is a peaceful spirit in a person’s heart. To do this, you need to acquire such a virtue as humility - from the word “peace”. Peace in the soul and peace with God. Why? Because a person saves his soul by the grace of God, and the grace of God cannot be in the heart of a person who is in indignation, in anger, in the love of money, in bitterness, in malice, in revenge, in jealousy. In children, this usually manifests itself like this: “I’m right,” “he’s wrong,” “that’s fair,” “that’s unfair.” Actually, what difference does it make, fair or unfair? The main thing is that you are in a state of rage. And when a person is in this state, the Holy Spirit cannot enter his heart, because the Holy Spirit is the spirit of meekness, the spirit of mercy, the spirit of love. And salvation for such a person is impossible, even if he gives all his property to the poor, even if he builds five hundred churches, it will not give anything. The Holy Spirit will still not be able to enter such a restless soul. Therefore, humility is the main virtue through which one can achieve salvation for oneself.

This wonderful church-wide holiday teaches us love, humility, and patience. And the Lord not only called for this, He also showed how it happens. Imagine how God, Who created the universe, endured all this, how He humbled himself, endured terrible torment. Only to save us all. Not en masse, but each individually, if he wishes. And each of us at any moment of our lives - in youth, in old age, in maturity or while still a child - if he wants salvation, the Lord will definitely save him. You just need to demonstrate this, and for this you need to acquire a peaceful spirit. Therefore, we will try. Then our celebration will be according to this day, if we do everything with humility. But we are proud people, we ourselves usually cannot humble ourselves, no one taught us this, and no one talked about this in childhood. And without this there is no way to be completely saved. And we all want to remake people for ourselves. “I want” or “I don’t want”, “I will”, “I won’t”. And as a result, the Lord is forced to turn away from man, because God created man free, and the Kingdom of God will be inherited only by those who want to, and not from under the stick. God doesn't need love from under the stick. Only training can happen under pressure. And God wants the same love that he showed us. And He himself said: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friend(John 15:13). And He laid down His soul for us. And we must also direct our lives in such a way as to lay down our souls for our Lord and Savior.

On this day, the great church man, John Chrysostom, departed to the Lord. So they called him, in Greek - Chrysostomos, which means “golden lips”. The great teacher of the Church who lived in the 4th century - can you imagine how ancient he is! - and died on our territory, in Abkhazia. He was exiled there. The Greeks called the entire northern coast of the Black Sea hell, because it seemed to them that it was very cold there. It's really damp there, and winter conditions are generally very difficult. And he. While they were driving him there, he became very weak and on this day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross he went to the Lord, saying the great words: “Glory to God for everything!” This is true humility - both for sorrow and for joy, and for the birth of people, and for peacetime, and for war. For everything. A person who has achieved humility, opening the window, despite the fact that there is rain or sun, silence or a nuclear war has begun, says: “Glory to God for everything!” Because God knows best what medicine to give each person for his salvation.

1 Corinthians, ch. 1, art. 18-24

18 For the word about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and destroy the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the sage? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness?
21 For when the world its I did not know God through wisdom in the wisdom of God, then it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.
22 For both the Jews demand miracles, and the Greeks seek wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block for the Jews, and foolishness for the Greeks,
24 for those who are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ, God's power and God's wisdom;

From John, ch. 19, art. 6-11, 13-20, 25-35

6 When the high priests and ministers saw Him, they shouted: Crucify Him, crucify Him! Pilate says to them: Take Him and crucify Him; for I find no fault in Him.
7 The Jews answered him: We have a law, and according to our law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God.
8 Pilate, hearing this word, became more afraid.
9 And again he entered the praetorium and said to Jesus: Where are you from? But Jesus did not give him an answer.
10 Pilate says to Him: Do you not answer me? Don’t you know that I have the power to crucify You and the power to release You?
11 Jesus answered: You would not have any power over Me if it had not been given to you from above; therefore there is greater sin on him who delivered Me to you.
...
13 Pilate, having heard this word, brought Jesus out and sat down at the judgment seat, in a place called Liphostroton, and in Hebrew Gavvatha.
14 Then it was the Friday before Easter, and it was six o’clock. And he said Pilate To the Jews: Behold, your King!
15 But they shouted: take him, take him, crucify him! Pilate says to them: Shall I crucify your king? The high priests answered: We have no king except Caesar.
16 Then finally he handed Him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away.
17 And, bearing His cross, He went out to a place called Skull, in Hebrew Golgotha;
18 there they crucified Him and two others with Him, on this side and on the other, and in the middle was Jesus.
19 Pilate also wrote the inscription and placed it on the cross. It was written: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
20 This inscription was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Roman.
...
25 Standing at the cross of Jesus were His Mother and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 Jesus, seeing His Mother and the disciple standing there, whom He loved, said to His Mother: Woman! Behold, Your son.
27 Then he says to the disciple: Behold, your Mother! And from that time on, this disciple took Her to himself.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that everything had already been accomplished so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, says: I thirst.
29 There was a vessel full of vinegar. Warriors, having filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on hyssop, they brought it to His lips.
30 When Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” And, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
31 But since Then It was Friday, then the Jews, so as not to leave the bodies on the cross on Saturday - for that Saturday was a great day - asked Pilate to break their legs and take them off.
32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him.
33 But when they came to Jesus, when they saw Him already dead, they did not break His legs,
34 but one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
35 And he who saw it bore witness, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe.

Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. On this great church holiday, an amazing apostolic letter is read. The Apostle Paul tells us: “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is” (1 Cor. 1.18). How to understand this? Why is the story of God being crucified on the Cross madness for those who are perishing? What is foolishness, that is, stupidity, in relation to the Cross?

There are people who call themselves Christians who do not revere the Cross of Christ. They accuse us Orthodox Christians of worshiping an instrument of execution. “It’s the same,” they say, “like worshiping a gallows, a gun, a cannon, or an executioner’s axe. How can one worship the cross, which is an instrument of death?”

Those who reject the worship of the Cross actually reject Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, because Our Lord truly died on the Cross for our sins. He died in order to thus open the way for us to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yes, our Lord died, but He also rose again! If He had not been resurrected, if He had not been God, His death on the Cross would not have become an amazing, unique event in world history, but would, of course, be a very terrible, very cruel, but still completely routine incident, which has happened more than once over the vast expanses of the Roman empire. Our Lord rose again, and in the light of this resurrection the Sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross on Calvary became meaningful and incomprehensibly great. Therefore, we do not worship the instrument of execution, but the God-established means of our salvation. We are saved, we overcome our own sin by the Cross of Our Savior.

Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helena set off on a long journey from Constantinople to Jerusalem in order to find the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. She undertook research and archaeological excavations in order to find the Cross. And the Lord crowned her labors with success. She found the Tree of the Cross. And Saint Macarius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, erected the Holy Cross so that everyone could see this Sacred Tree.

We worship not wood, not material. We worship not the form, not the ratio of the crossbars. We worship the instrument of our salvation. The real opportunity to live forever for every person is paid for by the Blood of the Lord, our eternal life is completed by the Life of the Lord. But we forget about this when we make the sign of the cross carelessly, as if waving away annoying insects, or when we wear a pectoral cross as a decoration, on top of our clothes, so that everyone can see: this is how beautiful my cross is!..

But it’s even more important to remember this. You and I are called Christians not only because we are Christ’s, but also because we must follow Christ’s path; we must, in the words of the Apostle, “crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5.24) on the Cross! We have to follow our Savior to die on this Cross! This is what it means to bear your cross...

Where else in the world is there a religion that says: rejoice in your suffering, bless your misfortunes? These sufferings, these misfortunes are your personal Cross. By bearing them without complaint you become like Christ. Don't complain, but rejoice!

And many of us come to church to free ourselves from the Cross. And often priests hear: “Please make sure that I don’t have problems at home, in the family; for me to get well; so that my relatives love and respect me, so that I do not suffer any harm...” It cannot be said that these desires are illegal and sinful. Not at all! Only at the same time we need to clearly realize that bearing the Cross and enduring sorrows is the task of Christian life.

Let's think about this, let's think about the feat of Queen Helena, who found the Cross of Christ and thereby, as it were, took Him upon herself. Let's take up our cross as the Lord calls us: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16.24.) God calls us to take up our cross, that is, our sorrows , illnesses, sinful burdens, misfortunes - take them and bear them, without giving up this burden and without looking around enviously: “But it will be easier for him, but she doesn’t have any cross at all, I’m the only one like that.” I’m suffering!” This is the only way to salvation: take up the cross and follow the Lord!

And so, looking with reverence at the Cross of the Lord today, let us remember that we bless not only the Cross that is presented to us on the analogue, but first of all, our own cross. Now we have gathered in the temple and in this way we seem to say to the Lord: “Lord, everything that You send to us is all for our salvation: joy, and grief, and illness, and insult, and happiness, and insults to our neighbors, and an abundance of fruits.” earthly, and mockery - all this is for our salvation. All this can be a way of our salvation. Just give us the strength to understand this correctly, give us the strength not to abandon the cross, give us the strength to accept Your Cross in order to glorify with You in Your Kingdom.” Amen.

Priest Sergius Gankovsky