THE FEAST OF THE CROSS

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THE FEAST OF THE CROSS
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Feast of the Cross

• Tut 17
• (September 27)
• Feast of the appearance of the Cross to Empress
  Helena (4th century)
• Day of Consecration of Church in Jerusalem
• Baramhat 10
• (March 19)
• Feast of the return of the Cross from the
  Persians at the time of Emperor Heraclius (7th
  century)

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What is the Cross?

• Actual Cross our Lord was crucified upon
• Spiritual Cross we carry as Christians and
  disciples of our Lord

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Sign of the Cross

• One finger
• Tradition received from St. Mark
• if I by the finger of God cast out demons
• Law written with the finger of God
• One God
• One in essence
• Three hypostases/Persons
• One of the Trinity was Incarnate

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In the Name of the Father
And the Holy Spirit
One God. Amen.
And the Son
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YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR
MIND
AND WITH ALL
YOUR STRENGTH
WITH ALL YOUR HEART
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Sign of the Cross

• Make prostration (metania)
• Give blessing
• Can make hand in the sign of the Cross
• Jesus Christ Conqueror
• God the Logos took flesh to save us

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Meanings of the Cross

• Salvation
• Love of God
• Faith in Trinity
• Faith in Incarnation
• Spiritual struggle
• Death to world
• Faith in Work of Holy Spirit in Sacraments and
  our life to transfer us from left to right

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Why the Cross?

• ST. ATHANASIUS (On the Incarnation of the Word)
• a) Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Deut
  2123). He came to bear our curse
• b) that He might draw His ancient people and the
  Gentiles and join them both together in Himself,
  If I am lifted up from earth I will draw all
  people unto Myself. (Jn 232)
• c) The cross provides a death in the air, which
  is the sphere of the devil, the enemy of our race
  according to the prince of power of the air,
  the spirit who now works in the sons of
  disobedience (Eph 22).

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Old Testament Symbols

• Aarons rod
• Moses w/arms lifted up fighting against
  Amalekites
• Bronze serpent
• Abrahams sacrifice of Isaac (carrying wood)
• Jacob blessing sons of Joseph
• Passover lamb/blood on threshold of houses of
  Israelites
• Rock in the wilderness

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Some Verses from Holy Bible

• "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
  himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow
  Me" (Luke 923 cf. Matthew 1624 Mark 834)
• "And he who does not take his cross and follow
  after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 1038 cf.
  Luke 1427)
• "For the message of the cross is foolishness to
  those who are perishing, but for us who are being
  saved, it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians
  118)
• "But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a
  stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
  but to those who are called, both Jews and
  Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
  God" (1 Corinthians 123)
• "But God forbid that I should boast except in the
  cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
  has been crucified to me, and I to the world"
  (Galatians 614)
• "For I determined not to know anything among you
  except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1
  Corinthians 22)
• "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that
  you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
  Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as
  crucified?" (Galatians 31)
• knowing this, that our old man was crucified
  with Him, that the body of sin might be done away
  with, that we should no longer be slaves of
  sin.(Romans 66)
• I have been crucified with Christ it is no
  longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and
  the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
  faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
  Himself for me. (Galatians 220)

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Old Testament Prophecies

• Psalm 22
• Isaiah 53
• Many other verses