Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Great Lent, the Veneration of the Cross

Those who venerate the Cross with faith and love
know the power it possesses and draw upon it to gain victory over the devil.

St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, St.

“>St. John Chrysostom

To comfort and strengthen the faithful during the spiritual efforts of the Holy Forty Days (Great Lent), the veneration of the Life-Giving Cross continues in the fourth week of Lent. This veneration takes place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of that week.

On Friday, after the conclusion of the Hours and the customary veneration and kissing of the Cross, it is reverently and solemnly carried back into the altar. Because of the veneration of the Cross, the entire fourth week of Lent is called Mid-Lent (Sredokrestnaya) and the Week of the Veneration of the Cross (Krestopoklonnaya). Besides all this, during this week the Church instructs us in the divine services through hymns handed down by St. Joseph the Hymnographer, St. Theodore the Studite, and St. Theophanes the Confessor.

Today, in the middle of the Fast, we worship with faith the Cross that Thou hast endured in the midst of the earth, O Messiah and Word of God, and we pray also to see Thy Resurrection.

—From the Triodion, Canon for Matins

On the Power of the Cross

The miracle-working Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, Godenovo village The Church raises up the Cross of Christ so that waging war with this sign, you may defeat your enemies. Just as the soldiers of an earthly king they fight more effectively against their enemies when stay near their battle standard, so too the soldier who strays from it is more likely to perish.

—St. Dimitry of RostovDimitry of Rostov, St.

“>St. Dmitry of Rostov

See how the heavenly King has armed the warrior who follows Him! He gave not shield, nor a helmet, nor a bow, nor armor, nor anything else like that, but something stronger than all of these—the power of the Cross, the sign of true victory over demons.

—St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, St.

“>St. John Chrysostom

I myself used this weapon (that is, the weapon of the Holy Cross) against all enemies. Arm yourself with it, so that, being armed, you too may defeat this enemy.

—St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem

Today, the Cross of Christ is likewise revealed in the sky of the Church, so that we too may conquer our enemies with this sign and stay close to it. The Cross of Christ is lifted up and exalted, so that we may defeat and strike down the demons, and that we who have fallen may rise again and be corrected.

—St. Dimitry of RostovDimitry of Rostov, St.

“>St. Dimitry of Rostov

If you make the sign of the Cross upon yourself with great faith, no unclean spirit will be able to come near you, seeing that sword from which it has received a mortal wound.

—St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, St.

“>St. John Chrysostom

If you, my brother, always use the Holy Cross as your help, then no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling (Psalm 90:10).

—St. Ephraim the SyrianEphraim the Syrian, St.

“>St. Ephraim the Syrian

Let us also strive to be more attentive to our spiritual life, and we will immediately notice how the tempter-demon entangles us in thoughts, words, and deeds. Then, following the example of the saints of God, we will unwaveringly raise against him the saving weapon of the Holy Cross!

—Bishop Vitaly of Mogilev (Grechulevich)

The Cross is the foundation of our salvation; the Cross is the source of countless blessings. Through it, we who were once dishonored and rejected by God are now accepted as sons. Through it, we are no longer in error, but have come to know the truth. Through it, we who once worshipped trees and stones have now come to know the Savior of all. Through it, we who were slaves of sin have been brought into the freedom of righteousness. Through it, earth has finally become heaven. The Cross is the fortress of the saints, the light of the whole universe. Just as in a house engulfed in darkness, when someone lights a lamp and sets it on high, it drives away the darkness, so too Christ, in a world shrouded in gloom, raised up the Cross like a great lamp; and by lifting it high, He dispelled all the darkness from the earth. And just as a lamp holds its flame high at its peak, so the Cross, at its summit, bore the radiant Sun of Righteousness, our Savior.

—St. John ChrysostomJohn Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, St.

“>St. John Chrysostom

Mid-Lent

In reverent awe before the live-creating Cross and calling us to fall down before it, the Church calls out in this fourth week of Great Lent, saying, “This holy and light-bearing week offers to the world the honorable Cross. Come, fall down with fear and love. The divine and all-honorable Cross is a treasure of sanctification and strength for us. It pours forth luminous radiance of grace, and effervesces like a wellspring of divine gifts—it quenches our sins, and absolves our diseases. No sooner had the tree of the Cross of Christ been lifted up than the foundations of death were shaken. Let us fall down before the Cross of the Lord.

In the example of the Lord Who humbled Himself unto death on the Cross, at this juncture of the middle of the holy fast, the Church especially suggests to us humility, which becomes necessary according to the measure of our progress in the virtues, so that pharisaical pride and high-mindedness might not darken our pious labors, and that we might not lose our justification before God, Who looks not only upon our actions, but also upon our thoughts. Therefore, the Church again and again reminds us in this fourth week of the Forty Days Fast, of the publican’s humility and the Pharisee’s high-mindedness. “Do not be proud of the virtues and do not judge your neighbor as did the pompous Pharisee who thought himself righteous, but rather cry out like the publican in humble contemplation of your sins, “God, cleanse me a sinner and save me.”

St. Ambrose of Milan said in the fourth century at the middle of the Forty Days fast: “Give thanks, brethren, to divine mercy for allowing you to successfully reach the middle of the Forty Days Fast. But only they can worthily give thanks who have thus far striven to live as they were taught at the beginning of the Forty Days Fast—that is, those who have striven to ask for the remission of their sins by daily fasting, alms, and church attendance. But as for those who have neglected all this—that is, who have not fasted daily, not given alms, and not earnestly prayed, or prayed without heartfelt compunction—they should not rejoice, but lament and weep.”

—Archpriest Gregory DebolskyDebolsky, Gregory, Archpriest

“>Archpriest Gregory Debolsky, The Days of Services of the Orthodox Church, vol. 2