THE FESTAL ORTHROS GOSPEL

The reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John 12:28-36

The Lord said, “Father, glorify Thy Name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore, the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how canst Thou say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

THE EPISTLE

The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians 1:18-24

Brethren, the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

THE GOSPEL

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35

At that time, the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. And they came to Pontius Pilate saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no crime in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He has made Himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where art Thou from?” But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Wilt Thou not speak to me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to release Thee, and power to crucify Thee?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over Me unless it had been given you from above. When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement”, and in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.” Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified. So, they took Jesus and led him away, and He went out, bearing His own Cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew “Golgotha.” There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the Cross; it read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Now standing by the Cross of Jesus were His mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and the Disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the Disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the Disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now fulfilled, said, “It is finished’; and He bowed His head and gave up the spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true.

ORTHROS

APOLYTIKION OF THE ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth.

DIVINE LITURGY

APOLYTIKION OF THE ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth.

KONTAKION OF THE ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

Do Thou, Who of Thine own good will was lifted up upon the Cross, O Christ our God, bestow Thy bounties upon the new Nation which is called by Thy Name; make glad in Thy might those who lawfully govern, that with them we may be led to victory over our adversaries, having in Thine aid a weapon of peace and a trophy invincible.

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On September 14, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross.

The Elevation of the Holy Cross, also referred to as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is one of the twelve Great Feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Church. It is observed on September 14.

The Feast of the Cross commemorates two events: the discovery of the True cross by Saint Helena in 326 and the recapture of the cross by Emperor Heraclius from the Persians in 628.

The True Cross is the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was found by Saint Helena, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Saint Helena and Saint Constantine ordered the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at the site of the discovery.

In 614, the Persians attacked the church and carried away the portion of the cross that was kept inside. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius recaptured the True Cross in 628. The cross was returned to the church in 629, after a tour of the Byzantine Empire.

In Eastern Orthodox practice, the Feast of the Cross is always a fast day. The faithful are expected to observe a strict fast.

It is prohibited to eat meat, dairy products and fish, but the eating of oil is allowed.

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Words of Wisdom

Truth is not a thought, not a word, not a relationship between things, not a law. Truth is a Person. It is a Being which exceeds all beings and gives life to all. If you seek truth with love and for the sake of love, she will reveal the light of His face to you inasmuch as you are able to bear it without being burned. (St. Nicholas of Serbia, Thoughts on Good and Evil) How does God relate to us? God loves us more than a father, mother, friend, or anyone else could love, and even more than we are able to love ourselves. (St. John Chrysostom) 

A certain monk told me that when he was very sick, his mother said to his father, "How our little boy is suffering. I would gladly give myself to be cut up into pieces if that would ease his suffering." Such is the love of God for people. He pitied people so much that he wanted to suffer for them, like their own mother, and even more. But no one can understand this great love without the grace of the Holy Spirit. (St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, IX.10) 

The Lord loves all people, but He loves those who seek Him even more. To his chosen ones the Lord gives such great grace that for love they forsake the whole earth, the whole world, and their souls burn with desire that all people might be saved and see the glory of the Lord. (St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, IX.8) 

How to Come to Know God If a person wants to get an idea about the pyramids of Egypt, he must either trust those who have been in immediate proximity to the pyramids, or he must get next to them himself. There is no third option. In the same way, a person can get an impression of God: He must either trust those who have stood and stand in immediate proximity to God, or he must take pains to come into such proximity himself. (St. Nicholas of Serbia, Thoughts on Good and Evil) As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience. (St. Basil the Great, Conversations on the Psalms, 29) 

Many rich and powerful men would pay dearly to see the Lord or His Most Pure Mother, but God does not appear in riches, but in the humble heart...  Every one of the poorest men can be humble and come to know God. It needs neither money nor reputation to come to know God, but only humility. (St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, I.11,21) No matter how much we may study, it is not possible to come to know God unless we live according to His commandments, for God is not know by science, but by the Holy Spirit. Many philosophers and learned men came to the belief that God exists, but they did not know God. It is one thing to belief that God exists and another to know Him. If someone has come to know God by the Holy Spirit, his soul will burn with love for God day and night, and his soul cannot be bound to any earthly thing. (St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, VIII.3)

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