Holy Week Service. Adoration of the Cross - the third Sunday of Great Lent

- Cross. It is dedicated to the worship of the Cross, which was established in ancient times to maintain the spiritual strength of believers in the middle of the fast. It reminds us that it is the Cross that is the main instrument of our salvation, that it is a symbol not only of the atoning death of Christ, but also of His glorious Resurrection, which opened the way to paradise for all who are ready to follow Christ. Also, the image of the cross also says that our whole life is the bearing of our own cross and that Passion Week is ahead, to which fasting leads. During Saturday evening, a Cross decorated with flowers is brought to the middle of the temple, and people worship it. The leitmotif of the service is the Cross as the tree of salvation and as the heavenly tree of life. At the Liturgy, instead of the Trisagion, the hymn “We worship Thy Cross, Vladyka…” is sung.

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

"Half" (half) of Great Lent: the cross

The third week of Great Lent is called the Adoration of the Cross. During the all-night service of this day, after the Great Doxology, the Cross is solemnly brought to the middle of the church and remains there all week; after each service, a special veneration of the Cross is performed. We must pay attention to the fact that the Cross is spoken of in all the hymns of this Sunday, but it is not about suffering on the Cross, but about victory and joy. Moreover, the irmos of the second Sunday Canon are taken from the Paschal service: "The Day of Resurrection" and the whole of it is, as it were, a paraphrase of the Paschal Canon.

The meaning of all this is clear. We have reached the middle of Lent. On the one hand, a physical and spiritual feat, if it is serious and consistent, begins to affect, fatigue is felt. We need help and encouragement. On the other hand, having endured this fatigue, having climbed half the mountain, we begin to see the end of our wandering, and the radiance of the Paschal light becomes brighter. Great Lent is the time of our self-crucification, an experience, albeit limited, of Christ's call that we hear in the Gospel reading of this day: "... Whoever wants to follow Me, deny yourself and take up your cross, and follow me" (Mk 8: 24). But we cannot accept our cross and follow Christ unless we accept His cross, which He took for our salvation. It is His cross that saves us, not ours. Only His cross imparts not only meaning, but also power to our crosses. This is explained to us in the Synaxarion of the Holy Cross Sunday:

“... On the same day, on the third week of Lent, we celebrate the worship of the honest and life-giving Cross, for this reason: during the forty-day fast, we kind of crucify ourselves ... and experience some bitterness, sadness and despondency, - we are offered the Life-giving Cross, refreshing and encouraging us; reminding us of the sufferings of Christ, he strengthens and comforts us ... we are like those who go through a long and difficult path; tired, they see a beautiful tree and sit down to rest in the shade of its foliage; a little rested, as if refreshed, they continue on their way; so now, in Lenten time, in the midst of the sorrowful path of achievement, the Holy Fathers erected the Life-Giving Cross, which gives coolness and refreshes us, so that we can courageously and easily complete the remaining path ... Or let's take another example: when the king comes, then in front of him first his banners and scepter appear, and then the king himself goes, rejoicing and rejoicing about the victory, and his subordinates rejoice with him; so our Lord Jesus Christ, who wants to show his victory over death and appear in the glory of the day of Resurrection, sends ahead of him his scepter and the royal banner - the Life-Giving Cross - filling us with joy and preparing, as far as possible for us, to meet the King Himself and to praise His victory… All this during the week in the midst of Holy Forty Days, because Holy Forty Days is like a bitter source of shed tears of contrition, fasting and despondency… But Christ comforts us, as wanderers in the wilderness, until He leads us to the spiritual Jerusalem by its Resurrection... because the Cross is called and is the Tree of Life, which was planted in the midst of paradise; therefore, the Holy Fathers erected it in the midst of the holy Great Lent, recalling at the same time the blessedness of Adam and how he lost it, also reminding us that by eating from this Tree we no longer die, but are revived ... ”So, strengthened and encouraged, we enter the second half Great Post.

Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko on the Cross and crucifixion

From the first centuries of the existence of the Church, ancient Christians attached special importance to the Cross of the Lord. On it our Savior suffered, on this Cross a redemptive death took place, which united people, even the most recent sinners, with God. In fact, the Cross of Christ was a bridge thrown over the abyss that separated us from God

Archpriest Alexey Uminsky on the importance of the cross in the life of a Christian

Now, we will stand in the temple in front of the Cross and understand that our bitter truth of meeting with the cross is such that it is both suffering, and light, and the experience of distance from God, and the joy of the fact that He still loves us immeasurably and infinitely

About the sign of the cross

When we are baptized, we confess our faith. The sign of the cross is the shortest symbol of faith, wordless and accessible to absolutely everyone. Here we put the first three fingers together with a pinch - this is a sign that we believe in God the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

"Explanatory Dictionary" with Yuri Pushchaev

The cross as the main symbol of Christianity is as paradoxical and unique as itself. Invented by the Romans (the Old Testament does not know the crucifixion), he was an instrument of terrible and shameful execution, which was subjected to the most notorious criminals. A person died from severe suffering, since death came from suffocation, as a result of a long and extremely painful unnatural position of the chest and the whole body. However, in Christianity, the cross, on the contrary, becomes a sign of victory and a messenger of salvation, the main symbol of the Church and the Christian faith.

For two thousand years, the word "crucifixion" was repeated so often that its meaning was lost to some extent, dimmed. The enormity of the sacrifice that Jesus brought for all people, past and future, has also dimmed in the consciousness of those living today.
What is a crucifixion? Cicero called this execution the most terrible of all the executions that people came up with.

Audio

What did the Cross on which Christ was crucified look like? Why is this shrine fragmented into many small parts in our time? Why do we need a pectoral cross and what does a cross on a priest’s chest mean? Visiting Alla Mitrofanova- Candidate of Theology, Acting Head of the Department of Biblical Studies of the Moscow Theological Academy Priest Alexander Timofeev

Question to the priest

The Orthodox cross is not at all “so complex”, it simply most accurately reflects the shape of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The legs of those sentenced to death were nailed to the lower crossbar (foot), and since the soldiers could not guess exactly where Christ's feet could reach, the crossbar was attached after the crucifixion immediately before the cross was placed in a vertical position. The upper crossbar with the inscription (title), according to the gospel narrative, was also nailed after the crucifixion of Christ by order of Pilate - “they put an inscription over His head, meaning His guilt: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Mt 27, 37)

How did the tradition of placing crosses outside churches and cemeteries develop in Russia and how did it develop.
This is what the Ph.D. Svetlana GNUTOVA, author and compiler of the book "The Cross in Russia" and scientific editor of a series of collections devoted to research on the history of the cross in Russia

“Replicas” by Alexander Tkachenko

Apparently, by and large, my Christianity has not even begun yet. All these years, God has only been preparing me through the circumstances of my life for something different, much more serious and important, for circumstances when it will be necessary to choose between comfort and the cross. And then God give me strength, understanding and faith for the right choice

Video

In the 21st century, the word "cross" does not surprise anyone and does not frighten anyone: crosses are worn in pierced ears, they are pierced in the form of a tattoo, after all, there is a cross on an ambulance. At the same time, for Christians, it continues to be a sacred symbol. To be a Christian means to follow Christ and carry your cross, and Christ carried his cross to Golgotha.
Does this mean God wants us to suffer and terrible death or not?
For these and other questions in the studio, Alla Mitrofanova answered the rector of the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" in Tsaritsyn Archpriest Oleg Korytko

What do the folded fingers symbolize? Look in the infographic “Thomas”

The Holy Week of Great Lent 2020 falls in its middle. For each of the weeks of Great Lent, a special name was assigned, reminiscent of one or another event associated with the holy great martyrs, metropolitans, miracle workers, Jesus Christ himself, the Mother of God and the Holy Trinity.

The names convey special differences in church services, in who should offer prayer and bow. This is also connected with special spiritual instructions, perceiving which Christians should unite in a single impulse, supporting each other in deed and word, let it be reflected only in prayer.

The Third Week of Great Lent is dedicated to the veneration of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. The editors of the site found out when the week of the Cross will be, which week of Great Lent in 2020. What traditions exist, traditions and rituals, as well as the history of this wonderful holiday. And we will share the best recipes for lenten cookies Crosses, which are traditionally baked at home during Holy Cross week.

What is Holy Week and when is it?

The name “worshiping the cross” comes from the fact that in the said week, services in the church are accompanied by bows to the sacred cross, on which the Son of God was allegedly crucified (“allegedly” means that Jesus was not crucified on each of the crosses in all churches).

This action - a bow after reading a prayer, occurs four times, starting with Sunday, which is called the Cross, and then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Bows mean a tribute to the feat of Christ, the desire to follow him, as well as the acceptance of one's own burden, one's fate, which manifests itself daily in everyday life, such seemingly small hardships in the form of a reduced portion of food and a complete rejection of worldly entertainment.

The significance of the Holy Week lies on the surface. There is an expression among the people “carry your cross”, it is directly related to the explanation. During Great Lent, every Christian tries to endure the burden that lay on the shoulders of Jesus during the days of forty days of abstinence. Everyone experiences his own temptation, based on a “weak” place.

This means that in the middle of Great Lent, the Christian already knew “his cross”, fully felt all the temptations that accompany abstinence, against which he raised his spirit. This is a kind of act of recognizing one's burden as voluntary, desirable.

Also, the cross is a symbol of a reminder of the death of Christ and the result of the whole fast, after which comes the sacred resurrection. Thus, on the week of the Adoration of the Cross, everyone can be inspired to continue their fast, realizing for the sake of what goal and what result they are holding their will in a fist.

Story

During the Iranian-Byzantine war in 614, the Persian king Khosroes II besieged and captured Jerusalem, capturing the Jerusalem Patriarch Zechariah and capturing the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross, once found by Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen.

In 626, Khosroes, in alliance with the Avars and Slavs (yes, Slavs!) almost captured Constantinople. By the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, the capital city was spared from the invasion, and then the course of the war changed, and in the end, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius I celebrated the victorious end of the 26-year war.

Presumably on March 6, 631, the Life-Giving Cross returned to Jerusalem. The emperor himself brought him into the city, and the patriarch Zakharia, rescued from captivity, joyfully walked beside him. Since then, Jerusalem began to celebrate the anniversary of the return of the Life-Giving Cross.

It must be said that at that time the duration and severity of Great Lent were still being discussed, and the order of Great Lent services was only being formed. When the custom arose to transfer the holidays that occur in Great Lent from weekdays to Saturdays and Sundays (so as not to disturb the strict mood of weekdays), then the feast in honor of the Cross also shifted and gradually became fixed on the third Sunday of Lent.

Just in the middle of Lent, intensive preparation began for those catechumens who were going to be baptized already at Easter this year. And it turned out to be very appropriate to begin such preparation with the worship of the Cross.

Starting next Wednesday, at each Presanctified Liturgy, after the litany of the catechumens, there will be another litany - about "those preparing for enlightenment" - just in memory of those who diligently prepared and were about to be baptized soon.

Over time, the purely Jerusalem holiday of the return of the Cross became not so relevant for the entire Christian world, and the holiday in honor of the Cross acquired a more global sound and more applied meaning: as a remembrance and help in the middle of the most strict and difficult of fasts.

When and how is the cross-worship week for the Orthodox

Many of these sources call the 4th week of Great Lent the Adoration of the Cross, which seems quite logical and memorable, given the hint that it falls exactly in the middle of Lent. However, in fact the title

The Adoration of the Cross moves to a week from the Sunday of the same name, which completes the 3rd week of fasting. Consequently, the week of the Adoration of the Cross is the third, despite the fact that more services with veneration of the cross take place on the 4th week.

On the mentioned Sunday, the first service with bows to the cross takes place. The next one takes place on Monday, exactly one day later. Also on Wednesday, and on the evening of Friday of the 4th week, the last service of the Cross is held, after which the cross takes its place in the altar.

The Holy Week of Great Lent in 2020 falls on March 5th. On this day, the traditional removal of the cross into the middle of the temple hall will take place, so that every worshiper can bow to the ground before him and be inspired by the feat done by Jesus to continue fasting.

During the liturgy these days, the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity, which traditionally accompanies the service every day, is replaced by the prayer song “We worship Your Cross, Master, and glorify Your Holy Resurrection,” after which it is necessary to bow.

If possible, you should visit all 4 services. A single voice of dozens turned into a prayer can work a miracle, especially if our will has weakened under the pressure of routine.

Service in the church

On Saturday evening, at the All-Night Vigil, the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is solemnly brought to the center of the temple - a reminder of the approaching Holy Week and Easter of Christ. After that, the priests and parishioners of the temple make three bows before the cross. When venerating the Cross, the Church sings: “We worship Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy holy Resurrection.” This chant is also sung at the Liturgy instead of the Trisagion.

The Holy Cross remains for worship for a week until Friday, when it is brought back to the altar before the Liturgy. Therefore, the third Sunday and the fourth week of Great Lent are called "worshiping the Cross."
According to the Charter, it is necessary to do four venerations during the Week of the Cross: on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Sunday, there is worship of the Cross only in the morning (after the removal of the Cross), on Monday and Wednesday it is performed at the first hour, and on Friday "after the leave of the clock."

Liturgical texts in honor of the Cross are very sublime and beautiful, they abound in oppositions, allegories, and artistic personification.

Great Lent 2020: meals in the third week (March 24 - 31)

• March 24 - Sunday

Second Sunday of Great Lent (Second Sunday of Lent). Memorial Day of St. Gregory Palamas.
St. Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th century. According to the Orthodox faith, he taught that for the feat of fasting and prayer, the Lord illuminates the faithful with His grace-filled light, which the Lord shone on Tabor. For the reason that St. Gregory revealed the doctrine of the power of fasting and prayer and it was established to celebrate his memory on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

• March 25 - Monday

• March 26 - Tuesday

• March 27 - Wednesday

Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.

• March 28 - Thursday

Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.

• March 29 - Friday

Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.

• March 30 - Saturday

Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.

On Saturday of the third week, during Matins, the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is brought to the middle of the temple for veneration by believers, therefore the third week and the next, fourth, week are called the Adoration of the Cross.

Cookies in the form of crosses on the week of the cross

There was such an interesting Russian folk tradition - to bake cookies in the form of crosses on the Cross. Crosses may vary in size, but they are always similar in shape, most often they are made symmetrical, equilateral, with four rays.

To do this, two equal strips of dough are placed one on top of the other crosswise (these are “simple” crosses). or the rolled dough is cut into “crosses” with a mold or a knife (these are “cut-out” crosses).

Sometimes they are made even simpler - in the form of round cakes, on which the image of a cross is applied. According to legend, such Crosses “driven away” everything bad from the house and household.

Ivan Shmelev in his book "The Summer of the Lord" described this custom well. I will quote here an extensive quote - Shmelev very vividly showed how such a tradition is inscribed in the order of life and thinking of an Orthodox, church child. Showed the "feed angle" of this custom:

“On Saturday of the third week of Great Lent, we bake “crosses”: the “Adoration of the Cross” is coming up.
"Crosses" - a special cookie, with a touch of almonds, crumbly and sweet; where the crossbars of the “cross” lie - raspberries from jam are pressed in, as if nailed with cloves. So for centuries they baked, even before great-grandmother Ustinya - as a consolation for fasting. Gorkin instructed me this way:
- Our Orthodox faith, Russian ... she, my dear, is the best, cheerful! and relieves the weak, enlightens despondency, and joy to the small.

And this is the absolute truth. Even though you have Great Lent, it’s still a relief for the soul, the “crosses” are something. Only under great-grandmother Ustinya raisins in sadness, and now cheerful raspberries.

“Cross-worshiping” is a sacred week, a strict fast, some kind of special one, “su-lip,” Gorkin says so, in a church way. If we were to keep it strictly in the church way, we would have to stay in a dry diet, and relief is given due to weakness: on Wednesday-Friday we will eat without oil, - pea stew and vinaigrette, and on other days that are “variegated”, - an indulgence ... but on a snack is always “crosses”: remember the “Cross”.
“Crosses” is made by Maryushka with a prayer…

And Gorkin also instructed:
- Eat the cross and think to yourself - “Crusader”, they say, has come. And these are not for pleasure, but everyone, they say, is given a cross in order to live approximately ... and humbly carry it, as the Lord sends a test. Our faith is good, it does not teach evil, but leads to understanding.

Recipe for almond cookies "Cross"

Products:

• 150 g peeled almonds
• 1⁄2 cup boiling water
• 100 g honey
• 1 lemon slice with skin about 1 cm thick,
• 1⁄2 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg,
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 250 g wheat flour,
• 50 g rye flour
• 2/3 sachet of baking powder.

How to cook:

Rinse the almonds and pour boiling water for 10 minutes. Add honey, oil, a circle of lemon there and grind with a blender. Mix flour, baking powder and spices. Pour the nut-honey syrup into the flour and knead the dough, which should eventually roll into a ball.
Leave the dough for half an hour in the refrigerator, then roll it into a thin layer (about 5 mm) and cut out crosses. Bake at 190 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cookies "crosses" honey

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour,
• 300 g honey
• 2-3 tbsp. a spoonful of vegetable oil
• 100 g peeled nuts
• 1 teaspoon spices
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of soda, raisins.

Cooking

Kernels of nuts (walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts) carefully grind or pass through a meat grinder, combine with honey, add vegetable oil, spices and grated lemon with zest on a fine grater.

Mix the mass, add the flour mixed with soda and knead the dough.

Roll it out, cut it out with a notch or a “cross” knife, put raisins on top and bake in the oven.
Various spices can be used to flavor cookies: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, etc., as well as their mixtures.

Lemon crosses

Would need:

• 250 g lean margarine
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup potato starch
• 1 st. l. baking powder
• 2 sachets of vanilla sugar
• zest of 1 lemon,
• 1 glass of water.

We bake lean cookies lemon crosses:

Chop margarine with flour and starch. Add sugar, baking powder, finely grated zest and replace the dough with very cold water (from the refrigerator). Blind crosses, pressing raisins into the crossbars and bake.

Cookies Crosses on cucumber pickle

Products:

• 1 cup cucumber pickle
• 1 cup refined sunflower oil
• 1 cup of sugar,
• 100 g coconut flakes
• 2-3 cups flour.

A simple recipe for lean biscuits Crosses in brine:

Mix butter, sugar, brine, half the chips and flour. Knead the dough thick, like shortbread. Roll out and sprinkle with the remaining coconut flakes. Cut out crosses, place on a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with flour and bake at 180 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Instead of coconut flakes, you can use poppy seeds, lemon zest, candied fruits, dried apricots, cut into small pieces or dried orange peels crushed in a coffee grinder.

Lenten dough for cookies Crosses with poppy seeds

Cookie Ingredients:

• 25 g poppy,
• 1 cup flour
• 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar
• 5 st. tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 0.5 teaspoon of soda,
• 3 art. spoons of water with lemon juice

Lenten cookies with poppy seeds Crosses on the week of the cross - a step by step recipe with a photo:

1. Mix poppy with 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, add 100 g of water, heat for 10 minutes until the water boils. To cover with a lid. Rub the poppy in a mortar until poppy milk and the characteristic smell of poppy appear.
2. In a bowl, pour flour, poppy seeds, 3 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar and grind with your hands.
3. Add oil.
4. Add soda with lemon juice, add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of water and knead the dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.5 cm, cut out crosses. Press a raisin into the center of each cross. Bake at 180 C for 15 minutes.

In the old days, on the week of the cross on Wednesday, people congratulated on the end of the first half of the fast. It was customary to bake cookies in the form of crosses from unleavened dough. Cookies were baked with prayer. In these crosses, either a grain of rye was baked so that bread was born, or a chicken feather, so that chickens were led, or human hair, so that the head was easier.

A person was considered lucky if he came across one of these items. The cookie was a reminder of the sufferings of Christ and that each person has his own cross in life.

There was a custom on the third Sunday of Lent to fumigate the house with fumes of vinegar and mint in order to cleanse the dwelling and expel the spirit of every disease.

We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection.

In our cathedral there is a particle of the true Cross of the Lord, but very small. This particle comes from the Holy City of Jerusalem, precisely from the ark where the rest of the Cross is kept there. The ark with part of the Cross of the Lord was captured when Jerusalem was captured by the Persians in 614. In 624, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and returned this shrine to Jerusalem, where it has been uninterrupted ever since. In 2002, Archbishop Mark received from the Jerusalem Patriarchate this small particle of the Cross of the Lord, which broke off during the cleaning of the ark. The particle is immersed in wax under glass in the center of the carved cross (see photo). Church holidays with the removal of the Cross

The Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord - September 14/27, the celebration of the holiday - September 21 / October 4.

At the end of the All-Night Vigil on September 26 (NS) on this day, the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross is performed. just as it happened in those distant times in Jerusalem, when by the zeal of St. Queen Helena received the Cross of Christ. With a huge gathering of people, it was not possible for everyone to come up and venerate the Cross. Therefore, Patriarch Macarius raised the Cross so that everyone could see it (i.e., he raised it - glory.) The people worshiped the Cross and prayed: “Lord have mercy!”.

When the Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great (306 - 337), the first of the Roman emperors to recognize the Christian religion, entered the kingdom, he, together with his pious mother, Queen Elena, decided to renew the city of Jerusalem and re-consecrate the places associated with the memory of the Savior. Blessed Empress Elena went to Jerusalem. Arriving in the Holy City, the holy Empress Helen destroyed the temples of idols and cleansed the city of pagan idols. The buried Tomb of the Lord and the Execution Ground were discovered. During the excavations at Golgotha, three crosses were found, and thanks to a miracle, the Cross of the Savior was recognized and identified through touching the True Tree...

Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord - sermon of Bishop Agapit in the Cathedral in Munich"... (Queen Elena) - where did she get the confidence that she could find such a shrine to Christ? This is a mystery that will remain forever and ever - how can such a person be courageous, so that against the backdrop of pagans, a pagan state, where pagans prevailed , where for three hundred years pagans oppressed Christians, tried to keep them lower in social conditions all the time - then suddenly a woman is in power, who in Rome did not have the honor that she would later receive in Byzantine times, a woman stands and guessing only, not knowing with certainty whether she will find, whether she will find this Cross. And the Lord did not shame her hopes and the Life-Giving Cross was found ... "

In the greatest joy, the Blessed Empress Elena and Patriarch Macarius raised the Life-Giving Cross high and showed it to all the standing people. Immediately after the most historic event, the finding of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord by the pious Empress Elena, the Order of the Exaltation was determined by the ancient Church and has been an integral part of the service of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross ever since.

After finding St. Cross Emperor Constantine began the construction of a number of temples, where divine services were to be performed with the solemnity appropriate to the Holy City. Ten years later, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Golgotha ​​was completed. Hierarchs of the Christian Church from many countries took part in the consecration of the temple on September 13, 335. On the same day, the whole city of Jerusalem was consecrated. The choice of September 13 and 14 as the date of the Feast of the Renewal (i.e., consecration) could be due both to the very fact of consecration on these days, and to a conscious choice. According to a number of researchers, the Feast of Renewal has become the Christian analogue of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), one of the 3 main holidays of Old Testament worship (Lev 34:33–36), especially since the consecration of Solomon's temple also took place during Tabernacles. The Day of the Renewal of the Martyrium, as well as the Rotunda of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher) and other buildings at the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior began to be celebrated annually with great solemnity, and on September 14, the remembrance of the acquisition of the Holy Cross, which was found here, with the ceremony of raising the Cross for viewing by all those who pray , entered the festive celebration in honor of the consecration of the Church of Christ's Resurrection. In the ancient calendars, this holiday was called "The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord." The temple was consecrated on September 13, 335. The next day, September 14 (according to the old style), it was established to celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. At the same time, a miraculous chant, connecting the Cross and the Resurrection, arose: "We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your holy Resurrection."

Initially, the Exaltation was established as an additional holiday that accompanies the main celebration in honor of the Renewal, later on, the feast of the Renewal of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection, although it has been preserved in liturgical books up to the present, has become a pre-holiday day before the Exaltation, and the Exaltation has become the main holiday. Especially after the victory of Emperor Heraclius over the Persians and the solemn return of St. Cross from captivity in March 631, the holiday became widespread in the East. This event is also associated with the establishment of calendar commemorations of the Cross on March 6 and on the week of Great Lent.

Believers should perceive this holiday, of course, not only as a memory of the greatest historical event that took place more than one and a half thousand years ago. The holiday has the deepest meaning in the destinies of the whole world. The cross is directly related to the second coming of the Savior, for according to the true word of the Savior, the Last Judgment will be preceded by the appearance of a sign - this will be the second exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.
Just when we clearly see the sea of ​​evil and all the cruelty of this world, it should be clear to us that Christ on the Cross takes this attack of evil on Himself at the very center, in the very essence, and with His presence reveals a completely new meaning in what is happening. Here is the victory of love, which seeks to absorb us into itself with the fullness of transfigured life - infinite goodness. To this we are also called in perfect freedom: To listen to such an unheard-of event. Silence reveals this depth.

Order of the Exaltation of the Cross

In the modern practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, fasting is observed on the day of the Exaltation. The rite of the Exaltation of the Cross is performed at the All-Night Vigil (i.e., September 26) only in cathedrals, but in parish churches on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, the cross is brought to the middle of the church, and there it relies on analogy, then the veneration of the Cross follows, since on the Sunday of the Cross ( 3rd Sunday of Great Lent). In the Jerusalem Typicon, starting from the earliest editions and ending with modern editions, the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross retains the features known from the Studio monuments: it is performed after the great doxology and singing of the troparion of the Cross, consists of a 5-fold overshadowing of the Cross and its elevation to the four cardinal points. Before raising the Cross, the bishop must bow to the ground so that his head is a span away from the ground. A change in the Russian Orthodox Church in comparison with the Studium monuments is the addition of 5 deacon petitions to the rank. After each petition, the repeated “Lord, have mercy” is sung. The bishop, while singing "Lord have mercy", raises the Cross to the east, to the west, to the south, to the north, and for the last time again to the east. The cross again relies on the lectern and all the worshipers kiss the Cross, decorated with fresh flowers and fragrant herbs, and the clergyman anoints with holy oil. The cross lies on the lectern until October 4 - the day the Exaltation is given. At the end of the liturgy, after the prayer behind the ambo, while singing the troparion and kontakion to the Cross, the Cross is taken by the priest to the altar through the Royal Doors.

The origin of the honest trees of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos.

August 1 (and according to the new style 08.14.) begins. On the first day of the Dormition Fast, the Orthodox Church celebrates the pronouncement, or the so-called "Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord." The Russian name of the holiday "origin" means a solemn ceremony, a religious procession, or briefly - "wearing out" (according to the exact meaning of the Greek word). Since the time when the Son of God consecrated the Cross with His sufferings, an extraordinary miraculous power has been granted to the Cross. The history of the holiday testifies to its manifestation.

The cross began to be carried around in Constantinople during an epidemic of illness, and then, in memory of the healing, from year to year on August 1, the removal of the life-giving cross of the Lord from the royal chambers to the church of St. Sofia. The blessing of water was performed there, and then, for two weeks (coinciding with the time of the Dormition fast), the holy Cross was carried around the city. On August 14, and according to the new style on August 27, the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross returned to the royal chambers. Following the example of the Church of Constantinople, this celebration was introduced in Russia. It is here combined with the remembrance of the Baptism of Russia on August 1, 988.

According to the rite now accepted in the Russian Church, on this day in the morning after the great doxology, the solemn pronunciation (descent) of the Holy Cross is performed in the middle of the temple for kissing and veneration is performed according to the rite of the Holy Cross Week, and after the liturgy - the rite of the small blessing of water. Along with the consecration of water, according to custom, the consecration of honey of a new collection is performed (see: Menaia-August, Part 1, pp. 21–31). The people call August 14 the Honey Savior, and the Transfiguration - the Apple Savior. The consecration of honey and fruits has nothing to do with the theological meaning of the holidays, but these are our centuries-old folk traditions, and the Church has blessed them. It is good to consecrate the first honey, and the first fruits. If only this did not close the main, spiritual essence of holidays and fasts - repentance and mercy. From the very beginning of Christianity in Russia, Russian people knew the power of ardent prayers, sincere repentance and feats of piety, as well as the commandment of mercy, which the believing people tried to make their law of life. Let us follow this bright path, and may the merciful Heavenly Father grant us victory over passions and eternal bliss, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, the All-Merciful Savior and the power of the Honorable Life-Giving Cross.

Week 3 of Great Lent, Holy Cross 03/31/2019.

In the middle of Lent on Saturday evening at the All-Night Vigil, the Cross is solemnly carried out and laid in the middle of the church in order to inspire and strengthen those who fast to continue with a reminder of the suffering and death of the Lord. The worship of the Cross continues on the fourth week of Lent - until Friday, because the entire fourth week is called the Adoration of the Cross and liturgical texts are determined by the theme of the Cross. This week marks the middle of the Lenten field.

The meaning of the holiday is that Orthodox Christians, making a spiritual journey to Heavenly Jerusalem - to the Passover of the Lord, find the “Tree of the Cross” in the middle of the path in order to gain strength under its canopy for the further path. And the Cross of the Lord precedes Christ's victory over death - the Bright Resurrection. For the purpose of inspiring us more to be patient in exploits, St. The Church on this day consolingly reminds us of the approaching Pasx, singing the sufferings of the Savior together with His joyful Resurrection: “We worship Thy Cross, O Master, and glorify Thy Holy Resurrection.”

worship Week of the Adoration of the Cross (3rd Week of Great Lent) is similar to the service on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Origin (wearing) of the precious trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (August 14). According to tradition, it is customary to wear purple vestments on this day in temples. An all-night vigil is performed the night before. According to the charter, this all-night vigil should include small vespers. At Small Vespers, the Cross is transferred from the altar to the throne. However, now the celebration of small vespers can be found only in rare monasteries. For this reason, in parish churches, the Cross is placed on the throne before the service begins (the Gospel is placed behind the antimension). In the morning, the Gospel is read in the altar, after reading the Gospel, "The Resurrection of Christ who saw" is sung, regardless of the day of the week. Kissing the Gospel and anointing with oil after reading the Gospel are not performed. Before the Great Doxology, the rector puts on full vestments. During the Great Doxology, while singing the Trisagion, the clergyman censes three times around the throne with a cross placed on it, after which, holding the Cross on his head, preceded by a deacon with a candle, constantly censing the Cross, he carries out the Cross through the northern door. Stopping on the pulpit, the clergyman says “Wisdom, forgive me”, then while singing the troparion “Save, Lord, Thy people and bless Thy heritage, giving victory to the Orthodox Christian on the opposition, and keeping Thy residence by Your Cross”, transfers the Cross to the middle of the temple and puts it on the lectern. During the general veneration of the Cross, another troparion is sung: “We bow to Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy Holy Resurrection,” during which prostrations are made three times and special stichera are sung, during which the priest anoints with oil. This is followed by a special litany and the usual end of the all-night vigil with the first hour.

Limburg Staurotheque

In memory of the finding of the Cross of the Lord, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, in the temples, at the end of the all-night vigil, the Cross is carried out into the middle. Bows are placed in front of him while singing: “We bow to Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy holy Resurrection!”

In Germany, the Byzantine staurotheque (gr. stauros - cross) is kept in the city of Limburg on the Lahn River, which contains two large pieces of the Savior's Cross (see photo). Around these two cruciformly nested parts are arranged small doors above the compartments for various relics. The Stavrotek was taken away by the crusaders, who in 1204 ravaged Constantinople and captured a large number of shrines. The Staurotheque is exhibited in the Diocesan Museum of Limburg Cathedral. Film about the Limburg Staurothek with details and commentary in German.

Every Wednesday and Friday the Cross is sung in the Church at Divine services.

Troparion to the Cross: Save the Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy heritage, granting victory to the Orthodox Christian against the opposition, and Thy keeping Thy Cross living.

Kontakion to the Cross: Ascended to the Cross by your will, to your namesake new residence, grant Your bounty, Christ God; rejoice us in Your strength, giving us victories for adversaries, Your help to those who have Yours, the weapon of the world, an invincible victory.

Greatness:
We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross,
whom thou hast saved us from the work of the enemy.

Involved - Cross: The light of Thy countenance haunts us, O Lord

The third Sunday is called Week of the Cross. Its name comes from the fact that on Saturday evening, according to a special order, veneration of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord which has become for us " tree of life”and opened the entrance to the blessed heavenly Fatherland lost by the primordial man. Remembering the sufferings on the Cross that the Lord endured for the sake of our salvation, we must ourselves be strengthened in spirit and continue our fasting feat with humility and patience.

The History of the Establishment of the Week of the Cross

“On the same day, on the third week of Lent, we celebrate the worship of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, for the sake of guilt. After all, for the sake of a fourty-day fast, in some way we are crucified, we kill from passions, but the feeling of imam’s grief is despondent and falling. The Honest and Life-Giving Cross is offered, as if resting and affirming us, remembering the passions of our Lord Jesus Christ and consoling. If our God is crucified for us, how much we owe Him for the sake of the work.

... It’s like a long and sharp path passing, and aggravated by labor, if where the tree is blessed and leafy, they rest a little, so now in fasting time and a regrettable path and feat, planted in the midst of the God-bearing father, the Life-Giving Cross, I will weaken and give us peace but the fit and easy to the forework of those who have labored, arranging.
… Before the bitter spring is like the Holy Fourteenth Day, for the sake of contrition and existing to us from the fast of sorrow and sorrow. As if on this Wednesday, the divine Moses put the tree and sweeten it, so God, having led us through the smart Red Sea and the pharaoh, delights sorrow and sorrow with the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross, even from the fourty-day fast. And comforting us, as if we were in the wilderness, until the clever Jerusalem will lead us up with His resurrection "( Lenten triode, synoxarion on the Sunday of the Cross ).

The Gospels do not provide much detail about the cross on which Christ was crucified. The acquisition of the Cross of the Lord took place in 326, when it was found Holy Empress Helena during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem:

... the divine Constantine sent blessed Helen with treasures to find the life-giving cross of the Lord. The Jerusalem Patriarch Macarius met the queen with due honor and together with her searched for the longed-for life-giving tree, being in silence and diligent prayers and fasts. (“Chronography” by Theophanes, year 5817 (324/325))

The history of finding the Cross of the Lord is described by many authors of that time: Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397), Rufinus (345-410), Socrates Scholastic (c. 380-440), Theodoret of Cyrus (386-457 .), Sulpicius Severus (c. 363-410), Sozomen (c. 400-450).

For the first time in surviving texts, a detailed history of the acquisition of the Cross appears in Ambrose of Milan in 395. In The Word on the Death of Theodosius, he tells how Empress Elena ordered to dig on Golgotha ​​and found three crosses there. According to the inscription " Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” she found the true Cross and worshiped him. She also found the nails with which the Lord was crucified. All the few indications of historians closest in time to the search boil down to the fact that the crosses were found not far from the Holy Sepulcher, but not in the Sepulcher itself. There was a possibility that all three crosses used in the execution that day could have been buried close to the place of the crucifixion. Sozomen in his work puts forward the following assumption about the possible fate of the Cross after the removal of the body of Jesus Christ from it:

The soldiers, as the story tells, first found Jesus Christ dead on the cross and, having removed Him, gave him away for burial; then, intending to hasten the death of the robbers crucified on both sides of it, they broke their legs, and the crosses themselves were thrown one by one, at random.

Eusebius of Caesarea describes the site as follows:

This salvific cave some atheists and wicked have conceived to hide from the eyes of people, with the insane intention to hide the truth through it. Having used a lot of labor, they brought land from somewhere and filled up the whole place with it. Then, having raised the mound to a certain height, they paved it with stone, and under this high mound they hid the divine cave. Having finished such work, they only had to prepare a strange, truly tomb of souls on the surface of the earth, and they built a gloomy dwelling for dead idols, a hiding place for the demon of voluptuousness Aphrodite, where hateful sacrifices were offered on unclean and vile altars. (Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine. III, 36)

The place of finding the Cross is located in the aisle of the Finding the Cross of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, in a former quarry. The place of discovery is marked with a red marble slab with the image of a cross, the slab is surrounded by a metal fence on three sides, and the Cross was kept here for the first time. 22 metal steps lead down from the underground Armenian church of St. Helena to the chapel of the Finding of the Cross, this is the lowest and easternmost point of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - two floors down from the main level. In the aisle of Finding the Cross, under the ceiling near the descent, there is a window marking the place from which Elena watched the progress of the excavations and threw money to encourage those who worked. This window connects the chapel with the altar of the church of St. Helena. Socrates Scholasticus writes that Empress Helen divided the Life-Giving Cross into two parts: she placed one in a silver vault and left it in Jerusalem, and sent the second to her son Constantine, who placed it in his statue, mounted on a column in the center of Constantine Square. Socrates reports that this information is known to him from the conversations of the inhabitants of Constantinople, that is, it may be unreliable. The part of the Cross that remained in Jerusalem was there for a long time, and the faithful worshiped the honest tree. In 614, Jerusalem was besieged by the Persian ruler Khosra II. After a long siege, the Persians managed to capture the city. The invaders took out the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross, which had been kept in the city since the time it was acquired by Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen. The war continued for many more years. Having united with the Avars and Slavs, the Persian king almost captured Constantinople. Only the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos saved the Byzantine capital. The Persians were defeated. The Cross of the Lord was returned to Jerusalem. Since then, the day of this joyful event has been celebrated annually.

At that time, the order of Lenten church services had not yet been finally established and some changes were constantly made to it. In particular, he practiced transfer of holidays that happened on the weekdays of Great Lent to Saturday and Sunday. This made it possible not to violate the strictness of the fast on weekdays. The same thing happened with the feast of the Life-Giving Cross. It was decided to celebrate it on the third Sunday of Great Lent.. On the same days, it was customary to begin the preparation of the catechumens, whose sacrament of baptism was scheduled for. It was considered correct to begin instruction in the faith with worship of the Cross of the Lord. This tradition continued until the 13th century, when Jerusalem was conquered by the crusaders. Since then, the further fate of the shrine is unknown. Only individual particles of the Cross are found in some reliquaries.

Divine Liturgy on Holy Cross Week. Troparion and kontakion

On Matins on the Week of the Cross, after the Great Doxology, the priest takes the Cross out of the altar. When singing the troparion "Save 22 gD and people yours ..." The cross relies on the lectern in the center of the temple. “We worship Your Cross, Vladyka…”, the priest proclaims and bows to the ground. After the clergy, they approach the lectern in pairs and all the worshipers, first male, then female, bow and kiss the Cross, while the choir sings special stichera dedicated to the expiatory sufferings of Christ the Savior.

R aduisz life-giving flowers, churches of red paradise2, an imperishable tree, a pleasure that has given us eternal glory. and 4 even demons tgonsutsz poltsy2, and 3 flattering merry ranks, and 3 cumulative 1nіz faithful are celebrating. weapons are invincible, affirmation is indestructible. цRє1мъ victory, with ™lємъ praise2. hrt0 you nhne strti, and 3 wait for us to reach, and 3 great misfortune. (Lenten triode, stichera on Holy Week)

In a similar way, the veneration of the Cross of the Lord is performed two more times a year - on the first day of the Dormition Fast (August 14, New Style), when the “Origin of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord” is celebrated, and on the twelfth feast (September 27, New Style). On the week of the Adoration of the Cross, the fourth week of Great Lent, during the daily service, the veneration of the Cross is also on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a special rite during the reading of the hours.

Troparion, tone 1.

With the help of 22 gD and people svoS, and 3 bless2 dignified svoE, victory to the power of the Russians on resistance, grant, and 3 svoS save krt0m people.

Kontakion, tone 7.

No one else, the fiery spirit, keeps the gates of the demons. so find the glorious intuition, the tree of death, the mortal sting, and destroy the 3-year-old victory. came more є3si2 sp7se my0y, vopiS existing in ѓde, enter the packs into paradise.

Folk Traditions of the Week of the Cross

In Russia, on Wednesday of the Week of the Cross, it was customary in all peasant houses to bake crosses from unleavened wheat dough according to the number of family members. In the crosses, either a chicken feather was baked, “so that the chickens were led,” or rye grain, “so that bread was born,” or, finally, human hair, “so that the head was easier.” Anyone who came across a cross with one of these items was considered lucky.

On the Wednesday of the week of the Adoration of the Cross, the fast “breaks”, and small children went under the windows to congratulate the hosts on the end of the first half of the fast. In some areas, this custom of congratulations was expressed in a very original form: the congratulatory children were planted, like chickens, under a large basket, from where they sang in thin voices: “ Hello, the owner is a red sun, hello, the hostess is a bright moon, hello, children are bright stars! ... Half of the shit broke, and the other bent". It was customary to douse the simple-hearted congratulatory children with water, and then, as if as a reward for the fear they had suffered, they were given crosses made of dough.

Iconography of the Week of the Cross

As usual, the crucified Christ is depicted on the cross. Below, under the feet of the Savior, a foot is depicted, on the upper part of the cross there is a board with the inscription of the initial letters of Pilate's inscription "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" (I.N.Ts.I) or the inscription "Jesus Christ". On the large temple images of the crucifixion, on both sides of the cross, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Apostle John the Theologian are depicted, who, according to the Gospel, stood at the very cross during the execution. The icon "Adoration of the Cross" depicts a cross surrounded by heavenly powers.

Old Believer icon-case crucifix with selected holidays
Icon of the Crucifixion with the coming. Novgorod, 16th century
Modern Icon Adoration of the Cross

Churches dedicated to the Cross of the Lord

In Jerusalem, on the site where, according to legend, the tree of the Cross grew, a monastery was founded. Monastery of the Holy Cross and its location are mentioned in many traditions and legends. According to one of the legends, the time of the creation of the monastery is the period of the reign of the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helen, that is, the 4th century AD. e. According to another legend, the monastery was founded in the 5th century. And this event is associated with Tatian, the king of Iberia (Georgia). It is believed that Tatian, king of Iberia (Georgia), made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and decided to build an Iberian monastery west of Jerusalem, on land that Constantine the Great had granted to Mirian, another Iberian king. According to the third legend, the monastery was built during the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610-641). Returning with a victory from the Persian campaign, Heraclius camped at the place where the monastery is now located. This place was revered due to the fact that the Cross tree grew there - the tree from which the Cross of Christ was made. The Holy Cross itself, which Heraclius returned from Persia to the Holy Land, was erected on Golgotha. Heraclius also ordered to build a monastery on the chosen place.

In the city of Aparan, Aragatsotn region of Armenia, there are Church of the Holy Cross. It was built at the end of the 4th century. In 1877 the temple was restored. Belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church

Also on the island of Akhtamar (Turkey) there is an early medieval Armenian Monastery of the Holy Cross. Built in 915-921.

Soulful teaching on the week of the Adoration of the Cross

The Cross of the Lord is a sign of victory over death and the forces of hell, the royal banner of Christ God, preceding His glorious appearance in the Holy Resurrection, as it is said in the Synoxar of the Week of the Cross. The Cross is our shield and weapon in the fight against invisible enemies and our own spiritual and bodily passions and vices; in it we find true spiritual strength and strength when we strive to follow our Savior. Honoring the Cross and the sufferings of the Lord, we shed sorrowful and joyful tears at the same time, in the hope of our inner renewal and resurrection, which would have been impossible without the Great Sacred Sacrifice that took place two thousand years ago on Golgotha.

If the Sinless Lord Himself endured and suffered so much in His Most Pure Flesh for the sake of our salvation, then all the more we, sinful people, defiled by passions and vices, must suffer and endure, humble carnal whims and desires for the sake of purification and enlightenment of the immortal soul.

The Christian religion is a "Crusade" religion, as the apostle Paul says: “For the sake of Christ, it has been given to you not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him”(Phil. 1, 29). And "We must through many tribulations enter into the Kingdom of God"(Acts 14:22). Carry your own cross, i.e. to crucify bodily lusts and desires is a narrow and narrow way of salvation for every Christian. Worshiping the Holy Cross of the Lord and “looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of the faith, who endured the cross instead of the joy that was set before him”(Heb. 12:2), we are encouraged in spirit and gain courage for achievement, in order to reject self-conceit and pride and patiently follow in the footsteps of the holy fathers, who have left us a worthy image and example to follow. The fact that sorrows and patience are really necessary for inner self-education and spiritual growth is also indicated by many instructive teachings, instructing us on the path of virtue and perfection.

“... Without suffering and inconvenience, it is impossible for anyone to be saved, O my soul. What shall I say to you about the Creator Himself of heaven and earth, of all creation, visible and invisible?! Desiring to save the human race from enslavement to the devil and hellish dungeons, to save our forefather Adam from the curse and crime, God became a man, incarnated from the Holy Spirit. The Father sent His Son - the Word into the Blessed Virgin and was born without a male seed. And the Invisible became visible. And stayed with people. And he accepted reproach, dishonor, spitting and beatings on His most pure face from a mortal person. And he was crucified on the Cross, and struck on the head with a cane, and having tasted vinegar and gall, was pierced in the ribs with a spear, and put to death, and laid in a tomb. And rose again on the third day by His power. O great miracle, surprising both to the angel and to people: the Immortal wanted to die, not wanting to see how the creation of His hands is tormented by the violence of the devil in hellish imprisonment!
Oh, your utmost meekness and inexpressible love of mankind to our impoverishment and orphanhood! Oh, the terrible and marvelous sight of Your longsuffering, O Lord! My mind is terrified and great fear attacks me, and my bones tremble when I speak of this. The Creator of all invisible and visible creation - but from His creation He wanted to suffer, from corruptible man! And the angels are horrified before Him, and all the powers of heaven incessantly glorify their Creator, and all creation sings and serves with fear, while the demons tremble. And so he endures all this, and suffers: not from impotence, not from subordination, but by His will, ours for the sake of salvation, showing us an example of humility and suffering in everything, so that they also suffer, as He suffered, which my soul heard about ” ("Flower Garden" of the Holy Monk Dorotheus ).

At the Sunday Liturgy on the week of the Cross read Gospel of Mark(start 37), in which the Lord speaks of the path of self-denial for the sake of the eternal salvation of the soul. Blissful Theophylact of Bulgaria deeply and instructively reveals to us the meaning of this church gospel Word.

And calling the people together with His disciples, He said to them: Whoever wants to follow Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for the sake of Me and the Gospel, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? (Mark 8:34-37)

Since Peter rebuked Christ, who wanted to give Himself up to be crucified, Christ calls the people and speaks publicly, directing speech mainly against Peter: “You do not approve of the fact that I take up the cross, but I tell you that neither you nor anyone else you will not be saved unless you die for virtue and truth.” Note that the Lord did not say: “He who does not want to die also die,” but he who does. I, as it were, do not force anyone. I call not for evil, but for good, and therefore whoever does not want is not worthy of this. What does it mean to deny yourself? We will understand this when we learn what it means to reject another someone. Whoever rejects someone else, whether his father, brother, or someone from his household, even though he watched how he was beaten or killed, does not pay attention and does not sympathize, having become a stranger to him. So the Lord commands us, that we, for His sake, despise our body and do not spare it, even if they beat or reproach us. Take up your cross, it is said, that is, a shameful death, for the cross was then revered as an instrument of shameful execution. And since many thieves were also crucified, he adds that with the crucifixion there must be other virtues, for this is signified by the words: and follow me. Since the command to put oneself to death would seem heavy and cruel, the Lord says that, on the contrary, it is very philanthropic, for whoever loses, that is, destroys his soul, but for My sake, and not like a thief executed or a suicide (in this case death will not be for Me), he, he says, will save - he will find his soul, while he who thinks to save his soul will destroy it if he does not stand during the torment. Do not tell Me that this last one will save his life, for even if he gains the whole world, everything is useless. Salvation cannot be bought by any wealth. Otherwise: he who gained the whole world, but destroyed his soul, would have given everything when he was burning in the flame, and thus would have been redeemed. But such a redemption is not possible there. Here the mouths of those who, following Origen, say that the state of souls will change for the better after they are punished in proportion to their sins, are blocked. Yes, they hear that there is no way to give a ransom for the soul and suffer only to the extent necessary, as if to satisfy for sins.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)

Inner faith alone is not enough: the confession of the mouth is also required. For as man is twofold, so must sanctification be twofold, that is, the sanctification of the soul through faith and sanctification of the body through confession. So, whoever is ashamed to confess the Crucified by his God, he will also be ashamed, recognize him as an unworthy servant of his, when he comes no longer in a humble form, not in humiliation, in which he appeared here before and for which some are ashamed of him, but in glory and with the host of angels » (Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, commentary on the Gospel of Mark, ch. 8, 34-38).

The word about the Cross is foolishness for those who are perishing, but for us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).

It may seem hard and strange for a modern person to listen to edifications about abstinence and “subjugation of the flesh to the spirit”, about various self-restraints and even some (however, moderate and reasonable) exhaustion of the flesh. The Holy Fathers point out that the root of such an opinion and reasoning lies in our voluptuousness and pity for ourselves, our favorite habits, when the Church Charter sets clear limits and norms of behavior in the life of a Christian, and the inner decrepit “I”, according to carnal wisdom, begins to object and ask "why?"

That is, why fasting, prostrations, a long prayer rule? Is there not here a kind of ostentatious ritual action, the so-called "ritual belief", which has a clearly defined external form and is devoid of any internal spiritual content? But only ignorant people can speak and think like that, who themselves have not yet tasted precisely that spiritual, quiet joy that is given to us after trials, after sorrows and deeds that enlighten the eyes of the heart for pure and concentrated prayer. When we bow to the ground, we confess our fall into sin and humility before God, the consciousness of our unworthiness, we remember that we ourselves are dust, and to dust we will return. And when we rise from prostration, it is as if we simultaneously rise in soul to a better and new life, which we find in the observance of Christian commandments. What is difficult to explain in words, a person himself easily understands when he learns the corresponding life experience.

The Cross and Resurrection of the Savior reveal to us the highest heavenly secrets, incomprehensible to any learned philosophy, because they teach not earthly sciences, but the true path of virtue, which alone leads to the Eternal Heavenly Fatherland. For, as the holy fathers say: “There are many so-called wisdoms on earth, but all on earth will remain. Wisdom is deeper than all - to save one's soul, because it raises the soul to heaven in the Kingdom of Heaven and places it before God ”(“ Flower Garden ”by the monk Dorotheus). The strength and wisdom of Christianity is the Cross of the Lord, worshiping which we hope to reach the day of Easter, where we will find a worthy reward for the endured ascetic labors and hardships.