The ‘Holy Cross Prostration’ (Ehhed el Zuhur) ceremony held on the third Sunday of the Easter Fasting period is at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Hatay and also at the Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Antakya and the Samandağ Azize Tekla Greek Orthodox Church.
While the rites were held in accordance with the pandemic rules, the members of the congregation showed their respect by paying homage to the ‘Holy Cross’, which was decorated with flowers and carried around the church with a tray.
Church Father Yusuf Nicholas Papasoğlu conducted the ‘Prostration to the Holy Cross’ Ritual in Iskenderun. In the ceremony, also known as the Little Flower Feast, Father Papasoğlu walked the Holy Cross inside the church with a tray decorated with flowers. During the passage of the holy cross, some members of the congregation followed the passage of the Cross, prostrating themselves, while others turned their hands to God and prayed.
Speaking about the Holy Cross during the ceremony, Church Father Papasoğlu; ”The cross is the pen on which Christ wrote our document of freedom. It is the exultation scepter of our Church. The protector of Christians is power and glory for the whole world. The cross is a sign of Christ’s self-sacrificing love and self-sacrifice for humanity.”
Special ceremonies were held in Antakya and Samandağ, as well as in İskenderun, due to the Rite of Prostration to the Holy Cross. Masses were held in Antakya under the leadership of Church Fathers Can Dellüler and Dimitri Doğum, and in Samandağ under the leadership of Church Fathers Dimyan Yakupoğlu and Abdullah Trifon Yumurta.
After the Ceremony of the Crossing of the Holy Cross and the prayers and explanations of the Church Fathers about the meaning of the day, the colorful flowers on the tray were distributed to the limited number of congregation members who attended this special ceremony as a sign of abundance and fertility. (SAT-7 Turk/İlyas Edip TERBİYELİ-İskenderun)
