The Cross of
Christ bears great importance and centrality in the theology of the Assyrian
Church of the East. It is so important that it is found in all liturgies, prayers
and rites of the Church, in fact, the ‘sign of the Holy Cross’ is so central to
our Christian faith that it is held as one of the seven sacraments that is
unique to the Church of the East.
The Feast
of the Cross is one of the seven feast days of the Lord that we commemorate
annually in the Church Calendar on the 13th September. Today, as we
commemorate this special day in the Church, let us briefly learn more about the
significance of the Cross and the special day dedicated to this powerful,
life-giving sign.
His Grace Mar
Awa Royel explains the importance and centrality of the Cross to our faith as
Christians;
The Cross, therefore, is not just some ‘empty symbol’ (as many, sad to say, so-called Christians would claim) of Jesus that we use or have contrived in order to ‘remember’ who Jesus was and what He did. It’s simply not like the locket that a young child receives in order to remember his/her grandmother! Rather, for the Church and for the Christian it is a living and life-giving sign of the power and the victory of God (in Jesus Christ) over sin, death and Satan. Thus the sign of the Cross participates in the power of Jesus Christ, who was crucified on it, and as such gives life to the Church and the faithful.1
The Cross, therefore, is not just some ‘empty symbol’ (as many, sad to say, so-called Christians would claim) of Jesus that we use or have contrived in order to ‘remember’ who Jesus was and what He did. It’s simply not like the locket that a young child receives in order to remember his/her grandmother! Rather, for the Church and for the Christian it is a living and life-giving sign of the power and the victory of God (in Jesus Christ) over sin, death and Satan. Thus the sign of the Cross participates in the power of Jesus Christ, who was crucified on it, and as such gives life to the Church and the faithful.1
The True Cross
used for our Lord’s crucifixion was discovered in 326 A.D. by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman
Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she
made to Jerusalem. After enquiring
as to the whereabouts of the holy tomb of our Saviour and the Holy Cross,
Helena was brought to a cave-like cistern by a certain Judas, whose family held
the tradition of the whereabouts of the Cross. Over the sepulchre of our Lord,
on the other hand, was built a temple in honour of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
As workmen were excavating by destroying the temple and preparing to build the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, three crosses were found in the cave beneath.
In order to ascertain which one was the true Cross of our Lord, it happened that a funeral cortege was passing by. The empress ordered them to stop and bring the dead man in order to place him on the crosses; the Cross of Jesus would certainly resurrect the man to life again. They placed him, in accord with the empress’s command on the first two crosses; nothing happened. When they placed him on the third Cross, sure enough he came back to life – that was the Cross of Jesus Christ. Soon after that, the Holy Cross was exalted by the empress, and it was set up in the holy tomb to be venerated.
In order to ascertain which one was the true Cross of our Lord, it happened that a funeral cortege was passing by. The empress ordered them to stop and bring the dead man in order to place him on the crosses; the Cross of Jesus would certainly resurrect the man to life again. They placed him, in accord with the empress’s command on the first two crosses; nothing happened. When they placed him on the third Cross, sure enough he came back to life – that was the Cross of Jesus Christ. Soon after that, the Holy Cross was exalted by the empress, and it was set up in the holy tomb to be venerated.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was
then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena and Constantine.
The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the Cross placed
inside it.
The date of the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 AD. This was a two-day festival: the actual consecration of the church was on September 13, and this is the fixed date that we commemorate annually as the ‘Feast of the Cross’ (Eeda d’Sliwa) in our Church calendar. However, many other apostolic churches who also commemorate the Feast, hold it on the 14th September, for the cross itself was brought outside the church on this date so that the clergy and faithful could pray before the True Cross, and all could come forward to venerate it.
The
Feast of the Cross is a great reminder of the Cross of Christ and the power it
possesses in the lives of those who have been sealed by the sign (in baptism)
and also a great reminder of the power that the Cross omits to the world; as
the sign of God’s incomprehensible love to His creation and the great weapon to
conquer sin, death and the great deceiver – satan.
Let
this feast day stand as a reminder for us to rely on the power of Christ’s
Cross every day, by having a faith that is centred on the Cross and the One who was crucified on it, knowing what He has achieved for us. By crossing ourselves with the sign
of the Cross, we will hallow our person and remember this powerful, life-changing
sign and sacrament daily.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God
Todd Wright - The Cross of Christ
1. Mysteries
of the Kingdom, The Sacraments of the Assyrian Church of the East, Pp 330,
Bishop Mar Awa Royel, Copyright 2011 by CIRED
