The Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is the great twelfth holiday, celebrated annually on September 27. It began to be celebrated back in the 4th century. The holiday is dedicated to two important events associated with the cross of the Lord - its acquisition and return.
History of the holiday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
In ancient times, Roman emperors repeatedly tried to destroy any mention of the life and work of Jesus Christ, and to destroy the sacred places where he visited. Emperor Andrian ordered the Holy Sepulcher and the sacred Mount Golgotha, on which the Savior was crucified, to be covered with earth. A sanctuary of the goddess Venus was built on an artificially created hill and a statue of the god Jupiter was erected. For a long time, pagans met at this place to perform cult activities and make sacrifices to their deities. But 300 years later, Christians found the Holy Sepulcher and the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
This outstanding event for believers occurred during the reign of Constantine the Great. He was the first of the Roman emperors to decide to stop the persecution of Christians. According to legend, in the sky he saw a sign of God - a cross and the inscription “With this you will win.” To fulfill God's will, Constantine sent his mother, Queen Helena, to Jerusalem, who was supposed to find the cross and the Holy Sepulcher.
For a long time it was not possible to find the shrine, but the woman did not give up and continued her search. In the end, her efforts were crowned with success. Around 326, the relics were found under the temple of the pagan goddess Venus. The temple was destroyed and Christian values were brought to light: the cross on which the Savior was crucified, four nails and the Holy Sepulcher.
According to some reports, not one, but three crosses and a tablet with an inscription made by Pontius Pilate were found. Patriarch Macarius, in order to find out which cross Jesus was crucified on, began to place each cross in turn on the deceased. From the touch of one of the crosses the deceased came to life. This was proof that it was on this cross that Jesus was crucified.
With the discovery of the cross, people were able to worship Christian shrines again. Seeing the miracle that happened, Christians began to ask Patriarch Macarius to erect a cross so that believers would be able to see it at least from afar.
After all these events, Queen Helen brought the found nails and a piece of the Cross of the Lord to Jerusalem. Constantine the Great ordered the construction of a temple in Jerusalem in honor of Christ's Resurrection. The day after the temple was consecrated, the celebration of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was established.
Even on this day, we remember the return of the cross to Jerusalem from Persia, where it was in captivity for 14 years.
During the war against the Greeks, the Persian king Khosrow II Parviz defeated their army, plundered Jerusalem, taking many valuable things, including the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The cross was in Persia for 14 years and only under the Byzantine emperor Heraclius I, who defeated Khosrow and made peace with his son, was the Christian relic returned. The Life-Giving Cross was solemnly transferred to Jerusalem.
According to legend, Emperor Heraclius, wearing purple and a royal crown, carried the Cross of Christ to the Church of the Resurrection. Patriarch Zechariah walked next to him. At the gates to Golgotha, the emperor suddenly stopped and could not go further. Zachary explained to the emperor that the Angel of the Lord was preventing him from passing, because the one who carries the Cross to Golgotha to redeem the world from sins performs his way of the cross in a humiliated form. Then the king took off his purple and crown, put on simple clothes and freely brought the shrine into the temple.
Exaltation of the Holy Cross: what not to do?
There are some prohibitions for this day. You shouldn’t start important things on September 27th. It is believed that all your efforts will be useless and, as a result, the business you have started will end in failure.
You can’t even walk through the forest during Exaltation. Our ancestors believed that on this great church holiday the earth “closes” for the winter and all reptiles crawl away to some unknown warm region. That's why they didn't go into the forest because they were afraid to meet snakes. The owners locked the gates and doors for the whole day so that crawling creatures would not accidentally enter the house.
They were also afraid to go into the forest because of encounters with goblin and other forest evil spirits. According to legend, on this day the goblin gathers all the animals under his control to inspect them before winter, which is just around the corner. Having met a person, he can harm him. The girls were not allowed into the forest that day, they were afraid that the devil might steal them.
Do not forget that September 27 is a fast day. You can't eat quick food. They believed that whoever does not fast on this day will be charged with seven sins.
You should not pass by places where a murder was once committed, because the unclean may lead you astray.
You cannot cross strange tracks seen on the ground. They can be left behind by forest evil spirits. Whoever crosses these tracks will soon become seriously ill.
Video: Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 27)
September 27(September 14) believers of the Orthodox Church celebrate the day of remembrance of the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord on the day of its discovery.
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was established in memory of the discovery and exaltation of the Cross of Christ. This significant event occurred under Emperor Constantine the Great, who was the first of the Roman emperors to stop the persecution of Christians.
Equal to the Apostles Emperor Constantine, who, with the help of God, won victory over his enemies in three wars, I saw a sign of God in the sky - a Cross with the inscription “By this victory.” Ardently wanting to find the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, Constantine sent his mother, the pious Queen Helen, to Jerusalem. Although Saint Queen Helena was already in advanced years by this time, she enthusiastically took up the task of fulfilling the assignment.
The pagan Roman emperors tried to completely destroy the memories of sacred places in humanity, where Jesus Christ suffered for people and rose again. Emperor Hadrian ordered cover Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher with earth and on an artificial hill to erect a temple of the pagan goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter. Pagans gathered at this place and performed idol sacrifices.
Looking for the Life-Giving Cross, Queen Helena questioned Christians and Jews, but for a long time her search remained unsuccessful. Finally, she was pointed to an old Jew named Judas, who said that the Cross was buried where the temple of Venus stood. They destroyed the temple and, after praying, began to dig the ground. Soon the Holy Sepulcher was discovered and not far from it three crosses, a tablet with the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” made by order of Pilate, and four nails that pierced the body of the Lord.
To find out on which of the three crosses the Savior was crucified, Patriarch Macarius began to bring the crosses one by one to the seriously ill woman. No miracle occurred from the two crosses; when they laid the third cross, she was immediately healed. It happened that at this time the body was being carried for burial. Then they began to lay crosses on the deceased; and when they laid the third cross, the deceased came to life. Seeing the risen man, everyone was convinced that the Life-Giving Cross had been found.
Christians, who came in countless numbers to venerate the Holy Cross, asked St. Macarius to raise and erect the Cross, so that everyone could, although from afar, reverently contemplate It. Then the Patriarch and other clergy began to raise the Holy Cross high, and the people, crying: "Lord have mercy", worshiped the Honest Tree .
Holy Queen Helen commemorated places associated with the earthly life of the Savior, with the founding of more than 80 churches erected in Bethlehem - the place of the Nativity of Christ, on the Mount of Olives, from where the Lord ascended to heaven, in Gethsemane, where the Savior prayed before His suffering and where she was buried The Mother of God after her Dormition.
Saint Helena brought with her a part of the Life-Giving Tree and nails to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine, Equal to the Apostles, ordered the construction of a majestic and extensive temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which included both the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha. The temple took about 10 years to build. Saint Helena did not live to see the consecration of the temple - she died in 327. The temple was consecrated on September 13, 335. The next day, September 14, it was established to celebrate the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross.
On this day we remember another event related to the Cross of the Lord, - his return from Persia after 14 years of captivity back to Jerusalem. The Persian king Khozroes II, in the war against the Greeks, defeated the Greek army, plundered Jerusalem and took captive the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and Patriarch Zechariah (609-633 BC). The cross stayed in Persia for 14 years and only under Emperor Heraclius (610-641 BC), who, with the help of God, defeated Khosroes and made peace with his son, was their shrine returned to Christians - the Cross of the Lord.
With great triumph, the Life-Giving Cross was brought to Jerusalem. Emperor Heraclius, wearing a royal crown and purple, carried the Cross of Christ to the Church of the Resurrection. Patriarch Zechariah walked next to the king. At the gate by which they ascended to Golgotha, the emperor suddenly stopped and could not move further. The Holy Patriarch explained to the Tsar that the Angel of the Lord was blocking his path, for the one who carried the Cross to Golgotha to redeem the world from sins performed his Way of the Cross in a humiliated form. Then Heraclius, taking off his crown and purple, put on simple clothes and freely carried the Cross of Christ into the temple.
On the day of the Exaltation, Christians observe strict fasting!
On September 27, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - one of the 12 main, or twelfth, holidays of the Orthodox Church.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross: history
On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, they remember how Queen Helen, Equal to the Apostles, found the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The cross was found in 326 near Mount Golgotha in Jerusalem. Since the 7th century, the memory of the return of the Life-Giving Cross from Persia by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (629) began to be associated with this day.
The holiday is called the Elevation of the Cross, because both upon the acquisition and upon the return of the Cross, the primate raised (Erected) the cross three times so that everyone could see it.
Equal to the Apostles Tsar Constantine wished to build churches of God on places sacred to Christians in Palestine (that is, at the place of birth, suffering and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, etc.) and to find the Cross on which the Savior was crucified. With great joy, his mother, St., undertook to fulfill the king’s desire. Queen Equal to the Apostles Helen.
In 326, Queen Helena went to Jerusalem for this purpose. She put in a lot of work to find the Cross of Christ, since the enemies of Christ hid the Cross by burying it in the ground. Finally, she was pointed to an elderly Jew named Judas, who knew where the Cross of the Lord was. After much questioning and persuasion, he was forced to speak. It turned out that the Holy Cross was thrown into one cave and covered with garbage and earth, and a pagan temple was built on top. Queen Helen ordered the destruction of this building and the excavation of a cave.
When they dug up the cave, they found in it three crosses and a tablet lying separately from them with the inscription: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” It was necessary to find out which of the three crosses is the Cross of the Savior. The Jerusalem Patriarch (Bishop) Macarius and Queen Helen firmly believed and hoped that God would indicate the Holy Cross of the Savior.
On the advice of the bishop, they began to bring crosses one after another to one seriously ill woman. No miracle happened from the two crosses, but when the third cross was laid, she immediately became healthy. It happened that at that time the deceased was being carried past for burial. Then they began to lay crosses one after another on the deceased; and when they laid the third cross, the dead man came to life. In this way they recognized the cross of the Lord, through which the Lord performed miracles and showed life-giving the power of His Cross.
Queen Helena, Patriarch Macarius and the people around them bowed to the Cross of Christ with joy and reverence and kissed it. Christians, having learned about this great event, gathered in countless numbers to the place where the Cross of the Lord was found (found). Everyone wanted to venerate the holy life-giving Cross. But since it was impossible to do this due to the crowd of people, everyone began to ask to at least show it. Then Patriarch Macarius stood on an elevated place and, so that everyone could see, several times erected(lift) him. The people, seeing the Cross of the Savior, bowed and exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!”
The holy Equal-to-the-Apostles kings Constantine and Helena, over the place of the suffering, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, built a vast and magnificent temple in honor of Resurrection of Christ. They also built temples on the Mount of Olives, in Bethlehem and in Fevron near the Oak of Mamri.
Queen Helena brought part of the Holy Cross to her son, Tsar Constantine, and left the other part in Jerusalem. This precious remnant of the Cross of Christ is still kept in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.
Icons of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The most common plot of the icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross developed in Russian icon painting in the 15th-16th centuries. The icon painter depicts a large crowd of people against the backdrop of a single-domed temple. In the center on the pulpit stands the Patriarch with the Cross raised above his head. The deacons support him by the arms. The cross is decorated with plant branches. In the foreground are the saints and everyone who came to worship the shrine. On the right are the figures of Tsar Constantine and Queen Helena.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 1
Kontakion, tone 4
Greatness
We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, through which You saved us from the work of the enemy.
Choruses
Irmos of the 9th song
Hymns to the Cross of the Lord
Choir of the Orthodox Brotherhood in the name of the Archangel Michael.
Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving Thy residence through Thy Cross.
Participated in the Exaltation of the Cross and the Sunday of the Cross
Having ascended to the cross by will, grant to Your namesake new residence Your bounty, O Christ God; We rejoice in Thy power, giving us victories as our companions, Thy benefits, weapons of peace, invincible victory.
Choir of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra and MDA
Rejoice Life-Giving Cross .
Rejoice, life-giving Cross, invincible victory of piety, the door of heaven, the affirmation of the faithful, the fence of the Church, by which aphids were ruined and abolished, and the mortal power was trampled upon, and we ascended from earth to heaven, an invincible weapon, resisting demons: glory to the martyrs, the saints, as truly fertilizer: refuge salvation, grant the world great mercy.
Prayers to the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
First prayer
Be the Honest Cross, guardian of soul and body: in your image, casting down demons, driving away enemies, exercising passions and bestowing reverence, life, and strength, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the honest prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God. Amen.
Second prayer
O Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! In ancient times you were a shameful instrument of execution, but now you are a sign of our salvation, ever revered and glorified! How worthily can I, the unworthy, sing to You and how dare I bend the knees of my heart before my Redeemer, confessing my sins! But the mercy and ineffable love for mankind of the humble Boldness crucified upon you gives me, so that I may open my mouth to glorify You; For this reason I cry to Ti: Rejoice, Cross, the Church of Christ is the beauty and foundation, the whole universe is the affirmation, all Christians are the hope, kings are the power, the faithful are refuge, Angels are glory and praise, demons are fear, destruction and driving away, the wicked and infidels - shame, the righteous - pleasure, the burdened - weakness, the overwhelmed - refuge, the lost - a mentor, those possessed by passions - repentance, the poor - enrichment, the floating - the helmsman, the weak - strength, in battle - victory and conquest, the orphans - faithful protection, widows - intercessor, virgins - protection of chastity, hopeless - hope, sick - a doctor and the dead - resurrection! You, typified by the miraculous rod of Moses, are a life-giving source, watering those thirsty for spiritual life and delighting our sorrows; You are the bed on which the Risen Conqueror of Hell rested royally for three days. For this reason, morning, evening, and noon, I glorify Thee, blessed Tree, and I pray by the will of the One who has been crucified on Thee, may He enlighten and strengthen my mind with Thee, may He open in my heart a source of more perfect love and may all my deeds and paths be overshadowed by Thee May I take out and magnify Him who is Nailed to You, for my sin, the Lord my Savior. Amen.
Worship of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, it is necessary to celebrate the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy. But now they rarely serve all night long, so the central point is the festive divine service on the eve of the holiday - a vigil.
The Exaltation is the Twelfth Feast of the Lord (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ). Therefore, its service does not connect to any other service. For example, the memory of John Chrysostom is postponed to another day.
It is interesting that during Matins for the Exaltation of the Cross the Gospel is read not in the middle of the church, but in the altar.
The climax of the holiday is when the leading priest or bishop, dressed in purple vestments, carries out the Cross. All those praying in the temple kiss the shrine, and the primate anoints them with holy oil. During the general veneration of the Cross, the troparion is sung: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your holy resurrection.”
The cross lies on the lectern until October 4 - the day of the Exaltation. At the offering, the priest takes the cross to the altar.
Rite of the Exaltation of the Cross
The Rite of the Exaltation of the Cross is performed at Matins after the great doxology and singing of the troparion Save, Lord, Your people..., consists of a five-fold overshadowing of the Cross and its elevation to the cardinal directions (east, south, west, north and again to the east). An important change, compared to studio monuments, is the addition of five deaconal petitions to the rite (corresponding to the five overshadowings of the Cross), after each of which a hundredfold Lord have mercy. In addition, according to the Jerusalem Rule, before raising the Cross, the primate must bow to the ground so that his head is a span from the ground (Greek. spithame, about 20 cm). During the correction of liturgical books in the Russian Church in the 2nd half. XVII century The order of the overshadowing of the cardinal directions during the rite was changed: the Cross is erected to the east, west, south, north and again to the east. This order has been maintained to this day.
On September 27, according to the new style, the church holiday of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is celebrated. The holiday was established in memory of the found Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
According to legend, the Holy Cross was found by the mother of Emperor Constantine, Helen, in the 4th century in Jerusalem. She organized excavations, during which the tomb of Jesus Christ and three crosses were discovered, on one of which the son of God was crucified. A real miracle helped Elena find out which cross belonged to Christ: by touching one of them, she was healed of her illness. From that moment on, the Cross of the Lord was called Honest and Life-Giving.
Traditions of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
According to tradition, Orthodox believers go to temples and churches on this day. The main events took place there. On the day of Resurrection According to the image of the Cross of the Lord, it is forbidden to work and clean the house. It was also forbidden to go into the forest. It was believed that on this day forest animals were preparing for hibernation, and a person could disturb them with his presence.
In the popular calendar, the Exaltation of the Lord on September 27 was also called the Shift. “The Shift has come - the caftan with the fur coat has moved” - this meant that autumn meets winter, cold weather is coming, the first frosts are coming.
It is customary to fast on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It was believed that fasting on this day removed seven sins from a person. Three days before the holiday, they harvested cabbage and began to prepare it for the winter. So on this holiday, the Orthodox Slavs had a tradition of preparing cabbage dishes. Fasting on the Exaltation of the Lord prohibits eating meat, dairy products and fish.
Worship of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
On the day of the Exaltation, an all-night vigil and liturgy are held in churches. The main event on this holiday is the festive divine service on the eve of the Exaltation.
During Matins, the Gospel is read in the altar, and not in the middle of the temple. The culmination of the service is the removal of the Cross by the clergyman. At this moment, according to tradition, parishioners worship the Cross and kiss it.
The Exaltation of the Lord is a twelve-day holiday, therefore the service in honor of it is not combined with other services on this day. On this day, all believers remember the miracle of finding the Cross of the Lord and pray for intercession. We wish you good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and