September in the Orthodox church calendar is marked by two great bicentennial holidays, which the Church celebrates with special triumph and grandeur. On September 27, in Orthodox churches, a festive service dedicated to the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Life-Giving Cross is celebrated.
Orthodox lord's holidays are the historical memory of the Church about gospel events that are directly related to the life and preaching of Jesus Christ and are important in the work of saving a person and achieving spiritual perfection. In addition, in the Orthodox Church there are great holidays established in memory of the most important historical events from the life of Christians of the post-Gospel period. These celebrations include the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord - a holiday established in memory of the Cross in 326 in Jerusalem by the Holy Empress Elena and Bishop Makarii.
In the Orthodox tradition, the cross on which Christ was crucified is not a symbol of torture and an instrument of 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 cross-feat of Christ, mankind 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 relics of the Christian world.
After the gospel events of the crucifixion of Christ, the cross was lost. Over time, the establishment of Christianity by the dominant religion in the Roman Empire (beginning of the 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 Queen Elena, also called the Equal-to-the-Apostles Church, began the search for the Cross of the Lord.
It is known from history that Queen Elena, along with the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, went in search of the shrine to Palestine - namely, those places that were marked by the last days of the Savior's earthly life. As a result of the journey, Golgotha (the place of the crucifixion of Christ) and the Sepulcher of the Lord (the cave in which the body of the Savior was buried after the crucifixion) were found. Not far from the sepulcher of the Lord, three crosses were found. From the gospel narrative it is known that two robbers were crucified with Christ. Queen Elena 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 alternately laying crosses on a seriously ill woman, the latter immediately received healing from contact with one crucifix. Miraculous healing became a witness of the authenticity of the Cross of Christ. In the legend, information about another wonderful event is also preserved. So, crosses were placed on a dead person. From contact with the crucifixion of Christ, the deceased is risen.
On the site of Golgotha and the cave of the Holy Sepulcher by Emperor Constantine, it was 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 was the first celebration of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Creating Cross.
Currently, in Orthodox churches on this day, a special rite is being made for the erection of the cross of the Lord. The bishops and the clergy elevate the cross over the four cardinal points in the temple, and the choir at this time sings "Lord have mercy" a hundred times. This rite represents the historical memory of the Church about the event of the exaltation of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, symbolizing the direct connection of the ancient Christian Church and modern Orthodox Churches.
Despite the fact that the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is one of the greatest feasts, the church charter ascribes strict fasting on this day. These instructions are due to an appeal to the mental and cordial comprehension of the price to which salvation was granted to humanity.
