The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross was celebrated with due ecclesiastical splendor in the Archdiocesan District of Northcote, Victoria, at the Archdiocesan Church of Our Lady “Axion Esti”, where Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta officiated during the Matins Service and presided over the Divine Liturgy.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the service of veneration of the Holy Cross took place, while Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta, after conveying to the faithful the wishes and blessings of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, spoke to the congregation about the meaning of the feast day.
Bishop Evmenios explained that the Church places the Holy and Living Cross in the middle of Holy and Great Lent so that the faithful may receive strength and courage in the spiritual struggle they are waging. He pointed out that the Cross is also a reminder of the purpose of the present life, which is to sacrifice for our neighbor. “In other words, let us leave behind us the “I” and say instead “we”, so that we may live for our fellow human being”, emphasized Bishop Evmenios and urged: “Let us, therefore, do this with our own will, because otherwise, it has no benefit”.