Embracing the Sacred: The Church Observes the Eve of the Feast of the Cross Tonight

Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the eve of the Feast of the Cross, which falls tomorrow and lasts 3 days.

What is a cross?

The cross is a central symbol in Christianity, representing redemption and sacrifice, the cross is also considered a sign of God’s love for humanity, as Jesus Christ was crucified as part of the plan of salvation.

Meaning of the Feast of the Cross

Remember Redemption: refers to Christ’s sacrifice for the salvation of humanity.
Presence of Hope: Represents hope in eternal life and resurrection.
Declaration of Repentance: Encourages confession of sin and turning to God.

Aspects of celebrating the Feast of the Cross

Holiday: The Feast of the Cross is celebrated twice a year.
Rituals: Includes prayer, chanting, and raising the cross in church.
Meditation: This is considered a time to reflect on the meaning of the cross and its role in the lives of believers.

In the same context, Bishop Jacobs said in the book A Patristic Church Vision, Regarding the Cross in Christianity, the Church celebrates the appearance of Jesus Christ on the Glorious Cross in two celebrations, the first on the seventeenth of the month. In 326 AD, at the hands of the pious queen Saint Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine the Great, because this saint – at the time when her son Constantine believed in Christ – vowed to go to Jerusalem. His pious son prepared everything to complete this holy visit.

When he arrived in Jerusalem with a large army and asked about the location of the cross, no one told him, so he took an old man from among the Jews and tortured him with hunger and thirst, until he was forced to show him the way. The place where the cross can be found with Calvary. He indicated that Golgotha should be cleansed, and he found three crosses in 326 AD. When they did not know that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, they brought a dead man and placed a cross on him, but he did the same with the other, but when they placed the third cross on the dead man, he immediately rose.

So they understood that it was the cross of Jesus Christ. Queen Helena and all the faithful did obeisance to him, sent some of it with nails to her son Constantine, and on the seventeenth day hastened to build the above-mentioned churches.