Protocol No. 127/2020

The Feast of the Holy Cross

September 14, 2020

The Cross is the guardian of the whole world!
The Cross is the beauty of the Church!
The Cross is the dominion of kings!
The Cross is the strength of the faithful!
The Cross is the glory of the angels
and the wounding of the demons!
(Exaposteilarion of the Universal Exaltation)

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today we glory in Cross of the Lord, raising it on high in the Feast of Its Universal Exaltation. Truly, this is a marvel; for the love of God, which moved His Only-Begotten Son to willingly ascend such a cruel instrument of torture and death, utterly transforms it into the sign of victory over death. Today the Cross is lifted high as a Ladder unto Heaven, by which we may ascend through the same love that allowed the nails to be driven into the hands and feet of the most-pure Body of our Savior. He was affixed to the Cross and hung there as the fruit of immortality, “like a cluster of grapes full of life” (Lauds of Matins).

Therefore, my beloved Christians, with such a view of the All-Holy Cross of the Lord, we are invited today to think as well of our beloved Theological School and Hellenic College. Today we are called to hold up this precious institution of our Holy Archdiocese in prayer, in honor, and in the spirit of helping. We all know how the School has struggled for years to achieve stability and security. And I tell you this: Holy Cross and Hellenic College will only be preserved for generations of clergy yet to come, as the “Holy Hill” upon which it rests becomes a more and more the Hill of Golgotha – a place of sacrifice and love.

 

Ἀριθ. Πρωτ.: 127/2020

Ἑορτὴ Παγκοσμίου Ὑψώσεως τοῦ Τιμίου καὶ Ζωοποιοῦ Σταυροῦ,

14 Σεπτεμβρίου 2020

Σταυρός, ὁ φύλαξ πάσης τῆς οἰκουμένης·
Σταυρός, ἡ ὡραιότης τῆς Ἐκκλησίας,
Σταυρός, βασιλέων τὸ κραταίωμα·
Σταυρός, πιστῶν τὸ στήριγμα·
Σταυρός, ἀγγέλων ἡ δόξα,
καὶ τῶν δαιμόνων τὸ τραῦμα.
(Ἐξαποστειλάριον τοῦ ὄρθρου τῆς ἑορτῆς)

Πρὸς τοὺς Σεβασμιωτάτους καὶ Θεοφιλεστάτους Ἀρχιερεῖς, τοὺς Εὐλαβεστάτους Ἱερεῖς καὶ
Διακόνους, τοὺς Μοναχοὺς καὶ τὶς Μοναχές, τοὺς Προέδρους καὶ τὰ Μέλη τῶν Κοινοτικῶν
Συμβουλίων, τοὺς Ἐντιμολογιωτάτους Ἄρχοντες τοῦ Οἰκουμενικοῦ Πατριαρχείου, τὰ Ἡμερήσια καὶ Ἀπογευματινὰ Σχολεῖα, τὶς Φιλοπτώχους Ἀδελφότητες, τὴν Νεολαία, τὶς Ἑλληνορθόδοξες Ὀργανώσεις καὶ ὁλόκληρο τὸ Χριστεπώνυμο πλήρωμα τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀμερικῆς.

Προσφιλεῖς ἀδελφοί καί ἀδελφές ἐν Χριστῷ,

Σήμερα τιμοῦμε τὸ Σταυρὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, ὑψώνοντάς τον κατὰ τὴν ἑορτὴ τῆς Παγκοσμίου
Ὑψώσεως τοῦ Τιμίου καὶ Ζωοποιοῦ Σταυροῦ. Σήμερα τελοῦνται τὰ θαυμάσια τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ ὁποῖος ἔστειλε τὸ μονογενή Του Υἱὸ καὶ καταδέχτηκε ἐκουσίως τὴν ἀτιμωτικὴ Σταύρωση, μετασχηματίζοντας ἔτσι ἕνα ἐργαλεῖο βασανιστηρίων καὶ θανάτου, σὲ ἕνα σύμβολο τῆς νίκης ἐναντίον τοῦ θανάτου.

Σήμερα ὁ Σταυρὸς ὑψώνεται ψηλὰ σὰν μία μοναδικὴ σκάλα διὰ τὴν ὁποία ἀνεβαίνουμε πρὸς τὸν Παράδεισο. Ἀνεβαίνουμε μὲ τὴ βοήθεια τῆς ἴδιας ἀγάπης ποὺ ἄφησε τὰ καρφιὰ νὰ
τρυπήσουν τὰ ἄσπιλα χέρια καὶ τὰ πόδια τοῦ Σωτῆρος μας. Ὁ Κύριος ἔθεσε τὸν ἐαυτό Του ἐπὶ τοῦ Σταυροῦ, κρεμάμενος ὡς καρπὸς ἀθανασίας, «ὡς βότρυς πλήρης ζωῆς» (Στιχηρὰ τῶν αἴνων τοῦ ὄρθρου τῆς ἑορτῆς).

Ἀγαπητοί μου χριστιανοί, μὲ τὸ βλέμμα στραμμένο πρὸς τὸν Τίμιο καὶ Ζωοποιὸ Σταυρὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, εἰδικὰ σήμερα, καλούμαστε νὰ σκεφτοῦμε τὴν ἀγαπημένη μας Θεολογικὴ Σχολὴ καὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸ Κολλέγιο. Εἰδικὰ σήμερα, ἄς προσευχηθοῦμε γιὰ αὐτὸ τὸ πολύτιμο ἵδρυμα τῆς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς μας μὲ πνεῦμα ἀλληλεγγύης. Ὅλοι γνωρίζουμε πόσο πολύ ἡ Σχολή μας ἀγωνίζεται τὰ τελευταῖα χρόνια γιὰ νὰ ἐπιτύχει σταθερότητα καὶ ἀσφάλεια. Πιστεύω ἀκράδαντα ὅτι ἡ Σχολὴ