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Remembrance of the Appearance in the Heavens of the Cross of the Lord at Jerusalem (351) Commemorated on May 7 Remembrance of the
Appearance in the Heavens of the Cross of the Lord at Jerusalem (351): After
the death of the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, the imperial
throne was occupied by his son Constantius, who inclined towards the heresy of
Arius, which denied the one self-same essence of the Son of God with the
Father. In the reaffirming of holy Orthodoxy, the Lord manifest at Jerusalem a
wondrous sign. On the day of Holy Pentecost, 7 May 351, at the third hour of
the morning in the heavens there appeared the image of the equal-proportioned
Cross of the Lord, shining with an inexpressible light, and brighter than the
light of the sun. All the people were eye-witness to this, and they were struck
with great dread and amazement. The appearance of the Sign of the Cross began
over holy Mount Golgotha, whereupon it was that the Lord had been crucified
(Mt. 27: 32-33; Jn. 19: 17, 41; Heb. 13: 12), and it reached to the Mount of
Olives (Jn. 8: 1; 18: 1-2), extending from Golgotha a distance of 15 stadia.
The Sign was transfused with all the colours of the rainbow and it caught the
sight of all the people. Many of the people, leaving off from whatever they
were doing, went outside the houses and with awe stood contemplating the
wondrous sign. Then a numerous throng of the people of Jerusalem with trembling
and joy hastened to the holy Church of the Resurrection. © 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos. |
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