“The Cross is our spiritual staff”—Metropolitan Onuphry on the Sunday of the Cross, Annunciation

Kiev, April 9, 2024

Photo: news.church.ua Photo: news.church.ua     

The Church places the Cross before us in the middle of the fast to strengthen us to continue our labors, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine preached on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross

His Beatitude led the All-Night Vigil for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross and the great feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Church of St. Agapit of the Kiev Caves at the Holy Dormition-Kiev Caves Lavra.

The Ukrainian primate was concelebrated by several hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The next morning, the Metropolitan and three of his vicar bishops celebrated the double feast at the Church of the Annunciation in Kiev.

Following, the Gospel, His Beatitude addressed his flock with a homily, explaining that the spring celebration in honor of the Cross dates back to the distant 7th century, when the Honorable Cross was captured by the Persians. Later Emperor Heraclius managed to return the Cross to Jerusalem, carrying it with his own hands. From that time on, they celebrated the anniversary of the return, and soon the feast took on a Churchwide significance and acquired a new meaning:

Having spent three weeks in fasting, a man gets tired, exhausted and may lose his spirit. In order to support the faithful, the Church reminds us of the Savior’s feat on the Cross. And since it is inextricably linked with the Resurrection, Christians, remembering the joy of Christ’s Pascha, are encouraged and with new strength continue to bear the feat of fasting…

The Cross is the spiritual staff that is placed in our hands so that we can continue on this path of fasting and prayer, at the end of which we want to see the bright and glorious Resurrection of Christ.

Met. Onuphry also wished all to grow as much as possible in the virtues of humility and meekness, in order to follow the example of the Mother of God.

“The Lord, through the prayer of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the power of the Honorable Life-Giving Cross, helps us in our life to purify ourselves, to humble ourselves, to be meek, so that we may be at least a little bit like the Mother of God,” His Beatitude said.

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4/9/2024

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