Antiphon on the Holy Cross

 




[10th / 11th Century Anglo-Saxon Prayer / Antiphon on the Holy Cross from the Service to the Holy Cross from the Pre-Conquest English Winchester Prayer Book of Abbot Aelfwine]


"Thy Cross we adore, O Lord, and Thine Holy Resurrection we praise and glorify; Thou Who didst deign to be Born, to Suffer, to Die, and Rise Again from the dead; save us and have mercy on us. May the Sign of Thy Cross be upon us and defend us from all evils past, present, and future, both within and without through the Sign of Thine Holy Cross; and deliver us from all persecutions, and through this Sign of the Cross lay prostrate enemies and drive off the demons. Through this Sign of the Cross deliver us from the dangers of the world. O Cross, Life to me! O Cross, Health to me! O Cross, Resurrection to me, unto eternal life. Amen." 


The Aelfwine Prayer Book is currently set into a print edition by the Henry Bradshaw Society, and can be purchased from them.

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