Veneration of the Cross

HOME	St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
	OUR FAITH
	VENERATION OF THE CROSS Apart from many other occasions on which the precious Cross of Christ is venerated in the Orthodox Church, there are two particular feasts completely devoted to its veneration. The first is the Third Sunday of Lent, the anniversary of the finding of the Cross by St. Helen is commemorated. A special brief service takes place at the end of the Orthros during which a procession comes out of the sanctuary with the priest holding the Cross high and then ceremoniously setting it to be venerated by the congregation. Originally, the anniversary of the finding of the Cross was set to be celebrated on March 6^th ,but since March 6 always falls within the Great Lent and no Eucharist can be celebrated unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the celebration of the anniversary was shifted to be observed on the third Sunday of the Lent. The second occasion on which the precious Cross is venerated is connected with the historic event that took place early in the 7^th century. Emperor Heracleios, after defeating the Persians in 628, recovered from them the precious Cross and on September 14, humbly dressed and wearing no shoes, brought the Cross in procession to the Church of the Resurrection that Constantine the Great had built on the site where his mother, Saint Helen, has found it, and surrendered it to Patriarch Zacharias. The Patriarch raised the Cross before the people (it is from this that the name: “The Raising of the ‘Cross’ derives). This Raising of the Cross is commemorated on September 14 at a special ceremony at which the Cross is raised in church, the people are blessed with it, and are invited to vererate it. (Taken from “A Dictionary of Gree Orthodoxy: ) Note: This year this service will be held on March 11, 2007)