feast of the exaltation of the holy cross of the lord, orthodox christians remember the events associated with the cross on which the savior was crucified. the sacred tradition of the church has preserved the information that the cross, lost after the gospel events, was found in 326 in jerusalem. this happened near mount golgotha, the place where the savior and two thieves were crucified. also on this day , another event is remembered: the return

of the life-giving cross from persia. in the 6th century, it was returned to jerusalem by the greek emperor hieraclius. both events have in common that the found cross was erected, that is, raised before the people present, while turning it to all sides of the world in turn, so that people could bow to it and share with each other the joy of finding and seeing the shrine. on the eve of the day of the exaltation of the cross, a remembrance of this event is held, a solemn festive service, all night long, on the day of the holiday itself, the divine liturgy. an important distinctive feature, a feature of the service, the exaltation of the cross, is the rank, the carrying out and the raising of the cross. the priests, vested, in purple vestments, the color of lent, bring the cross to the center.

we remember that the cross is not only the instrument of our salvation, on which christ was crucified, but also an integral part of our own spiritual life, a spiritual weapon for each of us. in the holy gospel we find the following words of the lord jesus christ. he who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. and from the tradition

of the orthodox church we learn that a person's bearing of his cross is the image spiritual life of a christian. but what does it mean to bear one's cross? of course, looking at the cross of christ, we remember the suffering, crucifixion and death of the lord. however, already in the holy scriptures of the old testament, we find many images that point to the already creating. the cross of christ, so the holy church compares the cross with the paradise tree of life, also the cross, like the tree laid by moses among the mountainous waters of mera, to quench the thirst of the israeli people during the forty-year wandering in the desert. the cross is also compared with the tree of the shadow of which weary travelers stop to rest. the cross is not only an image of the work

of sorrows, but also something that gives hope to those who seek god. i attach to us on this holiday, for worship of the honest cross, the church strengthens us, because the crucifixion on the cross was followed by the resurrection from the dead of the lord jesus christ. and joy for all his disciples. so every christian, worthily bearing the cross of his spiritual life, receives a blessing from god. and the gift of easter joy. we see that by bearing the cross is meant overcoming with good spirits by hope in the lord all those difficulties and sorrows that we encounter on our life's path. moreover, to bear one's cross does not only mean to endure sorrows and griefs. in patristic literature there is the concept of voluntary sorrows. these are those good works,

a person also bears his cross with dignity. in the orthodox tradition we find many references to the fact that bearing one's cross with dignity presupposes the uncomplaining overcoming of sorrows and difficulties encountered in life, in joyful, pleasant moments of earthly life. of course, yes, and, as it turns out that it is harder to do this in joy than in sorrow. let's. remember the famous phrase: to go through fire, water and copper pipes. many manage to go through fire and water, that is, to overcome some life obstacles, personal sorrows. but it is difficult to endure

the temptation of copper pipes, that is, the test of wealth, good health, recognition in society. if we honestly look at our lives and ask ... in the temple, why are they here, then we will hear that many began to seek god after some things happened in their lives sorrows, death of loved ones, health problems, troubles at work or in personal life. and thank god that such people came to the temple, turned to our savior, jesus christ, and not to someone else. but why are there so few who came to the temple for joy? to thank god for healing, starting a family, getting a good job or successfully passing an exam. unfortunately, an imperfect person tends to quickly forget the good and perceive it as a given, not worth much attention. even on

the pages of the gospel we find a story about how the lord jesus christ healed 10 people who were suffering from a serious illness. leprosy. and how many of those who were completely cured guessed to return to thank him, only one in ten. it must be said that after two thousand years the situation has not changed. only a few people strive to glorify god in joy and prosperity. at the same time, there is an opinion that sometimes through sorrows god tries to reach a person who does not hear his gates. it is really very important to be able to thank god for everything he gives us in our lives. the ability to be grateful is an important virtue of a christian, because even the main christian sacrament is called the eucharist, which

in greek means thanksgiving. and the easiest way to thank god is for the joys, acquisitions and achievements that happen in our lives. an important quality of a more spiritually perfect person is the ability to thank god not only for joys, but for sorrows, which also happen in our lives . what is the meaning of thanksgiving for difficulty and grief. after all, an ordinary person, on the contrary, tries with all his might to avoid or eliminate any difficulty that happens to him. the fact is that believers see a slightly different meaning in sorrows. after all, sorrow can be not only something that depresses us, but also something that helps us rise, grow, improve. often, the sorrowful circumstances of our lives prompt us to action, to solve a problem, give experience.

this is exactly how christians treat sorrows, as a lesson in spiritual life, an opportunity to overcome them, become better, purer, closer to god. if we learn to look at our lives this way, then we will soon see that even from seemingly urgent, depressing circumstances we can extract benefit for our spiritual life. every cloud has a silver lining. and then carrying our cross will be something unbearable for us, and a blessing in the spiritual sense, joyful. dear brothers and sisters, may today's holiday encourage us and inspire us to a heartfelt spiritual life, because when we carry our cross, we must remember that the first to carry his cross was the lord jesus christ, he is always next to us, he helps us to walk along life, happy holiday.

we continue the morning news broadcast in the studio sergey lopanitsyn, good morning! the most difficult time is ahead, the election campaign, and this is always a battlefield. the president made such a statement yesterday, making personnel decisions. alexander lukashenko agreed on the appointment of new managers of local authorities, a number of large enterprises and organizations. also the first. called on everyone to actively work on the ground. i want to thank you.