Elevation (Exaltation) of the Holy Cross
“We have the power of the Holy Cross, our holy symbol, the Divine Grace of Christ, only as long as we have the holy marking of Holy Baptism, meaning we have denied the devil and sided with Christ, and received the holy marking, the seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Saint Paisios the Athonite
Scripture Verse for Today:
“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:8-10
EPISTLE and GOSPEL READINGS
The Epistle
Exalt ye the Lord our God. The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble.
The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (1:18-24)
Brethren, the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The Gospel
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John. (19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35)
At that time, the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death. And they came to Pontius Pilate saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no crime in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die, because He has made Himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where art Thou from?” But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Wilt Thou not speak to me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to release Thee, and power to crucify Thee?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over Me unless it had been given you from above.
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement”, and in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.” Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus and led him away, and He went out, bearing His own Cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew “Golgotha.” There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the Cross; it read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
Now standing by the Cross of Jesus were His mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and the Disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the Disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the Disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now fulfilled, said, “It is finished’; and He bowed His head and gave up the spirit.
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they
might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true.
The Eisodikon (Entrance Hymn) of The Feast
Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; for He is holy. Save us, O Son of God, Who wast crucified in the flesh, who sing to Thee: Alleluia.
Apolytikion of the Elevation of the Holy Cross – Tone 1
O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth.
Kontakion of the Elevation of the Holy Cross – Tone 4
Do Thou, Who of Thine own good will was lifted up upon the Cross, O Christ our God, bestow Thy bounties upon the new Nation which is called by Thy Name; make glad in Thy might those who lawfully govern, that with them we may be led to victory over our adversaries, having in Thine aid a weapon of peace and a trophy invincible.
Approaching the Holy Chalice:
The young children of Little Lambs and their teachers receive first, unless there are newly-illumined, in which case the children go second. Everyone else in the parish family is asked to file toward the periphery, toward the narthex, and proceed down the center aisle. As we approach the chalice, we fold our arms, right over left. This is both a posture of submission and confession of Christ’s victory over death. Those who commune are asked to open their mouths wide with their heads slightly tipped back and receive the Gifts directly from the spoon. This eliminates confusion and reduces the risk of spillage.
Please join Jacob and Victoria Stemper for the Baptism of their daughter Georgia Saturday, September 20th, 2025, at 3:00pm; Holy Trinity Cathedral, Carmel IN
Kitchen renovation is underway: Sunday and Wednesday meals will continue but without the use of the kitchen. Bring a premade dish. Many thanks to everyone for continuing to practice patience with one another through our stages of growth.
Saints Barbara and John Homeschool Cooperative is resuming on September 19th. Please see Elizabeth Carter for more information.
Men’s Fellowship: The Gathering is held on the third Thursday of each month. Next event is this Thursday, September 18 at 6PM in the St. George Pavilion for Oktoberfest! Yes, there will be Brats! Contact Vasily Carter if you are not on the email list.
Children’s Catechism Changes in the New Year:
Little Lambs (ages 3-6) will meet as usual following the dismissal with Karen Tabbal teaching.
Bigger Lambs (or the Holy Hoggets) (ages 7-8) will meet immediately following the dismissal with Gregory (Michael) Gill teaching.
Tween SOYO(ages 9-12) will meet 3:30-4:30pm Saturdays with Stephen Berck and Maria Nasr teaching
Teen SOYO (ages 13-18) will meet 3:30-5:00pm Saturdays with Kh. Kristina
Looking Ahead: All Saints’ Festival on Fairfax is Saturday, October 11.
This Week
Today, Sunday: Exaltation of the Cross, fasting feast.
Monday, September 15: 3rd Hour Prayers at 9:00 am.
Tuesday, September 16: Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am; Orthodox Fellowship of Columbus 6-8pm
Wednesday, September 17: Daily Vespers at 6:00 pm, Teaching and Pitch-in meal of soup and salad to follow. Email or text Juliana at jennifer.schulz3ttj@gmail.com, (812) 360-5975 for items needed.
Thursday, September 18: Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am.
Friday, September 19 : Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am.
Saturday, September 20: Bible Study, 10:00 am at the Webb’s home; Great Vespers at 5:00 pm, ask Abouna to follow; Junior and Teen SOYO at 6:30 pm.
Sunday, September 21: Matins at 9:00 am; Divine Liturgyat 10:00 am, Sunday after the Holy Cross.
Family News
Name Day Celebration: Arya Gotoh, Martyr Ariadne (17th); Faith Farley, Martyr Faith (19th).
Birthday Celebration: Donavan Gartletts (14th); John Labban (17th); Catherine Cowan (19th).
Prayer List: Rita; infant Graham born to her; Cathy; Heather; Kh. Parasheva; Hal; Jacquie; Jim and Lisa; Taylor;Fr. Athanasius; Fr. Jerome; Fr. Basil; Fr. Matthew; Marvin; Nectaria;Shu-Mei,Charlie;Shirley; Jim;Jan; Don and Dee; those suffering the war in Ukraine, and the Middle East; Peace talks; our nation; all schools children, and personnel across the nation; Mary Ann; Emma; Bob & Bonnie Thelen; Josiah; Jack; Christopher; Wadia; Jayci; Patricia; Kitsa; Apthrodite; Kim; Kristy; Vicki;Kenzie; Dusty; Cari; Betsy; Josh; Allison; Dn. Lawrence, Marcia; Missy; Andrew; Isaac; Sadie and child; Kelsey and child; Nancy; Sharon Catherine; Neumann Seraphim; Michael, Olga, Eileen, Soren, Kathy; Lexi, Ross, Vivian; Theo; Jeremy; Elias; Waded; Leanne Seraphima; Lilly’s family; Jennifer; Christy; John; Stanley; Allen; Linda; Allison and children; Kip; Evan; Anastasia and family; Dorthea; Mary.
Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Dionysios; Archpriest Mina; Archpriest Stevan, Bruce, Charlie.
All Saints’ Sunday Meal
Today, Sunday: 2nd Sunday Host Coffman-Holland, with Elizabeth Carter as lead hostess.
Next week: 3rd Sunday Host Hsu – Rogers, with Nina Rogers as lead hostess.
Giving Opportunities
Food Pantry: Thank you for the generous support.Our in-houseFood Pantry is available to parish members as well as families and individuals in the community of Bloomington. Donations of nonperishable items of pasta, marinara sauce, peanut butter, canned chicken and Tuna, canned vegetables, canned fruit and soups are always a great blessing.
Mission Donations: We send monthly support to two missionary units in Albania, the Hoppe family and Hannah Valentine. We welcome and encourage you to contribute to their ongoing support.
Benevolence Fund: Donations may be made to this fund throughout the year and are mainly used to support families in need of help with rent and utilities payments.
Donations to the church are being made online at www.allsaintsbloomington.org and by U.S mail. Many thanks to all who continue supporting All Saints