"The Cross is the guardian of the entire Universe; the Cross is the adornment of the Church; the Cross is the power of kings; the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful; the Cross is the glory of angels and the terror of demons."
Thus the Church glorifies the Honorable and Life-giving Wood of the Cross in the hymns of the great and bright feast of its Exaltation. And now, during one of the most solemn services, with reverence and triumph we see how the cross — decorated with flowers, enveloped in the aromas of incense, shining in the light of candles — rises up before the eyes of the faithful. At this moment, bowing our heads, we honor the very bodily testimony of God's Love, manifested in Christ Jesus.
For the Cross is not just an instrument of execution. Not just a tree. It is the Tree of Salvation, the mystical mediocrity of the entire New Testament History. An ordinary tree, which after the crucifixion of the Son of God became a Mystery, in which the abyss of God's love, mercy, justice, and power was contained.
The Holy Church remembers that in the eyes of the Old Testament world the cross was a curse. God Himself said through Moses: “Cursed is everyone before God who hangs on a tree” (Deut. 21:23). In the eyes of the Jews and Romans, crucifixion was the most shameful and inhuman punishment - for slaves, rebels, murderers. It was this curse that Christ took upon Himself. And, what is incomprehensible: He not only accepted the Cross, but also internally agreed to it out of love for man. From that moment on, the Cross ceased to be just an instrument of contempt - it became the throne of the King, the altar of God, the place of the triumph of Love.
We worship the Cross not because we venerate the instrument of murder, but because it was touched by the body of the Savior, it became the bearer of God's presence, a witness to the ineffable Mystery. The Cross contained within itself the One Who Himself is Infinite. And since then the Cross has become a shrine, worthy not only of reverence, but also of worship - for in it was and forever remains the mystery of the incarnate Love of God.
In Paradise there was a tree of life, the fruit of which Adam and Eve did not have time to taste. But on Golgotha a new tree appeared - the Cross. And from it - no longer the fruit, but the Blood and Body of the Son of God - is given to us as true food and drink in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Cross is a new Paradise in which a new person is born.
The cross is a new tree of life, the fruit of which—Christ—gives not corruption, but eternity.
Therefore, we, as new Adams and Eves, approach this Tree not with fear, but with reverent joy. For through the Cross we do not lose life, as in the first days of humanity, but we gain Life, Which has no end.
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — besides commemorating the discovery of the shrine by Queen Helena — is the mystical elevation of the Cross in the depths of our own hearts. It is a moment when the Church again and again places before our spiritual gaze the greatness of this Tree, which has become Life for us.
When the priest raises the Cross in the middle of the church, it is a sign: in the life of each of us there must be a moment of Exaltation, a moment when we carry our personal cross not as a burden, but as a source of salvation. For Christ did not just carry the Cross — He accepted it, loved it, blessed it, and deified it.
In the 4th century, after three centuries of persecution, Christianity emerged from the catacombs. The son of the great martyrs, eyewitnesses, and sufferers—the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great—won victory over pagan enemies under the sign of the Cross, which appeared to him in heaven with the words: “In this sign you shall conquer!” (Latin: In hoc signo vinces). From that moment on, the Cross became not only an instrument of execution, but a sign of Christ’s victory in the world.
Seeking to find the holy places of the Savior's passion, Constantine's mother, the holy Empress Helena, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, thanks to her sincere faith and tireless efforts, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was found - along with two other crosses on which the thieves were crucified.
According to legend, the true Cross was determined through the miraculous healing of a seriously ill woman - when she was placed in turn on each of the three crosses, only one granted her instant recovery.
This Cross was solemnly erected before the people by Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem — and thousands of the faithful, upon seeing the Honorable Tree, fell to their knees with tears, crying out: “Lord, have mercy!”
Thus, the Exaltation became not only an act of historical memory, but a prayerful elevation of the Cross itself into the heart of the Church — as a sign of presence, victory, and salvation.
We live in a world full of cruelty, injustice, war, betrayal, pain. And the world asks the question again and again: Where was God? Why did he allow suffering? Why is he silent in response to evil?
The Cross is God's answer. Not philosophical, not abstract. But an answer written on His own Body, with His own Blood. God did not eliminate evil with a magical gesture - He entered it. He took it upon Himself. And He defeated it not with the sword, but with love.
The cross shows us that love does not run away from pain, but enters it to transform it.
Therefore, when we bow to the Holy Cross, we bow not to a tree. We bow to the Mystery of God's presence, revealed through the body of the Crucified One. We bow not to an object, but to the place of encounter with Christ. To the tree, which is now a repository of grace, light, and salvation.
That is why, as the holy Apostle Paul writes, we are not ashamed, but we boast in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14), for it is through Him that the world has been crucified to us, and we to the world.
The cross is not a sign of defeat, but a sign of victory. Not a symbol of torment, but a source of eternal joy. Not shame, but glory. Not death, but life in Christ.
The Feast of the Exaltation is an invitation to raise the Cross again and again in our lives, to see in it not a burden but salvation, not a tragedy but a blessing, not a defeat but the victory of Love.
And the next time the Cross appears before us—in the temple, in sorrow, in suffering, in injustice—let us remember: it is already embraced by God. And he who touches it with faith will not remain in darkness, for the Cross is a light that shines from the midst of pain, it is a victory that grows from the depths of suffering.
Let us raise the Cross in our hearts and we will have eternal life.
