The exaltation of the honest and life-giving cross of the Lord. Feast of the Cross. Traditions and rituals on Vozdvizhenye

03.11.2021

The event of finding the Holy Cross. After the greatest events in the history of mankind took place - the Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, St. The cross, which served as the instrument of execution of the Savior, was lost. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman troops in 70 AD, the holy places associated with the earthly life of the Lord fell into oblivion, and pagan temples were built on some of them.

The acquisition of the Holy Cross took place in the reign of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great. According to church historians of the 4th century, Constantine's mother, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena, went to Jerusalem at the request of her royal son to find places connected with the events of the earthly life of Christ, as well as St. The cross, the miraculous appearance of which appeared to St. Constantine is a sign of victory over the enemy.

Three different versions of the legend about the acquisition of St. Cross. According to the most ancient (it is given by church historians of the 5th century Rufinus of Aquileia, Socrates, Sozomen and others, and probably goes back to the lost "Church History" of Gelasius of Caesarea (4th century)), the Holy Cross was located under the pagan sanctuary of Venus. When the sanctuary was destroyed, three crosses were found, as well as a tablet from the Cross of the Savior and the nails with which He was nailed to the instrument of execution. In order to find out which of the crosses is the one on which the Lord was crucified, Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem (+ 333) proposed to attach each of the crosses in turn to a seriously ill woman. When she was healed after touching one of the crosses, all those gathered glorified God, who pointed to the greatest shrine of the True Tree of the Cross of the Lord, and the Holy Cross was raised by Bishop Macarius for everyone to see.

The second version of the legend about the acquisition of the Holy Cross, which arose in Syria in the 1st half. 5th century, refers this event not to the 4th, but to the 3rd century. and says that the Cross was found by Protonika, the wife of imp. Claudius II (269-270), and then hidden and found again in the 4th century.

The third version, also apparently originating in the 5th century BC. in Syria, reports that St. Elena tried to find out the location of the Cross from the Jerusalem Jews, and in the end, an elderly Jew named Judas, who at first did not want to talk, after tortures, indicated the place - the temple of Venus. St. Helena ordered to destroy the temple and excavate this place. 3 crosses were found there; a miracle helped to reveal the Cross of Christ - resurrection through touching the True Tree of a dead man who was carried past. Of Judas, it is reported that he subsequently converted to Christianity with the name Cyriacus and became bishop of Jerusalem.

Despite the greatest antiquity of the first version of the legend about finding the Holy Cross, in the middle and late Byzantine era, the third version became the most common; in particular, it is based on the prologue legend, intended to be read on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, according to modern liturgical books of the Orthodox Church.

The exact date of obtaining the Holy Cross is unknown; apparently, it took place in 325 or 326. After the acquisition of St. Cross Emperor Constantine began the construction of a number of churches, where divine services were to be performed with solemnity appropriate to the Holy City. Around 335, the large basilica of Martyrium, erected directly near Golgotha and the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, was consecrated. Day of Renewal(i.e., the consecration) of Martyrium, as well as the rotunda of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher) and other buildings on the site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Savior on September 13 or 14 began to be celebrated annually with great solemnity, and the remembrance of the finding of the Holy Cross was included in the festive celebration in honor of the Renewal.

The establishment of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is thus connected with the feasts in honor of the consecration of Martyrium and the rotunda of the Resurrection. According to the "Easter Chronicle" of the 7th century, the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross was first performed during the celebrations at the consecration of Jerusalem churches.

Already in con. 4th century the feast of the Renewal of the Basilica of Martyrium and the Rotunda of the Resurrection was one of the three main feasts of the year in the Jerusalem Church, along with Pascha and Epiphany. According to the pilgrim con. 4th century Egerii, Renewal was celebrated for eight days; every day the Divine Liturgy was celebrated solemnly; temples were decorated in the same way as on Epiphany and Easter; many people came to Jerusalem for the feast, including those from remote areas - Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria. Egeria emphasizes that the Renewal was celebrated on the same day when the Cross of the Lord was found, and also draws a parallel between the events of the consecration of the Jerusalem churches and the Old Testament temple built by Solomon (“Pilgrimage”, Ch. 48-49).

Choice of September 13 or 14 as holiday dates Updates could be due both to the very fact of the consecration of churches on these days, and a conscious choice. According to a number of researchers, the Feast of Renewal has become the Christian analogue of the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three main holidays of the Old Testament worship (Lev 34:33-36), celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month according to the Old Testament calendar (this month roughly corresponds to September) , especially since the consecration of Solomon's temple also took place during Tabernacles. In addition, the date of the feast of renewal on September 13 coincides with the date of the consecration of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome, and a Christian holiday could be established instead of a pagan one (this theory has not received much circulation). Finally, parallels are possible between the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14 and the day of the Crucifixion of the Savior on Nisan 14, as well as between the Exaltation of the Cross and the feast of the Transfiguration, celebrated 40 days before. The question of the reason for choosing exactly September 13 as the date of the celebration of the Renewal (and, accordingly, September 14 as the date of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross) in modern historical science has not been finally resolved.

Renewal and the Exaltation of the Cross. In the 5th century, according to the testimony of the church historian Sozomen, the feast of the Renewal was celebrated in the Jerusalem Church as before very solemnly, for 8 days, during which “even the sacrament of Baptism was taught” (Church History. 2. 26). According to the Jerusalem Lectionary of the 5th century preserved in the Armenian translation, on the second day of the Feast of Renewal, the Holy Cross was shown to all the people. Thus, the Exaltation of the Cross was originally established as an additional holiday accompanying the main celebration in honor of the Renewal - similar to the holidays in honor of the Mother of God on the day after the Nativity of Christ or St. John the Baptist on the day after the Baptism of the Lord.

Starting from the VI century. The Exaltation of the Cross gradually began to become a more significant holiday than the Feast of the Renewal. If in the Life of St. Savva the Sanctified, written in the VI century. Rev. Cyril of Scythopol, they still talk about the celebration of the Renewal, but not the Exaltation (ch. 67), then already in the Life of St. Mary of Egypt, traditionally attributed to St. Sophronius of Jerusalem (7th century), it is said that St. Mary went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Exaltation (ch. 19).

The very word "elevation" ( ypsosis) among the surviving monuments is first found in Alexander the Monk (527-565), the author of the laudatory word to the Cross, which should be read on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross according to many liturgical monuments of the Byzantine tradition (including modern Russian liturgical books). Alexander Monk wrote that September 14 is the date of the celebration of the Exaltation and Renewal, established by the fathers at the command of the emperor (PG. 87g. Col. 4072).

By the 7th century the close connection between the holidays of the Renewal and the Exaltation of the Cross ceased to be felt - perhaps due to the Persian invasion of Palestine and the sack of Jerusalem by them in 614, which led to the captivity of the Holy Cross by the Persians and the partial destruction of the ancient Jerusalem liturgical tradition. Yes, St. Sophronius of Jerusalem in a sermon says that he does not know why on these two days (September 13 and 14) the Resurrection precedes the Cross, that is, why the Feast of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection precedes the Exaltation, and not vice versa, and that more ancient bishops could know the reason for this (PG. 87g. Col. 3305).

Subsequently, it was the Exaltation of the Cross that became the main holiday; the feast of the Renewal of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection, although it has been preserved in liturgical books up to the present, has become a pre-holiday day before the Exaltation of the Cross.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in the Cathedral Liturgy of Constantinople in the 9th-12th Centuries In Constantinople, the feast of the Renewal of the Jerusalem churches did not have the same significance as in Jerusalem. On the other hand, the veneration of the Holy Tree of the Cross of the Lord, which began under St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and especially intensified after the victorious return of St. Cross by Emperor Heraclius from Persian captivity in March 631 (this event is also associated with the establishment of calendar commemorations of the Cross on March 6 and on the Holy Week of Great Lent), made the Exaltation of the Cross one of the great holidays of the liturgical year. It was within the framework of the Constantinopolitan tradition, which in the post-iconoclast period became decisive in the worship of the entire Orthodox world, that the Exaltation finally surpassed the Feast of Renewal.
According to various lists of the Typicon of the Great Church, which reflects the post-iconoclastic conciliar practice of Constantinople in the 9th-12th centuries, the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross is a five-day festive cycle, including a four-day prefeast period on September 10-13 and the feast day on September 14. Particular importance is also attached to Saturdays and Sundays before and after the Exaltation, which received their liturgical readings.

Worship of the Holy Cross began already on the days of the forefeast: on September 10 and 11, men came to worship, on September 12 and 13 - women. Worship took place between morning and noon.

On the day of the feast, September 14, the service was distinguished by solemnity: on the eve they performed a festive vespers with the reading of proverbs; for the sake of the holiday they served pannihis (a solemn service at the beginning of the night); matins were performed according to the festive rite (“on the pulpit”); after the great doxology was performed. At the end of the Exaltation and veneration of the Cross, the Divine Liturgy began.

In the Byzantine post-iconoclast monastic Typicons The charter of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross received its final form. The corpus of hymns of the feast according to these Typicons is on the whole the same; the holiday has a prefeast and an afterfeast; the liturgical readings of the feast, Saturdays, and weeks before and after the Exaltation are taken from the Typicon of the Great Church; from the Constantinopolitan cathedral tradition, the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross at the festive morning was also borrowed, somewhat simplified in comparison with that one. In the Jerusalem Charter, starting from its early editions of the XII-XIII centuries. there is an indication of fasting on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross. Rev. Nikon Chernogorets (XI century) wrote in "Pandekty" that fasting on the day of the Exaltation is not indicated anywhere, but is a common practice.

According to the Jerusalem Charter now adopted in the Orthodox Church, the celebratory cycle of the Exaltation of the Cross consists of the fore-feast on September 13 (connected with the feast of the Renewal of the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection), the feast of September 14 (in the XX-XXI centuries - September 27 according to a new style) and seven days of after-feast, including release September 21st.

Holiday hymns. Compared with the hymnography of other twelfth feasts, not all the hymns of the Exaltation of the Cross are associated with this particular event, many of them are part of the hymns of the cross of the Octoechos (at the services of Wednesdays and Fridays of all voices), as well as in the sequence of other holidays in honor of the Cross: the Origin of the Honest Ancient on August 1, the Appearances of the sign of the Cross in heaven on May 7, the week of Great Lent, that is, they constitute a single corpus of hymnographic texts dedicated to the Cross of the Lord.

A number of chants following the V. holiday traditionally include prayers for the Emperor and petitions for granting him and his army victory. In modern Russian editions, many lines containing petitions for the Emperor have either been removed or reformulated, which was due to historical circumstances. The reason for the appearance of such petitions should be seen in the Orthodox understanding of the Cross as a sign of victory (which made the Cross part of the Byzantine military symbolism), and also in the fact that the acquisition of the Cross and the establishment of the Feast of the Exaltation took place thanks, first of all, to the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Elena. The latter is confirmed by the presence of a special memory of St. Constantine and Helena in the Sinai Canonar of the 9th-10th centuries. September 15, that is, the day after the Exaltation (the establishment of this memory expresses the same idea as the establishment of the memory of the Most Holy Theotokos on the day after the Nativity of Christ or the memory of St. John the Baptist on the day after the Baptism of the Lord - immediately after the event, those persons are glorified which were of paramount importance for its implementation).

The hymnographic sequence of the Exaltation of the Cross contains a troparion Save, O Lord, your people..., kontakion Ascended to the Cross by will..., canon of St. Cosmas of Mayumsky, a large number of stichera (22 self-voiced and 5 similar cycles), 6 sedals and 2 lamps. There is only one canon in the sequence of the Exaltation of the Cross, but the ninth ode in it includes not one, but two irmos and two cycles of troparia, and the last four letters of the acrostic from the eighth ode and the first group of troparia from the ninth ode of the canon are duplicated in the second group of troparia of the ninth ode. The unusual nature of this structure of the canon explains the tradition preserved on Mount Athos, according to which St. Cosmas Mayumsky, having come to Antioch for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, heard in one temple that his canon was not sung to the tune that he himself had in mind when compiling the canon. Rev. Kosma made a remark to the singers, but they refused to correct the mistake; then the monk revealed to them that he was the compiler of the canon, and as proof he composed another group of troparia of the ninth ode. Byzantine interpretations of this intricately written canon have been preserved in the manuscripts, on the basis of which he wrote his own interpretation (which is very famous in the Greek Churches) of St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain.

Based on the materials of the article by deacon Mikhail Zheltov and A.A. Lukashevich
"The Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord" from the 9th volume of the "Orthodox Encyclopedia"

The great church holiday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated on September 27 (September 14, old style) of each year.

The holiday is dedicated to the Cross of Jesus Christ, on which he was crucified. Rising means "lifting up". This holiday symbolizes the lifting of the Cross from the earth after it was discovered there.

Other holiday names

Exaltation, Exaltation Day, Stavrov's Day, Third Autumn, Battle of Truth and Falsehood, Kapustnitsy, Autumn Serpentine.

About the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

About three hundred years after the crucifixion of Christ, there were terrible persecutions against the Orthodox Church. Roman rulers, starting from Nero (ruled the empire in 54-68) and up to Diocletian (reign in 303-313), destroyed Christians in various ways, threw them to be torn to pieces by beasts, killed, crucified, rotted in dungeons, burned at the stake . Roman pagan kings sought to erase from human memory everything connected with the coming of the Son of God Jesus Christ to our land.

The Appearance of the Cross to ConstantineBut at the beginning of the fourth century, by the providence of God, Emperor Constantine came to power, who, before the decisive battle for power, had a heavenly sign in the form of a cross. And at night, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to him and said that in order to win, he must replace the Roman symbols on the banners with crosses. Constantine fulfilled the command of the Lord and received a long-awaited victory, after which he and his mother, Queen Elena, believed in the True God Jesus Christ.

The persecution of Christians by royal decree was stopped and the restoration of Christian churches and shrines began.

In 326, Queen Helen went to Jerusalem. Arriving at the holy place, she saw that a pagan temple in honor of Venus was built on the site of Golgotha, and a temple in the name of Jupiter was erected on the site of the Holy Sepulcher. He ordered the destruction of pagan sanctuaries and the erection of Christian churches in their place.

But it was still necessary to find the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Elena searched for the Holy Cross for a long time and in vain, hundreds of Christians and Jews were interviewed, no one could give at least some information. Quite by accident, she learned that an old Jew named Judas could tell where to find the shrine. He was persuaded for a long time to tell where this place was, finally he showed a cave filled with stones, where the Cross of the Savior and two crosses could be located, on which the robbers were crucified that day.

Cross of the Lord With prayers, they began to dig a cave and found three crosses in it, and next to them they found a tablet on which was written in three languages "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."
In order to understand which of the crosses was the Cross of the Savior, they brought a seriously ill woman, on whom all the crosses were placed in turn. After she touched the real Life-Giving Cross, the patient was healed.

In order to make sure that this is exactly the same Cross that they were looking for, it was attached to the deceased, who was carried to be buried. After the Cross touched the deceased, he resurrected and everyone was completely convinced that such a miracle could only come from the Life-Giving Cross.

With great joy, Empress Elena and all the people who were with her bowed to the shrine and venerated it. The news of the holy discovery almost instantly spread throughout the district, and Jews began to gather at the place where the Cross was found. There were so many people that many could not only bow to the Cross, but even see Him. To show the find, Patriarch Macarius stood on a high place and raised (raised) the Life-Giving Cross, everyone finally saw Him and, falling on their knees, prayed "Lord have mercy."

Later, by order of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine, in Jerusalem, on the site of the Resurrection of Christ, the construction of a monument to this event began, which was built for ten whole years.
Saint Helena died in 327, she did not live to see the completion of construction for eight years. The temple in honor of the Resurrection of Christ was consecrated on September 13 (according to the new style), 335.
And the next day, September 14, was set as a holiday - the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross.

By the care of the holy Empress Helena, more than eighty churches were founded, including at the birthplace of Jesus Christ - in Bethlehem, at the place of the Ascension of the Lord - on the Mount of Olives, in Gethsemane, where the Savior prayed before His Holy Death and where the Mother of God was buried after Dormition.

For all the labors that Constantine and Helen put into spreading the Christian faith, the Holy Church canonized them as Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Heraclius brings in the Cross of the Lord On this festive day, Christians remember another event - the return of the Cross of the Lord to Jerusalem from fourteen years of Persian captivity.
Chosroes II, the king of Persia, attacked Jerusalem, seized the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and captured Patriarch Zechariah (609-633).

For 14 years, the Holy Cross was in Persia until the time when, with God's help, Emperor Heraclius won the battle against Khozroy. Peace was concluded and the shrine finally returned to the Christians.

With great solemnity, the emperor Heraclius, in the royal crown and purple, carried the returned Cross to its rightful place in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Patriarch Zacharias walked beside him. But near the gate that led to Golgotha, the procession suddenly stopped, Heraclius could not go further. The Holy Patriarch suggested to the astonished emperor that the Angel of the Lord Himself blocked the path, because the One Who had to bear the Cross in order to atone for human sins, passed this path in humility and in a humiliated form.

Then the emperor took off his royal robes and put on simple poor clothes. Only after that he was able to bring the Life-Giving Cross into the temple.

On the day of the Exaltation of the Honest Christ, a strict fast is observed!

magnificence

We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, by which Thou hast saved us from the work of the enemy.

How and what to pray to the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

They pray to the Holy Cross on different occasions, in joy, in trouble, in happiness or in sorrow. The prayer "Let God rise again ..." included in the evening rule is the most powerful prayer that every Christian needs to know. She will protect you from all evil and misfortune. The Holy Fathers recommend reading the prayer to the Holy Cross before each exit from the house.

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let all who hate Him flee from His presence. As the smoke disappears, let them disappear; as wax melts from the face of fire, so let the demons perish from the face of those who love God and are marked by the sign of the cross, and say in joy: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, drive away the demons with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified on you, who descended into hell and corrected his strength the devil, and who gave us His Honorable Cross to drive away every adversary. O Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady Virgin Mother of God and with all the saints forever. Amen.

Traditions and rituals on Vozdvizhenye

- September 27 - worship of the Cross, religious processions, Exaltation evenings, reading a conspiracy for love, on this day they do not start new business.

Believers of the Orthodox Church worship the Cross.

On this day, people do not start any business, as there will be no positive result.

Traditionally, detours or religious processions are made with icons and prayers.

On this day, Vozdvizhensky evenings begin, which last for two weeks. Unmarried girls gather and read a certain spell seven times. According to legend, after such a ceremony, the one who is dear to her heart will fall in love with the girl.

Whoever observes the fast during the Exaltation will receive forgiveness of 7 sins, and those who do not observe it will receive 7 sins.

On this holiday, crosses are drawn in houses with chalk, soot, coal, garlic, animal blood. Small crosses made of wood are placed in the bins and mangers of animals. In the absence of crosses, they are made from rowan branches. They protect people, animals and crops from evil spirits.

Signs and sayings on the Exaltation

- The rise of autumn moves towards winter.

- At sunrise, the moon outlines a reddish, quickly disappearing circle - the weather will be clear and dry.

- The north wind on this day prophesies a warm summer next year.

- Geese fly high - the flood will be high, low - the river will practically not rise.

- If the cranes fly slowly and high, cooing in flight, then the autumn will be warm.

- If the west wind blows for several days in a row, then the weather will be bad in the coming days.

- On September 27, birds begin to fly south. And at the same time, there is a very good sign, which reads as follows: if you see the departure of birds for a holiday, you must definitely make a cherished wish that will come true in any case.

- It is also very important to say that earlier on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, absolutely every housewife cleaned the house. It was believed that in this way, it is possible to expel all kinds of evil spirits and damage from the house.

- The following ritual for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross will also help drive out negative energy and negativity from the house: for this, you need to take three church candles directly, and install them on one saucer. Next, you need to spray absolutely every corner of your home with a cruciform movement. At that moment, it is imperative to say absolutely any prayer that you know by heart. But the best option would be the prayer "Our Father" or the ninetieth psalm.

- It is very important to remember that it is absolutely not worth starting any new business on the holiday, because, unfortunately, it is according to the sign that this business will end in failure.

- It is from the holiday of September 27 that incredibly cheerful youth holidays begin, which in turn have a name - skits. In ancient times, young beauties dressed up in festive dresses and went directly from house to house to chop cabbage. This action was carried out with extremely cheerful songs and was accompanied directly by delicious treats.

- Previously, they always knew that if you go to the forest on the Exaltation holiday, then there is a high probability that you will not be able to return at all. It was assumed that on September 27 the goblin collects each animal in the forest in order to unambiguously count each of them and thereby know how many living creatures live in his forest. And this action categorically no one should observe. And whoever disobeys and still goes to the forest for the Feast of the Exaltation, thereby showing disrespect to the goblin, may not return home that day.

Father Alexander Men on the Exaltation

Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victory against resistance and Thy keeping Thy cross.

If the Nativity of the Mother of God is the threshold of the mystery of the Incarnation, then the Cross announces to us the redemptive sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, it also stands at the beginning of the church year.

The sign of the cross from deep pre-Christian antiquity was a symbol of the Divine and eternal life in many religions. But after Golgotha, the abstract hieroglyph became a real sign of salvation.

With a speed incomprehensible to the pagans, the news of the “folly of the Cross” swept through the world; Jews demanded signs, Hellenes - proofs, but in response they heard: "We preach Christ Crucified ...".

“We worship Your Cross, Vladyka,” the Church sings; - and we glorify your holy Resurrection ... ".

Through suffering to joy, through death to victory, through sacrificial self-giving to the fulfillment of the will of the Father—such is the path of the Redeemer of the world, such is the path of all who follow Him. “Whoever wants to follow Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me.” It's not just hardship and suffering; by themselves they may not be a "cross". “Taking up your cross” means “rejecting yourself”, conquering selfishness, learning to live for others, learning courage, patience, and total devotion to Christ.

The hymns of the feast speak of the Cross, which rises above the world as "the beauty of the Church," as "the affirmation of the faithful." He is a sign of God's love for man, a herald of the coming transformation of nature. “Let the oak trees rejoice, having been sanctified to their nature, having been planted from Him from the beginning” (canon of the Exaltation).

Already in the II century, Christians began to overshadow themselves with the sign of the cross. Even earlier, the first images of the cross appeared in the Church. These depictions predate the Crucifixions, the earliest of which were made around the 6th century.

Of all the types of Crucifixes, perhaps the most majestic is that which arose in Byzantium. Christ is depicted as having "betrayed the spirit". Head bowed, eyes closed. But the most remarkable thing is the hands. They are not lifeless. They are open like an embrace. In all the guise of the Crucified, peace and forgiveness. Already, as it were, a victory over death is foreshadowed ...

Holiday kontakion:

Ascended to the cross by will, to your namesake new residence, grant Your bounty, Christ God, rejoice us with Your power, giving us victories for comparisons, help to those who have Yours, the weapon of the world, an invincible victory.

The origin of the holiday is associated with the triumph of Christianity under Constantine the Great (IV century), who erected the Church of the Resurrection on the site of Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher. This place attracted Christian pilgrims from the first years of the Church's existence, but at the beginning of the 2nd century, the emperor Hadrian, hostile to both Judaism and Christianity, decided to destroy all traces of both religions that were objectionable to him. He completely rebuilt Jerusalem, calling it Elia, dug down the Calvary hill, filled up the cave of St. Sepulcher and built a temple of Venus there.

When Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he ordered the temple to be demolished and excavations to begin on the holy site. “They removed layer after layer,” writes a contemporary of the events, Eusebius, “suddenly, in the depths of the earth, beyond all expectations, there was an empty space, and then an honest and all-holy sign of the saving Resurrection.” It was the cave of the Holy Sepulcher. The emperor provided the Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius with the means to build a temple over the cave.

After some time, Palestine was visited by the elderly mother of Constantine, Elena. Eusebius has no reports that she managed to find the authentic Cross of Christ. But in the second half of the 4th century, this relic was already honored in Jerusalem. St. Cyril testifies that parts of the Cross were sent throughout the empire. According to St. John Chrysostom, a sign by which they learned that it was the Cross of the Lord, was the inscription on it. At the beginning of the 5th century, Rufin already definitely associated the find with the name of St. Helena, and the historian Sozomen recorded a legend around 440 about how the queen was looking for the Cross and found it buried in the ground near Golgotha. To verify its authenticity, a dead man was placed on the shrine, and he came to life. After that, the patriarch "raised" the Cross over the praying crowd. The lack of information from Eusebius gave rise to historians to consider Sozomen's story a legend. But there is nothing incredible about the fact that the Cross was actually found. According to Jewish custom, the instruments of execution were placed in a mass grave along with the bodies of the crucified. Therefore, the Cross of Christ could be buried next to the robbers.

Be that as it may, the veneration of the Cross is of great general Christian significance. In honor of this shrine, the Feast of the Exaltation was established.

On the eve of it, during the all-night service (after the Great Doxology), the priest brings the image of the Cross to the middle of the temple. In the cathedral churches there is a custom to "raise" it to the four cardinal points while singing "Lord, have mercy."

On the day of the Exaltation, fasting was established.

The holiday is dedicated to the Cross of the Savior, on which He was crucified, and symbolizes the raising of the Cross from the earth after its acquisition.

The pagans, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, covered Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher with earth, and erected a temple on top, in which they worshiped their idols. So the pagans tried to erase the memories of this event from human memory.

The greatest Shrine of Christianity was found again only 300 years later, under Emperor Constantine the Great.

Where did they find the Cross of the Lord

Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine (306-337), found the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified in a cave near Jerusalem in 326. The cave under the temple of the Gentiles was found with the help of an elderly Jew named Judas, who knew where the Cross of the Lord was.

In the cave, when it was dug up, they found three crosses and a tablet lying separately from them with the inscription: "Jesus of Nazarene, King of the Jews." To find out which of them was the Cross of the Savior, they began to bring the crosses one by one to a seriously ill woman. Two crosses did not work a miracle, and after the third cross was laid on her, she recovered.

According to legend, at this time the deceased was carried past for burial. Then the crosses began to be placed one by one on the deceased. And when the third cross was laid, the deceased revived. Thus, they recognized the Cross of the Savior, through which the Lord performed miracles and showed his life-giving power.

Saint Helena, Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and the people around them with joy and reverence bowed to the Cross of Christ and kissed it. Christians, having learned about this great event, gathered 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 because of the multitude of people, everyone began to ask at least to show it. Then Patriarch Macarius stood on an elevated place and, so that everyone could see, he erected (raised) it several times. The people, seeing the Cross of the Savior, bowed and exclaimed: "Lord, have mercy!"

Empress Elena brought part of the Cross of the Lord to her son, and left the other part in Jerusalem.

By order of Emperor Constantine, a temple was built in Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, the construction of which went on for almost ten years. Temples were also built on the Mount of Olives, in Bethlehem and in Fevron near the Oak of Mamri.

Return from captivity

In the 7th century, with the memory of finding the Cross of the Lord, another thing was connected - about the return of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord from Persian captivity.

The Persian king in 614 conquered and sacked Jerusalem and took the Tree of the Holy Cross to Persia, among other treasures. The Holy Relic remained with the foreigners for fourteen years - Emperor Heraclius in 628 defeated the Persians, made peace with them and returned the Cross to Jerusalem.

The further fate of the Shrine is not exactly known to historians - someone says that the Cross was in Jerusalem until 1245, and someone that it was divided into parts and smashed around the world.

A part of the Cross of the Lord to this day rests in an ark in the altar of the Greek Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem.

Traditions and customs

As on any great church holiday, the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy are laid on the day of the Exaltation. Festive services on this day are held in all Orthodox churches - the Cross for worship is solemnly carried out from the altar to the middle of the temple.

This is the only holiday that began simultaneously with the event to which it is dedicated.

The holiday has one day of forefeast and seven days of afterfeast. In addition, the Feast of the Exaltation is preceded by a Saturday and a Week (Sunday), called Saturday and the Week before the Exaltation.

On this holiday, the Orthodox go to church, read prayers, listen to a sermon telling about the history of the return of the Holy Cross. Believers of the Orthodox Church worship the Cross. Traditionally, detours or religious processions are made with icons and prayers.

On this day, people pray for health, well-being and happiness in the family.

Do's and Don'ts

On the Exaltation, a strict fast must be observed - neither meat nor dairy products can be eaten, even if the holiday falls on Sunday. There were proverbs among the people: "Whoever fasts on the Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven" or "Whoever does not fast on the Exaltation, seven sins will be forgiven."

Accordingly, only lenten dishes were served on the festive table, which the housewives most often prepared from cabbage of the new crop - they stewed, fried, baked pies, and made various salads. Therefore, this day was also called "Cabbage" by the people.

The house needs to be sprinkled with water consecrated in the church - this will help not only protect the home from evil spirits, but also protect it from people with bad thoughts.

On this day, when you see birds flying south, you can make a cherished wish, which, according to the people, will certainly come true.

You cannot start a new business on Exaltation, as it is believed that everything will go to waste.

It was forbidden to go into the forest, because the goblin goes around his possessions and rereads the animals, and if a person catches his eye, then he will not return from the forest.

On the holiday, it is forbidden to engage in hard work - to make repairs, clean or chop wood. At the same time, it was believed that by cleaning the house on the Exaltation, one could expel evil spirits.

You can’t swear at the Exaltation, especially with loved ones - it was believed that all negative energy would return three times.

Also, you can’t keep the door open - in the old days, people believed that on this day, snakes are looking for places to winter and can crawl into any house.

On a holiday, crosses were drawn in houses with chalk, soot, coal, garlic or the blood of an animal, so the people also called the holiday Stavrov's day - from the Greek "stavros" - a cross.

Small crosses made of wood were placed in the bins and mangers of animals - the cross was supposed to protect the house, barn and cattle from evil spirits. In the absence of crosses, they were made from rowan twigs.

Signs

The peasants perceived the Feast of the Exaltation as the final onset of autumn and the change of seasons, with which most folk signs are associated. On this day, the people used to say: "A fur coat stretches for a caftan on the Exaltation" or "Exaltation is in the yard, the last shock from the field is moving, the last cart is in a hurry to the threshing floor."

On this day, bears hibernate, snakes hide in holes until spring, the last migratory birds fly away.

If there is frost on Exaltation, spring will be early.

Icon of the Exaltation of the Cross

Known for its miraculous abilities - it helps to recover even from chronic or incurable diseases.

Reproduction of the icon "Exaltation of the Cross". XV-XVI centuries

In particular, sincere prayers before the Holy Image treat infertility, diseased bones and joints, chronic migraines, toothache, and so on.

Prayers

Prayer one

Honest Cross, guardian of soul and body, wake up: cast down demons in your own way, driving away enemies, exercising passions and giving us reverence, both life and strength, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and honest prayers of the Most Pure Theotokos. Amen.

Prayer two

O Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Of old, you were a shameful instrument of execution, now the sign of our salvation is forever revered and glorified! How worthily I can, unworthy, sing to Thee, and how dare I bow the knee of my heart before my Redeemer, confessing my sins! But the mercy and inexpressible philanthropy of the humble Boldness, Spread on you, gives me, let me open my mouth to glorify Thee; for this sake I cry to Ty: rejoice, Cross, the Church of Christ's beauty and foundation, the whole universe - affirmation, Christians of all - hope, kings - power, faithful - refuge, Angels - glory and chanting, demons - fear, destruction and driving away, wicked and unfaithful - shame, the righteous - delight, the burdened - weak, overwhelmed - a haven, the lost - a mentor, obsessed with passions - repentance, the poor - enrichment, floating - helmsmen, the weak - strength, in battles - victory and overcoming, orphans - true protection, widows - intercessor, virgins - protection of chastity, hopeless - hope, sick - doctor and the dead - resurrection! You, foreshadowed by the miraculous rod of Moses, a life-giving source, soldering those who are thirsty for spiritual life and delighting our sorrows; You are a bed, on which the Resurrected Conqueror of Hell rested royally for three days. For this sake, and in the morning, and in the evening, and at noon, I glorify Thee, the blessed Tree, and I pray, by the will of the One who has blossomed on Thee, may He enlighten and strengthen my mind with Thee, may He open in my heart a source of perfect love and all my deeds and my paths will overshadow Thee May I magnify Him who is nailed to Thee, for the sake of my sin, the Lord my Savior. Amen.

Material prepared on the basis of open sources

On September 27, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - one of the 12 main, or twelfth holidays of the Orthodox Church.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross: history

On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, they remember how Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Elena found the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The cross was found in 326 near Mount Calvary 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 connected with this day.

The holiday is called the Exaltation of the Cross, because both at the acquisition and at the return of the Cross, the primate raised (raised) the cross three times so that everyone could see it.

Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine wished to build temples of God on places sacred to Christians in Palestine (i.e., 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. Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Elena.

In 326, Queen Helen went to Jerusalem for this purpose. She put a lot of work to find the Cross of Christ, since the enemies of Christ hid the Cross, 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 littered with garbage and earth, and a pagan temple was built on top. Queen Elena ordered to destroy this building and dig out 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 Empress Elena firmly believed and hoped that God would show the Holy Cross of the Savior.

On the advice of the bishop, they began to offer crosses one by one to one seriously ill woman. No miracle happened from 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 the other and on the deceased; and when the third cross was laid, the dead man revived. Thus they learned the cross of the Lord, through which the Lord performed miracles and showed life-giving the power of His Cross.

Empress Elena, Patriarch Macarius and the people around them with joy and reverence bowed to the Cross of Christ 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 because of the multitude of people, everyone began to ask at least to show him. Then Patriarch Macarius stood on an elevated place and, so that everyone could see, several times erected(picked up) 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 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 Elena brought part of the Cross of the Lord 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 Cross of the Lord took shape 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 twigs of plants. In the foreground are the saints and everyone who came to venerate the shrine. On the right are the figures of Tsar Constantine and Empress Helena.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 1

Kontakion, tone 4

magnificence

We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, by which Thou hast 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 heritage, granting victory to the Orthodox Christian against the opposing ones, and keeping Thy life by Thy Cross.

Participated in the Exaltation of the Cross and on the Sunday of the Cross

Ascended to the cross by will, to your namesake new residence, grant Your bounty, Christ God; rejoice in Your strength, giving us victories for comparisons, the provision of Your possessions, the weapon of the world, an 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 paradise, the faithful affirmation, the fencing of the Church, even if the aphids are ruined and abolished, and the mortal power is trampled down, and we ascend from earth to heaven, an invincible weapon, resisting demons: the glory of the martyrs, the saints, as truly fertilizer: a haven salvation, grant the world great mercy.

Prayers to the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

Prayer one

Prayer two

O Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Of old, you were a shameful instrument of execution, now the sign of our salvation is forever revered and glorified! How worthily I can, unworthy, sing to Thee, and how dare I bow the knee of my heart before my Redeemer, confessing my sins! But the mercy and inexpressible philanthropy of the humble Boldness, Spread on you, gives me, let me open my mouth to glorify Thee; for this reason I cry to Ty: rejoice, Cross, the Church of Christ's beauty and foundation, the whole universe - affirmation, Christians of all - hope, kings - power, faithful - refuge, Angels - glory and chanting, demons - fear, destruction and driving away, wicked and unfaithful - shame, the righteous - delight, the burdened - weak, overwhelmed - a haven, the lost - a mentor, obsessed with passions - repentance, the poor - enrichment, floating - helmsmen, the weak - strength, in battles - victory and overcoming, orphans - true protection, widows - intercessor, virgins - protection of chastity, hopeless - hope, sick - doctor and the dead - resurrection! You, foreshadowed by the miraculous rod of Moses, a life-giving source, soldering those who are thirsty for spiritual life and delighting our sorrows; You are a bed, on which the Resurrected Conqueror of Hell rested royally for three days. For this sake, and in the morning, and in the evening, and at noon, I glorify Thee, the blessed Tree, and I pray, by the will of the One who has blossomed on Thee, may He enlighten and strengthen my mind with Thee, may He open in my heart a source of perfect love and all my deeds and my paths will overshadow Thee May I magnify Him who is nailed to Thee, for the sake of my sin, the Lord my Savior. Amen.

Liturgy 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 the Liturgy. But now they rarely serve all night, so the festive Divine service on the eve of the holiday - the vigil - becomes central.

The Exaltation is the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) twelfth feast. Therefore, its service does not connect to any other service. For example, the memory of John Chrysostom is transferred to another day.

Interestingly, during Matins on the Exaltation of the Cross, the Gospel is read not in the middle of the temple, but in the altar.

The climax of the feast is when the preeminent 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 bow to Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy holy Resurrection.”

The cross lies on the lectern until October 4 - the day the Exaltation is given. On surrender, the priest takes the cross to the altar.

Order 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, O Lord, Thy people..., consists of a five-fold overshadowing of the Cross and its elevation to the cardinal points (to the east, south, west, north and again to the east). An important change, compared with the Studium monuments, is the addition of five deacon's petitions to the rite (corresponding to the five autumns of the Cross), after each of which a hundred times 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 away from the ground (Greek. spithame, about 20 cm). During the correction of liturgical books in the Russian Church in the 2nd half. 17th century the order of the fall of the cardinal points during the rank 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.