Heritage & Theology
The Life-Giving Cross
The meaning and power of the Cross in Christian worship, virtue and everyday life.
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Edition details
Paperback
- Format
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 136
- ISBN-13
- 9781923901407
- ISBN status
- Registration submitted
- Dimensions
- 7 × 10 in
- Availability
- Coming soon
Hardcover
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 136
- ISBN-13
- 9781923901414
- ISBN status
- Registration submitted
- Dimensions
- 7 × 10 in
- Availability
- Coming soon
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About This Book
Bishop Youannis of Gharbia examines the Cross as the heart of Christian faith and life. Beginning with its place among ancient peoples, its Old Testament foreshadowings and the crucifixion of Christ, he asks why the Cross remains both stumbling block and wisdom. The answer unfolds through Scripture, the Church’s history and the mystery of life from death.
The book follows the Cross into worship. It considers the sign of the Cross in daily prayer and church life, then traces its presence in Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Confession, Anointing, Matrimony, Priesthood and the feasts. These rites are not detached symbols: they show how Christ’s death and resurrection shape the believer’s prayer, repentance, courage and hope.
Bishop Youannis then turns to virtues formed beneath the Cross—love, humility, obedience, faithfulness, endurance, patience, fidelity to principle and repentance. He speaks about self-denial, bearing one’s cross, detachment from the world and the difficult freedom of being crucified with Christ. The Cross becomes a way of seeing hardship, responsibility and the needs of other people.
The closing chapter remembers apostles, fathers, martyrs, ascetics and ordinary Christians who bore the Cross in preaching, defence of the faith, illness, marriage and poverty. Their witness keeps the book close to lived Christian experience. For readers seeking to understand the Cross beyond an emblem, Bishop Youannis offers a sustained account of its meaning, power and life-giving promise.
Bishop Youannis (1923–1987), Bishop of Gharbia, was a Coptic Orthodox monk, teacher and pastor. This work belongs to his twentieth-century ministry of preaching and Christian formation.
The meaning and power of the Cross in Christian worship, virtue and everyday life.
Generative artificial intelligence assisted the English translation and preparation of this edition. This accessible edition does not replace primary texts, printed editions or surviving manuscripts. Scholars should verify quotations, textual readings and academic conclusions against those sources.
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This edition is intended to improve access to the work. Advanced digital tools, including generative AI, were used in its production, with responsibility for the final text and editorial decisions remaining with the editor.
This access edition is intended for general reading, discovery and further exploration. It may also serve as a stepping stone for academic study. Some passages may remain uncertain or benefit from further refinement. Readers undertaking academic research or detailed theological study should consult the original-language sources, relevant manuscripts and specialist scholarship; this edition is not presented as a scholarly translation or critical edition.
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