Why is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross a fast day?translated

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is one of the twelve main holidays of the Orthodox Church. It would seem that on a holiday you need to rejoice and have fun, including at the table. However, on this day believers observe strict fasting. Why?

Priest Evgeny MURZIN

editor of the direction "Faith and Church"

The fact is that the Feast of the Exaltation, established in memory of the discovery of the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, in addition to its purely historical content, has a special spiritual meaning. The Church turns our gaze to the Cross of Christ itself, the redemptive suffering and death of the Savior.

Therefore, even the solemn church service, which contains all the elements of the holiday (the all-night vigil with the litia and the solemn rite of the Exaltation of the Cross, special antiphons, the entrance verse and the tribute at the liturgy) is imbued with the theme of the Passion of Christ, repentance and reverence for the Sacrifice of the Lord, who voluntarily accepted suffering for the salvation of humanity and won victory over sin and death on the Cross. That is why a strict fast was established on the day of the Exaltation. It reminds us of the price of this victory.

Thus, the holiday combines two, at first glance, opposite themes: the joy of salvation...