most becoming for souls and bodies. Cross, the unfailing health of the well-disposed. Cross, the calmest harbor for the storm-tossed. Cross, the unwavering peace for those at war. Cross, the boast of boasts for the orthodox, and the unceasing condemnation of heretics. 4085Cross, the destruction of idolatry and the restoration of piety. Cross, teacher of virginity and guardian of temperance. Cross, security of the just and repentance of sinners. Cross, the adornment of monks and the good order of those living reverently. Cross, guardian of infants, and admonisher of the young, and the staff of support for the old. Cross, the inexpensive treasure of the poor, and the teacher of self-sufficiency for the rich. Cross, the way for those who have gone astray, and the unerring guide for the lost. Cross, rest in daily labors, and help in nightly fears. Cross, the good order of nations, and the deepest calm of the whole world.And what shall we say, or what shall we omit, or how shall we praise you in song, all-glorious cross? for you alone out of all creation has the King of glory shown to be an invincible weapon against the devil, and sin, and death. Wherefore we are all blessed who have been deemed worthy to see the holy day of your exaltation. You are the proclamation of the prophets; for concerning you they rejoice, daily singing and saying to God: "You have given to those who fear you a sign to flee from the face of the bow." You are the boast of the apostles. For unceasingly they cry out in the holy Church through one of their sacred preachers: "But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. "You are also the crown of the martyrs; since they too, having taken up the cross, followed the Lord. You are the boast and the exultation of those who dwell in mountains and caves and in the holes of the earth for the sake of the Lord's name; for they too have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. You are the refreshment and rest of those near and those far. O the unspeakable grace of the Lord's cross! O the unspeakable and incomprehensible mysteries in it!And that I too may say something ecstatic with the sacred trumpet: "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments!" For by the tree of life having been made dead, by the tree of condemnation we were made alive. Because of the immeasurable grace of the saving Lord, it is necessary for us to celebrate this universal feast "with boughs even to the horns of the altar." And the "boughs" are, as those skilled in these things say, things soiled by neglect or age, then by care and diligence are again adorned to a more honorable state for the joy and delight of those who will feast at weddings in some other bright festivity. Let us therefore be disposed as we are commanded, and having stripped off from our conscience the disgrace that has come from indolence, let us celebrate this bright and all-venerable day of the memory of the life-giving cross, with alms and faith, as the divine Scripture says, having taken up boldness adorned in reverence,4088 and having taken up on our shoulders the victorious weapon of the life-giving cross, let us cry out to God as is customary the angelic hymn, which was given to us from heaven for the cessation of all wrath: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us;" Holy Trinity, incomprehensible, uncircumscribable, ineffable, consubstantial, and co-throned, and co-eternal, and co-glorious, have mercy on us, and be merciful to our sins for the sake of your holy name, and grant us to find mercy and compassion on the day of your just recompense. For you are our God, and to you is due, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Spirit, glory, majesty, might and authority before every age, and now and to all the ages of ages. Amen.

4

εὐπρεπεστάτη ψυχῶν τε καὶ σω μάτων. Σταυρὸς, εὐεκτούντων ἀδιάπτωτος ὑγίεια. Σταυρὸς, χειμαζομένων λιμὴν εὐδιέστατος. Σταυρὸς, πολεμουμένων εἰρήνη ἀστασίαστος. Σταυρὸς, ὀρθο δόξων καύχημα καυχημάτων, καὶ αἱρετικῶν κατά κριμα ἀκατάπαυστον. 4085Σταυρὸς, εἰδωλολατρείας κατάλυσις καὶ εὐσεβείας ἀνόρθωσις. Σταυρὸς, παρθενίας διδάσκαλος καὶ σωφροσύνης φύλαξ. Σταυρὸς, δικαίων ἀσφάλεια καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν μετάνοια. Σταυρὸς, μοναζόντων ἐγκαλλώπισμα καὶ σεμνῶς βιούντων εὐκοσμία.Σταυρὸς, νηπίων φύλαξ, καὶ νέων σωφρονισμὸς, καὶ γερόντων στηριγμοῦ βακτηρία. Σταυρὸς, πτωχῶν ἀδαπάνητος θησαυρὸς, καὶ πλουσίων αὐταρκείας διδάσκαλος. Σταυρὸς, πεπλανημένων ὁδὸς, καὶ ἀπολλυμένων ἀπλανὴς ὁδηγός. Σταυρὸς, ἀνάπαυσις ἐν κόποις ἡμερινοῖς, καὶ βοήθεια ἐν φόβοις νυκτε ρινοῖς. Σταυρὸς, ἐθνῶν εὐταξία, καὶ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου βαθυτάτη γαλήνη.Καὶ τί εἴπωμεν, ἢ τί παραλείψωμεν, ἢ πῶς σε ἀνυμνήσωμεν, πανένδοξε σταυρέ; ὅτι σὲ μόνον ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης ἀνέδειξεν ὅπλον ἀήττητον κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ τῆς ἁμαρ τίας, καὶ τοῦ θανάτου. ∆ιὸ μακάριοί ἐσμεν πάντες οἱ καταξιωθέντες τὴν ἁγίαν ἰδεῖν ἡμέραν τῆς σῆς ἀναδείξεως. Σὺ εἶ τῶν προφητῶν τὸ κήρυγμα· περὶ σοῦ γὰρ ἀγαλλιώμενοι ὁσημέραι κελαδοῦσι λέγοντες πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· «Ἔδωκας τοῖς φοβουμένοις σε σημείωσιν τοῦ φυγεῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου τόξου.» Σὺ εἶ τὸ καύχημα τῶν ἀποστόλων. Ἀδιαλείπτως γὰρ βοῶσιν ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἁγίᾳ δι' ἑνὸς αὐτῶν ἱεροκήρυκος· «Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. «Σὺ εἶ καὶ τῶν μαρτύρων στέφανος· ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἄραντες ἠκολούθησαν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Σὺ εἶ τὸ καύχημα καὶ τὸ ἀγαλλίαμα τῶν ἐν ὅρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς κατοικούντων διὰ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου· ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν σὺν τοῖς παθήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις. Σὺ τῶν ἐγγὺς καὶ τῶν μακρὰν ἀναψυχὴ καὶ ἀνάπαυσις. Ὢ τῆς ἀνεκλαλήτου χάριτος τοῦ ∆εσποτικοῦ σταυροῦ! Ὢ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀνεκλαλήτων καὶ ἀκαταλήπτων μυστηρίων!Καὶ ἵν' εἴπω κἀγὼ ἐκστατικόν τι μετὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς σάλπιγγος· «Ὦ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως Θεοῦ, ὡς ἀνεξερεύνητα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ!» Παρὰ γὰρ τῷ ξύλῳ τῆς ζωῆς νεκρωθέντες, παρὰ τῷ ξύλῳ τῆς κατακρίσεως ἐζωοποιήθημεν. ∆ιὰ τὴν ἄμετρον χάριν τοῦ σεσωκότος ∆εσπότου δέον ἡμᾶς τὴν πανέορτον ταύτην συστήσασθαι «ἐν τοῖς πυκάζουσιν ἕως τῶν κεράτων τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου.» Πυκάζοντα δέ εἰσιν, ὥς φασιν οἱ περὶ ταῦτα δεινοὶ, τὰ ἐξ ἀμελείας ἢ παλαιότητος ῥυπωθέντα, εἶτα ἐξ ἐπιμελείας καὶ σπουδῆς πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ τιμαλφέστερον μετακοσμούμενα εἰς εὐφροσύνην καὶ τέρψιν τῶν εὐωχηθησομένων ἐν γάμοις ἐν ἑτέρᾳ τινὶ φαιδρᾷ θυμηδίᾳ. ∆ιατεθῶμεν τοίνυν ὡς προτετάγμεθα, καὶ τὴν συμβᾶσαν ἡμῶν ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας τῷ συνειδότι ἀπεκδυσάμενοι ἀειδίαν, τὴν φαιδρὰν ταύτην καὶ πάνσεπτον ἡμέραν τῆς τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ μνήμης ἐπιτελέσωμεν, ἐλεημοσύναις τε καὶ πίστει, καθώς φησιν ἡ θεία Γραφὴ, παῤῥησίαν ἐν εὐλαβείᾳ κεκοσμημένην4088 ἀναλαβόντες, καὶ ἄραντες ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων τὸ νικητικὸν ὅπλον τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ, τὸν δωρηθέντα ἡμῖν οὐρανόθεν εἰς παῦσιν πάσης ὀργῆς ἀγγελικὸν ὕμνον συνήθως πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν βοήσωμεν· «Ἅγιος ὁ Θεὸς, ἅγιος ἰσχυρὸς, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς·» ἁγία Τριὰς, ἀκατάληπτε, ἀπεριόριστε, ἀνεκφοίτητε, ὁμοούσιε, καὶ ὁμόθρονε, καὶ ὁμόχρονε, καὶ ὁμόδοξε, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἱλάσθητι ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματός σου τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ δὸς ἡμῖν εὑρεῖν ἔλεος καὶ οἰκτιρμοὺς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀνταποδόσεώς σου τῆς δικαίας. Σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ πρέπει σοι τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ, καὶ τῷ Πνεύματι δόξα, μεγαλοσύνη, κράτος καὶ ἐξουσία πρὸ παντὸς αἰῶνος, καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς σύμπαντας αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

4