Commemoration of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross
Categories: hymns, feast-days, church-history
Date: 07 May 2007 10:01:33
Or, to give it the name I've seen elsewhere:
Commemoration of the Sign of the Cross that appeared in the sky in Jerusalem during the Third Hour of the day during the reign of the Emperor Constantius
Troparion:
The image of Your Cross shone forth brighter than the sun,
reaching from the Mount of Olives to the Place of the Skull;
in this way You did reveal Your might, O Saviour
thereby strengthening the faithful.
Ever keep us in Your peace through the prayers of Your holy Mother,
O Christ our God and save us.
Kontakion:
The holy Cross which opened the closed heavens has appeared from thence and shone upon the earth.
As we receive the glory of its power we are led to the unfading Light.
We have it in wars as an unfading trophy, your weapon of peace.
Another Kontakion:
O thrice-blessed and worshipful Cross of Christ,
all we faithful venerate and magnify you, and we rejoice at your manifestation.
As the trophy and unconquered weapon that you are,
protect, cover and shelter by your grace those who cry to you:
"Rejoice, O Wood most blessed."
From the Orthodox Church in America's website, information on the Feast:
The Precious Cross appeared in the sky over Jerusalem on the morning of May 7, 351 during the reign of the emperor Constantius, the son of St Constantine.
As can be seen from the second Kontakion above, poetic licence is present in much Orthodox hymnography: if you were to take it literally, it may seem as if we are treating the Cross as a person; but through the poetic language of praise to the blessed Cross which gained our salvation, we are, truly, praising and worshipping Christ and all He accomplished for us.
In terms of the Cross, some of you may've seen a representation like this [☦] in or on Orthodox churches: this page from Orthodox Wiki explains:
It has a short bar on the top that represents the sign that was placed on the cross ... The middle bar, the longest, is the bar upon which Our Lord's arms were stretched and nailed. The bottom bar is the footrest which supported Our Lord's body.
A Blessed Feast of the Apparition of the Sign of the Precious Cross to all.