On Monday, September 14, 2026, Metropolitan Arsenios of Austria presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at the Holy Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Vienna. Concelebrating with the Metropolitan were Bishop Maximos of Aristi, as well as the Archdiocesan Vicar, Protopresbyter Ioannis Nikolitsis, and the Cross-bearer Oikonomos Aristeidis Ganosis.
In his sermon, the Metropolitan spoke of the triumphant message of the Holy Cross as a sign of glory and a proof of the loving-kindness of the Triune God, standing in opposition to human notions of pain, defeat, and death. He explained that where the world sees an end, God reveals to us a beginning, and that what is truly condemned is not Christ but sin itself. While the world sees the Giver of Life dying, in reality what dies and ceases to exist is death itself.
He called on the faithful to follow the words of the Apostle to the Nations, Paul, who urges us to glory in the Cross as the highest revelation of God’s love for humanity. He noted in particular: “The Son and Word of God emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and accepted the crown of thorns, the nails, the mockery, the insults, and death, to save humanity.”
He drew the faithful’s attention to the way divine love is expressed, not confined to words, but proven through deeds and action. He called on them to accept Christ, as He stretches out His arms upon the Cross to embrace the whole of creation. As he characteristically stated: “From the height of Golgotha, divine love descends to the deepest wounds of every human existence and brings healing.”
In the Cross, the Church’s teaching finds a wondrous recapitulation of humanity’s history, since “through the tree we fell, and through the tree we received salvation.”
He went on to explain that today’s feast, although observed with strict fasting, is not marked by an atmosphere of despair but, on the contrary, by a festive and triumphant character, since we venerate the Cross of the Lord as a sign of the crushing of death. In this way we are called to follow Christ through the Cross. He calls us to partake in life and not remain fixed in a worship of suffering. What dies is the old self-loving, selfish, resentful, and prideful person, while what is raised is the new person of Grace.
Finally, he called on the faithful to lay at the feet of the Crucified Christ their sins, sorrows, fears, and wounds, as well as those they love and those who have caused them grief. “Let us ask Him to grant us life through the Cross and through the Grace that transforms every cross in our lives into a path to the Resurrection.”
After the Divine Liturgy, the rite of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was performed, and the faithful received his blessing, venerating the Holy Cross with reverence. The Metropolitan wished that the Holy Cross would protect everyone and invited them to share in the joy of the Church’s feast.
