The Third Sunday in Lent

The Veneration of the Cross ... commemorated in the Orthodox Church on the Third Sunday of Lent

Patrick Comerford

This year, the days of Lent and Easter fall on the same dates in both the Western traditions of the Church and in the Orthodox Church. Today (14 March) is the Third Sunday in Lent.

In the Orthodox Church, the Veneration of the Cross is commemorated on the Third Sunday in Lent. In the Western Church, the veneration of the Cross became part of the traditional Good Friday ceremonies. However, in the Orthodox Church, the most ceremonies associated with Good Friday involve the Epitaphios and the procession of the bier of Christ.

Instead, in the Orthodox Church, the Veneration of the Cross takes place on the Third Sunday in Lent because this day is the mid-point of the 40 days of Great Lent.

The services for this day are similar to those on the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on 14 September and the Feast of the Procession of the Cross (1 August).

The Sunday of the Holy Cross is commemorated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, which is preceded by the Matins service.

A Great Vespers is conducted on Saturday evening. Then, after the All-Night Vigil, during Matins, the priest brings the cross out in solemn procession into the centre of the church, where it is censed and venerated by the clergy and faithful, who prostrate themselves in front of the cross and kiss it.

As the priest venerates the Cross, the people chant the hymn:

We venerate your Cross, O Lord,
and glorify your holy Resurrection.

At the conclusion of the Matins (the traditional practice in association with a vigil) or of the Divine Liturgy, a special service is held. The Cross is placed on a tray surrounded by basil or daffodils and is taken in solemn procession through the church to the chanting of the Thrice Holy Hymn. The tray is placed on a table before the people, and the hymn of the Feast of the Cross is chanted.

The cross then remains in the centre of the church from today, until Friday of next week, the Fourth Week in Great Lent, and is venerated after each service again with these words:

We venerate your Cross, O Lord,
and glorify your holy Resurrection.

The Cross and the Resurrection

The Sunday of the Holy Cross prepares us to recall the Crucifixion, and also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ.

As we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24), and will have mortified ourselves during these 40 days of Lent, the precious and life-giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us even though we may be filled with a sense of bitterness, resentment, and depression.

The Cross reminds us of the passion of Christ. By presenting us with his example, it encourages us to follow him in his struggle and sacrifice. The Cross teaches us that through pain and suffering we shall see the fulfilment of our hopes, which is the heavenly inheritance and eternal glory.

Orthodoxy never separates the Cross and the Resurrection, for it is the cross that brings new life, and today’s texts emphasise the new life and renewal that Christ’s death brings to us and to all creation.

The Icon of the Veneration of the Cross

The most common icon associated with this Sunday is the same icon used on the Feast of the Veneration of the Cross on 14 September.

In the icon, the Patriarch Macarius is seen standing in the pulpit elevating the Cross for all to see and to venerate. On each side of the Patriarch a deacon stands, usually holding a candle or candles. The elevated Cross is surrounded and venerated by many clergy and lay people, including Saint Helena and her son, the Emperor Constantine.

In the background, a domed building represents the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. This church was one of the churches built by the Emperor Constantine on the holy sites of Jerusalem.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Director of Spiritual Formation, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and a canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.