John Chrysostom, On the Veneration of the Holy Cross

singing the victorious one. Who then will not marvel at the power of the precious and life-giving cross? O name of the cross, the hidden mystery; O inexpressible grace, and inscrutable power. But it is now time to approach the awesome table, and to draw near to the bloodless sacrifice.

For this reason I too, with fitting sobriety and watchfulness, having added again some small 62.753 encomia to the life-giving cross, will end my discourse. Hail, all-awesome and life-giving cross, sweet light, and ever-shining sun; hail, precious and venerable cross, who turns back the souls of the enchanted, and destroys the souls of the lawless; hail, much-admired cross, who shows the ways of the righteous, and burns the paths of the impious; hail, thrice-blessed cross, bestower of good things, and helper of those who hope in you; hail, all-blessed cross, the wall and salvation of those who flee to you; hail, all-radiant cross, redeemer of those in danger, and physician of the sick; hail, all-greatest cross, helper of the suffering, and avenger of the oppressed; hail, all-luminous cross, helper of the destitute, guide of the wandering, aid of the afflicted; hail, victory-making cross, giver to those in need, and hearer of those who cry out; hail, invincible cross, unfailing protector, holder and governor of the world; hail, life-blazing cross, benefactor of the inhabited world, rewarder of those who do good; hail, exalting cross, and victory-maker of your servants; hail, life-bearing cross, benefactor of friends, winnower of the Jews, chastiser of the impious, rewarder of the righteous; hail, wonder-worthy cross, adorner of priests, boast of monks, seeker of the persecuted, lifter-up of the humbled; hail, life-providing cross, exalter of the poor, resurrection of the fallen, long-suffering for sinners, receiver of the penitent; hail, all-holy cross, propitiation of the confessing, pitier of the returning, chosen of your saints, destroyer of your enemies, kinsman of Christians, and builder of the Churches, and by all creation adored.

This precious and venerable wood, honored by all, is adored; Greeks and barbarians, Macedonians and Thessalians, Paeonians and Illyrians, Athenians and Argives and Laconians, Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, both Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, Cretans and Arabs, Indians and Ethiopians, and Homerites, and all the rest of the nations, as many as the sun looks upon, having left their own deceit, being signed with the cross, adore, fleeing the intricate chains of the devil. For through the cross Christ has burst the insatiable belly of Beliar, and broken his flesh-eating teeth, having shattered with his sturdy cross he has paralyzed his sinews, and has crushed his bones; he has torn his garment, and has plucked out his hair, a lamentation and dark and 62.754 endless grief he has cast upon him; he has extinguished his shameless eyes, has shamed his dishonored face, with sharp javelins he has pierced him with a lance, with a three-edged sword he has stabbed him, he has scattered his hopes, he has sought out his hidden nests, and has winnowed his storehouses to every wind. He has razed to the ground the merciless children and offspring of his demons, he has quenched with unquenchable fire his man-made idols, he has cast his bed into the abyss, he has pried open his dark chambers, he has razed his cities to the ground, he has thrown down the walls of iniquity, he has opened the gates of Hades, he has shattered the adamantine bars, and having loosed all those who believed in him, and having taken them with himself to heaven to the Father, like a giant, he ran up, as says the prophet: He will rejoice, like a giant, to run his course. By this sign enemies are put to flight, by this sign the walls of adversaries fall, demons

ᾄδουσας τὸν νικηφόρον. Τίς οὖν μὴ θαυμάσῃ τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ τιμίου καὶ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ; Ὢ ὄνομα σταυροῦ, τὸ ἀπόκρυφον μυστήριον· ὢ χάρις ἀνέκφραστος, καὶ δύναμις ἀνεξιχνίαστος. Ἀλλὰ καιρὸς λοιπὸν τῇ φρικτῇ τραπέζῃ προσελθεῖν, καὶ τῇ ἀναιμάκτῳ θυσίᾳ προσιέναι.

∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης σωφροσύνης καὶ νήψεως αὖθις μικρά τινα 62.753 ἐγκώμια προσθήσας τῷ ζωοποιῷ σταυρῷ, καταπαύσω τὸν λόγον. Χαίροις, πάμφρικτε καὶ ζωοδότα σταυρὲ, φέγγος γλυκερὸν, καὶ ἀειφανὴς ἥλιος· χαίροις, τίμιε καὶ σεβάσμιε σταυρὲ, ὁ τὰς τῶν θελγομένων ψυχὰς ἐπιστρέφων, τὰς δὲ τῶν ἀνόμων ψυχὰς ὀλοθρεύων· χαίροις, ἀξιάγαστε σταυρὲ, ὁ ὁδοὺς δικαίων φαίνων, τρίβους δὲ ἀσεβῶν φλέγων· χαίροις, τρισόλβιε σταυρὲ, ἀγαθῶν χορηγὲ, καὶ τῶν εἰς σὲ ἐλπιζόντων ἀντιλήπτωρ· χαίροις, πανόλβιε σταυρὲ, ὁ τῶν εἰς σὲ προσφευγόντων τεῖχος καὶ σωτηρία· χαίροις, παμφαέστατε σταυρὲ, κινδυνευόντων λυτρωτὰ, καὶ ἀσθενούντων ἰατρέ· χαίροις, παμμέγιστε σταυρὲ, πασχόντων βοηθὸς, καὶ καταπονουμένων ἔκδικος· χαίροις, παμφώτιστε σταυρὲ, ἀπεριστάτων ἀντιλήπτωρ, πλανωμένων ὁδηγὲ, θλιβομένων βοηθέ· χαίροις, νικοποιὲ σταυρὲ, δεομένων δοτὴρ, καὶ βοώντων ἐπακουστά· χαίροις, ἀήττητε σταυρὲ, προστάτα ἀπρόδοτε, κόσμου συνοχεῦ καὶ πρύτανι· χαίροις, ζωοπύρσευτε σταυρὲ, οἰκουμένης εὐεργέτα, εὐποιούντων ἀνταποδότα· χαίροις, ὑψοποιὲ σταυρὲ, καὶ δούλων σου νικοποιέ· χαίροις, ζωηφόρε σταυρὲ, φίλων εὐεργέτα, Ἰουδαίων λικμήτωρ, ἀσεβῶν κολαστὰ, δικαίων μισθαποδότα· χαίροις, ἀξιοθαύμαστε σταυρὲ, ἱερέων στολιστὰ, μοναζόντων καύχημα, διωκομένων ἐπιζητητὰ, τεταπεινωμένων ἀνεῴκτα· χαίροις, ζωοπάροχε σταυρὲ, πτωχῶν ὑψοποιὲ, πεπτωκότων ἔγερσις, ἁμαρτανόντων μακροθυμία, μετανοούντων ὑποδέκτα· χαίροις, πανάγιε σταυρὲ, ἐξομολογουμένων ἱλασμὸς, ἐπιστρεφόντων οἰκτειρητὰ, ὁσίων σου ἐπιλέκτα, ἐχθρῶν σου ὀλοθρευτὰ, Χριστιανῶν ἀγχιστευτὰ, καὶ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν οἰκοδόμε, καὶ ὑπὸ πάσης κτίσεως προσκυνούμενε.

Τοῦτο τὸ τίμιον καὶ σεβάσμιον ξύλον ὑπὸ πάντων τιμώμενον προσκυνεῖται· Ἕλληνές τε καὶ βάρβαροι, Μακεδόνες καὶ Θετταλοὶ, Παίονες, καὶ Ἰλλυριοὶ, Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Ἀργεῖοκαὶ Λάκωνες, Πάρθοι καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ Ἐλαμῖται, καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν, Ἰουδαίαν τε καὶ Καππαδοκίαν, Πόντον καὶ Ἀσίαν, Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰ μέρη τῆς Λιβύης τῆς κατὰ Κυρήνην, Κρῆτες καὶ Ἄραβες, Ἰνδοὶ καὶ Αἰθίοπες, καὶ Ὁμηρῖται, καὶ πάντες οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὅσους ὁ ἥλιος ἐφορᾷ, τὴν ἑαυτῶν καταλιπόντες ἀπάτην, τῷ σταυρῷ σημειούμενοι προσκυνοῦσι, φεύγοντες τὰς πολυπλόκους σειρὰς τοῦ διαβόλου. ∆ιὰ σταυροῦ γὰρ ἀνέῤῥηξεν ὁ Χριστὸς τὴν τοῦ Βελιὰρ ἀχόρταστον κοιλίαν, καὶ συνέλυσεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς σαρκοβόρους ὀδόντας, τῷ στερεμνίῳ αὐτοῦ σταυρῷ συγκλάσας παρέλυσεν αὐτοῦ τὰ νεῦρα, καὶ συνέθλασεν αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀστᾶ· περιέσχισεν αὐτοῦ τὴν στολὴν, καὶ κατέτιλεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κόμην, θρῆνον καὶ πένθος σκοτεινὸν καὶ 62.754 ἀτελεύτητον ἀπέῤῥιψεν αὐτῷ· ἐξέσβεσεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ἀναιδεῖς ὀφθαλμοὺς, κατῄσχυνεν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἄτιμον πρόσωπον, ζιβύναις ὀξέσιν ἐλογχοβόλησεν αὐτὸν, τριστόμῳ ῥομφαίᾳ κατεκέντησεν αὐτὸν, διεσκόρπισεν αὐτοῦ τὰς ἐλπίδας, ἐξηρεύνησε τὰς κεκρυμμένας νοσσιὰς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐλίκμησε παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τὰς ἐνθήκας αὐτοῦ. Ἠδάφισε τὰ ἀνηλεῆ τῶν δαιμόνων αὐτοῦ τέκνα καὶ ἔκγονα, κατέσβεσε πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτοῦ ξόανα, ἐβαράθρωσε τὴν στρωμνὴν αὐτοῦ, ἀνεμόχλευσεν αὐτοῦ τὰ σκοτεινὰ ταμεῖα, ἐξηδάφισεν αὐτοῦ τὰς πόλεις, καθεῖλε τὰ τείχη τῆς ἀνομίας, ἀνεπέτασε τὰς πύλας τοῦ ᾅδου, συνέτριψε τοὺς ἀδαμαντίνους μοχλοὺς, καὶ πάντας τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύσαντας λύσας, καὶ μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ λαβὼν εἰς οὐρανοὺς πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς γίγας, ἀνέδραμε, καθά φησιν ὁ προφήτης· Ἀγαλλιάσεται, ὡς γίγας, δραμεῖν ὁδόν. Τούτῳ τῷ σημείῳ ἐχθροὶ φυγαδεύονται, τούτῳ τῷ σημείῳ τείχη τῶν ὑπεναντίων πίπτουσι, δαίμονες