Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur Despre numele de „cimitir” și despre crucea Domnului și Dumnezeului și Mântuitorului nostru Iisus Hristos
On the name of the Cemetery and on the Cross of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ

Summary/Abstract: This sermon, On the name of the Cemetery and on the Cross of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, can be considered, in our opinion, an encomium of the Holy Cross, a patristic argument for its veneration by the Orthodox Church. A formidable weapon against the devil, the Holy Cross removed the tyranny of death and opened the doors of the Kingdom to us; through the Cross, the cemetery becomes a place of comfort: from the abode of death, it transforms into a place of rest and sleep, where those asleep are placed with the (objective!) hope of resurrection. The meanings of the Holy Cross and of the Savior’s descent into hell are highlighted by St. John with such a realism that seems to project us right to the scene. Also, the explanations he gives for the practice of performing, on Good Friday, the divine services outside the city walls, underline the importance that St. John Chrysostom attaches to a “geographical imitation” of the central acts of the work of salvation accomplished by Christ, which could also help us to better understand and be aware of its spiritual meanings.

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