Appearance of the Cross in Athens

There is much material written on the new calendar vs. the old calendar.  The subject can be approached from different angles – political, historical, scientific, practical, liturgical, eschatological.  But the bottom line is what God Himself has said by His sign. -jh

The Appearance of the Sign of the Cross 

of Our Lord Jesus Christ Near Athens in 1925

Orthodox Life March 1972

Commemorated September 14

In the early 1900's, and especially in the 1920's, there were strong anti-Church and secularist forces in power in Greece and in the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  Among the actions of these forces, there was introduced, by force, the Gregorian Calendar.  The Gregorian Calendar is adequate for the functions of business, the stock-exchange, and other worldly, secular activities.  Liturgically, however, it is practically useless, even harmful.  It is in no way possible to reconcile the Gregorian calendar with our canonical, Orthodox Christian Paschalion.  Moreover, the introduction of a Church calendar change by a local church created an unacceptable liturgical disunity within the Church Itself.

The Sign of the Cross

Vast numbers of the people of Greece refused to accept these anti-canonical, anti-Church changes being forced upon them by state police power.  Such people suffered, and continue to suffer persecution, imprisonment and deprivation at the hands of secular police powers.  But the spiritual eyes of true Orthodox Christians saw clearly even if, at the time, they did not completely comprehend the evil of the new calendar.  It was a forerunner and a sign of the greatest heresy in the history of the world -- Ecumenism.  Many people, however, became confused.  Some began to waver.  Just as the Arians were in control of the worldly power in 351 and were able to force their heresy upon the empire, so now, the calendar renovationists controlled the worldly power of Greece.  In such a troubled and dangerous time, the all merciful God heeded the needs of His people.  Again, as in 351, God sent a wondrous apparition of a sign of the All-Honorable Cross to seal the truth and put the false teachers to shame.

The appearance of the sign of the Cross took place in this manner:

In 1925, on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the All-Honorable and Life-giving Cross of our Savior, September 14, according to the Orthodox Church calendar, the all-night vigil was served at the church of St. John the Theologian in suburban Athens.  By 9 o'clock that evening, more than 2,000 of the true-Orthodox faithful had gathered in and around the church for the service, since very few true-Orthodox churches had been accidentally left open by the civil authorities.  Such a large gathering of people could not go unnoticed by the authorities.  Around eleven p.m. the authorities dispatched a battalion of police to the church "to prevent any disorders which might arise from such a large gathering."  The gathering was too large for the police to take any direct action or to arrest the priest at the time and so they joined the crowd of worshippers in the already over-flowing courtyard of the church.

Then, regardless of the true motives for their presence, against their own will, but not according to the Will which exceeds all human power, they became participants in the miraculous experience of the crowd of believers.

At 11:30 p.m. there began to appear in the heavens above the church, in the direction of North-East, a bright, radiant Cross of light.  The light not only illumined the church and the faithful but, in its rays, the stars of the clear cloudless sky became dim and the church-yard was filled with an almost tangible light.  The form of the Cross itself was an especially dense light and it could be clearly seen as a Byzantine cross with an angular cross bar toward the bottom.  This heavenly miracle lasted for half an hour, until midnight, and then the Cross began slowly to raise up vertically, as the cross in the hands of the priest does in the ceremony of the Elevation of the Cross in church.  Having come straight up, the Cross began gradually to fade away.

The human language is not adequate to convey what took place during the apparition.  The entire crowd fell prostrate upon the ground with tears and began to sing prayers, praising the Lord with one heart and one mouth.  The police were among those who wept, suddenly discovering in the depths f their hearts, a childlike faith.  The crowd of believers and the battalion of police were transformed into one unified flock of faithful.  All seized with a holy ecstasy.

The vigil continued until four a.m. when all this human torrent back into the city, carrying the news of the miracle because of which they were still trembling and weeping.

Many of the unbelievers, sophists and renovationists, realizing their sin and guilt, but unwilling to repent, tried by every means to explain away or deny this miracle.  The fact that the form of the cross had been so sharply and clearly that of the Byzantine Cross[ sometimes called the Russian Cross] with three cross-bars, the bottom one at an angle, completely negated any arguments of accidental physical phenomenon.

The fact that such an apparition of the Cross had also occurred during the height of the first great heresy must strike the Orthodox with an especial sense of the magnitude of the importance of the calendar question and of all that is connected with it.  No sensible person can discuss this issue lightly, with secular reasoning or with worldly arguments.  Renovationists, like the Arians in 351, are left without extenuation or mitigation.

TROPARION Tone 3

When the storm of Ecumenism began to rage, O Saviour, against Thy Holy Church, and the faithful were tempest-tossed as were the Apostles on the Sea of Galilee, Thou didst vouchsafe to seal with the sign of Thine all-Honourable Cross, O Merciful One, the calendar of Thy Church as a symbol of the true way. Wherefore, we cry with joy: Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Saviour, save us.

KONTAKION Pl. of the 4th Tone

Athens rejoiced, O Saviour, to behold the wonder of Thy compassion; for Thou didst cause the symbol of our salvation to shine forth for the consolation of the faithful and for the testimony of the truth. Wherefore, O Holy One, we faithful magnify Thine ineffable condescension.

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https://web.archive.org/web/20110614133210/http://orthodoxmetropolisportland.org/his_1925_cross.html

A Divine Confirmation

Appearance of the Venerable Cross in 1925

The greatest sign given unto Christians is that sign that our Savior Himself refers to as “the Sign of the Son of Man,” the Holy Cross. The Cross¹ appeared to Saint Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, just before the famous battle on the Milvian Bridge and it guided him to victory and conversion to the worship of God in spirit and truth. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross we commemorate the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helen and how Saint Makarios, the Archbishop of Jerusalem, lifted the Cross on high at that time to bless the people.

There is also another miraculous appearance of the Cross that indicated to the people of God, how to worship Him in spirit and in truth. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross according to the traditional Orthodox Calendar in 1925 a vision of the Cross appeared in the sky over a suburb of Athens.

There is also another miraculous appearance of the Cross that demonstrated to the people of God, the way of Truth. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross according to the traditional Orthodox Calendar in 1925 a vision of the Cross appeared in the sky over a suburb of Athens.

Anti-Orthodox and secularist forces in power in Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate had changed the traditional church calendar in 1924 as a first step to uniting with the heterodox churches of the west.² Many of the faithful in Greece refused to accept these uncanonical changes and were ruthlessly persecuted. Police were sent into the churches that celebrated the feasts according to the traditional calendar, priests were arrested and the faithful were beaten and dispersed. There were even cases of chapels being demolished by order of bishops of the State Church. It was a time of confusion and affliction, and at just such a time our mighty God manifested an unmistakable sign, the fiery pillar of the Cross, even as He did to Saint Constantine, to show us that in order to worship Him in spirit and truth, we must preserve the Holy Traditions of the Church.

An Account of the Appearance of the Cross³

In 1925, on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the All-Honorable and Life-giving Cross of Our Saviour, September 14 according to the Orthodox Church calendar, the all-night vigil was served at the Church of Saint John the Theologian, which was then in open fields some distance outside of Athens. According to an ancient tradition the two young students from Cappadocia, Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian, used to come to this place for prayers. By nine o’clock that evening, more than two thousand of the true Orthodox faithful had gathered in and around the church for the service, since very few true Orthodox churches had been left open by the civil authorities. Such a large gathering of people could not go unnoticed by the authorities. Around eleven P.M. the authorities dispatched a battalion of police to the church “to prevent any disorders which might arise from such a gathering.” The gathering was too large for the police to take any direct action or to arrest the priest at that time and so they joined the crowd of worshippers in the already over flowing courtyard of the church.

Then, regardless of the true motives for their presence, against their own will, but according to the Will which exceeds all human power, they became participants in the miraculous experience of the crowd of believers.

At 11:30 P.M., there began to appear in the heavens above the church, in the direction of the northeast, a bright, radiant Cross of light. The light not only illuminated the church and the faithful but, in its rays, the stars of the clear, cloudless sky became dim and the church-yard was filled with an almost tangible light. The form of the Cross itself was an especially dense light and it could be clearly seen as a Byzantine cross with a crossbar toward the bottom. This heavenly miracle lasted for half an hour, until midnight, and then the Cross began slowly to rise up vertically, as the cross in the hands of the priest does in the ceremony of the Elevation of the Cross in church. Having come straight up, the Cross began gradually to fade away.

Human language is not adequate to convey what took place during the apparition. The entire crowd fell prostrate upon the ground with tears and began to sing prayers, praising the Lord with one heart and one mouth. The police were among those who wept, suddenly discovering, in the depths of their hearts, a childlike faith. The crowd of believers and the battalion of police were transformed into one, unified flock of the faithful. All were seized with a holy ecstasy.

The vigil continued until 4:00 A.M., when all this human torrent streamed back into the city, carrying the news of the miracle because of which they were still trembling and weeping.

Many of the unbelievers, sophists, and renovationists, realizing their sin and guilt, but unwilling to repent, tried by every means to explain away or deny this miracle. The fact that the form of the cross had been so sharply and clearly that of the Byzantine Cross, with a crossbar at the bottom for a footrest, completely negated any arguments of accidental physical phenomena.

That this fiery pillar of the cross was exalted in the heavens on the very feast of the Exaltation according to the traditional calendar has shown us unmistakably the way of faithfulness to our God. If any ask us what is this depiction of the cross or what is this “old” calendar, let us have a ready answer. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” (Peter 3:15) He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

I, TOO, WAS THERE⁴

Eyewitness Accounts of the Appearance of the Cross

Over the Church of St. John the Theologian

at Mt. Hymettus, September 14, 1925

     I was one of the men from the Police Institute who were sent to stop the vigil that night, some fifty years ago, at the country church of St. John the Theologian.

     The Old calendarists were keeping vigil there, because it was the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross.

     Since many people had gathered – more than two thousand individuals – we did not attempt to seize the priest as we had been ordered, but we sat down quietly in the nearby court and waited for them to finish.

     At about 11:30 at night, we heard a loud and strange uproar coming from the shouts of the multitude. Without delay, we ran to see what was happening – and we saw. The whole multitude of the faithful was in a state of excitement. Some were weeping and others, crying out “Lord, have mercy,” were kneeling and had turned their eyes toward heaven, and yet others were fainting, overwhelmed with great emotion. Then we too looked and beheld the marvel: an enormous radiant Cross, very high above the church, was illumining the whole area. At first, we were seized with fear, but immediately we came to ourselves, and forgetting the purpose for which we had been sent, we fell to our knees and wept like little children.

     Of course, it is superfluous for me to tell you that, filled with emotion, we attended the rest of the vigil to the end – no longer as persecutors, but as faithful Christians. In the morning when we returned to the Institute, we told everyone about the great marvel which we had been deemed worthy to see. Afterwards there was an investigation and all of us swore under oath that we had seen the Precious Cross clearly, high in the sky.

     John D. Glymis
     Retired Police Officer, 78 years of age
     73 Aristotle Street
     Peristeri [a suburb of Athens]

     On that night in 1925 when the Precious Cross appeared, I was making the last run with the tram which I was operating. I had reached Omonoia and was going around the square when I saw everyone looking up toward heaven and crying, “Look! The Cross! The Cross!” Immediately I stepped on the brakes and stopped the vehicle. I stuck my head out the tram’s door and I, the unworthy one, also saw the Precious Cross of Our Lord – may His Name be glorified; it was shining over Mount Hymettus. I don’t remember how long this lasted. I know only one thing the Precious Cross which I saw that night turned me into a different man. Since then, everyone in my family has become a faithful child of the Church of the True Orthodox Christians.”

     Athanasios Primalis
     Retired Tram Conductor, 80 years of age
     17 Kavales Street
     Nicaea [a suburb of Athens]

They declared the praise of the Lord and His mighty acts and His wonders which He wrought. And He raised up a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, Even those things He had commanded our fathers, to make the same known unto their children, that another generation might know, Even the sons about to be born, that they in turn might arise and declare them unto their sons, That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but seek after His commandments, That they might not be as their fathers, a generation perverse and provoking, A generation that set not their heart aright, and which kept not their spirit steadfast with God. (Psalm 77)

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¹ The holy Cross has appeared three times in Church history. Once, as is mentioned in the text here, to Saint Constantine. At another time, in 351 during the episcopacy of Saint Cyril at Jerusalem. During this time the Cross reached from Golgotha to the Mount of Olives, and was almost two miles in length. This miraculous sign remained in the sky over the Holy City for a week.

² For a full account of these events, see The Struggle Against Ecumenism published by the Holy Orthodox Church in North America.

³ Edited and adapted from Papa Nicholas Planas published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston 1981

⁴ These two accounts are from Ta Patria (July, Aug.., Sept. 1967); 82-84. (In Greek)