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Origin (pre-origin, carrying in front) of the tree (i.e., part of the original Cross) of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord The expression “origin” in the present case has become stronger among us due to an inaccurate translation of the Greek word πρόοδος. In the Greek Book of Hours of 1838, the origin of this holiday is explained as follows: “Due to illnesses that occurred very often in August, the custom was established in Constantinople from ancient times to wear the venerable tree of the Cross on roads and streets to consecrate places and ward off illnesses. The day before, on July 31st, having worn it out of the royal treasury, they relied on St. the meal of the great church. From this day onwards, until the Dormition of the Mother of God, litias were celebrated throughout the city and the Holy Cross was offered to the people for veneration. This is the origin (πρόοδος) of the Honorable Cross.” On August 14, the Cross returned to the royal chambers again. This custom, in combination with another - to consecrate water in the court church of Constantinople on the first day of each month (except for January, when the consecration of water took place on the 6th, and September, when it took place on the 14th) and served as the basis for the holiday in honor of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross and the solemn consecration of water, which takes place on this day (Christ. Thur. 1852, part. 1, p. 506). Feast of the All-Merciful Savior, Christ our God, and Most Holy. Theotokos Mary, His Mother This holiday was established in 1164, both in Greece and in Russia, on the occasion of the complete triumph of the Russians over the Bulgarians and the victories of Emperor Manuel over the Mohammedan Arabs (see in the life of the blessed Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky - June 30): only there, in the brevity of the expression, perhaps an inaccuracy or omission crept in. It would be necessary to say: “it was decided to celebrate the All-Merciful Savior and His Most Pure Mother.” Memory of St. Martyrs of the Old Testament Maccabees The name Maccabee means: who is like You in God, O Lord. Initially it belonged to Judah, the Jewish leader who victoriously fought against the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Mac. 2:4, 66, 3:1, 2 Mac. 8:1); then it passed to all the brothers and descendants of Judas and his brothers and their contemporary martyrs, whose suffering for preserving the pious customs of their fathers, as well as the exploits of Judas and his successors for the independence of the Church and the fatherland, belong to the same time and motives and are handed down to posterity in the books of the Maccabees. The holy Maccabee martyrs won the crowns of martyrdom 167 years BC during the days of grave slavery to which the Lord subjected his people for their sins. In those days the sons of iniquity came out of Israel, which tempted many to depart from the Holy One. covenant with God and make a covenant with the Gentiles; They created a school in Jerusalem according to the laws of the pagans, converted circumcision and gave themselves up to doing evil (1 Mac. 1:11-15): the honor of the fathers is of no account to me, but the glory of the Hellenism is preferable to me: for their sake I have embraced a cruel situation, and for them I am jealous of their instructions, and I really want to become like them, these enemies and tormentors havinghu (2Mac.4:15-16). Suffering under the rule of the cruel Antiochus Epiphanes, who is called the root of sin (1 Mac. 1:10), the Jews, excited by the appearance of fighting troops in the air, seen for almost 40 days, and by false rumors about the imaginary death of their absent ruler, rebelled in 169 BC. to defend their freedom and rushed with arms to their capital to expel enemies from it. But the vision foreshadowed the coming disasters for the Jews in Jerusalem. Antiochus, irritated by their uprising, rejoiced at the news of his death, quickly invaded Jerusalem, which was seething with civil strife, and in three days killed 40,000 people, and sold the same number: everyone became a victim of the angry Epiphanes, children, youths, virgins, wives, husbands, elders. Dissatisfied with this revenge, with fierce pride he dared to enter the church of God and steal the veil, sacred vessels and treasures. Then there was great mourning in Israel in every place. Two years after this invasion, Antiochus commanded again and suddenly to attack the Jews on their Sabbath day of rest; they killed many of them, stole their property, burned and destroyed even the walls of Jerusalem, captured their wives and children, stole livestock; The city of David was turned into a fortress, the shrine was desecrated and imposed with tribute. Finally, by order of the persecutor, a Greek appeared in Jerusalem and established idolatry among the Jews, with the death penalty for resistance. Many Jews, out of fear of punishment, deviated from the law of their fathers and decided to make sacrifices to idols. The books of God's covenant were torn and burned, the church of God was desecrated with idols and ungodly sacrifices. The pious hid in the mountains and deserts; fear took possession of everyone: they did not dare to call themselves Jews and act according to the law of Moses. Those who disobeyed the will of the persecutor were tormented. In these days of severe persecution for the Jews, to the consolation of the Old Testament Church of God, many strong confessors of their faith appeared, who, not wanting to renounce the laws of their fathers, chose rather to die than to become defiled and courageously endured martyrdom (1 Mac. 1: 2, Mac. 5, 6, 7). Of these, the Church glorifies the 90-year-old elder scribe Eleazar, the seven Maccabean brothers: Abim, Antoninus, Gurias, Elezar, Euseon, Alim, Marcellus and their mother Solomonia. Eleazar was privately persuaded by his persecutors to pretend to show his deviation from the law, to pretend to eat the sacrificial meat commanded by the king: so that by doing this, he would be delivered from death. The elder, adorned with gray hair and piety, answered: “It is unworthy of my age to be a hypocrite in order to preserve the small life of my days. Young people, looking at me, will also be enticed. If I escape this present torment, then neither living nor dead I will escape the hand of the Almighty,” and this river with diligence will go to the torment. Eleazar, dying, groaned and said: “You, Lord, who have holy omniscience, know that I, having been able to save myself from death, endure cruel torment in my body, and in my soul I feel joy from the fact that I endure this out of reverence for You.” The holy example of Elder Eleazar really aroused imitators. The brothers were forced with whips and ox sinews to eat food prohibited by law, but they did not agree. “We are ready to die rather than break domestic laws,” says the first or eldest young man. He was ordered to cut out his tongue, rip off his skin, cut off members of his body, put him on a hot frying pan and burn him. The brothers and mother looked at these inhuman tortures; they smelled the steam of what was being burned, mutually encouraging each other to the upcoming suffering. Like the first, they tortured the second: they tore off the skin from his head, and while dying he confessed that the King of the world would resurrect us for eternal life for the sake of His laws. The third, with even greater generosity, stood up to suffer, so that the king and those who were with him were amazed at the courage of the young man. Submitting his tongue and hands to be cut off, he said: “I received all this from God, and I hope to receive it from Him again.” The fourth, dying, also confessed the future resurrection of the dead. The fifth during the torment said: “Do not think that our race has been abandoned by God. Slow down and you will see His great power: how will your seed be tormented.” The sixth, dying, said to the tormentor: “Do not be deceived, we suffer for our sins before God. And don’t think that you are innocent, having begun to fight God.” The last one, the youngest; Antiochus convinced and swore that he would make him rich and happy if he deviated from his father’s law. The young man did not listen to anything. Then the king advised his mother that she herself should persuade her youngest and last son to save his life. The generous mother begged her son to spare her, who carried him in her womb, fed him with milk, nurtured him, brought him to age and suffered the illnesses of upbringing. I pray to you, child, that you may look at heaven and earth and understand that God created everything from nothing: do not fear this flesh-breaker, but, as worthy of your brothers, accept death. The son, denouncing the tormentor, confessing his sins and future resurrection, answered: I, as my brethren, betray my soul and body for the laws of my fathers, calling on the merciful God to soon be for Israel: but you confess with torment and beating, for there is only one God. The confessor was put to death with extreme cruelty. A wondrous and worthy mother, looking at the martyrdom of her children, complacently endured, trusting in God, and, encouraging them to be adamant, told them: “It was not I who gave you spirit and life, it was not I who formed your members. The Creator of the world, who created the human race and established birth, will return your spirit and life with mercy, because you sacrifice yourself for His righteous laws.” After her seven sons, having endured seven deaths with them, the mother was crowned with the incorruptible crown of martyrdom. The Church calls the Holy Martyrs of the Maccabees the seven-numbered pillars of the wisdom of God and the seven-illuminated lamps of divine light, and has glorified them since ancient times. The Fathers of the Church glorify the holy suffering and death of the Maccabees in their songs: in the 3rd century the Hieromartyr Cyprian, in the 4th century Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, in the 5th century Augustine and others, praising the holy courage of the Maccabees. St. Gregory the Theologian in his word in memory of St. The Maccabean martyrs said: “What shall we say about the Maccabees? A real gathering for them: they are worthy to be honored by everyone, because they suffered for the laws of their fathers. Having become martyrs before Christ's suffering, what would they not have done if they had been persecuted after Christ, becoming imitators of His death for us? Who and where were the Maccabees, whose leadership and instruction, using in the beginning, achieved such valor and glory that they were honored with annual celebrations and meetings? St. Ephraim the Syrian says about the Maccabees: “like the stars the seven sons of light shine there, this is the victorious crown of their mother.” St. Chrysostom says: “On the Feast of the Maccabees, the whole village flocked to the city.” In the 8th century St. John of Damascus and Cosmas of Maium wrote sacred stichera, which the Church now raises in honor of the Maccabees on the day of their memory, as the guardians of the Mosaic traditions.