Theological and Orthodox reference to the importance of the Cross in our lives – By Metropolitan Seraphim Kykkotis of Zimbabwetranslated

The connection of the Cross with the salvation of man by Jesus Christ made the Cross a symbol of sacrifice and a foreshadowing of the Resurrection. Thus, the Cross in Christianity is the ultimate emblem of salvation. One of the best-known hymn writers of our Church, Saint Andrew of Crete (end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th century), expressing the theological significance of the Cross, as it was consolidated in the Christian Tradition, emphasizes that the Cross is the hope of Christians, that it is the savior of the desperate:

"...the giver of health, a road leading to virtue..." (Hymn from the service of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, P.G. 97, 1020).

Through the Cross, the multitude of God's love and charity is abundantly manifested in the world. Therefore, the sign of the Cross in the worship and in the hymnology of our Church precisely serves the recognition of this faith on the part of the faithful. The beginning and end of every liturgical act or ceremony—even the realization of every important work in our personal lives—is always marked by the sign of the Cross.

The Sacrifice of the Cross as Redemption from the Fall 1. From Dishonorable Death to Victory over Death

The cross...