On the Finding of the True Cross

On Wednesday, the 14th of September, we Orthodox (and a few other liturgical types) celebrate the finding of the True Cross by St. Helen (or Helena), the mother of St. Constantine the emperor of Rome. This feast is known as the Elevation of the Holy Cross.

It is said that St. Helen found the True Cross, in AD 327, under some basil, with the two other crosses of the thieves crucified with Jesus. Through the working of some miracles she was able to determine which one was the True Cross.

Alternatively, she was told that the True Cross was buried on the spot where Jesus was crucified, but was now underneath a pagan temple to Venus that had been erected by Emperor Hadrian. The Temple was ordered destroyed and three crosses were found. Through the working of some miracles she was able to determine which one was the True Cross. 

In both instances, the True Cross was elevated so those gathered around could see it and the people proclaimed, "Lord, have mercy!"

The Historia Ecclesiatica, written in AD 439 by Socrates Scholasticus, gives us the first written record of the finding of the True Cross by St. Helen. In the Syriac tradition it is said that a first-century empress found the True Cross - this version also started circulating in the AD 430s.

So whether or not the True Cross is truly the real, actual cross that Jesus died upon (I maintain that it is), by the 430s - just over 100 years after the finding according to the Eastern Orthodox - it was already established and circulated that the True Cross had indeed been found, and St. Constantine had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over the location - though the links above do state that Eusebius wrote about the building of the church, but not the finding of the True Cross.

Since the finding of the True Cross there are now fragments of it making the rounds and being venerated. If I recall correctly, my current parish has a piece of the Cross hiding somewhere, at least if what I have heard is true. And that brings me to why I believe that the True Cross was really found, and that those (at least maintained by we Orthodox) pieces are also really parts of the True Cross.

Not too long after I had become Orthodox and started attending St. Ignatius in Franklin, Tennessee, we had a piece of the Cross out during Liturgy. I can not remember if it was just one that we had, or if it was one that was on loan to us from somewhere else - nor can I remember the day other than just a Sunday. And I remember having some doubts as to the authenticity of this piece of wood being a part of the actual Cross that Jesus was crucified on.

Being raised in an Evangelical household I was taught that such things were always fake, because there was just no way any one could ever find actual relics from Jesus' time. Those things were considered extra-biblical, and if it wasn't in the Bible, well then such things like the belt of the Theotokos had to have been fakes. After all, the Bible never mentioned the Theotokos wearing a belt. It was all just pagan nonsense.

Now, I no longer believed that veneration nor relics were all pagan nonsense, but I had a healthy skepticism that some splinter of wood could really be a part of the True Cross.

I do remember noting that the sun streaming in from a window just under the dome was hitting the Cross and where we had it displayed. I thought it was an odd coincidence - I mean the altar is in the east, and the piece of the Cross was put out a little bit of ways away from the ambo, so it made sense that the sun (rising in the east) would be streaming in through an eastern facing window and hitting around that area. But...

The stream of sunlight never moved.

Now, for those who don't know, your typical Liturgy is around an hour and a half to maybe a bit longer. It really depends on the parish and which parts they include, and which parts they leave out. Then there are special occasions where there may be other things added. My point is though, that the Liturgy lasts for more than an hour. And the sun is supposed to move 15 degrees an hour. This means that since I noticed the sun hitting the piece of the Cross to the end of Liturgy that the sun should have moved 22.5 degrees. But...

The stream of sunlight never moved.

It wasn't until the end of Liturgy that I noticed the stream of light moving. It looked like it was catching up to where it should have been. I also looked around during Liturgy to see if anyone else had noticed the stationary beam of sunlight. If anyone else had noticed, no one said anything to me.

It is not uncommon for miracles to happen to just one person, for just that person at that time. I believe that this little miracle occurred just for me at that time, to help me believe and to stop having doubts. I know it sounds cheesy, like some feel good Christian movie or something. But it was my real experience. I have no way to explain it aside from just a visual hallucination that somehow lasted the entire length of Liturgy and affected nothing else in my vision during that time. It is entirely possible that is all it was. 

And yet, I'm still convinced that it was just a little miracle just for me that day. 

Please pray for me, a sinner.