Souvenir: from the French for ‘remember.’
July 11, 2023
Strolling among the many tourist shops along Khreshchatyk Street. in Kiev, Ukraine, you can buy decorated Easter eggs, Matryoshka dolls (brightly painted, bowling pin-shaped, each piece hidden within is smaller than its outer shell counterpart), Ukrainian table linens with geometric designs often created in red and black thread, and more.
I bought a cross fashioned from white wood, decorated on both sides with inlaid mother-of-pearl and red, green and blue beads. I almost didn’t buy it because it has no hole at the top for hanging on the wall. The shopkeeper told me, “But this cross is not for hanging on the wall. It is for holding in the hand.” And it’s true – the bottom of the cross is shaped into a handle. It’s called a blessing cross. The Orthodox priest would hold a cross like this when he pronounced the benediction at the end of the worship service, and the faithful would come forward to kiss it before they left. Often the blessing cross is decorated on one side with a sacred image (an icon) portraying the crucifixion of Christ. The Resurrection is on the other – at Easter, this is the side held out toward the congregation. What a vivid, can’t miss it, message: we preach Christ crucified (I Corinthians 1) and he has risen, just as he said (Matthew 28).
(The ELS relationship with the Thoughts of Faith ministry in Ukraine is conducted by the Europe Committee of the Board for World Outreach).
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Steve Petersen www.worldmissionsouvenirs.com
Supporting those who share the Good News that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ secured forgiveness of sin for all people – including you!
