The cross is Christ's glory and triumph

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, September 14, as our Church celebrates the feast of The Triumph of the Cross we are invited to reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (2:19—3:7, 13-14: 6:14-16), entitled “The glory of the cross”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop.

Through sacrifice and suffering, our Lord has drawn, and will draw all people to himself. The Cross of Triumph symbolizes the final triumph and his reign over the world. The worldwide church celebrates The Triumph of the Cross as a high holy day on September 14. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, commemorates three events: The discovery of the True Cross in 326, its exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628.

Saint Andrew of Crete, also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an eighth century bishop, theologian, homilist, and hymnographer. He is venerated as a saint in both Eastern Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church. He is principally interesting to us in that he is credited with the invention of the canon, a new form of hymnody of which we have no intimation before his time. Nine canons are assigned to him.

The Galatians to whom the letter is addressed were Paul’s converts, most likely among the descendants of Celts who had invaded western and central Asia Minor in the third century B.C. and had settled in the territory around Ancyra (modern Ankara, Turkey). Paul had passed through this area on his second missionary journey and again on his third.