Spartiotes Eustathios: The Cross Spiritually Supports Christianstranslated

With ecclesiastical dignity and solemnity, our Church celebrated on Monday, September 14, 2026, the Global Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. At the Metropolitan Cathedral of Evangelistria in Sparta, Morning Prayer and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy were concluded, presided over by the Very Reverend Metropolitan Eustathios.

An appropriate sermon was delivered to the crowded congregation by the Dean of the Metropolitan Church, Director of the Asylum for Strangers in Sparta, and former Deputy of the Areopagus, Venerable Archpriest Georgios Kontos. Among other things, he quoted the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Whoever wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me," which encompass the path that every Christian must follow in order to gain the Kingdom of Heaven. Archpriest Georgios exhorted the faithful to follow the Lord with all the strength of their soul, denying the powerless and sinful self and raising their personal cross with spiritual power and dignity.

Before the Exaltation of the Precious Cross Liturgy, the Archbishop referred to the importance of this day for Orthodoxy. Specifically regarding the Cross, he...