Readings for the feast of
The Elevation of the Cross

according to the Orthodox Church

Troparion
O Lord, save Your people,
And bless You inheritance.
Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians
Over their adversaries.
And by virtue of Your Cross,
Preserve Your habitation.

Kontakion
As You were voluntarily raised upon the cross for our sake,
Grant mercy to those who are called by Your Name, O Christ God;
Make all Orthodox Christians glad by Your power,
Granting them victories over their adversaries,
By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy, Your weapon of Peace.


Vespers 1 - Exodus 15:22-16:1
Vespers 2 - Proverbs 3:11-18
Vespers 3 - Isaiah 60:11-16
Matins Gospel - John 12:28-36
Epistle - 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Gospel - John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35




Vespers 1
Exodus 15:22-16:1

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.  Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.  And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.


Vespers 2
Proverbs 3:11-18

  My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
    Nor detest His correction;
  For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
    Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
  Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    And the man who gains understanding;
  For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
    And her gain than fine gold.
  She is more precious than rubies,
    And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
  Length of days is in her right hand,
    In her left hand riches and honor.
  Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
    And all her paths are peace.
  She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
    And happy are all who retain her.

Vespers 3
Isaiah 60:11-16

  Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
    They shall not be shut day or night,
    That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
    And their kings in procession.
  For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish,
    And those nations shall be utterly ruined.
  “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
    The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
    To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
    And I will make the place of My feet glorious.
  Also the sons of those who afflicted you
    Shall come bowing to you,
    And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
    And they shall call you
    The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
  “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    So that no one went through you,
    I will make you an eternal excellence,
    A joy of many generations.
  You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
    And milk the breast of kings;
    You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Matins Gospel
John 12:28-36

Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Epistle
1 Corinthians 1:18-24

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Gospel
John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35

Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.



 
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