Exaltation of the Holy Cross  
1 Corinthians 1:18-24; John 19:6-11; 13-20; 25-28; 30-35

For almost 300 years, the cross of Jesus Christ, like the crosses of the two thieves, lay in the ground, in the dirt. Even so, that cross shone in the hearts of many thousands of martyrs for the faith of Christ, who truly took up their crosses and followed the Lord, whose bodies were at times thrown to be devoured by wild animals They were tortured and killed, but they did not renounce their faith in the true God, in the evangelical teachings of Christ. By self-sacrifice in the name of Christ, they confirmed and spread Christianity, destroyed the "darkness of paganism."

But later--when faith in Christ became victorious and predominant as the state religion of Byzantium, when the cross of Christ was found, unearthed and honoured by raising it in front of thousands of believers, when many golden crosses shone in churches--the understanding of the cross as an idea of mortality and of consecrating oneself in the service of truth was gradually lost.

That understanding concerning the cross of the Lord continued to exist in the Church, but in the minds of many people, especially those who were seeking life’s comforts, true understanding of the cross of suffering was lost. Instead, such people gloried in the cross as a personal precious adornment. Tsars and kings gave a cross as a reward for loyalty to their servants who pleased them, or rewarded with crosses those who conquered new lands and territories for them, killed the rebellious ones of enslaved peoples.

Rulers (or their assistants) later even developed the idea of identifying such crosses by naming them after the names of people who ruled, not suffered. In this manner appeared the famous crosses of Victoria, George, St. Anna; and we have the cross of St. Volodymyr...

In the last world war, the Germans painted crosses on tanks, airplanes and other weapons used to kill other people...

But let us not forget that the cross, a weapon of salvation, was a manifestation of God's greatest love for people. This is not just our thinking or reasoning so. Apostle Paul testifies: "But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." (Romans 5,8)

Jesus Christ gave his life out of love for humankind, and he also testified that "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13)

Christ showed the greatest love by sacrificing Himself on the cross. It was with God's permission that the God-fighters could crucify His Son. That crucifixion revealed the great love of God (John 3:16), and at the same time revealed the evil and hatred, cruelty and sinfulness of the God-fighters, who thought that with that cruelty they were defeating the will of God.

Christians venerate, kiss the image of the Lord's cross, because on it the manifest greatness of God’s love for people was revealed. Yet, many rulers of this world offer as a reward the image of the cross, bearing various proper names, in recognition for the murders and loyalty of those who serve them or the government.

From this we can see that the idea of the Lord's cross has become twisted and distorted by many people. Additionally, and for various reasons, different forms of the cross have spread throughout the world--some of them we consider to be our own, and some of them to be foreign... Overseas, on this continent, an understanding has spread that the Orthodox cross is three-barred; yet, in the territory of Ukraine, inhabited by Orthodox faithful, the single-bar cross was widespread. Other widely used crosses are the Greek, Roman Catholic, and Anglican.

People on one occasion asked me: what cross do I stand for?

My answer: For the cross that resides in the heart, soul and thoughts of people. What is important is whether people, Christians, are prepared for self-sacrifice, to suffer for the sake of affirming their faith in Christ the Saviour, or whether they are only nominal Christians – until they are tested. (As to the actual physical form or image of the cross, this is not so important and there is no need to fight or dispute about it). The cross that all believers honour is the cross of Christ. It is neither Roman, nor Greek, nor any other. What is important is that people, worshiping the Lord's cross, are ready to take up their cross and follow Jesus Christ (Mark 8, 34).

Amen.

Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko

Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.

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