The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Gordon Plumb has posted on the Medieval Religion discussion group as follows to mark today's Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and which I have slightly revised and supplemented:

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross [ The now discontinued Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross on May 3rd, a feast which appears to originate in seventh century Gaul - so not exactly a new feature - and dropped 1960 from the Calendar commemorted that more specifically] by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 320 under the temple of Venus in Jerusalem, and the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion. This feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It also commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mount Calvary by St. Helena and preserved in Jerusalem, but then had fallen into the hands of Chosroes, King of the Persians. The relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius in 629.


Here are some late medieval stained glass images for the feast of St Helena:

Tattershall, Holy Trinity, Lincolnshire, East window, 3d, 1482 by Robert Power of Burton upon Trent:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22274117@N08/9121552138

Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, album of images of the south aisle windows depicting the story of St Helen. The fullest coverage of the Helen legend in English glass, c.1497-1512:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22274117@N08/albums/72157652182098552
This series depicts the discovery of the Cross and also its recovery by Heraclius.

To this I will add this other depiction from the fifteenth century and from a manuscript I often feature

 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

From the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry

Image: Wikimedia

 

Holy Cross Day

Today has been Holy Cross Day, and follows from my previous post about the Dream of the Rood. At the Oxford Oratory today Mass was celebrated in the presence of a relic of the True Cross, and after Mass there was the opportunity to receive a blessing with the reliquary. The introit at the 11am Mass was J.M.Neale's translation  "The royal banners forward go" of Venantius' great hymn, which we sang in Latin at Solemn Vespers also.

The Oratory Reliquary of the True Cross

Image:Oxford Oratory

Here, from the Office of Readings, is the appointed second reading,  which is from a discourse of the late seventh, early eighth St Andrew of Crete, who is always an elegant and eloquent voice, about whom there is an introduction here.

I have taken this version from the  Universalis website, although in practice I prefer the translations printed in The Divine Office.

The cross is Christ's glory and triumph

We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.

  

Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be cancelled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.

  

Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honourable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation – very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honourable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.

  

The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph. We recognise it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s glory, listen to his words: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be. And once more: “Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.

Venerating the True Cross

Just after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and just before the Pope was at Holyrood, Fr Blake at St Mary Magdalen, Brighton had an interesting post about the appropriate vesture and actions to be used when blessing with a relic of the True Cross. It can be read here.

Subsequently New Liturgical Movement has had pictures of the ceremonies at Heiligenkreutz in Austria at the Feast, which illustrates the account given by Fr Blake and his commentators. The images can be read here, and I am reproducing the first one to give an idea of what is on offer.