The beginning of the ecclesiastical year is marked in the Orthodox Church by the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The feast itself takes place on September 14, but the two Sundays which come before and after this feast are also dedicated to the veneration of the Holy Cross.

At the beginning of the ecclesiastical year, the Church reminds us of the Savior’s words, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). This challenge is directed to our freedom to follow Him in Whose image we were created, Him Who came to restore this image. Being the image of God, even though darkened by sin, as the Holy Fathers say, man hears the challenge and senses that the One who is speaking is truly his Archetype. It is a call to turn back to God, and it stirs our very being, for the call resonates with our profound longing for the Absolute, for perfection. Christ, true God and true man, offers Himself as a model of this return to God, which takes place in several steps.

First is denying ourselves, our ego which isolates us from God and our fellow man.  It means laying aside that which we feel belongs to us and which we cannot forsake.  For Christ Himself, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7).

Then comes taking up the cross — accepting our own existence with our gifts and our weaknesses. All of us appreciate the qualities God has given us, but we are also aware of our weaknesses. Taking up the cross means the fight to cultivate grace and to diminish weakness.

After this comes following Christ, walking in the way which He has opened, accepting the divine sonship and the human brotherhood which this implies. The claim of Christ changes our life and gives it a sense which bears the mark of eternity, of the fulfillment of our humanity in Christ, the God-Man.

At this beginning of the church year, I wish all the priests and faithful of our Metropolia peace and joy, and also pastoral accomplishments in this new year. We pray that God will bless us all and send us His grace!

+ Metropolitan NICOLAE