But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14).
When the Son of God appeared on earth, and when the corrupt world could not endure His sinlessness, His incomparable virtue, and His bold rebuke of evil, it condemned this most holy Person to a shameful death and nailed Him to the Cross. Then the Cross became a new sign.
It became an altar of sacrifice, for upon it was offered the great Sacrifice of our redemption. It became a divine altar, for it was sprinkled with the precious Blood of the spotless Lamb. It became a throne, for upon it the great Messenger of God rested from all His works. It became the radiant sign of the Lord of Hosts, for they shall look on him whom they pierced (John 19:37). And those who pierced Him will recognize Him only by beholding this sign of the Son of Man.
In this sense, we must reverently behold not only that very wood which was sanctified by contact with His most pure Body, but also every other cross that presents to us the same image—without ascribing our reverence to the material, be it wood, gold, or silver, but rather to the Savior Himself, Who accomplished our salvation upon it.
—Metropolitan Platon of Moscow
On the Cross
The Church has become Paradise, having in her midst the Tree of Life—the tree of the Cross!
The breadth of the tree touches your good works, O Christian! By the Cross your arms are outstretched; the Cross is the good and light yoke laid upon you in place of the heavy and crushing burden of the law (cf. Eph. 2:15). The length in the Cross signifies the longsuffering of God. The height of the wood of the Cross signifies the expectation of those who set their hope on things above. The depth signifies the depth of grace, bestowed freely and though we don’t deserve it, solely for the sake of the Savior’s merits on the Cross.
Just as the four ends of the Cross meet and are joined together in one place, so also by the power of God are held together height and depth and length and breadth—that is, the whole visible and invisible creation.
The Cross is the measure of the bounds of love—by the height of heaven, the depth of the earth, and the length and breadth of the universe.
The Cross is the greatest symbol of the power and authority of Christ. Consider any two things in the world: Can anything be constructed without the form of the Cross, and can there exist any mutual connection between them without this form? One cannot sail the sea, for example, if the mast of the ship is broken; the earth cannot be ploughed without the form of the Cross; those who dig the ground, or other craftsmen, do their work only with tools that have the form of the Cross.
—St. Justin Martyr and Philosopher
Everything that concerns us is accomplished through the Cross. Whether we must be born again, or nourished with the mystical food, or receive ordination, or anything else—everywhere we encounter this sign of victory.
Look upon the Cross, enter deeply into it, and learn from it unceasingly; draw from it with the spirit that which words cannot exhaust.
—Bishop Vitaly of Mogilev (Grechulevich)
The Cross of the Lord
Let this vain world exalt itself in its pride; let it boast of its happiness; let it delight in the fleeting sweetness of sin. But for us, the only glory and delight is the Cross of the Lord: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14)
For our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Cross is praise and glory. He was glorified not only by working many miracles—giving sight to the blind, healing the lame, cleansing lepers, raising the paralytic from his bed, and even raising the dead—but even more so by enduring the Cross. Not without reason does St. John Chrysostom call the holy Cross the glory of the Son of God: “The Cross is the glory of the Son, just as the Son is the glory of the Father; the Father is glorified in His Son, and the Son is glorified through His Cross.”
Let us consider, at least in part, what glory there is for the Apostle, and for every Christian, in the Cross of Christ, for our own spiritual profit, with God’s help.
Truly, it befits us to glory… in the cross of our Lord (Gal. 6:14), because in the Cross of the Lord we find the reward for our own crosses. As Scripture says: If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Rom. 8:17)
For just as we are partakers with our Head, Christ, being members of His Body, according to the Apostle: Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (1 Cor. 12:27). So also are our crosses united with the Cross of the Lord; and what the Cross of Christ has prepared, that also our crosses shall receive in Him.
Do not think that the Cross of the Lord, in which the Apostle glories, is merely a material cross made of wood. Understand in it above all the suffering of the Lord, which He accepted, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.
And when I, a sinner, speak of our crosses, do not imagine them as wooden or silver, or fashioned by human skill from any material. These are the sorrows, misfortunes, griefs, illnesses, and all manner of sufferings that come upon us by God’s allowance—by which the Lord tests us in this life, as gold in the furnace. For Scripture says: The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts (Prov. 17:3).
And again:
“He tried them as gold in the furnace, and received them as a burnt offering (Wisdom 3:6)
These are our crosses. And we must bear them, giving thanks to God and becoming partakers of the sufferings of Christ.
From: Readings For Every Day of Great Lent, Ed. N. Shaposhnikova (Moscow: Danilov Monastery, 2025).
