{"id":3801,"date":"2015-05-14T07:52:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T07:52:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-04-12T11:55:49","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T09:55:49","slug":"elevation-of-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthodoxalbania.org\/2020\/en\/2015\/05\/14\/elevation-of-the-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"Elevation of the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span>    The Elevation of the Cross<\/strong>, celebrated on the fourteenth of September, commemorates the finding of Christ\u2019s Cross by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century; and, after it was taken by the Persians, of its recovery by the Emperor Heraclius in the seventh century at which time it was \u201celevated\u201d in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. From this latter event the \u201cuniversal elevation\u201d of the Cross was celebrated annually in all of the churches of the Christian Empire.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    The day of the Elevation of the Cross became, as it were, the national holiday of the Eastern Christian Empire similar to the Fourth of July in the United States. The Cross, the official emblem<\/strong> of the Empire which was placed on all public buildings and uniforms, was officially elevated on this day by the bishops and priests. They blessed the four directions of the universe with the Cross, while the faithful repeated the chanting of \u201cLord have mercy.\u201d This ritual is still done in the churches today after the solemn presentation and elevation of the Cross at the end of the Vigil<\/strong> service of the holy day following the Great Doxology of Matins<\/strong>.
<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    The troparion of the feast which was, one might say, the \u201cnational anthem\u201d sung on all public occasions in the Christian Empires of Byzantium and Russia, originally petitioned God to save the people, to grant victory in war and to preserve the empire \u201cby the virtue of the Cross.\u201d Today the troparion, and all the hymns of the day, are \u201cspiritualized\u201d as the \u201cadversaries\u201d become the spiritually wicked and sinful including the devil and his armies, and \u201cOrthodox Christians\u201d replace the names of ruling officials of the Empire.<\/span><\/p>\n

    O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries; and by the virtue of Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation (Troparion).<\/span><\/p>\n

    As Thou was mercifully crucified for our sake, grant mercy to those who are called by Thy name; make all Orthodox Christians glad by Thy power, granting them victories over their adversaries, by bestowing on them the invincible trophy, Thy weapon of peace (Kontakion).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    The holy day of the Elevation of the Cross<\/strong>, although it has an obviously \u201cpolitical\u201d origin, has a place of great significance in the Church today. It remains with us as a day of fasting and prayer, a day when we recall that the Cross is the only sign worthy of our total allegiance, and that our salvation comes not by \u201cvictories\u201d of any earthly sort but by the only true and lasting victory of the crucifixion of Christ and our co\u00c3\u0084crucifixion with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    When we elevate the Cross and bow down before it in veneration and worship to God, we proclaim that we belong to the Kingdom \u201cnot of this world,\u201d and that our only true and enduring citizenship is with the saints in the \u201ccity of God\u201d (Eph 2:19; Heb 11:10; Rev 21-22<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    The first Old Testamental reading of the Vespers<\/strong> of the day tells of the \u201ctree\u201d which changes the bitter waters into sweetness\u2014the symbol of the Tree of the Cross (Ex 15:22-16:1<\/em>). The second reading reminds us that the Lord chastens and corrects those whom he loves and that Divine Wisdom is \u201ca Tree of life to those who lay hold upon her and trust in her, as in the Lord\u201d (Prov 3:11-18<\/em>). Again the reference is to the Cross which is, as the epistle reading of the day proclaims, \u201cto those who are called\u2026 the power of God and the wisdom of God\u201d (1 Cor 18-25<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    The third Old Testament reading is from the Prophecy of Isaiah<\/strong> which tells of the \u201ccity of the Lord\u201d where both Jews and Gentiles will live together and \u201cshall bow themselves down\u201d at the place of God\u2019s feet and \u201cshall know that I the Lord am Thy Saviour and Thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Israel\u201d (Isaiah 60:11-16<\/em>). Here we have the direct reference to God\u2019s city where men shall worship at his feet; and together with the psalm line repeated constantly during the services which calls us to \u201cbow before his footstool,\u201d we have once again the reference to the Holy Cross (Ps 99:5, 110:1, et al.<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Before the Cross, we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy resurrection, we glorify (Hymn of Veneration before the Cross).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    This central hymn of the Elevation of the Cross<\/strong> which lasts for eight days in the Church is sung many times. It replaces the Thrice-Holy of the Divine Liturgy<\/strong>. The normal antiphons are also replaced by special verses from the psalms which have direct reference to Christ\u2019s crucifixion on the Cross (Ps 22, 74, 99<\/em>). At the Matins, in the gospel reading from St John, Christ says that when he is elevated on the Cross he will draw all men to himself (Jn 12:28-36<\/em>). The long gospel reading at the Divine Liturgy is the passion account from this same gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

    Thus, at the Elevation of the Cross the Christians make their official rededication to the crucified Lord and pledge their undivided allegiance to him by the adoration of his holy feet nailed to the life\u00c3\u0084creating Cross. This is the meaning of this holy day of fasting and repentance in the Church today.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Elevation of the Cross, celebrated on the fourteenth of September, commemorates the finding of Christ\u2019s Cross by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century; and, after it was taken by the Persians, of its recovery by the Emperor Heraclius in the seventh century at which time it was \u201celevated\u201d in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. From<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1878],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-church-year-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nElevation of the Cross - Kisha Orthodh\u03bfkse Autoqefale e Shqip\u00ebris\u00eb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orthodoxalbania.org\/2020\/en\/2015\/05\/14\/elevation-of-the-cross\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elevation of the Cross - Kisha Orthodh\u03bfkse Autoqefale e Shqip\u00ebris\u00eb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    The Elevation of the Cross, celebrated on the fourteenth of September, commemorates the finding of Christ\u2019s Cross by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century; and, after it was taken by the Persians, of its recovery by the Emperor Heraclius in the seventh century at which time it was \u201celevated\u201d in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. 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