Church historians generally agree that two distinct events brought about the institution of this blessed holy day: the finding of the Cross of our Lord by St. Helena in the 4th century and its return from Persian captivity to Jerusalem in the 7th century. It is a pious tradition of our Holy Orthodox Church that St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, did not know exactly where on Golgotha to look for Christ’s Cross, since it had been buried for nearly 300 years. As she searched the hillside, St. Helena came across a sweet-smelling plant and decided to dig in that area. It was there that she found the Life-Giving Cross of the Savior! This plant was given the name “Basil,” which literally means “the plant of the King.”
During the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of our Lord in Jerusalem in 355 A.D., it is said that the Patriarch ELEVATED the Cross for all the faithful to see. Those present fell to their knees and prayed repeatedly: “Lord, Have Mercy!” This ritual is still practiced today in the Orthodox Churches throughout the world.
The Cross was taken away from Jerusalem by Persian invaders in 614 A.D. Fourteen years later the Emperor Heraclius won a great victory over the Persians and returned to Jerusalem the Cross of Christ. Once again, the Cross was treated with great reverence, and was held aloft for proper veneration. Due to the commemoration of the suffering and death of our Lord upon the Cross, this Feast Day is appointed to be kept as a strict fast day in which no meat or dairy products are consumed.
