{"id":1176,"date":"2025-09-14T10:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T09:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2025-09-23T21:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:58:10","slug":"h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-of-swedens-homily-on-the-universal-elevation-of-the-holy-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-of-swedens-homily-on-the-universal-elevation-of-the-holy-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden\u2019s Homily On the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

St. George Cathedral of Stockholm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday, September 14, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beloved children,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we celebrate the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross. In our lives, we are all bearers of the Cross. “Come, therefore, let us also, with purified minds, walk with Him and be crucified with Him, and die to the pleasures of life for His sake, so that we may also live with Him\u2026” (Sticheron Idiomelon hymn of the Great and Holy Monday)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his First Epistle, Apostle Peter writes that Christ suffered for our sake and became an \u201cexample\u201d, a perfect model, so that we might imitate Him and follow in His footsteps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is no person who does not carry their own cross. Even those whom we envy, thinking they have no problems, bear their own struggles. They may not carry our cross, but unfortunately, we believe ours is always the heaviest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mystery of the Cross in our lives is great. We often wonder: Why do the wealthy, who have everything, seem to live comfortably, while the poor suffer? Why does one young person die suddenly, while another lives to be one hundred?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Anthony the Great wrestled with the same questions and turned them into prayer. God answered him: “Anthony, take care of your own soul. These are My mysteries, which cannot fit into your human mind. They surpass you. You, who have a limited understanding, seek to comprehend the incomprehensible. The only thing you need to understand is this: God is love.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At such moments, it is better to remain silent and to wait. Perhaps later, even years later, we may be given the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God assigns to each person a cross according to their strength; not to crush them, but to raise them to perfection. In reality, the Cross is a ladder to Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through His Divine Passion, Jesus the God-Man shares in the suffering and trials of humanity. The \u201cburial of God incarnate\u201d represents His participation in human suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ suffers with the suffering and those who suffer hardships together with him. Now Risen, He walks alongside Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus, affirming His promise to us: \u201cBehold, I am with you always, till the end of the age.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough Christ\u2019s sufferings, as well as through His Incarnation and Resurrection, we learn the overwhelming measure of God\u2019s love for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that without trials, we run the risk of falling into the illusion of self-sufficiency,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thinking we are independent, and free, but this false freedom empties us and enslaves us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pain, even the pain of death itself, makes us more human, more compassionate, more tenderhearted. Through suffering, love springs forth from within us, our soul becomes gentler, and our life is deeply marked by grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Divine Grace, the heart expands and becomes more spacious. Our complaints can transform into prayer, not only for ourselves but for the entire world, for all those unknown people who suffer like us, and even for those who suffer more than us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the ethos we are called to carry into every aspect of our lives; in the Divine Liturgy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

after the Liturgy, and into all that we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When everything in our life becomes a liturgical act, then everything we do is done by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, who sustains the life of the Church and strengthens the personal spiritual journey of every believer. Amen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Sunday, September 14, 2025 Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Beloved children, Today, we celebrate the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross. In our lives, we are all bearers of the Cross. “Come, therefore, let us also, with purified minds, walk with Him and be crucified with Him, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,15],"tags":[22,24],"class_list":["post-1176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homilies","category-news","tag-homily","tag-st-georgios-cathedral-stockholm"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured-3.jpg?fit=650%2C489&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3496,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-homily-on-the-third-stanza-of-the-akathist\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":0},"title":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas\u2019 Homily on the Third Stanza of the Akathist, 13\/3\/2026","author":"mplexus","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Friday, March 13, 2026 Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In the third stanza of the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, the Church continues the angelic greeting that began at the Annunciation. After the Archangel\u2019s message to the Virgin, we behold the mystery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/featured-8.jpg?fit=800%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1938,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-feast-of-saint-nicholas-at-the-finnish-parish-of-stockholm\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":1},"title":"The Feast of Saint Nicholas at the Finnish Parish of Stockholm","author":"mplexus","date":"December 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] On the morning of Saturday, December 6, 2025, His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia presided over the Divine Liturgy in Chorostasia at the festal Finnish Parish of Saint Nicholas in Stockholm. Concelebrating with him were the Very Rev. Archimandrite Bartholomew Iatridis, Parish Priest of Saint George\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-3.jpg?fit=800%2C415&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1196,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-of-swedens-homily-on-sunday-after-the-elevation-of-holy-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":2},"title":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden\u2019s Homily on Sunday after the Elevation of Holy Cross","author":"mplexus","date":"September 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Sunday, September 21, 2025 Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Both last Sunday and today are dedicated to the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. The Church places the Cross at the very midpoint of many holy services, so that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]Religious Cross, Holy Cross[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550554007_1094081866211556_3164226139728304015_n-2.jpg?fit=768%2C432&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550554007_1094081866211556_3164226139728304015_n-2.jpg?fit=768%2C432&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550554007_1094081866211556_3164226139728304015_n-2.jpg?fit=768%2C432&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/550554007_1094081866211556_3164226139728304015_n-2.jpg?fit=768%2C432&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1932,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-homily-on-the-entrance-of-the-theotokos-into-the-temple-and-the-nativity-of-chirst\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":3},"title":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas\u2019 Homily on the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple and the Nativity of Chirst","author":"mplexus","date":"November 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Sunday, November 23, 2025 Dearly Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Let us reflect upon two radiant feasts that illuminate the entire mystery of salvation, the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple and the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-2.jpg?fit=800%2C352&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-2.jpg?fit=800%2C352&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-2.jpg?fit=800%2C352&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/featured-2.jpg?fit=800%2C352&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":639,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/h-e-metropolitan-cleopas-of-swedens-homily-on-the-12th-sunday-of-matthew\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":4},"title":"H.E. Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden\u2019s Homily on the 12th Sunday of Matthew","author":"mplexus","date":"September 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] St. George Cathedral of Stockholm Sunday, August 31, 2025 Dearly Beloved Brothers & Sisters in Christ, In today\u2019s Gospel reading, we learn about a young man seeking eternal life, out of earnest desire. Christ first gently guides him toward the commandments; what the Mosaic Law demands. St. John Chrysostom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"[:en]20250831 \u0392\u03c5\u03b6\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03ae \u03a7\u03bf\u03c1\u03c9\u03b4\u03af\u03b1 \u03a1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1\u03bd\u03cc\u03c2 \u03bf \u039c\u03b5\u03bb\u03c9\u03b4\u03cc\u03c2[:]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2.jpg?fit=600%2C297&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2.jpg?fit=600%2C297&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/featured2.jpg?fit=600%2C297&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2560,"url":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/the-holy-metropolis-of-sweden-on-the-election-of-his-grace-bishop-bartholomew-of-elaia\/","url_meta":{"origin":1176,"position":5},"title":"The Holy Metropolis of Sweden on the Election of His Grace Bishop Bartholomew of Elaia","author":"mplexus","date":"January 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"[:en] Following the conclusion of the proceedings of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, convened on January 8 and 9, 2026 respectively, and during the first session of the first day, upon the return of His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia to his see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homilies"","block_context":{"text":"Homilies","link":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/category\/metropolitan\/homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gomos.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/featured-5.jpg?fit=800%2C458&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1176"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1195,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1176\/revisions\/1195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomos.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}