Holy Cross Day

Fredericksburg Va
This morning at Holy Cross Anglican Church we celebrated Holy Cross Day a day early as it is our dedication day, followed be a nice feast and fellowship. Afterwards I visited some sites around town and noticed on Marye's Heights an 1862 photo that clearly showed St George Church steeple. Later, downtown, I waked but the old church and saw that there would be an evening Eucharist--a chance for me to gain entrance to see the interior. As luck would have it I took the pew to the rear on the westward side. In the course of the service I became aware of the beautiful window at the end of the pew in front of me. As it was near the street side it got more of the evening sun than any other window. Indeed the rest of the church was relatively dim to dark. I steadied the BB on the back of the pew and captured this shot. Now it is significant in a couple of ways: Firstly, note that it has wood grain-as did the True Cross. Secondly, note that in the center it has the chi-rho, the first two initials of the Greek word-name Christi. Earlier that morning I had preached on this Christogram and its significance to Constantine, his mother Helena who uncovered the cross, and to the cohort of Rome that accompanied her from Rome to protect and defend her, and to participate in the excavations that uncovered the Cross. The legionaires bore upon their shields this very symbol that Constantine had seen in the heavens before the great battle of Saxa Ruba. It is also the symbol of many Orders today including the Labarum Guard of the Order of Centurions, whose lapel pin, a hand painted chi rho shield, I wore on my blazer that morning. You see, the cross was a rarely used symbol of the early church until this event, and now is ubiquitous. Thirdly, the timing of this string of events. I sent the photo with a link to the propers to the Order and reflected and still reflect on the things which seem to me out of the ordinary to say the least. Lift High the Cross; en touto nika.
http://www.orderofcenturions.org/documents/holy_cross.html

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