Holy Great Martyr Niketas the Goth in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Niketas lived during the reign of Constantine the Great. He was born and raised in the land of the barbarian Goths, beyond the River Ister. He had dealings with the barbarians, but he was a Christian, coming from a good and wealthy family. He was arrested by Athanaric, the ruler of the Goths, because of his faith in Christ, and after they had cruelly tortured him by beating him, they cast him into the fire, and thus he brought his martyrdom to completion.

2. Saint Niketas belongs among those martyrs who may be described as “fire-bearing conquerors,” since, as his Synaxarion relates, he brought his martyrdom to completion in the fire. He had the same experience as the three holy youths of the Old Testament, the same experience as Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, and as a multitude of other holy martyrs, with the difference that God, in His unfathomable counsels, did not save him from the fire, but permitted the fire to become the means by which he would bring his martyrdom to completion and, through it, be led to the refreshment of Paradise. Thus, concerning him, the words were fulfilled: “We went through fire and water, and You brought us out into refreshment.” Now he rejoices, crowned, dwelling in the Church Triumphant together with the other martyrs of the Lord, resting as though in a tranquil harbor and now interceding in love for us, who are still tossed about upon the stormy sea of this present life.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 15

The Month of September

Day 15

16. To Soldiers Going into Battle

(From the Life of the Holy Martyr Niketas. Menaion, September 15.)

You are now, God-loving soldiers, stationed in a place of military action, and perhaps today or tomorrow you will enter into battle with the enemies of our homeland. What, then, should you do now? First of all, look and see whether each of you has the Cross of Christ upon his breast. Whoever has one, let him say, “Glory to God”; and whoever does not, let him put one on himself immediately. Then, as you enter into battle, let each of you reverently make the sign of the Cross and, with firm faith, call upon the invincible power of the Cross of Christ for help.

Why do I advise you so earnestly to do this? Because I know that the Cross of Christ is a great weapon for a warrior in his struggle against the enemy, and I will prove this by actual events. Thus, in the Life of the holy martyr Niketas, we read:

“When the Gothic commander Fritigern went to war against Prince Athanaric, he made an image of the Cross of the Lord and, during the battle, ordered the cross to be carried before his ranks. And by the power of the Cross, it is said, the entire army of Athanaric was utterly defeated: some of the soldiers were killed, others were taken captive, and Athanaric himself barely escaped by fleeing.”

Homily on the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross and the Resurrection (St. Sophronios of Jerusalem)

This homily of St. Sophronios, Archbishop of Jerusalem, is a seventh-century witness to the liturgical celebration of the Cross and the Resurrection in Jerusalem, probably dating from 634 or shortly thereafter, during his patriarchate. Its title reflects the close historical and liturgical connection between the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross on September 14 and the preceding celebration associated with the Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis), whose dedication was commemorated on September 13. Sophronios himself reflects upon the relationship and changing order of these celebrations, noting that formerly the Cross preceded the Resurrection, whereas in his own time the Resurrection preceded the Cross. For him, however, the two remain inseparable mysteries of salvation: the Cross destroys death and the power of sin, while the Resurrection restores humanity to life and communion with God.  

 

Homily on the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross and the Resurrection

Oration 4 

 

By St. Sophronios, Archbishop of Jerusalem

The festival of the Cross, and who would not exult? The proclamation of the Resurrection, and who would not laugh for joy? For the Cross, fixed in the place of the Skull and having the Master of creation Himself nailed to it, tore up “the handwritten document that was against us”¹ and set us free from the bonds of sin—the document that our forefather Adam had signed when he transgressed the commandments of God—and enabled us to “exult” with gladness, “like calves released from their bonds.”² For where sin abounded, the grace of God abounded all the more.³

When Father John Kalaides Healed an Abbot With the Sign of the Cross

In the photograph, Fr. John Kalaides (right) with Fr. Nektarios, now Bishop of Argolis (left), during one of his visits to Neochori, Sintiki.

 

By Miltiadis Tsesmetzis, Educator

In 2002, we went with a group from Serres on a pilgrimage to the Sacred Monastery of Sagmata, where Father Nektarios Antonopoulos was then the abbot (and is now the current Bishop of Argolis, who also is the author of the book on Saint Luke of Crimea, who was a physician).

He warmly welcomed us and said:

“You have a great Saint in Serres: Father John Kalaides! Doctors had confirmed that I had a polyp in my throat. He made the sign of the Cross over me at two points, on the right and on the left, and the polyp disappeared.”

As he told us, he wondered why the Holy Father had made the sign of the Cross over him on the right and left, since he himself believed that the polyp was in the middle of his throat. When he went in for the operation, the doctors told him that the polyp had disappeared. When he asked them at precisely what location in his throat it had been found, they told him that it had been located exactly at the points where Father John had made the sign of the Cross over him!

The Exaltation of the Honorable Cross in Iconography (Photios Kontoglou)

The Exaltation of the Honorable Cross in Iconography 

By Photios Kontoglou

The iconography of the Eastern Orthodox Church is principally symbolic and dogmatic in character, whereas that of the Western Church is especially historical in character. There are many icons in which Orthodox iconographers also depict particular events in the history of the Church, or of Christ, the Panagia, and the Saints. Such depiction, however, is not a literal representation of an event. A liturgical icon does not merely portray a historical event, but reveals to us through that event its eternal aspect.

Such icons, which depict historical events, likewise breathe forth mysticism and inspire compunction in Orthodox Eastern iconography, owing to the dogmatic character of this art, which immortalizes even historical events as salvific occurrences within the divine economy. The liturgical icon does not represent things or persons from the corruptible world of matter, but from the renewed world, elevating them into symbols.

One such icon with a “subject” (that is, a theme) drawn from history is the icon of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross, which our Church celebrates on September 14.

The Universal Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The Universal Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross presents before us each year that event through which man entered into the Kingdom of God: the Lord's sacrifice upon the Cross. For, according to the Hymnographer, “On the Cross the Lord slew him who had slain us; having been put to death, He brought us back to life and made us beautiful, and in His compassion, because of the abundance of His goodness, He deemed us worthy once again to live in the heavens.” We shall point out below some of the aspects of this mystery of the Cross, through which we have also been saved.

1. The Cross of the Lord: History and Mystery

Approaching the Lord's sacrifice upon the Cross is therefore no easy undertaking. Although it has historical coordinates—it took place at a particular time and in a particular place: in Judea under Pontius Pilate, as we confess in the Creed, “Who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate”—something that no one can deny, even if he is the greatest atheist, it nevertheless far surpasses what human senses and faculties are capable of perceiving: a man suffering under cruel tortures. The Cross constitutes the greatest of mysteries, because upon it suffers God who became man, God Himself according to His humanity.

September: Day 14: Teaching 3: Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

 

September: Day 14: Teaching 3: 
Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
 
(Mere outward veneration of the Cross of Christ, without inward veneration, is displeasing to the Lord who was crucified upon it.)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today, brethren, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. The Church has gathered us in the temple for its solemn veneration. And so, following her example and instruction, we fall on our knees before the Cross of the Lord, bow our heads before it, and kiss it with our lips. But is such an honoring of the Cross sufficient for true veneration of the Cross of the Lord?

Outward, bodily veneration before the Cross alone is not sufficient. The holy Cross is the visible representative of the invisible presence of the Lord who was crucified upon it; therefore, we must bow before it as before the very presence of Him who was crucified upon it. Man consists of body and soul; both his soul and body have alike been redeemed at the price of the blood of Christ; therefore, he must venerate the Redeemer who was lifted upon the Cross both with soul and body.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 14

The Month of September

Day 14

15. How Christians Should Conduct Themselves When Carrying Holy Icons and Banners in Cross Processions

(Sermon for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross of the Lord. Menaion, September 14)

To the Rural Parishioners

When, brethren, a cross procession goes forth from our church, those of you who undertake to carry the holy icons and banners from the church ordinarily conduct yourselves in a manner that is not entirely becoming. Almost invariably, disputes arise among you over who is to carry what; and then, once you have taken the holy objects into your hands, while waiting for the clergy to come out of the church, you either begin engaging in idle conversation among yourselves or, even worse, begin arguing with one another or exchanging jokes. This is not good—very far from good, brethren!

For a cross procession is a great and solemn act, and when we conduct one, we should not do so with arguments and laughter, but rather with lamentation and tears. For this is what Blessed Symeon of Thessaloniki says concerning the cross procession:

Holy Hieromartyr Iakovos of Voutza in Smyrna (+ 1922)

By Stavros Melidonis, Attorney,
Vice-President of the Association of Smyrnaeans

The tragic centenary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe brings to the forefront the deaths of thousands of martyrs, with Chrysostomos of Smyrna standing as the foremost figure among them. Through his martyrdom, he became a Saint of our Orthodox Church, fulfilling the verse from the Revelation of John addressed to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Alongside Chrysostomos of Smyrna and the company of the Asia Minor Saints stands the figure of the Hieroethnomartyr Archimandrite Iakovos Archantzikakis, who surrendered his soul to the Lord after enduring a horrific martyrdom at the hands of the Turkish çetes in Voutza of Smyrna on 27 August 1922 (Old Style).

Archimandrite Iakovos Archantzikakis was born in the village of Ziros in Sitia in 1872. At the urging of his uncle, the Hieromonk Kornelios Giakoumakis of the Holy Sepulchre, he went to Jerusalem in order to study at the renowned Theological School of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.