The Holy Cross – a Testimony to the Invincibility of the Church of God
Sermon by the Blessed Reposed Metropolitan Amphilochius in the Patriarchal Chapel in Belgrade, May 20, 2009

Christ is Risen!

Today we remember, dear brothers and sisters, that great event that took place in the holy city of Jerusalem during the time of the Archbishop of Jerusalem, Patriarch Kirill. These days, his book has also been published, the famous sermons that he delivered during Lent in the holy city of Jerusalem, and, among these sermons, his letter, translated into Serbian, which he sent to the then Byzantine Emperor Constans, in which he describes that event that took place in his time. So, he is a living eyewitness, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, of the event that a golden cross appeared at the tomb of the Lord, which illuminated the entire city of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, where the Lord spent the last night in prayer during His arrest and condemnation to crucifixion. A great event that shook not only the Christians who lived at that time, that is, the 4th century in Jerusalem, but also many pagans and Jews were shaken, and this appearance of the Holy Cross was the reason why many accepted the Christian faith.

And today is also connected with the twelve Equal-to-the-Apostles teachers of the Church of God, who, by the inspiration of God, and the first among them was John, went to Georgia at the call of God to preach the Gospel of Christ. Before them was the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, who preached Christ in Georgia. Thus, Georgians are among the first Christian nations, we boast a little that we became fully Christians during the time of Saint Sava, and Georgians already in the 4th century before us, and Saint Nina Equal to the Apostles, there is her monastery, there are her holy relics that are still kept in Georgia today. The great people of God, the Christian people, the suffering people of Georgians, who suffered terribly, especially during the time of Turkish slavery. This was reflected even more severely on the Georgians than on us. So, those twelve teachers of the Church of God, at the call of God, they went to preach the holy work of the Church of Christ and establish it in

the Georgian people, thanks to which that people have remained a Christian people today. A great event and an indicator that God wants the salvation of all people and all nations, not just one nation. In the first place, that chosen people of God, from whom the Lord was born, and then in turn the Greeks, and then in turn the Romans, and then the Syrians, Africans, and Ethiopians… And then in turn, slowly, all the peoples of that time, until our times, each in its own way, accept the faith, accept the Holy Gospel, confess Christ as the Son of God, as Savior and Redeemer. And so today, behold, the Gospel of Christ is preached throughout the world, the Holy Word of God, the Holy Revelation of God, especially the New Testament, has been translated into thousands of languages. There is no dialect on earth into which the Holy Scriptures have not been translated! There are other famous books and great writers, but no book has had as much influence on people, on the peoples of the earth, and does not have as much influence as the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God and the Revelation of the Old and New Testaments, and today it is preached in all the languages ​​of the earth, on all the continents.

So you see, at the Council here now, our hierarchs who have arrived from Australia, from Europe, from America, from Canada, our Church has been spread by the Lord. It has been here in these parts of ours for centuries, where Saint Sava and Saint Simeon were. However, by some divine means, as happened in the early Church (when they began to persecute Christians in Jerusalem, they fled throughout Palestine and Samaria, reached Damascus, to Antioch, and then in turn), so it happened to us too! Due to the troubles we had during the 20th century, many of our people fled across Europe, especially due to the troubles of World War II, and even this unfortunate war, Orthodox Serbs fled to all five continents: to Africa, the South African Republic, to Australia, to America, to Latin America, and together with them our priests, together with them our bishops, and there is no Church without a bishop, where there is a bishop, there is the Church of God. Where there is a bishop with priests, with deacons and with the people who serve the Liturgy, there is one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. And so the Orthodox Serbs were scattered, and not only Orthodox Serbs, but also Orthodox Russians. The great and terrible misfortune of the Russian people, because of the revolution, five million Russians were dispersed, after the great crucifixion of the Russian people. But through that crucifixion and the testimony of the living God, Orthodox Russians have witnessed to Christ the Lord and the Orthodox faith throughout the world, leaving a deep mark and leaving it in France, Germany, America and Latin America, Australia and everywhere in the world!

So, that crucifixion of the Russian Orthodox Church of God, it has yielded the resurrection of millions of souls throughout the world. Thus God uses both crucifixions and trials, He tests people and nations with them, and then nations become even more deeply attached to the Lord, and so in turn other Orthodox nations. And then many who lived in darkness, in Africa, in Asia and throughout America, who were on the wrong path, have accepted the Orthodox faith. Today you have Orthodox French, Spanish, Americans, you have Orthodox Mexicans, Brazilians, Orthodox Germans, Orthodox Chinese and Japanese, we also have the Orthodox Japanese Church! There, Saint Nicholas, Equal to the Apostles, preached Christ in the 19th century. You have Orthodox blacks and bishops. That is the Church of God, because the Lord did not say go and baptize only one nation, but He also says to His apostles and to all of us: “Go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

That sign of the Holy Cross, which was described and written down by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, is a testimony to the invincible power of God and the invincibility of the Church of God. And our local Church is a testimony to that invincibility of the Church of God. What did our Church suffer in the 20th century, how many bishops were killed, how many priests suffered in both the First and Second World Wars, how many people were crucified and suffered after that!? And it seemed to us that there was no more salvation for that people. And you see, the people have spread throughout the world, steadfast and stable, and will remain so as long as they are attached to Christ the Lord, to the Church of God as a pillar and fortress of truth. That is its strength, that is the strength of this people, and that is the strength and power of all the peoples of the earth.

And therefore, today we celebrate the appearance of the Precious Cross and we also celebrate the Holy Georgian Churches of God, because they are also our apostles, just as those who preached Christ among us are also their apostles. The Church of God is one with all the Saints and in all the peoples of the earth, it appears, testifies and reveals to all and is a witness to the truth of Christ and will be a witness until the end of the world and the age, a witness to the crucified and resurrected Christ, and therefore we greet each other with this wonderful greeting: Christ is Risen!

Transcript Danilo Balaban