The Martyrdom of St John the New (icon)
‘A Christian during the whole course of his life should, like unto Jesus, be on the cross. It would be an act of rashness to descend therefrom, since Jesus Christ did not descend, even when the Jews offered to believe in Him. The time for driving out the nails of His cross was only after death, there is then no time to extract the nails whilst we live, — we must wait until our sacrifice is consummated: Non est tempus evellendi clavos.”
~St. Augustine of Hippo
