dear brothers and sisters, today orthodox christians celebrate the exaltation of chesnag and the life-giving cross of the lord. at the heart of it. the fifth holiday, that is, one of the twelve greatest church holidays, is an important event in the life of the christian church. after the resurrection of christ, starting with the first christians, a reverent attitude towards christ, on whom the savior was crucified, was established in the church environment. however, due to the persecution that the followers of christ were subjected to, starting from the early years of the church. in

for three whole centuries , the exact place where this christian shrine was located was not known. since that time, it was believed that all three crosses of jesus christ and the two thieves were placed near the site of the crucifixion. no subsequent life circumstances of the first christians, no matter how difficult, could force them to forget. places consecrated by the events of the savior’s life, his death and burial. subsequently , the first bishops of jerusalem were the keeper of the memory of these places. further destruction jerusalem has changed the city to a significant extent. in addition, the enemies of christians took measures to hide and even desecrate christian shrines. at the site of the crucifixion of christ the savior. a temple

dedicated to pagan deities was erected. holy places of christians associated with the earthly life of jesus christ were blessedly preserved in the memory of believers until tsar constantine the great. during his reign there were significant changes in government policy, including in relation to christians. in 313 , the edict of milan was adopted, which proclaimed. throughout the roman empire. after this , christianity became widespread, and this historical period was marked by the formation of the christian church. believers ceased to be persecuted , which is why they could freely profess their faith, revive shrines and build temples. the rulers of the roman empire paid great attention to the restoration of jerusalem,

and the executor of the pious intentions of emperor constantine was his mother, the holy queen helen, who was distinguished by her special piety and ardent faith. in 326, she went to the holy land with the goal of finding the cross of the lord and visiting places consecrated by the events of the savior’s life. upon arrival in jerusalem, the queen was met by patriarch i macarius, who assisted her in this holy matter. in search of the cross of the lord, queen helen was brought to a large hill on which stood a temple in honor of the pagan goddess venus. when they destroyed the idel temple, scattered the rubbish and dug up the ground, the place of the holy sepulcher and the resurrection was discovered, as well as the place of the skull where the savior was, wonderful

the fragrance indicated to those present their location. near the place of execution , three crosses, nails and a tablet with an inscription in three languages ​​were also found, which, according to the gospel, was nailed over the head of the crucified savior. great was the joy of queen helena and the patriarch when they saw what was sacred to christians. nina objects, but to complete this joy there was not enough knowledge on which of the three crosses christ was crucified, they were identical in appearance, because they wanted to put christ on a par with the robbers, point out that he is no different from them. then a woman who was dying was brought to the place where the crosses were found.

those present, led by patriarch macarius, offered prayers that the cross of christ would be indicated through the healing of the woman, after which, first, two crosses were applied to the sick woman without success, and at the touch of the third, the sick woman was healed. with a feeling of special spiritual joy and tenderness, the queen, all those who were with her , worshiped and kissed the cross of the lord, which was acquired in this way. big the number of people who came could not bow to the honest tree, and could not even see it. then patriarch macarius stood in a high place, raised and erected the holy cross, showing it, overshadowing the people on four sides with it. underneath everything, all those present worshiped christ, exclaiming, lord, have mercy. it is from this spiritually significant

event for christians that today’s holiday, the influence of honor and the life-giving cross of the lord, got its beginning and name. currently, according to established tradition, on the eve of the holiday at the evening during the service, the holy cross is carried into the center of the temple, which, as when it was found, is tied to the four cardinal directions, with the blessing of the coming people. at the same time, the choir, on behalf of all those praying, sings repeatedly, lord, have mercy. so, on the feast of the exaltation of the lord’s cross, the church unites the memory of two events: the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ and the event filled with special spiritual joy, the discovery of the venerable wood of the lord’s cross. on this day, the orthodox church invites

believers to offer reverent worship to the life-giving christ, on whom the lord our savior endured suffering for the sake of our salvation. the cross of christ is for christians a symbol of eternal life, because christ, subjected to painful execution on the cross, through his suffering accomplished the redemption of the entire human race. the cross of the lord is an expression of the complete sacrificial love of god for people. on the cross we see god crucified, but life itself mysteriously resides in the crucifixion. just as many future ears are hidden in a grain of wheat. therefore the cross the lord is revered by christians as a life-giving tree, that is, a tree that gives life. without the crucifixion there would have been no resurrection

of christ, therefore the cross, from an instrument of execution, became an instrument of our salvation, turning into a shrine in which the grace of god operates. veneration of the cross of the lord is inextricably linked with the atoning sacrifice of the god-man jesus christ. by honoring the cross, an orthodox christian pays veneration to god himself , the word, who deigned to become incarnate and choose the cross as the banner of victory over sin and death, the reconciliation and union of man with god. the granting of a new life, transformed by the grace of the holy spirit. this is what the cross of christ is for us. therefore, this explains the reverent attitude towards him. each of us sanctifies our entire lives with a cross and the banner of the cross. from early childhood until death, every christian wears a cross on himself as

a banner of christ's victory and the gift of eternal life to us. we begin and end every task with the sign of the cross. we “bless our loved ones, our homes, workplaces and much more. we begin with the sign of the cross day, with the banner of the cross we fall into sleep, completing the past day. the cross of christ is our greatest shrine, our glory, the glory of our church, our spiritual all-conquering sword, and this is how christ made it for us, death by his suffering on the cross. dear brothers and sisters, may the lord, the power of the honorable life-giving christ, the image of which is in all our churches today, strengthen us in spiritual life and give us the strength

to carry our life’s cross with dignity. happy holiday, happy saint. live news on belarus one in studio olga kalayirova, hello, look at the business platform in this issue.