Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross

The Sunday after the Exaltation stands within the observance of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, whose origins lie in two historical events commemorated by the Great Feast on September 14: the discovery of the True Cross by the Empress Helen (Helena) on Golgotha, dated by tradition to around 326 AD, and Emperor Heraclius's recovery of the Cross from the Persians. The dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the Church of the Resurrection) in Jerusalem in 335 marked the official establishment of the observance, after which annual celebrations of this 'universal elevation' began throughout the Christian churches.

According to tradition, when the True Cross was discovered a sick woman was told to kiss each of the three crosses found on Golgotha in order to identify the authentic one; when she kissed the True Cross she was immediately healed. Once identified, the Cross was lifted on high for all the people to see, who continually sang 'Lord, have mercy' (Kyrie eleison) — a practice still enacted at present celebrations, in which bishops and priests formally elevate the Cross toward the four cardinal directions while the faithful repeat the chanting of 'Lord, have mercy.'

The Persians captured Jerusalem in 614 AD and carried off the Cross. Emperor Heraclius defeated them at the Battle of Nineveh in 627 AD, and tradition records that on March 21, 630 AD, Heraclius entered Jerusalem amid great rejoicing and, together with Patriarch Zacharios, transferred the Cross of Christ with great solemnity into the temple of the Resurrection. In the life of the Eastern Christian Empire the feast came to function as a kind of national holiday, the Cross serving as the empire's official emblem, displayed on public buildings and uniforms.

The Second Council of Nicaea (787) established the theological distinctions that undergird the veneration observed throughout this festal season: the veneration paid to the Cross differs fundamentally from the worship reserved for the Divine nature alone, on the principle that the honor paid to the image passes to the prototype, so that one who venerates the image venerates the person whom it represents.

The afterfeast of the Exaltation continues these themes for eight days. From September 15 until the Leavetaking the appointed troparion asks the Lord to save His people, bless His inheritance, and grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries, and the corresponding kontakion develops the same theme. The Sunday after the Exaltation, falling within this window (September 15–21), is one of the specially appointed days that carry the feast's focus forward with proper readings about the Cross. The Leavetaking on September 21 concludes the octave with ceremonial censing in the center of the church; because of the Leavetaking, the service to Saint Quadratus of the Seventy is transferred to September 22, illustrating the liturgical precedence of a Great Feast over other commemorations.

The Sunday after the Exaltation draws the meaning of the Great Feast into the Christian life. Having venerated the Cross as the historical instrument of salvation, the Church now reads the Lord's call to take up one's cross and follow Him, so that the wood venerated in the temple becomes the pattern of discipleship: to follow Christ is to bear the cross after Him.

The Exaltation teaches that salvation comes not by any earthly victory but by the only true and lasting victory, the crucifixion of Christ. At Matins of the feast the Gospel from John records Christ's word that when He is lifted up He will draw all people to Himself, so that the elevation of the Cross is at once His humiliation and His triumph. The Sunday within the afterfeast keeps this paradox before the faithful: the Cross is glory precisely as the instrument of self-offering.

The season's observance, once bound up with the fortunes of a Christian empire, is now understood spiritually, with spiritual adversaries replacing earthly enemies. The troparion and kontakion of the afterfeast present the Cross as Christ's weapon of peace and His instrument of victory over adversaries, so that the 'victories' the Church prays for are victories in spiritual warfare. In keeping this Sunday the faithful reaffirm their allegiance to Christ and acknowledge their citizenship in the kingdom of God rather than in any earthly kingdom.

The doctrine of veneration confirmed at the Second Council of Nicaea guards the meaning of the whole season: the honor given to the Cross is not the worship due to God alone but passes to the One whom it represents, so that veneration of the Cross is finally adoration of the crucified Lord.

The festal ceremonial of the season centers on the Cross itself. On the eve of the feast, before small vespers, the priest places a tray bearing the cross on a bed of fresh basil leaves or flowers, covered with an aër, on the table of prothesis; on the feast the Cross is set on a tray surrounded by flowers or branches of basil in the center of the church for veneration. It remains central in the temple throughout the eight-day afterfeast, and the faithful venerate it on entering or leaving the church.

Throughout the afterfeast, from September 15 until the Leavetaking, the appointed troparion asks the Lord to save His people and bless His inheritance, granting victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries; the accompanying kontakion develops the same theme, presenting Christ's voluntary crucifixion as the source of mercy for believers and the Cross as His weapon of peace by which they are granted victory over their adversaries. On the feast itself the central hymn of veneration replaces the Thrice-Holy (Trisagion) at the Divine Liturgy, and special psalm verses referring to the crucifixion replace the normal antiphons. These hymns of the season emphasize the redemptive power of the Cross, victory over adversaries through the strength of Christ, and the communion of saints in prayer.

The Great Feast of the Exaltation on September 14 is observed as a day of fasting and prayer — one of the two strict fast days of the Orthodox calendar, alongside the Beheading of John the Forerunner. The Sunday after the Exaltation falls within the afterfeast rather than on the fast day itself; the Church's fasting practice for a given day is governed by the typikon, and questions about how it applies should be referred to one's priest.

On the eve of the feast the cross is laid on a bed of fresh basil leaves or flowers and covered with an aër, and on the feast it is placed amid flowers or branches of basil in the center of the church for veneration.

The faithful venerate the Cross on entering and leaving the church throughout the eight-day afterfeast.

At the elevation the Cross is blessed toward the four cardinal directions while the congregation chants 'Lord, have mercy.'

• John 12:32 — Christ's word, read at the feast, that when He is lifted up He will draw all people to Himself.
• Exodus 15:22–16:1 — A Vespers Old Testament reading of the Exaltation; the tree that sweetens the bitter waters is read as a figure of the Cross.
• Proverbs 3:11–18 — A Vespers reading describing Divine Wisdom as 'a Tree of life to those who lay hold upon her,' understood as a figure of the Cross.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18 — The Epistle of the feast: the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those being saved it is the power of God.