Orthodox · Compare this tradition with another
احتفالية مرور ١٧ قرنًا على اكتشاف خشبة الصليب بحضور قداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني وأعضاء المجمع المقدس
no name given ·
Koptisch-Orthodoxe Kirche – woechentliche Mittwochspredigt von Papst Tawadros II. ·
2026-09-27
· Kairo
· Source
Community · carrying
Hope · carrying
Repentance
The Cross of Christ is the healing power of God, which kills the pain of sin and saves the spirit from vain thoughts, and is nurtured in the liturgical celebration of the Coptic community as the central axis of faith and prayer.
Sin has a pain that only the Cross kills, and likewise many vain thoughts come to the spirit, from which the Cross saves us. Therefore we pray with these two expressions, which we consider to be the vertical and horizontal axis of the Cross.
The text reports on a celebration of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the occasion of the 17th millennium since the discovery of the wood of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena. The event took place in the Cathedral of St. Mark in El-Esbia and was under the motto that the Cross of Christ is the power of God. Pope Tawadros II. led the celebration by carrying a piece of the Cross wood, and bishops as well as clergy received the blessing. The program included a speech by the Bishop of Assiut, a poem, a theatrical performance, and choral contributions. In his closing address, the Pope praised the performances and explained the significance of the Cross for prayer. He compared two prayer expressions with the vertical and horizontal axis of the Cross, which kills pain and saves the spirit. The text connects historical remembrance with present liturgical practice and theological interpretation.
- What, according to this text, is the root of the evil?
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Sin, personal failure, guilt before God; Ignorance, illusion, a false view of reality (inferred)
- Where does the evil reside?
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in the heart, the will, or the soul of the individual
- What helps against it?
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prayer, worship, meditation, repeated practice; solidarity, mutual help, belonging
- What is human being according to this text?
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fallen, not able to be made whole by one's own strength
- Where is history heading?
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the message stands outside of history
- What does the text base its claim on?
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on a present head, teacher, or office; on tradition, the fathers, an established practice
- To whom does the text's call for devotion apply?
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to one's own fellow believers
- Where is the text's criticism directed?
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the text does not criticise
Related texts from other traditions
by similarity of the analysis, one text per tradition
What the text calls for
- Das Kreuz im Gebet als heilende Kraft anrufen (ritual)
- Die Bedeutung des Kreuzes in der Gemeinde pflegen (inward)
Passages cited
1 Kor 2,2
Measured
- Basic stance
- 2 from -2 to 2
- Insistence
- 2 of 3
- Reach
- 3 of 5
- Concreteness
- 2 of 3
- Boundary
- 0 of 3
- Time
- past 3, present 2, future 0
Analysed with qwen3.8-27b, version v3.
The same standards apply to every tradition, see Values.
Full text in English
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated today, coinciding with the Feast of the Cross, the 17th-century anniversary of the discovery of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, at the St. Mark Cathedral in Abbasiya.
The celebration was held under the slogan “By This You Conquer – The Cross of Christ is the Power of God” (326–2026), and was attended by priests, monks, nuns, deacons, and deaconesses from the dioceses of the Coptic Patriarchate in Egypt.
His Holiness the Pope launched the start of the celebration by carrying a piece of the wood of the Cross, and the Metropolitan and Bishop fathers proceeded in order to receive the blessing from the wood of the Cross. Then, a commemorative photograph was taken with His Holiness the Pope in the center, holding the sacred piece in his hand, and imaginary clips depicting the story of the discovery of the Cross were displayed on the screens.
Subsequently, the procession of His Holiness the Pope and the Metropolitan and Bishop fathers proceeded towards the St. Abba Royes stage, accompanied by the chanting of the Cross hymns by the choir of deacons, and His Holiness signed the document commemorating the occasion.
The program of the celebration included a speech by His Beatitude Bishop Yohannes, Bishop of Asyut and Secretary of the Holy Synod, in which he emphasized the importance of constantly focusing on the Cross, citing the verse: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). It also included a poetic song about the Cross by the cantor Ibrahim Farag, cantor of the Queen Helena Church in Maadi, followed by a theatrical performance titled “They Were in Need,” which featured several hymns presented by the theatrical team of the St. George Martyr Church in Sohag and the “Fruit of His Lips” choir belonging to the same church, in collaboration with the “Sons of the Apostles” choir of the Diocese of Asyut, and the “Heavenly Melodies” choir of the Virgin Mary Church in El-Fagala.
The celebration concluded with a speech by His Holiness the Pope, in which he praised the theatrical performance in all its elements, offering greetings to His Beatitude Bishop Yohannes and to the cantor who recited the poetic song.
Regarding the Cross, His Holiness said: “We pray in the Sixth Hour prayer, saying, ‘Kill our pains with your healing, life-giving pains,’ and we also say, ‘Deliver our minds from the recklessness of elemental works.’ Sin has a pain that only the Cross can kill, and likewise, the mind is filled with many meaningless thoughts from which the Cross saves us. Therefore, we pray with these two phrases, which we consider to be the vertical and horizontal arms of the Cross.”
Full text in the original
احتفلت الكنيسة القبطية الأرثوذكسية اليوم بالتزامن مع عيد الصليب، بذكرى مرور ١٧ قرنًا على اكتشاف خشبة الصليب المقدس بواسطة الملكة هيلانة وذلك بالكاتدرائية المرقسية بالعباسية.
أقيمت الاحتفالية تحت شعار “بهذا تغلب – صليب المسيح قوة الله” (٣٢٦ – ٢٠٢٦)، وحضرها كهنة ورهبان وراهبات وخدام وخادمات من إيبارشيات الكرازة المرقسية بمصر.
أطلق قداسة البابا إشارة بدء الاحتفالية بحمله قطعة من خشبة الصليب وتقدم الآباء المطارنة والأساقفة بالترتيب لنوال البركة من خشبة الصليب، ثم التقطت صورة تذكارية توسطها قداسة البابا وبيده القطعة المقدسة، وعرضت على الشاشات لقطات تخيلية لقصة اكتشاف الصليب.
ثم سار موكب قداسة البابا والآباء المطارنة والأساقفة في اتجاه مسرح الأنبا رويس وسط ترتيل خورس الشمامسة ألحان الصليب، ووقع قداسته على الوثيقة التي تؤرخ للمناسبة.
تضمن برنامج الاحتفالية كلمة لنيافة الأنبا يوأنس مطران أسيوط سكرتير المجمع المقدس، أشار خلالها إلى أهمية التركيز الدائم على الصليب، مستخدمًا الآية “لَمْ أَعْزِمْ أَنْ أَعْرِفَ شَيْئًا بَيْنَكُمْ إلاَّ يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحَ وَإِيَّاهُ مَصْلُوبًا” (١كو ٢: ٢). وقصيدة شعرية عن الصليب للمرتل إبراهيم فرج مرتل كنيسة الملكة هيلانة بالمعادي، ثم عرضًا مسرحيًّا حمل اسم “كانوا محتاجين” تضمن عدة ترانيم قدمه الفريق المسرحي بكنيسة الشهيد مار جرجس بسوهاج وفريق كورال ثمر شفاه التابع للكنيسة ذاتها، بالاشتراك مع فريق كورال “أبناء الرسل” – إيبارشية أسيوط، وفريق كورال أنغام سماوية – كنيسة السيدة العذراء بالفجالة.
واختتمت الاحتفالية بكلمة قداسة البابا التي أثنى فيها على العمل المسرحي بكافة عناصره، مقدمًا التحية لنيافة الأنبا يوأنس وللمرتل الذي ألقى القصيدة الشعرية.
وعن الصليب قال قداسته: “إننا نصلي في صلاة الساعة السادسة قائلين “اقتل أوجاعنا بالآمك الشافية المحيية وأيضًا نقول “أنقذ عقولنا من طياشة الأعمال الهيولية”، الخطية لها وجع لا يقتله إلا الصليب وكذلك العقل تخطر به أفكار كثيرة بلا معنى ينقذنا منها الصليب لذلك نصلى بهاتين العبارتين اللتان نعتبرهما عارضتا الصليب الرأسية والأفقية.”