Fast of the Cross Day 6

Fast of the Cross Day 6

Admin: The inclusion of this event in the online calendar is for educational purposes. Please follow the guidance from one's spiritual father. The Fast of the Cross is not found in the Hudaya Canon of Mor Gregorios bar Ebroyo and is not presently one of the fasts currently in vogue within the SOC worldwide.Patriarch Mor Aphrem II brings to our attention different names associated with the Holy Cross within the patristic tradition:v) The Cross of Light - Sleebo dNouhroFor the Syriac Fathers, this Cross of light is the same as the one on which Christ was crucified on Golgotha. However, the term "Cross of Light" is used mainly in connection with the eschatological Cross, the sign of Christ which will precede His second coming. This is made clear in St. Ephrem's Serm.11,341-639 where he says that everybody will see the Cross of the Son; the Nations will be glad to see the Cross in which they took refuge and the Jews will be disgraced by it because they are the crucifiers of Christ. Mor Jacob of Sarug, on the other hand makes it clear that the Cross of light is the same one which was set up on Golgotha. He calls it the Cross of light because it dispersed the darkness which engulfed the world when Christ was crucified. He writes: "The Cross of light showed itself on Golgotha, and scattered the darkness from the four corners by its shining." Having this in mind, Mor Jacob sees all the saints as rays of light shining from the Cross of light, or as Paul would say, they shine like stars in the world. James praises St. George the Martyr and says to him: "You are fixed in the Cross of light like a ray, and your glory shines in the four corners oft he universe." In a Ge'ez (Ethiopian/Eritrean) homily on the Cross attributed to St. Jacob of Serugh, we read "The Cross of light showed miracles to the children of man. By it, the horn of the Church is exalted. It is the Cross of light that saved the world from committing error. Grant me the light to see Your glory with the eyes of my mind. The Church knew that Satan fell by the Cross of light; and she boasted of it because it defeats the power of the enemy by the greatness of its power. She saw Him carrying life, standing at Golgotha. She called her children to acquire from it an eternal life. All rejoiced by the Cross of the Son of God. Our heart rejoices by Your Cross of light on whom You were crucified."Reference: Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, 'The Sign of the Cross', in Pro Oriente Syriac Dialogue V 2003