Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at the Episcopal Cathedral "Saint George the Great Martyr and Saints Epictetus and Astion" in Saint-Hubert, QC
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated in a special way at the Episcopal Cathedral dedicated to "The Great Martyr George and the Holy Martyrs Epictetus and Astion" in Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The events began on the eve of the Feast, with the service of Vespers with Litia. Then, on Saturday morning, the Matins service was performed, with the procession of the Holy Cross. The Holy Liturgy followed, presided over by the His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian.
In the evening of the same day, starting at 6 p.m., with the blessing of the local Chiriarch, a group of young people and believers of the Cathedral went to the Cross on Mount Royal, where the service of the Akathist of the Holy Cross was performed. At the end of it, the protos. Maxim Morariu read the message sent by His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian on the occasion of this event. The first Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada emphasized, among other things, that:
"In a troubled and turbulent world like the one we live in, the word of the Cross means foolishness to the unbeliever because it represents everything that is contrary to what is being promoted insistently and recklessly more and more. For those who believe, the word of the Cross is the power of God because it urges to the likeness with the Master who created everything and man in His image and likeness. The askesis of the Cross helps us to assume in our personal and social-community life the values of the Kingdom of God. They change our lives and make us like Christ. They open the gates of the Kingdom and make us feel the breeze of Heaven to come. They transfigure our lives and personal relationships into what we will live on a much deeper level in the Kingdom of Heaven."
The Mount Royal Cross Pilgrimage was an initiative of the Cathedral's ROYA youth and is now in its sixth edition. Every year, on the Sunday of the Cross in Great Lent and on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, believers and young people go up here to enjoy uplifting moments of prayer together. Praise God for everything!
Notes by protos. Maxim Morariu
