The Cross of Christ

Why we should place a cross by our entrance door

On Saturday morning, in the very early hours, I received a text message from a trusted priest friend, informing me of an apparition of the Holy Theotokos that had appeared on the Holy Mountain, shortly after all the monasteries had prayed the Paraklesis to the Mother of God, asking her to end the pandemic. She had allegedly informed the Athonite monks that all Orthodox Christians needed to immediately place a cross (or form a cross with olive oil) on their front doors, as a protection from the pandemic that is spreading across the world.

The urgency by which the message was imparted made me feel time was of the essence, so I arose from my bed, and checked the front doors of all the monks of the monastery, just to make sure there was indeed a cross (there was). I then sent out an email to many friends and fellow clergy, informing them of this message from the Holy Virgin. It must be noted that the Church’s history is filled with many apparitions of the Holy Virgin, where she appeared before God’s people, giving comfort or direction during times of need.

Late Saturday morning, I received a call from someone who questioned the legitimacy of the apparition. After calling the priest who’d sent me the original text message, and hearing from him that he’d receive the information from one of his parishioners, I sent an email to Archimandrite Cherubim of Saint Anne’s Skete on the Holy Mountain (a long time friend), asking him if there were any truth to this message. It turns out that it was indeed not true. I’ve since learned that it likely originated in Romania, and that the photograph was at least two years old, and came from Spain.

A few have criticised me for “panicking” after the initial message from my priest friend, and failing to “check it out first”, before sending out an alert. To all of you I humbly ask forgiveness. Both my priest friend and I care a lot for our fellow Orthodox Christians, and given the urgency of the supposed message from the Holy Theotokos, we both chose to act immediately.  We both wanted to spare our fellow believers from whatever might take place, should they not place that cross on the front of their homes. Needless to say, we are both very sorry for the fear we may have caused in our swiftness to sound the alarm.

The story of the blood on the lintels of the doors of the Isrialites, meant to protect them from the Angel of Death that would fly over their city, during the time of their captivity under the Pharaoh of Egypt, immediately came to mind, so I felt I should pass on the message.

That said, I do know that we Orthodox have an ancient tradition of placing a cross by the doors to our homes, and, during this pandemic, I believe it is a tradition we should all adhere to. Whomever chose to send out this message, as though it were indeed from the Holy Virgin, in the long run has done us all a favor. As Christians, we need to announce to everyone who would visit us, that we belong to Jesus Christ, and that He is our Lord and Saviour. By posting a cross near the doors to our homes, we show the world that we trust God to protect us. If our neighbor can proudly display an American flag from their front porch, how more proudly we should announce to everyone that we are of Christ.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Tuesday March 31, 2020 / March 18, 2020
Fifth Week of the Great Lent. Tone eight.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Food without Oil
St. Cyril, archbishop of Jerusalem (386).
New Hieromartyr Demetrius priest, Virgin-martyr Natalia (1938).
Venerable Maria (Skobtsova), nun, who suffered at Ravensbruck (1945).
Martyrs Trophimus and Eucarpus of Nicomedia (300).
Venerable Ananias (Aninas), presbyter and monk, of the Euphrates.
St. Edward the Martyr, king of England (978) (Celtic & British).
The 10,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia.
St. Tetricus, bishop of Langres in Gaul (572-573) (Gaul).
Venerable Daniel, monk of Egypt (6th c.).
Venerable Cyril of Astrakhan (1576).

The Scripture Readings

Isaiah 40:18-31

18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Genesis 15:1-15

God’s Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

Proverbs 15:7-19

7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge,
But the heart of the fool does not do so.

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
But He loves him who follows righteousness.

10 Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way,
And he who hates correction will die.

11 Hell and Destruction are before the Lord;
So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.

12 A scoffer does not love one who corrects him,
Nor will he go to the wise.

13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

15 All the days of the afflicted are evil,
But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord,
Than great treasure with trouble.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
Than a fatted calf with hatred.

18 A wrathful man stirs up strife,
But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But the way of the upright is a highway.