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Removal and veneration of the Cross on the Sunday of the Cross in the Jerusalem Church.

Removal and veneration of the Cross on the Sunday of the Cross in the Jerusalem Church.

The Third Week* of Great Lent is called the Worship of the Cross: in the service of this Week the Church glorifies the Holy Cross and the fruits of the Savior’s death on the cross.

A special feature of this Week's service is the carrying of the Cross into the middle of the church for veneration. The removal of the Cross takes place at Matins, at the end of the Great Doxology. At the liturgy, instead of “Holy God,” we sing “We bow to Thy Cross.” Master, we glorify Your holy Resurrection».

The cross remains in the middle of the temple until Friday of the 4th week of Lent.

The removal and veneration of the Cross on the Sunday of the Cross is performed with the purpose that the sight of the Cross and the reminder of the suffering of the Savior strengthen believers in passing through the difficult field of fasting.

*Week is the Old Russian name for resurrection.

Hymns of the Week of the Worship of the Cross

Troparion of the Cross, tone 1: Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, granting victories against resistance, and preserving Your life through Your Cross.

Translation: Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victories over your enemies and preserving Your people by Your Cross.*

Kontakion, tone 7: No one guards the gates of Eden with a flaming weapon; You will find the glorious tree of the cross, the sting of death, and the victory of hell will be driven away. You appeared, my Savior, crying out to those in hell: come again into heaven.

Translation: The flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden: it is miraculously extinguished by the Tree of the Cross; the sting of death and hellish victory are no more; for You, my Savior, appeared with a cry to those in hell: “Go again to heaven!” *

I cried out the verses to the Lord, voice 5: Shine upon the Lord's Cross, the radiant lightning of your grace, into the hearts of those who honor you, and who receive thee with God-pleasing love, longing for the world, for whom tearful lament is needed, and we are delivered from the snares of death, and come to everlasting joy. Show your beauty your splendor, reward your servant with abstinence, who faithfully ask for your rich intercession, and great mercy.

Rejoice, life-giving Cross, red Church of Paradise, tree of incorruption, the pleasure of eternal glory that vegetates for us: the troops who drive away demons are driven away, and the ranks of angels rejoice, and the copulations of the faithful are celebrated. An invincible weapon, an indestructible affirmation, victory for the faithful, praise to the priests, grant us now the passion of Christ to achieve, and great mercy.

Rejoice, life-giving Cross, invincible victory of piety, the door of heaven, the affirmation of the faithful, the fence of the Church: by which aphid was ruined and abolished, and the mortal power was trampled upon, and we ascended from the earth to the heavenly: an invincible weapon, resisting demons, the glory of the martyrs, the saints, as truly fertilizer, refuge salvation, grant the world great mercy.

Stichera for the veneration of the Cross, tone 2: Come, faithfully, let us bow down to the life-giving Tree, on which Christ the King of Glory willingly stretched out his hand, lifting us up to the first bliss, which the enemy had previously stolen with sweetness, created expelled from God. Come faithfully, let us bow to the Tree, to which we have been vouchsafed by invisible enemies to crush their heads. Come, all the tongues of the fatherland, let us honor the Cross of the Lord with hymns: Rejoice in the Cross, perfect deliverance for fallen Adam! They boast about you faithfully, as through your power the Ismailite people are sovereignly punishing. Christians now kiss you with fear: we glorify God who is nailed to you, saying: Lord, who was nailed to us, have mercy on us, for He is Good and Lover of Mankind.

Voice 8: Today the Lord of creation, and the Lord of glory, is nailed to the Cross and pierced in the ribs, tastes gall and sweetness, the sweetness of the church: he is crowned with thorns: he covers the sky with clouds, he is clothed with a robe of reproach: and he is strangled with the mortal hand, with the hand that created man. When splashing happens, clothes the sky with clouds. He accepts spitting and wounds, reproaches and strangulations: and he endures everything for the sake of the condemned, my Savior and God, may he save the world from delusion, for he is compassionate.

Glory, voice 8: Today, an inviolable being, touches me, and suffers passions, free me from passions. Give light to the blind, from lawless lips they spit on you, and give lashes to the wounds of those who are captured. Seeing this Pure Virgin and Mother on the Cross is painfully prophetic: alas for me, My Child, why have you done this? A man red with kindness above all others, lifeless, sightless, appearing without appearance, below kindness. Alas for Me, My Light! I cannot see You while you sleep, I am wounded in the womb, and My heart is pierced by a fierce weapon. I sing of Your passion, I bow to Your compassion, long-suffering glory to You.

And now, the same voice: Today the prophetic word has been fulfilled: behold, we worship in the place where Thy feet stand, Lord: and having tasted the Tree of Salvation, we have gained freedom from sinful passions, through the prayers of the Mother of God, who alone loves mankind.

* Prayers with translation into Russian, explanations and notes by N. Nakhimov, 1912.

Gospel at Liturgy

And calling the people with His disciples, He said to them: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of Me and the Gospel will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what ransom will a man give for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels. And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse

“If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). You cannot follow the Lord the Crusader without a cross; and all those who follow Him will certainly come with a cross. What is this cross? All sorts of inconveniences, hardships and sorrows, coming both from outside and from within, on the path of conscientious fulfillment of the Lord’s commandments in life in accordance with the spirit of His instructions and requirements. Such a cross is so intertwined with a Christian that where there is a Christian, there is this cross, and where this cross is not, there is no Christian. All-round benefits and a life of pleasure do not suit a true Christian. His task is to cleanse and correct himself. He is like a patient who needs to do cauterizations and cuttings, but how can this be done without pain? He wants to escape from the captivity of a strong enemy - but how can this happen without struggle and wounds? He must go against all the orders around him, and this is how to endure without inconvenience and embarrassment. Rejoice, feeling the cross on yourself, for this is a sign that you are following the Lord, the path of salvation, to paradise. A little patience. This is the end and crowns!

Dictionary

The services of Great Lent, as well as the preparatory weeks for it (starting with the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee and ending with Great Saturday), i.e. period, amounting to a total of 70 days, are placed in the liturgical book called Triodius Lenten.

“Triod” (in Greek - “Triodion”, i.e. three-song - from the words “trio” - three and “odi” - song) received its name from the fact that it contains the most tripongs (canons) , consisting of only three songs).

The Triodion owes its spread and use to St. Cosmas of Maium (8th century), a contemporary of St. John of Damascus. Many three songs belong to earlier songwriters, for example, St. Andrew of Crete, who owns the three songs at Compline for the week of Vai, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of Holy Week, as well as the great canon read on the first and fifth weeks of Great Lent.

In the 9th century, the Monks Josiah and Theodore the Studites collected everything that had been written before them, put it in proper order, added many of their stichera and canons, and thus the Triodion was formed, containing about 160 services - large and small.

In the 14th century, the Lenten Triodion was supplemented by synaxarions compiled by Nicephorus Callistus.

Calendar for the next week:

Thursday, March 22 - Polyeleos Feast - 40 martyrs who suffered in Lake Sebaste.
Saturday, March 24 - commemoration of the departed.
Sunday, March 25 - St. John Climacus.

Mk., 37 credits, VIII, 34 - IX, 1.

The Sunday of the third week of Lent in the Orthodox Church is called the Week of the Cross.

On this day, we see in advance what we will hear on Passion Day, especially the solemn and significant stichera, which will once again bring us before the mystery of the Cross. So it is said in the stichera: “Today the Lord of creation, and the Lord of glory, is nailed to the Cross and pierced in the ribs, tastes gall and sap, the Sweetness of the Church, crowned with thorns, covering the sky with clouds, clothed with the robe of reproach, and strangled with the mortal hand, with the hand that created man. When he is splashed, he is beaten, covering the sky with clouds, he accepts spitting and wounds, reproaches and strangulations. And he endures everything for the sake of the condemned, may my Savior and God save me from delusion, for he is gracious."

And the entire service, especially in its content and in its form, is unlike anything else and is entirely dedicated to the Life-giving Cross of the Lord.

Already on Saturday evening, after the all-night vigil, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord is solemnly brought into the center of the church - a reminder of the suffering, of the death of the Lord for the sake of our salvation. Without Death on the Cross, the Holy Resurrection is impossible, to which fasting leads.

The cross is the main instrument of our salvation, and our whole life is bearing our own cross.

On this day, the Holy Church begins a special glorification of the Cross of Christ and reminds. Worship of the Cross strengthens the spirit of those who fast and inspires them to further feats of fasting.

The removal of the cross takes place at the end of the all-night vigil.

During the singing of the Great Doxology, the rector of the temple censes the cross. After this, taking a dish with a cross on its head, he leaves the altar preceded by the priests and the censing deacon. During the singing of the Trisagion, he stops in front of the open Royal Doors and at the end of the singing, he exclaims: “Forgive Wisdom.” The clergy sings the troparion “Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories against the resistance and preserving Thy residence through Thy Cross.” During the singing, the priest places the cross on the lectern, censes it and sings the troparion three times before it: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection.” This chant is also sung at the Liturgy instead of the Trisagion. While singing, the cross is venerated three times and kissed by the clergy, and then by the people. After this, anointing occurs.

And such a service, with the wearing of the Honorable Cross and special veneration of it, is performed only three times a year.

The Holy Cross remains for veneration for a week until Friday, when it is solemnly brought back to the altar before the Liturgy. Therefore, the third Sunday is the beginning of the fourth week of Great Lent, which also carries the meaning and name “worship of the cross.”

Let me remind you how at the entrance to Capernaum, when the Lord Jesus Christ was entering there, one day a crowd gathered, as always - and in this crowd there was a woman who had been bleeding for many, many years. She made her way through this crowd to the Savior, she only wanted to touch the hem of His robe and did so - she made her way and touched the hem of Christ the Savior’s robe. And Christ stopped and asked: “Who touched Me, because I feel that My power has gone out, gone out from Me?” - The power of Christ healed this woman instantly.

And when we worship the Cross of the Lord and touch It, we kiss this Image, honoring It, then this is also, as it were, touching the hem of Christ’s garment, due to the fact that the properties of the prototype pass into the image. The power that is in Christ - we receive something from it, brothers and sisters, and not “something”, but the resurrection and ascension - this is what gives warmth to the repentant sinner. But only one thing is needed - it is necessary that our faith and our repentance, which takes its source in faith, so that they are at least somehow similar to the faith with which that woman sought to touch the hem of the Savior’s robe, and then from everyone forces contained in the Cross, in the image of the Holy Trinity, in the Cross of the Lord, we will receive a complete change in our entire internal and bodily composition.

That is why the hearts of warmly repentant Orthodox Christians are filled with immeasurable joy and, moreover, a special, quiet joy, not at all noisy, not stormy, but a grace-filled quiet joy when we, together with the entire Orthodox Church, sing: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection "

Heading:

With full confidence in its miraculousness and in amazement at its power to drive away invisible enemies, rejoicing in their hearts, they cried out to the cross: “Rejoice, O most honorable and life-giving cross of the Lord, drive away demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was cast upon you and who gave us your honorable cross.” to drive away every adversary,” and without any doubt they spoke to him as if he were alive: O most honorable and life-giving cross of the Lord, help me with the Most Holy Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever.”

Lord, Your Cross, which demons fear, is such an amazing remedy that when you touch it, the dirty pages of our lives burn away. Our task is not to write new bad pages with fasting.”

We have reached the middle of the post. We succeeded in some things, we failed in others. Feels the need to make a new start

The veneration week of Lent 2019 falls in its middle. Each week of Lent has a special name, reminiscent of one or another event associated with the holy great martyrs, metropolitans, miracle workers, Jesus Christ himself, the Mother of God and the Holy Trinity.

The names convey special differences in church services and in who should offer prayer and worship. This is also connected with special spiritual instructions, perceiving which Christians must unite in a single impulse, supporting each other in deed and word, let it be reflected only in prayer.

The name “cross veneration” comes from the fact that in the named week, services in the church are accompanied by bows to the sacred cross on which the Son of God was allegedly crucified (“allegedly” means that Jesus was not crucified on each of the crosses in all churches).

This action - bowing after reading a prayer - occurs four times, starting on Sunday, which is called the Worship of the Cross, and then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Bowing means tribute to the feat of Christ, the desire to follow him, as well as the acceptance of one’s own burden, one’s destiny, which manifests itself every day in everyday life, such seemingly small deprivations in the form of a reduced portion of food and a complete rejection of worldly entertainment.

The meaning of the Week of the Cross lies on the surface. The people have an expression “carry your cross”; it is directly related to the explanation. During Lent, every Christian tries to bear the burden that lay on the shoulders of Jesus during the days of forty days of abstinence. Everyone experiences their own temptation based on their “weak” point. This means that in the middle of Lent, the Christian already knew “his cross” and fully felt all the temptations that accompany abstinence, against which he raised his spirit. This is a kind of act of recognizing one’s burden as voluntary, desired.

Also, the cross is a symbol of a reminder of the death of Christ and the result of the entire fast, after which comes the sacred resurrection. Thus, on the Week of the Cross, everyone can feel inspired to continue their fast, realizing for what purpose and what result they are holding their will in their fist.

When and how will the Week of Veneration of the Cross take place in 2019?

Lent in 2019 will begin on March 11 and last until April 27. There is a slight confusion with the name of the week of the Worship of the Cross due to differences in data in several sources, which requires clarification.

Many of these sources call the 4th week of Lent the Worship of the Cross, which seems quite logical and memorable, given the clue that it falls exactly in the middle of Lent. However, in fact, the name of the Worship of the Cross moves on for a week from the Sunday of the same name, which ends the 3rd week of Lent. Consequently, the week of the Veneration of the Cross is the third, despite the fact that a greater number of services with veneration of the cross take place in the 4th week.

On the mentioned Sunday, the first service with bows to the cross takes place. The next one takes place on Monday, exactly one day later. Also on Wednesday and Friday evening of the 4th week, the last service of the Cross takes place, after which the cross takes its place in the altar.

The veneration week of Lent in 2019 falls on March 31st. On this day, the traditional removal of the cross to the middle of the temple hall will take place, so that every worshiper can bow to the ground before it and be inspired by the feat done by Jesus to continue the fast.

During the liturgy these days, the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity, which traditionally accompanies the service every day, is replaced by the prayer hymn “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and holyly we glorify Your Resurrection,” after which bows should be made.

If possible, you should visit all 4 services. The single voice of dozens, turned into prayer, can create a miracle, especially if our will has weakened under the pressure of routine.

What is necessary for everyone during the Week of the Cross?

2 weeks after the start of fasting, everyone who did not take it seriously returned to their usual food, way of thinking and life. No wonder, because the test of giving up “pampering”, which you can reach with your hand, is one of the most difficult. However, for those who have managed to control themselves, the Week of the Cross serves as a beacon that shows them to continue the path to purification and the great joy of the Resurrection.

But simply knowing your goal, albeit a great one, is not enough; it is necessary to be aware of the helpers who are always at our disposal, within us. They help us overcome the first, most difficult days of fasting, guide us in the following weeks and do not allow us to indulge in temptations and indulgences. This is what we are talking about:

The week of the Cross is not special in terms of meals. Ordinary people who are not monastics can eat twice and three times a day. You should limit the consumption of oil, spices and the amount of food you eat in general. Desirable foods remain: boiled vegetables, cereals, vegetable soups, various salads without pickles and dressings. Drinks: water, compote, decoction of chamomile, mint or other soothing herbs. On weekends, you can add a little oil and seasonings to your food and drink a bit of Cahors.

The lifestyle should continue to be solitary, with no absences from home other than necessary, watching and listening to worldly broadcasts, festivals and guest receptions.

The best thing for the soul would be to attend church during morning and evening services, spending time in prayer and thoughts directed to God. This will inspire and support us on the path to understanding the mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord, bring us immeasurably closer to the light emanating from Him, and remind us that we must never retreat from the bright path we have chosen.

Patriarch Theophilus glorifies the Holy Cross

On the third Sunday of Great Lent, March 18, 2012, the Jerusalem Orthodox Church worships the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. On Sunday of the third week of Great Lent, at the all-night vigil, the Life-Giving Cross is brought into the center of the church, which the believers worship throughout the week. Just as a traveler, tired from a long journey, rests under a spreading tree, so Orthodox Christians, making a spiritual journey to Heavenly Jerusalem - for the Easter of the Lord, find the “Tree of the Cross” in the middle of the path, so that under its shade they can gain strength for the further journey. Or just as before the arrival of a king returning with victory, his banners and scepters march first, so the Cross of the Lord precedes Christ’s victory over death - the Bright Resurrection.

On Saturday evening, at the all-night vigil, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord is solemnly brought into the center - a reminder of the approaching Holy Week and Easter of Christ. The festive Divine Liturgy, which is celebrated on the evening before the removal of the Cross and its veneration in the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, was led by His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, in the service of the priests and monks of the Holy Sepulcher Brotherhood. The service of the cross consists of combining Vespers with Matins and the first hour, and both Vespers and Matins are performed more solemnly and with greater illumination of the temple than on other days.

On Sunday, March 18, the removal of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross took place in the main shrine in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Divine Liturgy was led by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and All Palestine, co-served by the hierarchs and clergy of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. At the end of the Liturgy, a religious procession took place, during which the great shrine - the Cross with a particle of the Life-giving Cross of Christ, kept in the sacristy of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - was solemnly carried around the temple, circling the Edicule three times and then passing behind the altar of the Orthodox Catholicon.

His Beatitude during the Liturgy

Patriarch Theophilus addressed the all-honorable fathers and brothers, beloved brothers in Christ and devout pilgrims:

Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all this was arranged through the Cross: “all of us who were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” says the apostle, “were baptized into His death” (Gal. 3:27). And further: Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24). Here is the death of Christ or the Cross, which clothed us in the hypostatic wisdom and Power of God. The power of God is the word of the cross, either because through it the power of God was revealed to us, that is, victory over death, or because, just as the four ends of the Cross, united in the center, the height, and depth, and length, and latitude, that is, all visible and invisible creation.

The cross was given to us as a sign on our foreheads, just as circumcision was given to Israel. For through him we, the faithful, are distinguished from the unbelievers and are known. He is a shield and a weapon, and a monument to victory over the devil. He is a seal so that the Destroyer will not touch us, as Scripture says (Ex. 12, 12, 29). He is the rebellion of those who lie down, the support of those who stand, the staff of the weak, the rod of the shepherd, the returning guide, the prosperous path to perfection, the salvation of souls and bodies, the deviation from all evils, the author of all good things, the destruction of sin, the sprout of resurrection, the tree of Eternal Life.

So, the tree itself, precious in truth and venerable, on which Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, as consecrated by the touch of both the Holy Body and the Holy Blood, should naturally be venerated; in the same way - and nails, a spear, clothes and His holy dwellings - a manger, a den, Golgotha, the saving life-giving tomb, Zion - the head of the Churches, and the like, as the Godfather David says: “Let us go to His dwelling, let us worship at the footstool of His feet.” And what he means by the Cross is shown by what is said: “Become, O Lord, to the place of Your rest” (Ps. 131: 7-8). For the Cross is followed by the Resurrection. For if the house and bed and clothing of those whom we love are desirable, how much more is that which belongs to God and the Savior, through which we are saved!

The cross is life according to the will of God. The Lord does not escort us like prisoners and does not force us to heaven, He invites us, calls us to Himself: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), as it is written on the holy gates our monastery. The Lord does not force anyone: if you want to be saved, save yourself. And everything for this is on earth, only one thing is missing - our will, the desire to fulfill the Will of God. Amen.

In the middle of Lent, the Church exposes the Cross to believers in order to, by reminding them of the suffering of the Lord’s death, inspire and strengthen those who fast to continue the feat of fasting. The veneration of the Cross continues in the fourth week of Lent - until Friday, and therefore the entire fourth week is called the veneration of the Cross.

“The cross is the guardian of the entire universe, the cross is the beauty of the church, the cross is the power of kings, the cross is the strengthening of believers, the cross is the glory of angels and the plague of demons.” This is how one of the church hymns explains the meaning of the cross for the whole world. “With the reed of the cross, having dipped it in the red ink of Your blood, You, Lord, royally signed for us the forgiveness of sins,” says one of the stichera of the holiday.

The third week of Great Lent is called the Week of the Cross. You can see a photo of its main symbol - a cross decorated with flowers - on this page. The week of veneration of the cross, as it were, sums up the first half of the difficult journey. On Friday, during the evening service, a festively decorated cross is solemnly taken out from the altar for public worship. It will be in the middle of the temple on a lectern until next Friday, the 4th week of Lent, reminding us of the approaching Easter.

The cross is a symbol of the atoning sacrifice

When starting a conversation about the significance of the Week of the Cross for Orthodox Christians, it is necessary to answer the question of why the cross, that is, the instrument of torment, was chosen as the object of worship.

The answer follows from the very meaning of the Savior’s suffering on the cross. On it His atoning sacrifice was made, opening the gates of eternal life to man damaged by sin. Since then, Christians all over the world have seen in the cross, first of all, a symbol of the saving feat of the Son of God.

Christian doctrine of salvation

Christian teaching testifies that in order to save human nature, damaged by original sin, the Son of God, having become incarnate from the Most Pure Virgin Mary, acquired all the elements characteristic of her. Among them are passion (the ability to feel suffering), corruption and mortality. Sinless, He contained within Himself all the consequences of original sin in order to heal them in the agony of the cross.

Suffering and death were the price of such healing. However, due to the fact that two essences - Divine and human - were inseparably and inseparably combined in Him, the Savior rose to life, revealing the image of a new man, freed from suffering, illness, and death. Therefore, the cross is not only suffering and death, but, very importantly, Resurrection and Eternal Life for all who are ready to follow Christ. The week of the Cross of Great Lent is precisely intended to direct the consciousness of believers to comprehend this feat.

History of the Feast of the Adoration of the Cross

This tradition was born fourteen centuries ago. In 614, Jerusalem was besieged by the Persian king Khosra II. After a long siege, the Persians captured the city. Among other trophies, they took out the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross, which had been kept in the city since it was found. The war continued for many more years. By joining forces with the Avars and Slavs, the Persian king almost captured Constantinople. Only the intercession of the Mother of God saved the Byzantine capital. Finally, the tide of the war changed, and the Persians were defeated. This war lasted 26 years. At its end, the main Christian shrine - the Life-giving Cross of the Lord - was returned to Jerusalem. The emperor personally carried him into the city in his arms. Since then, the day of this joyful event has been celebrated every year.

Setting a time for celebration

At that time, the order of Lenten church services had not yet been established in its final form, and some changes were constantly being made to it.

In particular, it became a practice to move holidays that fell during Lent to Saturday and Sunday. This made it possible not to violate the strictness of fasting on weekdays. The same thing happened with the Feast of the Life-Giving Cross. It was decided to celebrate it on the third Sunday of Lent. The tradition according to which the Week of the Cross became the third week of Lent has survived to this day.

On these same days, it was customary to begin preparing the catechumens, that is, the converts who were scheduled for Easter. It was considered very appropriate to begin their instruction in faith with the veneration of the cross. This continued until the 13th century, when Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders. From then on, the further fate of the shrine is unknown. Only isolated particles of it are found in some reliquaries.

Features of church services on holidays

The Cross Worship Week of Lent has a characteristic feature that is unique to it. At church services this week, we remember an event that has yet to happen. In everyday life, you can only remember what has already happened, but for God there is no concept of time, and therefore in His services the boundaries of the past and the future are erased.

The third week of Lent - the Worship of the Cross - is about the coming Easter. The uniqueness of the Sunday church service lies in the fact that it combines the dramatic prayers of Holy Week and the joyful Easter chants.

The logic of this construction is simple. This order of rites came to us from the first centuries of Christianity. In those days, suffering and resurrection were united and were links of one unbroken chain. One logically followed from the other. The cross and suffering lose all meaning without the resurrection from the dead.

The Week of Cross Worship is a kind of “pre-holiday” holiday. It serves as a reward for everyone who has worthily completed the first half of Lent. The atmosphere on this day, although less solemn than on the day, but the general mood is the same.

The special significance of the holiday today

The third week of Lent - the Worship of the Cross - has acquired especially important significance in our days. In evangelical times, when execution on the cross was considered shameful, and only runaway slaves were subjected to it, not everyone was able to accept as the Messiah a man who came in such a humble appearance, shared a meal with tax collectors and sinners, and was executed on the cross between two thieves. The concept of sacrifice for the sake of others did not fit into the consciousness.

They called the Savior a madman. And doesn’t preaching self-sacrifice for the sake of one’s neighbors seem just as crazy these days? Isn't the slogan calling for enrichment and achieving personal well-being by any available means put at the forefront? Contrary to the currently professed religion of enrichment, the 3rd week of Lent - the Worship of the Cross - reminds everyone that the greatest virtue is the sacrifice made to one's neighbor. The Holy Gospel teaches us: what we do for our neighbor, we do for God.