Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attica and Boeotia
September 28, 2025
Beloved brethren in Christ,
Christianity is not a philosophy,
nor an ideology, but a heartfelt experience and a way of life. We could say
that it is a journey with Christ as our guide. In order to take part in this
journey, no greater abilities are required than those which we all possess.
However, there are two necessary conditions: that we desire to follow our
Christ and that we willingly take up our Cross. This is precisely what the Lord
tells us in today’s Gospel reading for the Sunday after the world-rejoicing
Elevation of the Precious Cross: “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Truly, he who wishes to be a
Christian, he who desires to belong to the ark of salvation, to the spiritual
camp and to the great family called the “Orthodox Church,” must be very
conscious and resolute. Resolute for what? To leave behind the selfish “I want.”
This may perhaps sound foreign or harsh to some, but think of it differently.
Consider a soldier, in the midst
of battle, asserting his own will against the commands of the experienced and
wise general. That soldier will both lose his life and cause harm to the army.
We thus understand why Christ
calls us to deny ourselves and to conform to His Will.
What does Christ want from us?
What do we read in the Gospel? “If ye would be My friends, imitate Me.” Our God
is a God of sacrifice and offering, and this He demonstrated in deed. He
condescended to put on our garment, human nature, and to be led to the Cross;
He was sacrificed that we might live. And in every Divine Liturgy He is
sacrificed and offers unto us His All-Immaculate Body and His Most-Pure Blood.
Since, therefore, He is a God of
sacrifice and offering, so too must we be. Offering, generosity, and sacrifice
are not limited only to material goods. We do not offer to our fellow man
merely by giving him a piece of bread, nor—in the worst case—by giving an old
garment which we no longer need. We offer also when we let two good words come
forth from our heart, two words of comfort and support. We offer also when we
give of ourselves to help where there is need.
Offering and sacrifice are a
Cross. And certainly, this applies both to the laity and to us who wear the
cassock. The fact that we have put on the honored cassock does not mean that we
have automatically sacrificed ourselves. If we have put on the cassock and are
looking first to the things of our own household and only afterward to the
Church, we must re-examine our position, for otherwise we shall not succeed.
The Holy Apostles traced the
path. They fully responded to the evangelical word of Christ, denying not only
themselves but also their families; they took up their Cross—the Cross of
sacrifice, of toil, of dangers—and followed Him, with the result that they
captivated the whole world. And having captivated the world, one after
another—except for John the Theologian—they were martyred, being utterly
certain that after the Crucifixion follows the Resurrection.
Christ, beloved brethren, calls
us to take up our Cross, but He also gives us the strength to bear it. No one’s
Cross is greater than his strength, and this is because God supports us even in
the most difficult moments: “a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not
despise.” And the fact that Resurrection follows Crucifixion does not refer
only to our repose, but is a reality that is repeated in our life. This
Resurrection brings to the soul the fullness of joy and gladness.
A sign of this Resurrection which
follows the Crucifixion is also the feast which our Church today commemorates
and honors: the feast of the Third Appearance of the Precious Cross in the sky,
which took place during a Vigil in honor of the Elevation of the Precious Cross
according to the Patristic Calendar, in the year 1925, at the Holy Monastery of
Saint John the Theologian in Hymettus.
This event strengthened the pious
Orthodox to remain in the tradition of the Fathers.
Just as the Precious Cross
appeared full of light, so too must we be full of light. And if we are not, let
us become so! Let us become Light of Christ. Only if we have light within us
shall we be able to transmit it, to the glory of the Triune God, to Whom belong
glory, honor, and worship unto the ages. Amen!
I pray that the Cross of our Lord
may always be for us the beacon which shall guide our course toward Heaven,
through Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Your Hierarch,
† Chrysostomos of Attica and
Boeotia
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