TheElevation of the Holy Cross (Greek:Ύψωση του Τιμίου Σταυρού,romanized: Ypsosi tou Timiou Staurou), also known as theExaltation of the Holy Cross, is one of theGreat Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14.
The feast is celebrated on the anniversary of the day on whichSt. Helena found theTrue Cross on whichJesus of Nazareth wascrucified.[1] The feast also commemorates the day in 335 AD on which theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem was dedicated,[2] and the day in 629 AD on whichPatriarchSergius I elevated the True Cross atHagia Sophia after it was recaptured from the Persians byByzantine EmperorHeraclius.[2][3]
Along withGreat Friday, it is one of the two Orthodox feast days which is a strict fast.[4] Fasting is observed for this feast no matter on what day of the week it falls.[5]
InEastern Orthodox Christianity, the official name of the feast is "Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Lifegiving Cross". During religious service on the feast day, a cross decorated with flowers is brought into the middle of the church by a procession, accompanied by candles and incense. The priest elevates the cross in fourcardinal directions, each time repeating abenediction. The congregation says theKýrie, eléison from seventy to a hundred times.[5]