6th Hour of Friday

With this office, I've concluded 6/7 days of office translation project. There are only 6 offices left before the project is completed.

This particular office is a beautiful look into the Syriac theology of the cross, as was discussed particularly in this post about the qolo.

To access the office, click here.

This office gives a concise yet descriptive introduction into the Syriac placing of the cross within the soteriological scheme. I won't repeat what has already previously discussed in the post linked above, which discusses certain elements such as the personification of the cross, it being a joyous cross rather than a sorrowful one and its essence as a symbol of the incarnation and divine dispensation. Rather, I'd like to just look at the sedro of the office. It can be divided into two portions (as most sedre can): the commemorative aspect, calling to mind the subject of prayer and thanking God for it, and the petition aspect, building on the commemorative part the petition proceeds to implore God about current needs recalling His goodness and response in previous salvation history. (Also relevant was a post I made a while ago on a sedro excerpt from the Feast of the Holy Cross)

The commemorative part, which is an extension of the proemion as the proemion introduces the concept, of the sedro is:

Blessed are You, Tree of Life, Holy Cross, Destroyer of all error and Giver of Salvation to the world. You are a pledge for the refugee in flight from before the bow and a sign of victory in battle. Through you glorious signs and amazing wonders came to pass.

This sedro begins with some of the very descriptive Syriac titles of the cross, addressing the cross itself. The first title is the Tree of Life. The cross is called such because it is a typology of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden (a very Ephremic image); just as the Tree of Life in the Garden, this Tree also bestows life on those who come to it in obedience. Just like the Tree of Life, the cross bears a fruit which bestows eternal life on those who eat of it (i.e. the holy body of Christ); often in Syriac liturgy, a comparison is drawn between the fruit Adam ate which brought misfortune upon him and his children and the fruit come down from heaven, which hung upon the new Tree of Life and tasted death in His infinite mercy, despite being the Immortal One. By this very act, "Sheol was destroyed." The cross is called holy quite obviously because it is a very holy thing since it participated in God's redemptive plan. It is also called the Destroyer of all error because it cast a light which dispelled the darkness of paganism upon the world for "by it, He shamed the People who denied Him and, by it, He gladdened the peoples who believed in Him." The cross gave salvation to the world; however, deliverance was not restricted to a hereditary state like the Old Law but perfected and available for anyone who accepts the Lordship of Christ. The cross is a pledge of safety and a sign of victory, a clear allusion to the victory of Constantine after seeing the cross inscribed in the sky. The very sign of the cross is a mystical access to the salvific plan of our Lord, and the Assyrians even consider it to be a sacrament in itself.

The petition aspect is:

Abolisher of all sacrifices and Completer of all mysteries, through you may peace come to us and, through you, may joy be conferred upon us. Through you, may the Church be exalted and, through you, may her children be preserved. Through you, may our bodies be sanctified and, through you, may our spirits be purified. Through you, may our sin be blotted out and, through you, may our righteousness abound. Through you, may the Adversary be defeated and, through you, may truths be perfected. Through you, may the living be equipped and, through you, may the departed believers be raised; through you, may their spirits have rest. On the last day of the end may we take shelter in your glorious arms; with you, may we journey to the house of life and raise glory to the Word, the Messiah, who was crucified upon you, and to His Father, and to His Holy Spirit, now and at all times, forever.

The cross abolished all sacrifices for it completed the Levitical sacrifice, which an imperfect foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice of Christ to come which would accomplish a perfect redemption (Hebrews 10:1-18). In the cross, which represents the culmination of Jesus's dispensation, all the mysteries of salvation are perfected. By its power we can ask God for the petitions which follow.

Our Lord, accept our service, our prayers, come to our aid and have mercy on us!