St John Maximovitch on The Exaltation of the Precious Cross

Before the time of Christ, the cross was an instrument of punishment; = it=20 evoked fear and aversion. But after Christ's death on the Cross it = became the=20 instrument of our salvation. Through the Cross, Christ destroyed the = devil; from=20 the Cross He descended into hades and, having liberated those = languishing there,=20 led them into the Kingdom of Heaven. The sign of the Cross is terrifying = to=20 demons and, as the sign of Christ, it is honored by Christians.=20

"O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory = unto=20 Orthodox Christians over their adversaries, and by the virtue of Thy = Cross,=20 preserve Thy community."=20

The beginning of this prayer is taken from the twenty-seventh Psalm. = In the=20 Old Testament the word "people" designated only those who confessed the = true=20 faith, people faithful to God. "Inheritance" referred to everything = which=20 properly belonged to God, God's property, which in the New Testament is = the=20 Church of Christ. In praying for the salvation of God's people (the = Christians),=20 both from eternal torments and from earthly calamities, we beseech the = Lord to=20 bless, to send down grace, His good gifts upon the whole Church as well, = and=20 inwardly strengthen her.=20

The petition for granting "victory to kings" (Grant victory to = Orthodox=20 Christians over their adversaries) (ie: to the bearers of Supreme = authority),=20 has its basis in Psalm 143, verse 10, and recalls the victories of King = David=20 achieved by God's power, and likewise the victories granted Emperor = Constantine=20 through the Cross of the Lord.=20

This appearance of the Cross made emperors who had formerly = persecuted=20 Christians into defenders of the Church from her external enemies, into=20 "external bishops," to use the expression of the holy Emperor = Constantine. The=20 Church, inwardly strong by God's grace and protected outwardly, is, for = Orthodox=20 Christians, "the city of God." Heavenly Jerusalem has its beginning. = Various=20 calamities have shaken the world, entire peoples have disappeared, = cities and=20 states have perished, but the Church, in spite of persecutions and even = internal=20 conflicts, stands invincible; for the gates of hell shall not prevail = against=20 her (Matt. 16:18).=20

Today, when world leaders try in vain to establish order on earth, = the only=20 dependable instrument of peace is that about which the Church sings:=20

"The Cross is the guardian of the whole world; the Cross is the = beauty of the=20 Church, the Cross is the might of kings; the Cross is the confirmation = of the=20 faithful, the Cross is the glory of angels and the wounding of demons."=20 (Exapostilarion of the Exaltation of the Cross)=20

(from a sermon on the Exaltation of the Cross by St = John of=20 Shanghai and San Francisco)=20

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