September in the Orthodox church calendar is marked by two great twelve-year holidays, which the Church celebrates with special triumph and splendor. On September 27, a festive service is held in Orthodox churches dedicated to the feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.
Orthodox Lord's holidays are the historical memory of the Church about the evangelical events that are directly related to the life and preaching of Jesus Christ and are important in the salvation of man and the achievement of spiritual perfection. In addition, in the Orthodox Church there are great holidays established in memory of the most important historical events in the life of Christians of the post-Gospel time. These celebrations include the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord - a holiday established in memory of the acquisition of the Cross in 326 in Jerusalem by the holy Empress Helena and Bishop Macarius.
In the Orthodox tradition, the cross on which Christ was crucified is not a symbol of torture and an instrument for the execution of the Savior. First of all, the cross is a symbol of the salvation of mankind, accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ through suffering and death on the cross. Through the podvig of Christ on the Cross, humanity was granted reconciliation with God, the opportunity to be in paradise again after death. That is why the life-giving cross of Christ is one of the main shrines of the Christian world.
After the gospel events of the crucifixion of Christ, the cross was lost. With the time of the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion in the Roman Empire (early IV century) by the ruler Constantine the Great, it became necessary to find one of the greatest shrines of Christianity. The mother of Emperor Constantine, the Holy Empress Helena, also called the Equal-to-the-Apostles Church, took up the search for the Holy Cross.
It is known from history that Empress Helena, together with Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem, went in search of the shrine to Palestine - namely, to those places that were marked by the last days of the Savior's earthly life. As a result of the trip, Golgotha (the place of the crucifixion of Christ) and the Holy Sepulcher (the cave in which the body of the Savior was buried after the crucifixion) were found. Three crosses were found not far from the Holy Sepulcher. It is known from the Gospel narrative that two robbers were crucified together with Christ. Queen Helena and Bishop Macarius had to choose the very authentic Cross on which Christ Himself was crucified.
The authenticity of the Cross of the Lord was witnessed by a miracle. So, the story tells that after the alternate laying of crosses on a seriously ill woman, the latter immediately received healing from contact with one crucifix. Miraculous healing became evidence of the authenticity of the Cross of Christ. The legend also contains information about another miraculous event. So, crosses were laid on a deceased person. The deceased was resurrected from contact with the crucifixion of Christ.
On the site of Golgotha and the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, Emperor Constantine decided to erect a magnificent temple in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. In 335, the temple was erected, and on September 14 (according to the old style) the Life-giving Cross of Christ was erected (raised) in the temple with a huge crowd of people. This date became the first holiday of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-giving Cross.
Currently, in Orthodox churches on this day, a special rite of the raising of the cross of the Lord is performed. The bishops and clergy raise the cross over the four cardinal points in the church, while the choir sings "Lord have mercy" a hundred times. This rite is the historical memory of the Church about the event of the erection of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, symbolizing the direct connection between the ancient Christian Church and modern Orthodox Churches.
Despite the fact that the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is one of the greatest holidays, the church charter ascribes strict fasting on this day. These instructions are due to an appeal to the mental and heartfelt comprehension of the price at which salvation was granted to mankind.
