In every person’s life come moments of pain, trial, confusion, and fear. When troubles weigh us down, when we see our own suffering or that of those we love, the mind begins to struggle: “Why, Lord, is this happening to me? Why do You allow so much suffering in the world? When will this end? How will I endure?” These questions seem natural to the human heart, but according to the teaching of Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, they conceal a subtle spiritual danger: a hidden

1. Introduction The Honorable Cross is the central symbol of Christian Orthodoxy. It is not merely a material object, but the visible...

Prologue The Fathers call this feast the “beginning of feasts,” because it opens the dispensation of salvation “according to the Law and...