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The article is about church celebration. On the Slavic ritual, see the article Exaltation

The Exaltation of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord (the World-wide Exaltation of the Honest and Life-giving Cross; ; - The Exaltation of the Holy Cross; earlier in the Russian colloquiality of the Church) is a holiday celebrated in historical churches. In Orthodoxy, he is one of the Lord’s Twelve. Established in memory of the discovery of the Cross of the Lord, which occurred, according to church tradition, in 325 or 326 in Jerusalem near the mountain of Golgotha - the place of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. From the VII century to this day began to connect the memory of the return of the Life-Creating Cross from Persia by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (629). The name of the holiday is due to the custom of the Church in the East, dating back to the fourth century, to ritually erect a cross during worship (that is, to raise the Cross for viewing by all praying).

It is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as by the Old Calendar and some local Orthodox churches, and by local churches that have switched to the New Julian calendar and the Catholic Church on September 14 according to the Gregorian calendar. Armenian Apostolic Church – on Sunday, falling between September 11 and 17 (as well as on Monday, Friday and Saturday of the following week).

History of the holiday

Finding the Cross

There are 3 different versions of the legend of finding the Holy Cross. According to the first, the most ancient version, as a result of excavations of the pagan temple of Venus, located on the site of Golgotha, three crosses were discovered. The cross of Jesus Christ was defined when a sick woman, on whom crosses were laid in turn, received healing from one of the crosses. Then the Holy Cross was raised by Bishop Macarius for public inspection.

According to the second version, which arose at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century, St. Helena, having learned from a Jew the place of residence of the Holy Cross, ordered the destruction of the temple of Venus. After excavating this place, 3 crosses were found there. To find out which cross of Christ, Bishop Macarius alternately laid crosses on the deceased. When the cross of the Lord was laid, the dead man came to life. Christians who came to worship the Holy Cross asked Saint Macarius to raise the Cross so that everyone could see it. Then Bishop Macarius and other clergymen began to raise the Holy Cross, and the people, calling out “Lord, have mercy,” reverently worshipped the Cross. The exact date of the discovery of the Holy Cross is unknown, apparently it occurred in 325 or 326.

According to the “Easter Chronicle” of the VII century, the feast of the appearance of the Cross was first celebrated on September 17, 333, during the celebrations at the consecration of the Church of Jerusalem: “At the consuls of Dalmatia and Anitia Pavlina, the consecration of the Church of the Holy Cross was performed, which was built by Constantine the Great, under Bishop Macarius on September 17, and from this moment began the feast of the appearance of the Holy Cross.” Archbishop Sergius (Spassky) and church writer Archpriest believed that instead of September 17, we should understand September 14