You enter the great church, and you behold in its great nave two thrones: the throne of the bishop on the right, and on the left the throne of the Byzantine emperor, according to the tradition of Byzantium.
Carved upon them are birds about to sing, and roses about to waft their fragrance; above them two gilded crowns adorned with precious stones.
And you glance at the great sanctuary, and you behold behind the altar a simple wooden cross, above it Christ with bowed head; this cross is the throne of Jesus.
For the first two thrones there is the awe of time, but only “the throne of the Crucified” is awesome, and it is the most beautiful, the most splendid, the most perfect, and the most sublime, because it alone is secure from all the disappointments of hope, alone free of all the disappointments of influence and authority.
“Today is the Feast of the Cross, the feast of the great throne.”