The Feast of the Holy Cross

Jose Kurian Puliyeril

Almost all-Episcopal Churches venerate the Holy cross, as it is the means of salvation. Our Holy Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Cross-on 14th Sept every year. It is the anniversary of the finding of the cross of our Lord from the place where the Jews had hid it. It is traditionally believed that the cross of our Lord as well as of the other two who were crucified with our Lord, were buried for the fear of some or other miracles from the cross of our Lord. It is said that a few among the Jews who decided to bury the crosses had later believed that the cross of our Lord would help them in times of agonies and other critical problems. So secretly they had made a hole from the surface of the earth till the cross of our Lord, so that one could touch the cross of our Lord at the need. It is said that the Jews, who believed, used to touch the cross for their needs and used to attain blessings/miracles. When Queen Helene came to Jerusalem in search of the cross, she asked so many about the cross of our Lord. When she came to a particular place, someone informed her that there was an old man who would be helpful to find out the location of the cross. We confirm this traditional faith through a hymn of worship. See what we are singing in this hymn ‘Sleebaye vandippanai……………’
“ Queen Helene reached Jerusalem To venerate the Holy Cross She assembled the Jews and Asked them to show the place Where the cross is kept (hidden) They retorted that we have a chief And if you ask him, he will show The place where the cross of Lord Jesus is kept.”
The Holy Church is celebrating the feast of the Holy Cross-to commemorate this great event on 14th Sept every year. Whenever we worship as a congregation we place a cross with lighted candles on both sides. When we see a cross we remember our Lord God who sought us victory over death as well as the satanic powers. Our Lord saved us from the bondage of sins and Satan through his death on the cross. The Holy Cross-identifies our Lord’s presence in the Church. On the altar itself we find the cross in the center surrounded by 12 candle stands which represents the 12 Apostles. The Holy Church teaches us to venerate the Holy Cross-as the entire mankind as well as the entire universe is saved through the cross of our Lord. The Church Fathers have taught us to see the cross of our Lord on the walls of our hearts, as we see the God in our hearts with our spiritual eyes. Like wise we are asked to venerate the cross of our Lord in our hearts in pure spirituality. Read Galatians 6:14, I Corinthians 1:18, Hebrews 13:13, St. Matthew 16:24, and Philippians 3: 18. When we venerate the Holy cross, we are venerating our Lord God and not the material (Gold, Silver or wood with which the cross is made). No one can say that veneration of the Holy cross is an act of idol worship. What David did before the tabernacle were considered as honor to Lord God and as they were accepted by God, no one could say that veneration of the Holy Cross is a partial or full idol worship. Read Hebrews 11:21, 2 Samuel 2: 14-16. Our Church Fathers had considered cross as a means of beauty of the worship centers.
The symbol of cross has influenced the human civilizations from time to time, knowingly or unknowingly. In the common mathematics, the sign of cross is for “adding. In spirituality also in effect it is the same. The cross is adding the faithful to the Church. And it keeps on adding. When the number 2 is added with 1 (2 +1), we get a new number 3. The new number leaves away the original qualities of 2 and 1. That is why St. Paul is telling that if one is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The cross is the sign of victory over Satan and the evil powers; it is the sign of real divine love, tolerance, patience, fear of God and the concern for the fellow men. We lose many of the lessons of the Holy cross in our day to day lives. When we would celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross every time, we will have to utilize those occasions to review our personal lives to see our relationship with the cross. We must re-adjust our lives.
There is no clear account of the status of the cross of our Lord, after it was taken by Queen Helene to Rome. It is heard that the Holy cross was taken to different parts of the world, as Holy relics. But each and every Christian has to think about it and must long to re-gain the Holy Cross in part or full. Traditionally it is believed that when the cross of our Lord was prepared for the first time by the Jewish regime, they had used the wood of the tree in the center of the Garden of Eden, of which the fruits were forbidden for Adam and Eve.
We are sure how our Lord’s cross was identified when the three crosses were unearthed in the initiative of Queen Helene. Can we examine ourselves whether we have such a firm faith? Let us try to find the answer for this question ourselves. Let us seek the guidance of the Holy Cross, as it is a way to enter His Kingdom, a light in the darkness on our way ahead and a sign of victory over Satan and his powers. May God protect us under the wings of His cross. Let us seek the blessing of the Holy cross. 























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Volume 1. Issue 10.
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