The True Cross is said to be the real cross that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on, according to Christian tradition.
135-738: It is related by numerous historical accounts and legends that Helena , the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great , recovered the True Cross at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem , when she travelled to the Holy Land in the years 326–328. The late 4th-century historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Tyrannius Rufinus wrote that while she was there, she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to have been used at
270-467: A God who dies and is resurrected ; this figure is sometimes called the " dying god ". An important study of this figure is James George Frazer 's The Golden Bough , which traces the dying God theme through a large number of myths. The dying God is often associated with fertility. A number of scholars, including Frazer, have suggested that the Christ story is an example of the "dying God" theme. In
405-470: A beam in his temple but not found suitable in the end. After many centuries, the tree was cut down and the wood used to build a bridge over which the Queen of Sheba passed on her journey to meet Solomon. So struck was she by the portent contained in the timber of the bridge that she fell on her knees and revered it. On her visit to Solomon, she told him that a piece of wood from the bridge would bring about
540-417: A certain way, reached out toward that God made man, who, humiliated unto death on a cross, in this way opened the door of life to all of us." Many cultures have myths about a flood that cleanses the world in preparation for rebirth. Such stories appear on every inhabited continent on earth. An example is the biblical story of Noah. In The Oxford Companion to World Mythology , David Leeming notes that, in
675-400: A deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon and the horn from which the kings were anointed; they kiss the horn also and gaze at the ring... Before long, but perhaps not until after the visit of Egeria, it was possible also to venerate the crown of thorns , the pillar at which Christ was scourged, and the lance that pierced his side. The Sassanid Emperor Khosrau II ("Chosroes") removed
810-461: A description of the discovery later repeated by Sozomen and Theodoret . Socrates' account is very similar to Rufinus'. In it he describes how Helena Augusta , Constantine's aged mother, had the pagan temple destroyed and the Sepulchre uncovered, whereupon three crosses, the titulus , and the nails from Jesus's crucifixion were uncovered as well. In Socrates's version of the story, Macarius had
945-609: A divine hero and a dragon. He cites the Christian legend of Saint George as an example of this theme. An example from the Late Middle Ages comes from Dieudonné de Gozon , third Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes , famous for slaying the dragon of Malpasso. Eliade writes: "Legend, as was natural, bestowed upon him the attributes of St. George, famed for his victorious fight with the monster. [...] In other words, by
1080-587: A dragon or other monster representing chaos—a theme found, for example, in the Enuma Elish . A number of scholars call this story the "combat myth". A number of scholars have argued that the ancient Israelites incorporated the combat myth into their religious imagery, such as the figures of Leviathan and Rahab , the Song of the Sea , Isaiah 51:9–10's description of God's deliverance of his people from Babylon, and
1215-471: A major part of non-canonical Christian tradition. Folklorists define folktales (in contrast to "true" myths) as stories that are considered purely fictitious by their tellers and that often lack a specific setting in space or time. Christian-themed folktales have circulated widely among peasant populations. One widespread folktale genre is that of the Penitent Sinner (classified as Type 756A, B, C, in
1350-504: A new pagan city, Aelia Capitolina , after 130, following the destruction of the formerly Jewish city at the end of the Jewish Revolt in the year 70, and in connection with Bar Kokhba's revolt of 132–135. Following his conversion to Christianity, Emperor Constantine ordered in about 325–326 that the site be uncovered and instructed Macarius , Bishop of Jerusalem, to build a church on the site. Eusebius' work contains details about
1485-810: A non-canonical story has a connection to a non-narrative form of folklore — namely, folk medicine . Arthurian legend contains many elaborations upon canonical mythology. For example, Sir Balin discovers the Lance of Longinus , which had pierced the side of Christ. According to a tradition widely attested in early Christian writings, Adam 's skull lay buried at Calvary; when Christ was crucified, his blood fell over Adam's skull, symbolizing humanity's redemption from Adam's sin. Examples of (1) Christian myths not mentioned in canon and (2) literary and traditional elaborations on canonical Christian mythology: Some scholars believe that many elements of Christian mythology, particularly its linear portrayal of time, originated with
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#17327657622661620-569: A piece of the True Cross was bought by a donor, and was to be placed on board the Russian missile cruiser Moskva , which has a chapel on board. The ship sank in April 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine . After the sinking, there was speculation that the fragment may have gone down with the ship. John Chrysostom wrote homilies on the three crosses: Kings removing their diadems take up
1755-444: A rich body of legends that were never incorporated into the official scriptures. Legends were a staple of medieval literature. Examples include hagiographies such as the stories of Saint George or Saint Valentine . A case in point is the historical and canonized Brendan of Clonfort , a 6th-century Irish churchman and founder of abbeys. Round his authentic figure was woven a tissue that is arguably legendary rather than historical:
1890-441: A society's existence and world order: those narratives of a society's creation, the society's origins and foundations, their god(s), their original heroes, mankind's connection to the "divine", and their narratives of eschatology (what happens in the "after-life"). This is a very general outline of some of the basic sacred stories with those themes. The Christian texts use the same creation myth as Jewish mythology as written in
2025-434: A step or two higher than the level of the nave, and the sanctuary is often raised still further. The chancel is very often separated from the nave by altar rails , or a rood screen , a sanctuary bar, or an open space, and its width and roof height is often different from that of the nave; usually the chancel will be narrower and lower. In churches with a traditional Latin cross plan, and a transept and central crossing ,
2160-667: A variety of reasons: the association of the term "myth" with polytheism, the use of the term "myth" to indicate falsehood or non-historicity, and the lack of an agreed-upon definition of "myth". As examples of Biblical myths, Every cites the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 and the story of Eve's temptation . Christian tradition contains many stories that do not come from canonical Christian texts yet still illustrate Christian themes. These non-canonical Christian myths include legends, folktales, and elaborations on canonical Christian mythology. Christian tradition has produced
2295-504: A way that some Oriental Orthodox churches still practice today. A large (or "deep") chancel made most sense in monasteries and cathedrals where there was a large number of singing clergy and boys from a choir school to occupy the choir. In many orders "choir monk" was a term used to distinguish the educated monks who had taken full vows, or were training to do so, from another class, called "lay brothers" or other terms, who had taken lesser vows and mostly did manual tasks, including farming
2430-466: Is also said to hold the largest of these pieces and is one of the most visited Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites. In Asia, the only place where the other part of the True Cross is located is in the Monasterio de Tarlac at San Jose, Tarlac , Philippines . The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church also claims to have the right wing of the true cross buried in the monastery of Gishen Mariam. This piece
2565-569: Is called Elohim (translated "God"). He creates the universe over a six-day period, creating a new feature each day: first he creates day and night; then he creates the firmament to separate the "waters above" from the "waters below"; then he separates the dry land from the water; then he creates plants on the land; then he places the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky; then he creates swimming and flying animals; then he creates land animals; and finally he creates man and woman together, "in his own image". On
2700-522: Is central to the Christian narrative. According to Christian theology, by Adam disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, humanity acquired an ingrained flaw that keeps humans in a state of moral imperfection, generally called "original sin". According to Paul the Apostle, Adam's sin brought sin and death to all humanity: "Through one man, sin entered the world, and through sin, death" (Romans 5:12). According to
2835-513: Is often adorned with chancel flowers . The word "chancel" derives from the French usage of chancel from the Late Latin word cancellus ("lattice"). This refers to the typical form of rood screens. The chancel was formerly known as the presbytery , because it was reserved for the clergy . In Early Christian architecture the templon was a barrier dividing off the sanctuary from
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#17327657622662970-459: Is often the sacred place of creation; this center often takes the form of a tree, mountain, or other upright object, which serves as an axis mundi or axle of the world. A number of scholars have connected the Christian story of the crucifixion at Golgotha with this theme of a cosmic center. In his Creation Myths of the World , David Leeming argues that, in the Christian story of the crucifixion,
3105-502: Is otherwise unaccounted. Four cross particles – of ten particles with surviving documentary provenances by Byzantine emperors – from European churches, i.e. Santa Croce in Rome, Caravaca de la Cruz , Notre Dame , Paris, Pisa Cathedral and Florence Cathedral , were microscopically examined. "The pieces came all together from olive." It is possible that many alleged pieces of the True Cross are forgeries , created by travelling merchants in
3240-491: Is part of a "new myth [...] of a man who is sacrificed in hate" but "sees the inner myth, the old myth of origins and acceptance, the myth of a god who sacrifices himself in love". Related to the doctrine of transsubstantiation , the Christian practice of eating the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ during the Eucharist is an instance of theophagy . The theological concept of Jesus being born to atone for original sin
3375-551: Is the scene of the supernatural activity of God and his angels on the one hand, and of Satan and his demons on the other. These supernatural forces intervene in the course of nature and in all that men think and will and do. Miracles are by no means rare. Man is not in control of his own life. Evil spirits may take possession of him. Satan may inspire him with evil thoughts. Alternatively, God may inspire his thought and guide his purposes. He may grant him heavenly visions. He may allow him to hear his word of succor or demand. He may give him
3510-633: The axis mundi , myths of combat, descent into the Underworld , accounts of a dying-and-rising god , a flood myth , stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about great heroes (or saints ) of the past, paradises , and self-sacrifice . Various authors have also used it to refer to other mythological and allegorical elements found in the Bible , such as the story of the Leviathan . The term has been applied to myths and legends from
3645-644: The Aarne-Thompson index of tale types ); another popular group of folktales describe a clever mortal who outwits the Devil. Not all scholars accept the folkloristic convention of applying the terms "myth" and "folktale" to different categories of traditional narrative. Christian tradition produced many popular stories elaborating on canonical scripture. According to an English folk belief, certain herbs gained their current healing power from having been used to heal Christ 's wounds on Mount Calvary . In this case,
3780-669: The Battle of Hattin in 1187. While some Christian rulers like Richard the Lionheart of England , the Byzantine emperor Isaac II , and Queen Tamar of Georgia sought to ransom it from Saladin, the cross was not returned. In 1219 the True Cross was offered to the Knights Templar by Al-Kamil in exchange for lifting the siege of Damietta . The cross was never delivered as Al-Kamil did not, in fact, have it. Subsequently
3915-525: The Book of Revelation , the author sees a vision of a pregnant woman in the sky being pursued by a huge red dragon. The dragon tries to devour her child when she gives birth, but the child is "caught up to God and his throne". This appears to be an allegory for the triumph of Christianity: the child presumably represents Christ; the woman may represent God's people of the Old and New Testaments (who produced Christ); and
4050-584: The Church of the East all claim to possess relics of the True Cross as objects of veneration . Historians generally dispute the authenticity of the relics, as do Protestant and other Christian churches, who do not hold them in high regard. In the Latin-speaking traditions of Western Europe, the story of the pre-Christian origins of the True Cross was well established by the 13th century when, in 1260, it
4185-640: The Counter-Reformation prioritized the congregation having a good view of what was happening in the chancel. Now the low communion rail is generally the only barrier; despite being essentially a Counter-Reformation invention, this has proved useful and accepted in the Protestant churches that dispense communion. However the screen enjoyed a small revival in the 19th century, after the passionate urgings of Augustus Pugin , who wrote A Treatise on Chancel Screens and Rood Lofts , and others. After
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4320-878: The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14, the anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . In later centuries, these celebrations also included commemoration of the rescue of the True Cross from the Persians in 628. In the Galician usage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia , when
4455-722: The Middle Ages , such as the story of Saint George and the Dragon , the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table , and the legends of the Parsival . Multiple commentators have classified John Milton 's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. The term has also been applied to modern stories revolving around Christian themes and motifs, such as the writings of C. S. Lewis , J. R. R. Tolkien , Madeleine L'Engle , and George MacDonald . Over
4590-553: The Navigatio or "Journey of Brendan". The legend discusses mythic events in the sense of supernatural encounters. In this narrative, Brendan and his shipmates encounter sea monsters, a paradisal island and a floating ice island and a rock island inhabited by a holy hermit: literal-minded devotés still seek to identify "Brendan's islands" in actual geography. This voyage was recreated by Tim Severin , suggesting that whales , icebergs and Rockall were encountered. Folktales form
4725-527: The Persian religion of Zoroastrianism . Mary Boyce , an authority on Zoroastrianism, writes: Zoroaster was thus the first to teach the doctrines of an individual judgment, Heaven and Hell, the future resurrection of the body, the general Last Judgment, and life everlasting for the reunited soul and body. These doctrines were to become familiar articles of faith to much of mankind, through borrowings by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Mircea Eliade believes
4860-619: The Syriac tradition replaced Helena with a fictitious first-century empress named Protonike, who is said to be the wife of emperor Claudius . This story, which originated in Edessa in the 430s, was transmitted in the so-called Doctrina Addai , which was believed to be written by Thaddeus of Edessa (Addai in Syriac texts), one of the seventy disciples. The narrative retrojected the Helena version to
4995-413: The chancel is the space around the altar , including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery ), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse . The chancel is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave . Direct access may be provided by a priest's door , usually on
5130-737: The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church in 1960 when the Roman Breviary was reformed by Pope John XXIII . The Orthodox still commemorate both events on September 14, one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year , and the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross on 1 August, the day on which the relics of the True Cross would be carried through the streets of Constantinople to bless
5265-416: The 15th-century Book of Ṭeff Grains , the emperor Dawit I received four fragments of the True Cross around the year 1400 from Coptic Christians as thanks for his protection. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims these relics are still held at either Egziabher Ab or Tekle Maryam, two monasteries near the former imperial cemetery on Amba Geshen . An inscription of 359 found at Tixter, in
5400-517: The 1955 Roman Catholic Marian Missal, Helena went to Jerusalem to search for the True Cross and found it 14 September 320. In the 8th century, the Feast of the Finding was transferred to 3 May and 14 September became the celebration of the " Exaltation of the Cross ", the commemoration of a victory over the Persians by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius , as a result of which the relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem. The silver reliquary that
5535-466: The Bible story, as in other flood myths, the flood marks a new beginning and a second chance for creation and humanity. According to Sandra Frankiel, the records of "Jesus' life and death, his acts and words" provide the "founding myths" of Christianity. Frankiel claims that these founding myths are "structurally equivalent" to the creation myths in other religions, because they are "the pivot around which
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5670-504: The Birth of the Hero , Otto Rank argued that the births of many mythical heroes follow a common pattern. Rank includes the story of Christ's birth as a representative example of this pattern. According to Mircea Eliade, one pervasive mythical theme associates heroes with the slaying of dragons, a theme which Eliade traces back to "the very ancient cosmogonico-heroic myth" of a battle between
5805-486: The Christian understanding of Satan, archangels, angels, and demons. In Buddhist mythology , the demon Mara tries to distract the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama , before he can reach enlightenment. Huston Smith , a professor of philosophy and a writer on comparative religion, notes the similarity between Mara's temptation of the Buddha before his ministry and Satan's temptation of Christ before his ministry. In
5940-460: The Cross bears witness, seen among us to this day, and from this place now almost filling the whole world, by means of those who in faith take portions from it." Egeria's account testifies to how highly these relics of the crucifixion were prized. John Chrysostom relates that fragments of the True Cross were kept in golden reliquaries, "which men reverently wear upon their persons." Even two Latin inscriptions around 350 from today's Algeria testify to
6075-400: The Cross on the third Sunday of Great Lent . Christian mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity . The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives , especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain,
6210-430: The Cross." This text relates that pieces of the cross were dispersed as relics, but offers no information about the discovery of the cross itself. Elsewhere, in a letter to Emperor Constantius , Cyril only relates that the cross was found during the reign of Constantine . About forty years after Cyril, there was a fully developed story about how the True Cross was discovered. Cyril's nephew Gelasius of Caesarea recorded
6345-464: The Dragon symbolizes Satan, who opposes Christ. According to Catholic scholars, the images used in this allegory may have been inspired by pagan mythology: This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster. Academic studies of mythology often define mythology as deeply valued stories that explain
6480-528: The Felix Basilica of Nola , built by bishop Paulinus at the beginning of 5th century. The cross particle was inserted in the altar. The Old English poem Dream of the Rood mentions the finding of the cross and the beginning of the tradition of the veneration of its relics. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also talks of King Alfred receiving a fragment of the cross from Pope Marinus (see: Annal Alfred
6615-739: The Galician and Roman practices were combined, the September date, for which the Vatican adopted the official name "Triumph of the Cross" in 1963, was used to commemorate the rescue from the Persians and the May date was kept as the "Invention of the True Cross" to commemorate the finding. The September date is often referred to in the West as Holy Cross Day ; the May date (see also Roodmas ) was dropped from
6750-471: The Great, year 883). Although it is possible, the poem need not be referring to this specific relic or have this incident as the reason for its composition. However, there is a later source that speaks of a bequest made to the 'Holy Cross' at Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset; Shaftesbury abbey was founded by King Alfred, supported with a large portion of state funds and given to the charge of his own daughter when he
6885-660: The Greek Orthodox priests who were supposedly in possession of the Cross tortured in order to reveal its location. The relic that Arnulf recovered was a small fragment of wood embedded in a golden cross, and it became the most sacred relic of the Kingdom of Jerusalem , with none of the controversy that had followed their discovery of the Holy Lance in Antioch . Displayed in a jewel-encrusted housing of gold and silver, it
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#17327657622667020-582: The Hebrews had a sense of linear time before Zoroastrianism influenced them. However, he argues, "a number of other [Jewish] religious ideas were discovered, revalorized, of systematized in Iran". These ideas include a dualism between good and evil, belief in a future savior and resurrection , and "an optimistic eschatology, proclaiming the final triumph of Good". The Zoroastrian concepts of Ahriman , Amesha Spentas , Yazatas , and Daevas probably gave rise to
7155-591: The Invention of the Holy Cross", Voragine writes that the True Cross came from a tree that grew from part of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil , "the tree that Adam ate of", that Seth planted on Adam's grave where it "endured there unto the time of Solomon ". Alternatively, it reached Solomon via Moses , who used it as the staff of Moses , and David , who planted it at Jerusalem. It was felled by Solomon to be
7290-612: The Jew who assisted Helena was named Jude or Judas but later converted to Christianity and took the name Kyriakos . Theodoret (died c. 457 ) in his Ecclesiastical History Chapter xvii gives what would become the standard version of the finding of the True Cross: When the empress beheld the place where the Saviour suffered, she immediately ordered the idolatrous temple, which had been there erected, to be destroyed, and
7425-490: The Judge will come from heaven, the dead will rise, the last judgment will take place, and men will enter into eternal salvation or damnation. In its broadest academic sense, the word myth simply means a traditional story. However, many scholars restrict the term "myth" to sacred stories. Folklorists often go further, defining myths as "tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of
7560-962: The Middle Ages, during which period a thriving trade in manufactured relics went on. Smyrnakis notes that the largest surviving portion, of 870,760 cubic millimetres, is preserved in the Monastery of Koutloumousiou on Mount Athos , and also mentions the preserved relics in Rome (consisting of 537,587 cubic millimetres), in Brussels (516,090 cubic millimetres), in Venice (445,582 cubic millimetres), in Ghent (436,450 cubic millimetres) and in Paris (237,731 cubic millimetres). Santo Toribio de Liébana in Spain
7695-443: The New Testament are in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. Although the Gospel stories do not lay out the atonement doctrine as fully as does Paul, they do have the story of the Last Supper, crucifixion, death and resurrection. Atonement is also suggested in the parables of Jesus in his final days. According to Matthew's gospel, at the Last Supper , Jesus calls his blood "the blood of the new covenant, which will be poured out for
7830-402: The New Testament is essentially mythical in character. The world is viewed as a three storied structure, with the earth in the center, the heaven above, and the underworld beneath. Heaven is the abode of God and of celestial beings – the angels. The underworld is hell, the place of torment. Even the earth is more than the scene of natural, everyday events, of the trivial round and common task. It
7965-403: The Old Testament. According to the Book of Genesis, the world was created out of a darkness and water in seven days. (Unlike a Jew, a Christian might include the miracle of Jesus' birth as a sort of second cosmogonic event) Canonical Christian scripture incorporates the two Hebrew cosmogonic myths found in Genesis 1–2:2 and Genesis 2: In the first text on the creation (Genesis 1–2:3), the Creator
8100-466: The Reformation Protestant churches generally moved the altar (now often called the communion table ) forward, typically to the front of the chancel, and often used lay choirs who were placed in a gallery at the west end. The rear of deep chancels became little used in churches surviving from the Middle Ages, and new churches very often omitted one. With the emphasis on sermons, and their audibility, some churches simply converted their chancels to seat part of
8235-402: The Temple , the wood from these trees was removed from the Temple and discarded, eventually being used to construct the cross on which Jesus was crucified ("and I will make the place of my feet glorious"). The Life of Constantine by Eusebius of Caesarea (died 339) is the earliest and main historical source on the rediscovery of the Tomb of Jesus and the construction of the first church at
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#17327657622668370-585: The Tree of Life) stands between them and godhood: "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever" (Genesis 3:22). Although the text of Genesis does not identify the tempting serpent with Satan , Christian tradition equates the two. This tradition has made its way into non-canonical Christian "myths" such as John Milton's Paradise Lost . According to Lorena Laura Stookey, many myths feature sacred mountains as "the sites of revelations": "In myth,
8505-400: The True Cross but did not attempt to retake the city. Around 1009, the year in which Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , Christians in Jerusalem hid part of the cross and it remained hidden until the city was taken by the European soldiers of the First Crusade . Arnulf Malecorne , the first Latin patriarch of Jerusalem , had
8640-441: The True Cross showing that, in spite of what various authors have claimed, the fragments of the Cross brought together again would not reach one-third that of a cross which has been supposed to have been three or four metres (9.8 or 13.1 feet) in height, with transverse branch of two metres (6.6 feet) wide, proportions not at all abnormal. He calculated: supposing the Cross to have been of pine-wood (based on his microscopic analysis of
8775-431: The True Cross was actually lost by the Persians and that the wood contained in the allegedly still sealed reliquary brought to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629 was a fake. In his analysis, the hoax was designed to serve the political purposes of both Heraclius and his former foe, recently turned ally and father-in-law, the Persian general and soon-king Shahrbaraz. When Jerusalem fell to the Muslims in 638, Heraclius retrieved
8910-431: The True Cross, as thick as a man's leg and a fathom in length." The misplacement of which particular class relics of the Holy Cross (and others in general) belong to , either as a result of confusion or exaggeration; and the outright forgery of relics , was a recurring controversy during the Medieval Age . This happened, often in order to attract pilgrims ; or even to facilitate the lucrative practice of Simony . By
9045-420: The [liturgical] Cross, which is now standing; the bishop duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table covered with a linen cloth is placed before him; the deacons stand round the table, and a silver-gilt casket is brought in which is the holy wood of the Cross. The casket is opened and [the wood] is taken out, and both the wood of the Cross and the title are placed upon the table. Now, when it has been put upon
9180-441: The account in a now lost Greek Ecclesiatical History prior to his death in 395. This version was adapted circa 402 in Rufinus of Aquileia's Latin additions to Eusebius' Church History. In this narrative, Helena went to Jerusalem in search of the relic and was made aware of its location by a heavenly sign. She tore down the temple of Aphrodite that had been built there, and beneath the rubble found three crosses. The cross of Jesus
9315-407: The ambulatory or parallel side chapels. As well as the altar, the sanctuary may house a credence table and seats for officiating and assisting ministers . In some churches, the congregation may gather on three sides or in a semicircle around the chancel. In some churches, the pulpit and lectern may be in the chancel, but in others these, especially the pulpit, are in the nave . The presbytery
9450-414: The article "Dying God" in The Oxford Companion to World Mythology , David Leeming notes that Christ can be seen as bringing fertility, though of a spiritual as opposed to physical kind. In his 2006 homily for Corpus Christi , Pope Benedict XVI noted the similarity between the Christian story of the resurrection and pagan myths of dead and resurrected gods: "In these myths, the soul of the human person, in
9585-414: The ascent of the holy mountain is a spiritual journey, promising purification, insight, wisdom, or knowledge of the sacred". As examples of this theme, Stookey includes the revelation of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai , Christ's ascent of a mountain to deliver his Sermon on the Mount , and Christ's ascension into Heaven from the Mount of Olives . Many mythologies involve a "world center", which
9720-478: The center of the Garden (next to the Tree of Life ). Yahweh also creates animals, and shows them to man, who names them. Yahweh sees that there is no suitable companion for the man among the beasts, and he subsequently puts Adam to sleep and takes out one of Adam's ribs, creating from it a woman whom Adam names Eve . A serpent tempts Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she succumbs, offering
9855-682: The centuries, Christianity has divided into many denominations . Not all of these denominations hold the same set of sacred traditional narratives. For example, the books of the Bible accepted by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches include a number of texts and stories (such as those narrated in the Book of Judith and Book of Tobit ) that many Protestant denominations do not accept as canonical . Christian theologian and professor of New Testament , Rudolf Bultmann wrote that: The cosmology of
9990-405: The chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel. In a cathedral or other large church, there may be a distinct choir area at the start of the chancel (looking from the nave), before reaching the sanctuary, and an ambulatory may run beside and behind it. All these may be included in
10125-434: The chancel usually begins at the eastern side of the central crossing, often under an extra-large chancel arch supporting the crossing and the roof. This is an arch which separates the chancel from the nave and transept of a church. If the chancel, strictly defined as choir and sanctuary, does not fill the full width of a medieval church, there will usually be some form of low wall or screen at its sides, demarcating it from
10260-413: The chancel, at least in architectural terms (see above). In many churches, the altar has now been moved to the front of the chancel, in what was built as the choir area, or to the centre of the transept, somewhat confusing the distinction between chancel, choir and sanctuary. In churches with less traditional plans, the term may not be useful in either architectural or ecclesiastical terms. The chancel may be
10395-446: The city. In addition to celebrations on fixed days, there are certain days of the variable cycle when the Cross is celebrated. The Catholic Church has a formal Adoration of the Cross during the services for Good Friday . In Eastern Orthodox churches everywhere, a replica of the cross is brought out in procession during Matins of Great and Holy Friday for the people to venerate. The Orthodox also celebrate an additional Veneration of
10530-473: The clergy. This distinction was enforced by the development of canon law , by which the construction and upkeep of the chancel was the responsibility of the rector , whereas the construction and upkeep of the nave was the responsibility of the parish . Barriers demarcating the chancel became increasingly elaborate, but were largely swept away after both the Protestant Reformation and then
10665-627: The congregation. In 19th-century England one of the battles of the Cambridge Camden Society , the architectural wing of the Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England , was to restore the chancel as a necessary part of a church. By pushing the altar back to its medieval position and having the choir used by a lay choir, they were largely successful in this, although the harder end of the High Church objected to allowing
10800-411: The connection between the cosmic center and Golgotha in his book Christian Mythology , noting that the image of Adam's skull beneath the cross appears in many medieval representations of the crucifixion. In Creation Myths of the World , Leeming suggests that the Garden of Eden may also be considered a world center. Many Near Eastern religions include a story about a battle between a divine being and
10935-812: The cross disappeared from historical records. The True Cross was last seen in the city of Damascus. The Greek Orthodox church presents a small True Cross relic shown in the Greek Treasury within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the foot of Golgotha . The Syriac Orthodox Church also claims a small relic of the True Cross (held in the Monastery of Saint Mark in Jerusalem), as does the Armenian Apostolic Church (in Armenia). According to
11070-505: The cross serves as "the axis mundi , the center of a new creation". According to a tradition preserved in Eastern Christian folklore, Golgotha was the summit of the cosmic mountain at the center of the world and the location where Adam had been both created and buried. According to this tradition, when Christ is crucified, his blood falls on Adam's skull, buried at the foot of the cross, and redeems him. George Every discusses
11205-542: The cross, the symbol of their Saviour's death; on the purple, the cross; in their prayers, the cross; on their armour, the cross; on the holy table, the cross; throughout the universe, the cross. The cross shines brighter than the sun. The Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church , Oriental Orthodox Church , the Anglican Communion , and a number of Protestant denominations, celebrate
11340-752: The crucifixion lies in the words "the place of my feet", which is interpreted as referring to the footrest ( Latin : suppedāneum ) on which Jesus' feet were nailed and which appears on the Orthodox cross . (Compare with the Jewish concepts of the Ark of the Covenant or the Jerusalem Temple as being God's footstool, and the prescribed Three Pilgrimage Festivals , in Hebrew aliya la-regel , lit. ascending to
11475-646: The crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves, Dismas and Gestas , who were executed with him. To one cross was affixed the titulus bearing Jesus' name, but according to Rufinus, Helena was unsure of its legitimacy until a miracle revealed that this was the True Cross. This event is celebrated on the liturgical calendar as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross ( Roodmas ) by the Oriental Orthodox , Eastern Orthodox , Persian, Roman Catholic , Lutheran, and Anglican churches. The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and
11610-405: The demolition of the pagan temple and the erection of the church, but does not mention anywhere the finding of the True Cross. Perhaps the earliest witness to the tradition of the True Cross is Cyril , Bishop of Jerusalem (sed 350 to 386). In the fourth of his Catechetical Lectures which are dated to around the year 350, he says that "the whole world has since been filled with pieces of the wood of
11745-518: The earth and the heavens, and no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth ..." (Genesis 2:4–5 NASB). It then proceeds to describe Yahweh creating a man called Adam out of dust. Yahweh creates the Garden of Eden as a home for Adam, and tells Adam not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in
11880-540: The end of the Middle Ages so many churches claimed to possess relics of the True Cross, that John Calvin is famously said to have remarked that there was enough wood in them to fill a ship: There is no abbey so poor as not to have a specimen. In some places there are large fragments, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poitiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all
12015-470: The entire church, and light the candle of the waiting patriarch. The candles of the canons and then the congregation were then lit from one to another, gradually filling the church with light. After King Baldwin I of Jerusalem presented King Sigurd I of Norway with a splinter of the True Cross following the Norwegian Crusade in 1110, the Cross was captured by Saladin during
12150-462: The episodes of The Golden Legend . According to the sacred tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the True Cross was made from three different types of wood: cedar , pine and cypress . This is an allusion to Isaiah 60:13 : "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box [cypress] together to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious." The link between this verse and
12285-476: The first century. In the story, Protonike traveled to Jerusalem after she met Simon Peter in Rome. She was shown around the city by James, brother of Jesus , until she discovered the cross after it healed her daughter of some illness. She then converted to Christianity and had a church built on Golgotha . Aside from the Syriac tradition, the Protonike version was also cited by Armenian sources. According to
12420-533: The foot ). A further tradition holds that these three trees from which the True Cross was constructed grew together in one spot. A traditional Orthodox icon in the Monastery of the Cross depicts Lot , the nephew of Abraham , watering the trees. According to tradition, these trees were used to construct the Temple in Jerusalem ("to beautify the place of my sanctuary"). Later, during Herod's reconstruction of
12555-486: The forgiveness of many" (Matthew 26:28). John's gospel is especially rich in atonement parables and promises: Jesus speaks of himself as "the living bread that came down from heaven"; "and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51); "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). Chancel In church architecture ,
12690-457: The fragments) and giving it a weight of about seventy-five kilogrammes, we find the original volume of the cross to be 0.178 cubic metres (6.286 cubic feet). The total known volume of known relics of the True Cross, according to his catalogue, amounts to approximately 0.004 cubic metres (0.141 cubic feet) (more specifically 3,942,000 cubic millimetres), leaving a volume of 0.174 m (6.145 cu ft), almost 98%, lost, destroyed, or from which
12825-435: The fruit to Adam as well. As a punishment, Yahweh banishes the couple from the Garden and "placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden the cherubim with a fiery revolving sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life". The Lord says he must banish humans from the Garden because they have become like him, knowing good and evil (because of eating the forbidden fruit ), and now only immortality (which they could get by eating from
12960-596: The grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many" (Romans 5:15). For many Christians, atonement doctrine leads naturally into the eschatological narratives of Christian people rising from the dead and living again, or immediately entering heaven to join Jesus. Paul's theological writings lay out the basic framework of the atonement doctrine in the New Testament. However, Paul's letters contain relatively little mythology (narrative). The majority of narratives in
13095-450: The heroic monomyth". Leeming regards resurrection as a common part of the heroic monomyth, in which the resurrected heroes often become sources of "material or spiritual food for their people"; in this connection, Leeming notes that Christians regard Jesus as the "bread of life". In terms of values, Leeming contrasts "the myth of Jesus" with the myths of other "Christian heroes such as St. George, Roland , el Cid , and even King Arthur";
13230-453: The keeping and admiration of small particles of the cross. Around the year 455, Juvenal Patriarch of Jerusalem sent to Pope Leo I a fragment of the "precious wood", according to the Letters of Pope Leo. A portion of the cross was taken to Rome in the seventh century by Pope Sergius I , who was of Byzantine origin. "In the small part is power of the whole cross", says an inscription in
13365-413: The later hero myths, Leeming argues, reflect the survival of pre-Christian heroic values—"values of military dominance and cultural differentiation and hegemony"—more than the values expressed in the Christ story. Many religious and mythological systems contain myths about a paradise . Many of these myths involve the loss of a paradise that existed at the beginning of the world. Some scholars have seen in
13500-414: The monastery's land. These usually sat in the nave, with any lay congregation. Following the exposition of the doctrine of transubstantiation at the fourth Lateran Council of 1215, clergy were required to ensure that the blessed sacrament was to be kept protected from irreverent access or abuse; and accordingly the area of the church used by the lay congregation was to be screened off from that used by
13635-568: The motif of the hero's descent to the underworld , which is common in many mythologies. According to Christian tradition, Christ descended to hell after his death in order to free the souls there; this event is known as the Harrowing of Hell . This story is narrated in the Gospel of Nicodemus and may be the meaning behind 1 Peter 3:18–22. Many myths, particularly from the Near East, feature
13770-571: The neighbourhood of Sétif in Mauretania (in today Algeria), was said to mention, in an enumeration of relics, a fragment of the True Cross, according to an entry in Roman Miscellanies , X, 441. Fragments of the Cross were broken up, and the pieces were widely distributed; in 348, in one of his Catecheses , Cyril of Jerusalem remarked that the "whole Earth is full of the relics of the Cross of Christ" and, in another, "The holy wood of
13905-405: The orthodox Christian view, Jesus saved humanity from final death and damnation by dying for them. Most Christians believe that Christ's sacrifice supernaturally reversed death's power over humanity, proved when he was resurrected , and abolished the power of sin on humanity. According to Paul, "if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by
14040-400: The outpouring of His precious Blood. But the wise and holy Macarius, the president of the city, resolved this question in the following manner. He caused a lady of rank, who had been long suffering from disease, to be touched by each of the crosses, with earnest prayer, and thus discerned the virtue residing in that of the Saviour. For the instant this cross was brought near the lady, it expelled
14175-538: The part of the cross held in Jerusalem as a trophy after he captured the city in 614. Thirteen years later, in 628, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeated Khosrau and regained the relic from Shahrbaraz . He placed the cross in Constantinople at first, before restoring it to Jerusalem on 21 March 630. Some scholars disagree with this narrative, with Constantin Zuckerman going as far as to suggest that
14310-470: The pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load. Yet the Gospel testifies that a single man was able to carry it. Conflicting with this is the finding of Charles Rohault de Fleury , who, in his Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion of 1870 made a study of the relics in reference to the criticisms of Calvin and Erasmus . He drew up a catalogue of all known relics of
14445-528: The portrayals of enemies such as Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. The idea of Satan as God's opponent may have developed under the influence of the combat myth. Scholars have also suggested that the Book of Revelation uses combat myth imagery in its descriptions of cosmic conflict. According to David Leeming, writing in The Oxford Companion to World Mythology , the harrowing of hell is an example of
14580-612: The religion turns to and which it returns", establishing the "meaning" of the religion and the "essential Christian practices and attitudes". Tom Cain uses the expression "founding myths" more broadly, to encompass such stories as those of the War in Heaven and the fall of man ; according to Cain, "the disastrous consequences of disobedience" is a pervasive theme in Christian founding myths. Christian mythology of their society's founding would start with Jesus and his many teachings, and include
14715-502: The replacement of God's covenant with the Jewish people by a new order. Solomon, fearing the eventual destruction of his people, had the timber buried. After fourteen generations, the wood taken from the bridge was fashioned into the Cross used to crucify Jesus Christ. Voragine then goes on to describe its rediscovery by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance , there
14850-578: The rest of the church; in Eastern Christianity this developed into different arrangements from those of the Western church, with the sanctuary often not visible to the congregation. In the West the ciborium , an open-walled but usually roofed structure sheltering the altar, became common, and was originally fitted with curtains that were drawn and pulled back at different points in the Mass, in
14985-424: The sacred wood, it is thus guarded by the deacons who stand around, lest any one approaching should venture to do so again. And as all the people pass by one by one, all bowing themselves, they touch the Cross and the title, first with their foreheads and then with their eyes; then they kiss the Cross and pass through, but none lays his hand upon it to touch it. When they have kissed the Cross and have passed through,
15120-432: The same version as Socrates. Without further attribution, he also adds that it was said that the location of the Sepulchre was "disclosed by a Hebrew who dwelt in the East and who derived his information from some documents which had come to him by paternal inheritance"—although Sozomen himself disputes this account—so that a dead person was also revived by the touch of the Cross. Later popular versions of this story state that
15255-494: The sepulchre's canons, and the assembled pilgrims until sext . Prior to the liturgy on Holy Saturday , four pilgrims selected by the patriarch—preceded by a thurifer and 2 acolytes —carried the Latin relic from its chapel to the edicule of the Holy Sepulchre while the congregation waited with unlit candles. A New Fire would "spontaneously" light within the sepulchre. The crossbearer then would light his own candle from it, transit
15390-524: The seventh day, God rests, providing the rationale for the custom of resting on Sabbath . The second creation myth in Genesis differs from the first in a number of important elements. Here the Creator is called Yahweh elohim (commonly translated "Lord God", although Yahweh is in fact the personal name of the God of Israel and does not mean Lord). This myth begins with the words, "When the L ORD God made
15525-492: The simple fact that he was regarded as a hero, de Gozon was identified with a category, an archetype , which [...] equipped him with a mythical biography from which it was impossible to omit combat with a reptilian monster." In the Oxford Companion to World Mythology David Leeming lists Moses, Jesus, and King Arthur as examples of the heroic monomyth , calling the Christ story "a particularly complete example of
15660-407: The site, but does not mention anything concerning the True Cross. Eusebius describes how the site of the Holy Sepulchre , once a site of veneration for the early Christian Church in Jerusalem , had been covered over with earth and a temple of Venus had been built on top. Although Eusebius does not say as much, this would probably have been done as part of Hadrian 's reconstruction of Jerusalem as
15795-532: The sore disease, and made her whole. With the Cross were also found the Holy Nails , which Helena took with her back to Constantinople. According to Theodoret, "She had part of the cross of our Saviour conveyed to the palace. The rest was enclosed in a covering of silver, and committed to the care of the bishop of the city, whom she exhorted to preserve it carefully, in order that it might be transmitted uninjured to posterity." Another popular ancient version from
15930-400: The south side of the church. This is one definition, sometimes called the "strict" one; in practice in churches where the eastern end contains other elements such as an ambulatory and side chapels, these are also often counted as part of the chancel, especially when discussing architecture. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir,
16065-609: The stories of Christian disciples starting the Christian Church and congregations in the 1st century. This might be considered the stories in the four canonical gospels and the Acts of the Apostles . The heroes of the first Christian society would start with Jesus and those chosen by Jesus, the twelve apostles including Peter, John, James, as well as Paul and Mary (mother of Jesus) . In his influential 1909 work The Myth of
16200-411: The story of the Garden of Eden an instance of this general motif. Sacrifice is an element in many religious traditions and often represented in myths. In The Oxford Companion to World Mythology , David Leeming lists the story of Abraham and Isaac and the story of Christ's death as examples of this theme. Wendy Doniger describes the gospel accounts as a "meta-myth" in which Jesus realizes that he
16335-415: The supernatural power of his Spirit. History does not follow a smooth unbroken course; it is set in motion and controlled by these supernatural powers. This æon is held in bondage by Satan, sin, and death (for "powers" is precisely what they are), and hastens towards its end. That end will come very soon, and will take the form of a cosmic catastrophe. It will be inaugurated by the "woes" of the last time. Then
16470-408: The table, the bishop, as he sits, holds the extremities of the sacred wood firmly in his hands, while the deacons who stand around guard it. It is guarded thus because the custom is that the people, both faithful and catechumens, come one by one and, bowing down at the table, kiss the sacred wood and pass through. And because, I know not when, some one is said to have bitten off and stolen a portion of
16605-414: The term "myth" outside academia, describing stories in canonical scripture (especially the Christ story) as "true myth"; examples include C. S. Lewis and Andrew Greeley . Several modern Christian writers, such as C. S. Lewis , have described elements of Christianity, particularly the story of Christ, as "myth" which is also "true" ("true myth"). Others object to associating Christianity with "myth" for
16740-472: The three crosses placed in turn on a deathly ill woman. This woman recovered at the touch of the third cross, which was taken as a sign that this was the cross of Christ, the new Christian symbol. Socrates also reports that, having also found the cross's nails, Helena sent these to Constantinople , where they were incorporated into the emperor's helmet and the bridle of his horse. In his Ecclesiastical History , Sozomen (died c. 450 ) gives essentially
16875-419: The various churches around Jerusalem corresponding to the part of Jesus's life being celebrated. The celebrations of Holy Week closely involved the Holy Sepulchre and its fragment of the True Cross. During lauds on each Good Friday , the Latin relic was carried across the church to the chapel of Calvary on its south side, the supposed site of Jesus's crucifixion, and then venerated by the barefoot patriarch,
17010-550: The very earth on which it stood to be removed. When the tomb, which had been so long concealed, was discovered, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord's sepulchre. All held it as certain that one of these crosses was that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the other two were those of the thieves who were crucified with Him. Yet they could not discern to which of the three the Body of the Lord had been brought nigh, and which had received
17145-662: The world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters". In classical Greek , muthos , from which the English word myth derives, meant "story, narrative." By the time of Christ, muthos had started to take on the connotations of "fable, fiction," and early Christian writers often avoided calling a story from canonical scripture a " myth ". Paul warned Timothy to have nothing to do with "godless and silly myths" ( bebēthous kai graōdeis muthous) . This negative meaning of "myth" passed into popular usage. Some modern Christian scholars and writers have attempted to rehabilitate
17280-520: Was alive—it is conceivable that if Alfred really received this relic, that he may have given it to the care of the nuns at Shaftesbury. Most of the very small relics of the True Cross in Europe came from Constantinople . The city was captured and sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Chronica Regia Coloniensis relates that "After the conquest of the city Constantinople inestimable wealth
17415-554: Was found: incomparably precious jewels and also a part of the cross of the Lord, which Helena transferred from Jerusalem and [which] was decorated with gold and precious jewels. There it attained [the] highest admiration. It was carved up by the present bishops and was divided with other very precious relics among the knights; later, after their return to the homeland, it was donated to churches and monasteries." The French knight Robert de Clari wrote that "within this chapel were found many precious relics; for therein were found two pieces of
17550-767: Was gifted by the Venetian Republic to the Ethiopian Empire in the medieval period and remained in the Atse Emperor's personal possession into the 18th century, even being lost in battle, before being buried atop Amba Geshen . In 2016, a relic of True Cross held by Waterford Cathedral in Ireland, was radiocarbon dated to the 11th century by Oxford University . In February 2020, the Sevastopol district archpriest Sergiy Khalyuta said that
17685-559: Was housed in a northern chapel at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , overseen by its canons and protected by its knights . A second chapel beside it was overseen by the Syrian Orthodox and displayed another reliquary holding their fragment of the cross. The Latin fragment of the cross was repeatedly carried into battle against the Muslims. Over the course of each liturgical calendar , the Latin patriarch would oversee mass at
17820-415: Was identified, with the aid of Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem , by its miraculous affecting of a cure for a mortally ill woman. A Church was then built on the spot and the relic was divided, with part staying in Jerusalem and part given to Constantine along with the nails. In his Ecclesiastical History , nearly a century after Eusebius and forty years after Rufinus, Socrates Scholasticus (died c. 440) gives
17955-535: Was left at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in care of the bishop of Jerusalem was exhibited periodically to the faithful. In the 380s a nun named Egeria who was travelling on pilgrimage described the veneration of the True Cross at Jerusalem in a long letter known as her Itinerary ( Latin : Itinerarium Egeriae ), which she sent back to her convent: Then a chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha behind
18090-465: Was recorded by Jacobus de Voragine , Bishop of Genoa , in the Golden Legend . The Golden Legend contains several versions of the origin of the True Cross. In The Life of Adam , Voragine writes that the True Cross came from three trees which grew from three seeds from the "Tree of Mercy" which Seth collected and planted in the mouth of Adam 's corpse. In another account contained in "Of
18225-601: Was wide general acceptance of the account of the cross's history as presented by Voragine. This general acceptance is displayed in numerous artworks on the subject, culminating in one of the most famous fresco cycles of the Renaissance, the Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca , which he painted on the walls of the chancel of the Church of San Francesco in Arezzo between 1452 and 1466, faithfully reproducing
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