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Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is one of the fi ve major feasts of the Armenian Church and the most significant of the Fea sts of the Holy Cross. Established in 335\, the next day the consecration of the temple of St. Resurrection in Jerusalem\, to the glory of finding t he Holy Cross. In view of all the Lord's Cross was solemnly exalted and pl aced in the altar of Golgotha. Subsequently\, this feast has joined the re membrance event to return to Jerusalem in 629\, the Cross of the Lord\, th e captive and removed to 610\, the king of Persia Khosrov. The feast is ce lebrated on the Sunday closest to September 14\, and in the following Mond ay\, Friday and Saturday. The remaining three days of this week honored as Fests of the Holy Church.
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TRUE CROSS
This refers to th
e wooden cross on which Christ completed his dispensation of salvation. The cross upon which the Son of God
was crucified was stained with His holy blood and thereby was truly sanct
ified. Therefore\, although it was neglected in Calvary (Golgotha) for man
y years due to its being viewed as an instrument of death\, the cross was
revealed through divine providence. This cross often demonstrated its holi
ness and strength\, inspiring many to convert and to be redeemed.
According to the revelation made to the h
oly fathers\, at the second coming of Christ\, at the end of the world\, t
his cross will appear in the sky amidst rays of sunshine and it will be gl
orified before the entire world.
Traditionally\, the piece of True Cross\, as a sacred relic\, kept in a special ornate container. This type of relic is placed on holy altars for veneration by the faithful. On specific feast days the relic is brought ou t during the procession for blessing purposes and to be worshipped by the faithful.
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The cros
s has been considered an instrument of death from ancient times. The most
despicable outlaws were hung from the cross. Moreover\, according to the H
oly Scripture\, a crucified person was considered to be cursed. The Jews c
onsidered Jesus Christ\, who called himself the Son of God\, a criminal wo
rthy of death on the cross because they did not believe that He was the aw
aited Messiah.
The death of the S
on of God on the cross accomplished the greatest mystery of mankind’s salv
ation. As the Apostle Paul says\, He took the world’s sin on Himself and “
became a curse for us” (Gal 3:13)\, paid for all the debts of mankind\, an
d then through His resurrection made us rise from the death of sin. Everyo
ne who believes that Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God and is baptize
d in His name is redeemed from sin and punishment. For this reason\, the i
nstrument of Christ’s death\, the cross on which He accomplished our salva
tion\, as well as the sign of cross in general\, is revered by the Church.
The cross is called the Tree of
life whose fruit is the body and blood of Christ\; that is\, the holy comm
union which grants us immortal life.
The cross symbolizes our salvation. The upper part of the cross indica
tes the kingdom of Heaven which Christ opened for us. The lower part signi
fies the destruction of hell by which the Son of God saved the spirits of
the dead. The right side is an indication of discrimination of grace throu
gh which the Holy Spirit vivifies and enlightens us. The left side signifi
es the absolution of sin\, which we receive through penance.
The cross also provides protection for the fai
thful because demons fear it.
The
re are numerous orations\, odes\, prayers\, and hymns dedicated to the cro
ss and performed during the feasts of the cross. As a symbol of salvation\
, the cross is present everywhere the Christian worship of God is exercise
d. It is pictured on church walls\, vessels\, ritualistic vestments\, etc.
There are many different types o
f crosses\, all of which are blessed. There is the small cross of Baptism
which is hung from the neck of the baptized as a sign of adoption. There i
s the sanctuary or altar-cross which is permanently placed in the center o
f the altar in commemoration of Christ’s crucifixion. There is the hand-cr
oss by which the clergy transmit blessings. There is the pectoral cross wh
ich is hung from the chest of the clergyman as a symbol of his faith and l
ove towards God. There are also large crosses\, such as the banner\, and t
he flourishing crosses that cover the dome of the church.
Particular to Armenian Christianity are the old a
nd new slabs of stone bearing cross reliefs. These are called khatchkars.<
/p>\n
\n
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is one of the five major feasts of the Armenian Church and the most signi ficant of the Feasts of the Holy Cross. Established in 335\, the next day the consecration of the temple of St. Resurrection in Jerusalem\, to the g lory of finding the Holy Cross. In view of all the Lord's Cross was solemn ly exalted and placed in the altar of Golgotha. Subsequently\, this feast has joined the remembrance event to return to Jerusalem in 629\, the Cross of the Lord\, the captive and removed to 610\, the king of Persia Khosrov . The feast is celebrated on the Sunday closest to September 14\, and in t he following Monday\, Friday and Saturday. The remaining three days of thi s week honored as Fests of the Holy Church.
\n
TRUE CROSS
This refers to the wooden cross on which Christ completed his dispensation
of salvation.
The cross upon whi
ch the Son of God was crucified was stained with His holy blood and thereb
y was truly sanctified. Therefore\, although it was neglected in Calvary (
Golgotha) for many years due to its being viewed as an instrument of death
\, the cross was revealed through divine providence. This cross often demo
nstrated its holiness and strength\, inspiring many to convert and to be r
edeemed.
According to the revelat
ion made to the holy fathers\, at the second coming of Christ\, at the end
of the world\, this cross will appear in the sky amidst rays of sunshine
and it will be glorified before the entire world.
Traditionally\, the piece of True Cross\, as a sacred r elic\, kept in a special ornate container. This type of relic is placed on holy altars for veneration by the faithful. On specific feast days the re lic is brought out during the procession for blessing purposes and to be w orshipped by the faithful.
\n\n
The cross has been considered an instrument of death from ancient
times. The most despicable outlaws were hung from the cross. Moreover\, a
ccording to the Holy Scripture\, a crucified person was considered to be c
ursed. The Jews considered Jesus Christ\, who called himself the Son of Go
d\, a criminal worthy of death on the cross because they did not believe t
hat He was the awaited Messiah.
T
he death of the Son of God on the cross accomplished the greatest mystery
of mankind’s salvation. As the Apostle Paul says\, He took the world’s sin
on Himself and “became a curse for us” (Gal 3:13)\, paid for all the debt
s of mankind\, and then through His resurrection made us rise from the dea
th of sin. Everyone who believes that Christ is the Only Begotten Son of G
od and is baptized in His name is redeemed from sin and punishment. For th
is reason\, the instrument of Christ’s death\, the cross on which He accom
plished our salvation\, as well as the sign of cross in general\, is rever
ed by the Church.
The cross is ca
lled the Tree of life whose fruit is the body and blood of Christ\; that i
s\, the holy communion which grants us immortal life.
The cross symbolizes our salvation. The upper part of
the cross indicates the kingdom of Heaven which Christ opened for us. The
lower part signifies the destruction of hell by which the Son of God save
d the spirits of the dead. The right side is an indication of discriminati
on of grace through which the Holy Spirit vivifies and enlightens us. The
left side signifies the absolution of sin\, which we receive through penan
ce.
The cross also provides prote
ction for the faithful because demons fear it.
There are numerous orations\, odes\, prayers\, and hymns ded
icated to the cross and performed during the feasts of the cross. As a sym
bol of salvation\, the cross is present everywhere the Christian worship o
f God is exercised. It is pictured on church walls\, vessels\, ritualistic
vestments\, etc.
There are many
different types of crosses\, all of which are blessed. There is the small
cross of Baptism which is hung from the neck of the baptized as a sign of
adoption. There is the sanctuary or altar-cross which is permanently place
d in the center of the altar in commemoration of Christ’s crucifixion. The
re is the hand-cross by which the clergy transmit blessings. There is the
pectoral cross which is hung from the chest of the clergyman as a symbol o
f his faith and love towards God. There are also large crosses\, such as t
he banner\, and the flourishing crosses that cover the dome of the church.
Particular to Armenian Christian
ity are the old and new slabs of stone bearing cross reliefs. These are ca
lled khatchkars.