Elevation of the Holy Cross

The Elevation of the Holy Cross is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14.

This feast commemorates the recovery of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The Persians had captured it as a prize of war in Jerusalem, and it was recovered by the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire ("Byzantine Empire"). The cross was joyously held up for veneration by the Christian faithful upon its recovery, who continually sang Kyrie eleison as it was lifted on high, a practice which is still enacted at current celebrations of this feast.

This article or section is a stub (i.e., in need of additional material). You can help OrthodoxWiki by expanding it.