Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Elevation of the Cross

Question:

On Sept.27 Orthodox Christians will be celebrating the Feastday of the Elevation of the Cross.I have read quite extensively on this Feastday and what I find somewhat confusing are the synonymns used with reference to this Feastday. Please explain:elevation;exhaltation;glorification;adoration;veneration.

Answer:

Dr. Alexander Roman alex.roman@unicorne.org

Devotion to the Holy Cross of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ goes back to the very beginnings of Christianity. There is even a whole branch of theology which studies the significance of the Cross in Christianity called, "Stavrology" ("Stavros" is Greek for "Cross").

The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross goes back to the time of St. Helen who found it in Jerusalem after a person who had died was brought back to life after being placed on it. That Feast is a fast day in the Orthodox Church and there is a richly meaningful rite conducted in Church by the Priest when he faces the four corners of the world and slowly lifts a Cross in his hand as he chants "Lord have mercy" 100 times for each time. We bless ourselves with the Sign of the Cross, we wear a Cross, we truly venerate and honour the Holy Cross by which our salvation was effected.

The terms you relate to refer to the same devotion. We elevate the Cross because it is above all the Key by which Heaven is opened to us. We glorify the Cross which is so closely identified with Christ Himself. We venerate the Cross which has the Power of Him Who was crucified on It for our sins and which works miracles through that Power. We adore the Cross because it is an Icon of Christ Himself, pointing to Him directly. The wood of the Cross itself is not significant, but the Person Who had, as the Octoechos sings, "His hands and feet run through with nails" on it is of Eternal Significance. Orthodoxy venerates Relics, as it does Saints, since, as a result of the Incarnation of God's Son, matter can be a vessel of Divine Grace for all who use it with faith and prayer.

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