"Orthodox Enlightener" magazine. Holy Land. The origin of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord

Journal — "Orthodox Enlightener" magazine. Holy Land. The origin of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord

18.03.2019

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Returning home, Seth found Adam dead and put a dry branch in his mouth (according to other versions, Seth put a wreath woven from this branch on Adam's head, or it was done by Adam himself, who was still alive at the time of Seth's return). Then a tree of three fused trunks sprouted from it, which continued to grow for millennia until the time of King Solomon.

This king, having cut down a tree, tried to use it in the construction of the Jerusalem temple, but it did not fit because of its size. The timber was used in the construction of the bridge. When the Queen of Sheba, known for her wisdom, paid a visit to Solomon, she knelt before the tree. Having bowed, she predicted that the Savior of the world would be hanged on this tree, and therefore the kingdom of the Jews would come ruin and end. Then, instead of treading on a tree, she wade barefoot across the stream. Frightened, Solomon ordered to bury the timber.

The wood was found during the construction of a pool for the ablution of sacrificial animals. However, the water in it became famous for healing, and it was turned into a healing bath (the Siloam baptismal font). After the arrest of Christ, the tree emerged from the waters of the pool. They decided to make the Cross for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ from it, namely the vertical bearing pillar. Cross beam, palm, cypress, cedar and olive.

Russian apocrypha

In the Russian apocrypha " A Word about the Tree of the Cross"(-XVI century) provides a history of the Tree of the Cross, similar to the European Golden legend, with the addition of legends about Moses and Lot. However, the queen who came to Solomon is called the Sibyl. She, having come to look at the tree thrown out by Solomon, sat on it and was scorched by fire. Then she said: “ O damned other", And the people standing nearby exclaimed:" Oh, blessed other, the Lord will be crucified on it!". Same " A Word about the Tree of the Cross”Reports that the tree from the legend of Moses (see below) was used to make a cross for the crucifixion of the Mad robber.

In Russian apocrypha, the Queen of Sheba is often called a Sibyl, and in a number of sources she is credited with a prophecy about the fate of the tree rejected by Solomon during the construction of the temple:

Other legends

Related to Moses:

The legend is based on the one described in Old Testament stories of popular murmur at the bitter-salty source of Merrah (Ex. 15: 23-25). There are two versions of this plot in the apocrypha. First, Moses planted a tree on the bank of the spring, brought from paradise during global flood(see the Bogomil legend about the tree of Eve). The second - the angel gave to Moses branches of three trees: aloe, cedar and cypress and ordered, weaving them together as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, to plant on the shore. In both versions of the legend further destiny the grown tree corresponds to that described in " Golden legend»Stories with King Solomon.

Lot Related:

This legend describes the passage of the tree for the cross of the pious robber, however, in a number of variants, the origin is also associated with it. Of the Life-giving Cross... According to legend, Seth received from an angel not only a branch from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but also another, which Seth later lit on the banks of the Nile and it burned for a long time with an inextinguishable fire. When Lot sinned with his daughters, God told him to plant three smut from that fire and water them until a large tree grows up. The cross of the pious robber was made of this tree, or, following the path described in “ Golden legend ", it became the material for the Life-giving Cross.

Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem on the site where, according to legend, the tree of the Cross grew

There is also a second legend about the origin of the tree for the Cross, associated with Lot. When God appeared to Abraham in Mamre in the form of three angels, then they left him three of their staffs before going to Sodom. Abraham gave them to Lot after his fall with his daughters, ordering them to be planted in the vicinity of Jerusalem and to water them with water from the Jordan. Lot, seeking to atone for his sin, fulfilled the commission of Abraham - he planted staffs in the valley, he himself brought water from the Jordan, fought with Satan, who tempted him through thoughts. The staves sprouted and grew into a triune pine-cypress-cedar tree. Further, the fate of the tree repeats the story described in “ Golden legend».

The Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Cross, one of the oldest in Jerusalem, according to legend, was built where Lot planted the tree of the Cross. A silver circle in the chapel behind the main altar of the monastery church marks this place, revered as sacred.

Finding the cross

Church historians' testimonies

Church historians of the IV-V centuries

The next cycle of legends, already talking about the acquisition of a historical church relic - the Cross, generally accepted by believers as True, dates back to 326, when it is believed that it was found by the holy Empress Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine the Great) during her journey to Jerusalem. undertaken for the purpose of pilgrimage and the search for Christian relics:

... the divine Constantine sent blessed Helen with treasures to find the life-giving cross of the Lord. The Jerusalem patriarch, Macarius, greeted the queen with due honor and together with her sought the desired life-giving tree, dwelling in silence and diligent prayers and fasting.

This story is described by many authors of that time: Ambrose of Mediolan (approx. - years), Rufin (- years), Socrates Scholastic (approx. - years), Theodoret of Cyrus (- years), Sulpicius North (approx. - years .), Sozomenom (c. - gg.).

The earliest church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. - years) in his work " Life of Constantine"Informs about the opening in detail" divine tomb”, However, he does not mention either the acquisition of the Life-giving Cross, or the participation of Queen Helena in this event. According to his story, the cave where Christ was buried was found during the struggle with pagan temples. When, by order of Constantine, the embankment of the temple was torn down " in a voluptuous demon of love", then " suddenly in the depths of the earth, beyond any expectation, an empty space appeared, and then the Honest and All-Holy Sign of the saving Resurrection. Then the most sacred cave became for us the image of the Savior returning to life. Eusebius does not specify what the sign was. According to Eusebius, Queen Helen erected a church in Bethlehem near another cave where Christ was born in the flesh.

For the first time in the surviving texts, the story of the acquisition of the Cross appears in an expanded form at Ambrose of Mediolan in 395. In "The Word on the End of Theodosius" he tells how blessed Helen ordered to dig at Calvary and found 3 crosses there. According to the inscription “ Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews She found the true Cross and bowed to it. She also found the nails with which the Lord was crucified, and put one of them in a bridle, and the other in a diadem.

A similar story is told in chapter 10 of Rufinus' Ecclesiastical History, which is a Latin translation of the fragment essay of the same name Gelasius of Caesarea. The lost original Greek text of Gelasius dates from about 390 and may be considered the first known account of Helen's acquisition of the Cross. This story is generally close to that of Ambrose, but contains an insert with miraculous healing dying woman - " divine testimony", Confirming the inscription on the cross. According to Rufinus, the Cross was found at the place of Christ's execution, disguised by a statue of Venus. Elena builds a temple on this place, and sends the found nails to her son.

In the most developed form, the legend of the acquisition of the Cross appears in Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomenes. Socrates himself informs about the source on the history of the acquisition of the cross: “ Although I wrote this by hearsay, however, almost all the inhabitants of Constantinople speak of the authenticity of this event.. " The works of these historians formed the basis for subsequent descriptions of the acquisition of the Life-giving Cross (in particular, in the "Chronography" of the Byzantine historian Theophanes (-818)).

On the basis of these historical evidences with the addition of apocryphal sources, the story of the acquisition of the Life-giving Cross was introduced by Yakov Voraginsky into his “ Golden legend", Which has become widely known in the West.

Date of the acquisition of the Cross

Question about exact date when Helen acquired the Cross is controversial. The most common date given by Socrates Scholastic is 326. Socrates does not name the year in which the acquisition of the cross took place, but in his "Church History" the story of the event goes immediately after the mention of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the reign of Constantine (July 25, 326). Orientalist Joseph Assemani (director of the Vatican Library) in the 18th century believed that the Cross was found by Helena on May 3, 326 (according to the Julian calendar).

The Russian theologian, Professor M.N. Skaballanovich, based on the Alexandrian chronicle of the 6th century, attributes the acquisition of the Cross to 320. At the same time, he categorically disagrees with the dating of this event to 326, since according to a number of data, Saint Helena died in 325, and not in, as previously believed.

Excavation site

All the few indications of historians closest in time to the search boil down to the fact that the crosses were found not far from the Holy Sepulcher, but not in the Sepulcher itself. And although there was a Jewish ritual prescription that required that the tree on which someone was crucified be buried together with the executed, it could not be performed by the reverent disciples of Christ, they would not put the instrument of execution to Him in the Sepulcher as a criminal.

There was a possibility that all three crosses used in the execution that day could have been buried close to the site of the crucifixion. Sozomen in his work puts forward the following assumption about the possible fate of the Cross after the removal of the body of Jesus from it: “ The soldiers, as the story goes, first found Jesus Christ dead on the cross and, having removed Him, gave Him up for burial; then, intending to hasten the death of the robbers crucified on both sides, they broke their legs, and the very crosses were thrown one after another, at random».

Eusebius of Caesarea, " Life of Constantine". III, 36

Coin of Emperor Antoninus Pius minted in Palestinian Caesarea with the image of the statue of Venus in her Jerusalem temple

Statue of St. Helena in the chapel of the Finding of the Cross, to the left of the place where it was found

Socrates Scholasticus also mentions the location of the Holy Sepulcher on the site of the Holy Sepulcher (Venus) in his work, reporting that all Jerusalem fell into desolation: “ Those who are wise in Christ have honored this tomb since the time of the Passion; and those fleeing from Christ buried that place and, having built the temple of Aphrodite on it, erected an idol in order to destroy the very memory of the place».

The Temple of Venus in Jerusalem did exist. It was built in the 130s by Emperor Hadrian, which led to a riot among the local population. It is believed that the coins minted during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius in Palestinian Caesarea depict a statue of Venus the Victorious, standing in her temple in Jerusalem. The fact of the construction of the temple of Aphrodite on the site of the Holy Sepulcher is also mentioned by Theophanes: “ After that, soon after that, God indicated to Macarius the place where the temple of the unclean Aphrodite was built and her statue was erected. Helen, crowned by God, according to her royal power, immediately ordered a great many masters to excavate to the ground and cleanse the site of the temple of Aphrodite, for a lot of money built in ancient times by Elius Hadrian».

The place where the Cross was found is located in the chapel of the Finding of the Cross of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, in a former quarry. It is marked by a slab of red marble embedded in the floor depicting Orthodox cross, the slab is surrounded by a metal fence on three sides; the Cross was kept here for the first time. 22 metal steps lead down to the chapel of the Finding of the Cross from the underground Armenian church of St. Helena, this is the lowest and most eastern point of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, two floors down from the main level. In the chapel of the Finding of the Cross, there is a window under the ceiling near the descent, marking the place from which Elena watched the progress of the excavation and threw money to reward those who worked. This window connects the chapel with the altar of St. Helena's Church.

Eusebius of Caesarea wrote about the excavation of the Holy Sepulcher in most detail, but he reports only about one cave-tomb. In fact, at least two of them were found during excavations. The second cave is a crypt carved into the monolithic rock with two burial niches from the Second Temple period. This crypt was included in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the construction and today it can be seen in the Syrian chapel, 17 meters in a straight line to the west of the Holy Sepulcher. According to legend, the secret disciples, saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, were buried here. According to the researchers, during the excavations, a small Jewish cemetery could have been found, and when Eusebius arrived in Jerusalem, he was probably shown only one tomb, which was identified as the Holy Sepulcher, and the neighboring ones had already been torn down or destroyed in order to select the needed one.

Help from Judas Kyriakos

According to " Golden legend»Judas was one of the Jewish sages, whose ancestor was the first martyr Stephen. Having learned from his father about the location of the Cross, he, after Elena's arrival in Jerusalem, at the council of elders, declared that the discovery of the Cross would destroy their religion and deprive the Jews of their superiority over the Christians. Then the Jews were forbidden to inform the empress about the whereabouts of the relics, but after Elena threatened to burn them alive, they gave up Judas. Elena threw him into a dry well, kept him there for seven days, after which “ he, having come to one place, lifted up his voice and prayed that a sign would be sent down to him. Immediately the earth moved in that place, and a smoke of such amazing sweetness came out that, sensing it, Judas clapped his hands with joy and exclaimed: "Truly, Jesus Christ, you are the Savior of the world!"».

The story of Judas is based on Sozomen's message about a knowledgeable Jew who lived in the East; it became part of the official legend about the acquisition of the Cross, only in a new perspective, created by Jacob Voraginsky. About attracting local residents Rufinus, Paulinus of Nolansky and Sulpicius Sever also wrote about the search for the Cross. However, later in the 7th century, John of Nice reported that the person who found the Cross for Elena was a certain Ablavius, “ zealous Christian, one of the most famous people [of the empire]».

Determining the authenticity of the cross

During the excavations, accompanied by the appearance of a fragrance, three crosses were found - “ one - the most blessed one, on which Christ hung, and the rest, on which two robbers were crucified and died". In defining the True Cross, Helen was assisted by the Jerusalem Bishop Macarius I:

The same story is given by Rufinus, Theodoret, and Nicephorus. This version of the definition of the true Cross became the most widespread in the East, it is also quoted by the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes (-818): “ To one woman of a noble family, desperately ill and half-dead, Macarius brought all the crosses, and he recognized the cross of the Lord. As soon as his shadow touched the patient, the lifeless and motionless by divine power immediately got up and glorified God with a loud voice».

In the West, the more common version of the miracle that occurred in the authentication of the Life-giving Cross is the story contained in “ Golden legend", About the resurrection through his laying on of the dead, carried by the excavation site. According to the Armenian legend, the difference between the True Cross and the other two was that it blossomed - flowers appeared on it, therefore the famous Armenian cross-khachkars have a floral pattern.

The discovery of the cross, according to the testimony of church historians, made an impression not only on Christians, but also on the Jews, so that some of them, like Judas from “ Golden legend"Were baptized.

Apocryphal story about the first acquisition of the Cross

The apocryphal story of the first acquisition of the Life-giving Cross is contained in the Syrian “ Teachings of the Apostle Addai», full text which was preserved in a manuscript of the 6th century (while there are fragments dating from the 5th century). This Apocrypha relates the acquisition of the Cross to the reign of Emperor Tiberius, who, according to the Apocrypha, the future Emperor Claudius “ made the second person in the state". The wife of Claudius, called in the Apocrypha Protonica (probably the name is associated with the Greek expression " first victory"(Ancient Greek. ἡ πρώτη νίκη ), which, according to the author of the apocrypha, should have emphasized the primacy of this legend in relation to the history of the acquisition of the Cross by Empress Helena), converted to Christianity in Rome by the proclamation of the Apostle Peter wanted “ to see Jerusalem and those places where our Lord performed His deeds».

Protonica took her two sons and her only daughter on a journey. Upon arrival in Jerusalem, she was greeted with imperial honors, but at her request to show her Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher, the Apostle James informed her that they were under the supervision of the Jews, who “ do not allow us to go there and pray before Calvary and the tomb". Having learned this, Protonica met with the Jewish elders and ordered them to transfer the Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher to the Christians, and then she went there and found three crosses in the tomb. When she entered the tomb with the children, “ her young daughter fell and died without pain, without suffering, without any reason for death". The death of her daughter was used to determine the true Cross of the Lord - Protonica prayerfully laid the crosses on her daughter one by one, and after the laying on of the True Cross, her daughter came to life and “ glorified God, who gave her life back by means of His cross».

The Life-giving Cross was transferred by Protonica to Jacob, the first bishop of Jerusalem, and later, during the time of Trajan (reigned 98-117), under Simon, the second bishop of Jerusalem, it was buried. Queen Elena found the Cross for the second time.

The legend of the first acquisition of the cross exists only in Syrian and under its influence in Armenian literature. The image of Protonica was completely borrowed from Empress Elena, and the apocryphal itself was used (in part of the meeting of Protonica with the Jewish elders) by Yakov Voraginsky when he wrote “ Golden legend". The researchers concluded that the legend of the first acquisition of the Cross by Protonica is a later version that appeared in Byzantine Syria under the influence of the Greek legend of Helen and Kyriakos.

Most modern secular historians, relying on the testimony of Eusebius, consider the version of the finding of the Cross by Helen legendary. Supporters of the legendary nature of this version note that the first mentions of the finding of the Cross by Helena appear only in the texts of the end of the 4th century: a fragment from “ Church History»Gelasius of Caesarea (about 390), preserved in Latin translation Rufina, and " Word on the death of Theodosius»Ambrose of Mediolansky (395).

Many researchers also consider the very fact of finding the Cross during excavations carried out during the reign of Emperor Constantine to be legendary. In addition to the testimony of Eusebius, the legendary nature of this fact may be indicated by the absence of mention of the Life-giving Cross in “ Bordeaux Traveler» ( Itinerarium Burdigalense), the oldest surviving guide to the Holy Land, compiled by an anonymous pilgrim from Bordeaux who visited holy places in years. The pilgrim informs about the location of Golgotha and the tomb of Christ, over which “ the basilica was built by the order of the emperor Constantine”, But says nothing about the veneration of the Cross.

According to many authors, the cult of the Life-giving Cross arose between 333, when a pilgrim from Bordeaux visited Jerusalem, and the middle of the 4th century, when in “ Announcement Words Cyril of Jerusalem (X, 19; XIII, 4), the first evidence of this cult appears, and a little later, in his own letter to Emperor Constance, the first mention of the acquisition of the Cross during the time of Constantine is found. As for the legend of the finding of the Cross by Helena, for a long time it was believed that it originated in the west, but recent studies have shown that its origins should rather be sought in Jerusalem in the middle or second half of the 4th century.

At the same time, in a number of articles published in recent decades works, a new justification for the historical reliability of the version of the finding of the Cross during the reign of Constantine was proposed, which was not accepted, however, by a significant part of the researchers.

Exaltation of the cross

In honor of the acquisition of the Cross, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Lord's Cross was established, which got its name from the fact that Bishop Macarius I, in order that all believers could see the Cross, erected (that is, raised) it, turning it to all cardinal points. The same was done with the Cross and after his return in 629 from Persia after a 14-year captivity back to Jerusalem under the Emperor Heraclius.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is celebrated by both Orthodox and Catholic churches on September 14 (according to the Julian calendar in some Orthodox churches, and according to the Gregorian calendar in Catholicism).

Location

The period before the Crusades

According to Socrates Scholasticus, Empress Helen divided the Life-giving Cross into two parts: one was placed in a silver storehouse and left in Jerusalem “ as a monument for subsequent historians”, And the second was sent to her son Konstantin, who placed it in his statue, installed on a column in the center of Konstantinov Square. Information about this, according to Socrates himself, was written by him “ by ear"Referring to the conversations of the inhabitants of Constantinople.

The Byzantine chronicler Theophanes in his Chronography describes the division of the Cross:

The blessed Helen, with fear and great joy, erected a life-giving tree, took part of it with nails to her son, while putting the other in a silver ark, gave it to Bishop Macarius, in memory of future generations. Then she ordered to erect churches on the Holy Sepulcher, the place of execution, and in the name of her son where the life-giving tree was found; also in Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives, and then returned to the glorious Constantine. He greeted her with great joy, put a part of the life-giving tree in a golden ark and gave it to the bishop for preservation, he hammered some nails into his helmet, and others inserted into the bridle of his horse.

- "Chronography" of Theophanes, year 5817 (324/325)

The remaining part of the Cross in Jerusalem was there long time and exhibited to worship the people. This is evidenced by the message of Cyril of Jerusalem, as well as the story of a noble pilgrim of the 4th century Sylvia (or Eteria). It tells about the ceremony of worshiping the tree of the Cross of the Lord on Good Friday, as well as about the measures that were taken against the pilgrims' plunder of the tree particles.

At Calvary, after the Cross, even before six o'clock in the morning, a pulpit is delivered to the bishop. The bishop sits on this pulpit, a table covered with a handkerchief is placed in front of him, deacons stand around the table, and a gilded silver ark is brought, in which is the holy tree of the Cross; opens and takes out; both the tree of the Cross and the tablet (titulus) are placed on the table. So, when it is laid on the table, the bishop, sitting, holds the ends of the holy tree with his hands; the deacons who stand around guard. It is so guarded because there is a custom according to which all the people, approaching one by one, both the faithful and the catechumens, bend over to the table, kiss the holy tree and pass. And since, they say, I do not know when, someone bit off and stole a particle of the holy tree, that is why now the deacons standing around are guarding so that no one who is suitable would dare to do the same. And so all the people come up one by one, all bowing down and touching first with the forehead, then with the eyes of the Cross and the tablets, and kissing the Cross, they pass; but no one reaches out to touch.

However, these precautions did not prevent the division of the wood of the Cross. Church tradition believes that the practice of separating particles from it began already during the reign of Empress Helen - on the way to Constantinople, she left particles of it in the monasteries she founded. So, according to legend, in 327, when the Stavrovouni monastery was founded in Cyprus (“ Mount of the Cross») She, at the behest of an angel who appeared to her according to legend in a dream, left in him a particle of the Life-giving Cross. As Cyril of Jerusalem (IV century) testifies, even in his time, small parts of the Life-giving Cross were distributed among Christians. Also, John Chrysostom said that many believers had particles of the Life-giving Cross: “ many, both husbands and wives, having received a small particle of this tree and overlaid it with gold, hang on their necks". Pauline Nolansky in 403 sent a particle of the Holy Cross to his friend Sulpicius Sever, telling in a letter the story of its acquisition. Paulin also reports that although many particles are separated from the Cross, but its original most of wonderfully preserved.

In Constantinople, in the imperial treasury during the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, a special staurotek was created (known as Limurgskaya), where many particles of the Life-giving Cross of Christ were kept, which were taken to be placed in reliquaries, donated on behalf of the emperor.

The "disappearance" of the tree

The Jerusalem part of the Cross continued to be kept in the Church of the Resurrection, as evidenced by the presence in the 9th century among its clergy of two elders - guards who guarded the Cross of the Lord. A brief history The Life-giving Tree in Jerusalem expresses in a letter dated or 1109 Ansell, the cantor of the Holy Sepulcher:

“The abandoned [cross] was kidnapped by Kosdroe [the Persian king Khosrow], when Jerusalem was sacked, and taken to Persis. Which Eraclius [the Byzantine emperor Heraclius], after the murder of Kosdroe, returned to Jerusalem and installed on the Execution Ground for the worship of the Christian people. However, after the death of Eraclius, the people of the infidels suppressed the Christians so much that they intended to eradicate the name of Christ and destroy the memory of the Cross and the Sepulcher. So, having laid a heap of logs, they burned part of the Tomb, and in a similar way they wanted to burn the Cross, but the Christians hid it, which is why many of them were killed. Finally, the Christians, having consulted, cut, divided into many parts and distributed among the churches of the faithful ... So, in Constantinople, besides imperial cross, there are three crosses from here, in Cyprus two, Crete one, Antioch three, Edessa one, Alexandria one, Ascalon one, Damascus one, Jerusalem four; the Syrians have one, the Greeks from Saint Sava have one, the monks from the Jehoshaphat Valley have one; we Latins, at the Holy Sepulcher, have one that has one and a half spans of length and one finger of the same width and thickness. Also Patriarch Georgians has one; king of Georgians [ Georgian king David] had one, which now, by the grace of God, you have [Council Notre dame de paris].»

Thus, the Jerusalem Cross was in Persian captivity from the year 628 until it was given back by the Persian commander Koryam in exchange for the promise of the Byzantines to help him with troops in the internal turmoil. However, 10 years later in 638, Jerusalem surrendered to the Arab army, which began the victorious spread of the Muslim faith in the East. The cross was divided into parts and taken by ships to Constantinople and other places. Some time later, one of the parts was returned back to Jerusalem, where it was kept until the era of the Crusades.

The Jerusalem part of the Cross was lost in 1187 at the Battle of Khattin, when, after the defeat of the knightly army, the Muslims apparently captured the shrine, as reported by Frank Ernul, a participant in that battle. Yernul also tells the story of a certain Templar who, a few years after the battle, reported that he had buried the Cross and could indicate that place. However, the search was unsuccessful.

The Constantinople part of the Cross was stolen in 1204 after the sack of the capital of Byzantium by the crusaders. She became the source for some of the particles of the Life-giving Cross of Western Europe. Academician F. I. Uspensky in his work " History of the crusades”, Describing the plundering of relics from the churches of Constantinople, mentions the stolen particles of the Cross.

Reliquaries

In the Orthodox Church

The inner part of the Order of the Cross with a particle of the Life-giving Tree

Reliquary crosses with a particle of the Life-Giving Cross have been known for a long time. Many Byzantine emperors and other members of the royal family had them. In Russia, this relic probably became known for a long time - in one of the earliest monuments (1st half of the 11th century) of Old Russian literature, “ Word of Law and Grace"Metropolitan Hilarion, there is a mention of the Life-giving Cross:" He [the Emperor Constantine] with his mother Helen brought the Cross from Jerusalem [and], having sent him all over the world, confirmed the faith».

One of the first relics of the Life-giving Tree in Russia was a particle in the cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, brought in the 12th century from Jerusalem, among other relics. A particle of the tree of the Cross was placed in the "Ark of Dionysius", which in the wills of the Moscow Grand Dukes of the 15th century headed the list of inherited relics, and in the 17th - early 20th centuries was one of the main shrines of the Annunciation Cathedral.

Russian pilgrims to the Holy Land from the first half of the 19th century, from among especially eminent persons, received crosses from the Patriarch of Jerusalem with a particle of the Tree of the Lord's Cross as a blessing, and later as a reward. The Order of the Cross with a particle of the Life-giving Tree is still the highest award of the Jerusalem Church.

Cross with a part of the Life-giving Tree, kept in the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana

In the Catholic Church

A source for the creation of relics worshiped in Western Europe, became the Jerusalem and Constantinople parts of the Life-giving Cross.

In the Holy Land in Jerusalem there is a monastery of the Holy Cross. It is located in a beautiful valley in the western part of Jerusalem, outside the walls ancient city... The monastery was built on the site where, according to legend, the Tree grew, from which the Cross of the Lord was later made. Legends tell that it did not grow by chance.

The story of the Tree of the Cross begins at the time of Patriarch Abraham and is associated with the appearance of the Holy Trinity to him in the form of three Angels. According to legend, then the Angels went to Sodom, but left Abraham their three staffs.

According to the Old Testament, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the righteous Lot took refuge with his two daughters in a cave. His daughters decided that all mankind had been destroyed and that there were no more men who would take them as wives. So they made their father drink wine and sinned with him. From their children later came two peoples - the Moabites and the Ammonites. Lot was desperate when he learned of his daughters' actions. Further history did not enter the Holy Scriptures, but was preserved in the Tradition of the Church.

Lot asked his uncle Abraham to help him to beg the Lord for forgiveness in his sin. Abraham gave Lot the staffs left by the angels, telling him to plant them in the ground and water them. If a dry tree takes root and sprouts, then Lot's sin is forgiven. For about 33 years Lot carried labor: he brought water from Jordan on a donkey and watered these staffs. The devil tempted him, assuming the appearance of a man, asked him to drink and drank or poured out all the water. And here three staves sprouted with three evergreen trees; cedar, cypress and singing (pine) - and fused into one trunk with three tops, revealing the image of the Holy Trinity. Lot realized that his sin was forgiven.

Prophecies that Christ will be crucified on a three-part tree, and indications that these three types of wood are sacred, we find in the books of the Old Testament. The Prophet Isaiah says: "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, cypress and peong, and together a cedar, to decorate the place of my sanctuary, and I will glorify my footstool" (Isaiah 60.13). In Orthodox worship, this prophecy refers to the Honorable Tree of the Cross of Christ (the third paremia at the Exaltation). The Cross of Christ is called a cypress, a pevga and a cedar: “Like a cypress is mercy, like a cedar is fragrant faith, like true love bringing, To the Lord's Cross let us bow down, on him glorifying the Redeemer who has nailed him "(Lenten Triodion, Wednesday of the fourth week, Matins, canon to Prepolove and the Cross, canto 7). Cedar and cypress are mentioned among the trees of paradise in the book of Ezekiel (31; 8). Preparing for the construction of the House of the Lord. Solomon asked Hiram, king of Tpr: "Send me cedar trees, and cypress and singing trees from Lebanon" (2 Chron. 2. 8).

But back to our story. The tree that Lot planted and nurtured with great labor in repentance grew very unusual and beautiful. King Solomon wanted to use it to build a temple, he needed a large tree to put on the roof of the building, and this particular tree was found suitable. It was cut down, but they could not use it, because it was constantly changing in size - it decreased, then increased.

There is also a legend preserved in Western Christianity that after that a beam made from this Tree was left as a bench in the temple courtyard (according to another version, it was used to make a bridge over the river). The Queen of Sheba, known for her wisdom, came to meet with Solomon and sat down on this beam to rest. But she was burnt by the fire emanating from the Tree. After which, bowing to the Tree, she predicted that the Savior of the world would be hanged on him, and therefore the kingdom of the Jews would come ruin and end. Frightened, Solomon ordered to bury the timber.

Subsequently, a bathhouse was built on this site for the ablution of the sacrificial animals. The water here became famous for its healings, and many sick people began to visit it (according to various legends, this is either the Siloam or the Sheep Font). Shortly before the suffering of the Lord, the Tree emerged from the waters of the pool. When it became necessary to make the Cross for Jesus Christ, the final use was finally found for this log.

Another legend says that. that the high priest Caiaphas knew that this was the very tree of Lot, and judged that since it was a tree of sin, it was necessary to make a cross from it for a criminal, numbered among the evildoers, which they did. However, the question remains unclear: what part of the Cross was made of this Tree, vertical or horizontal - although it is believed that it is vertical. In the Byzantine era, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, in the place where, according to legend, the Tree of the Cross grew, a monastery was formed, which still exists today. It can be visited by any pilgrim staying in the Holy Land.

There are also other traditions and legends, however, trusting the authority of the tradition stored in the ancient monastery of Jerusalem, we mainly cite it, especially since much of this tradition was included in the liturgical texts, which means that it was recognized by the Church as true.

Question:

Hello Father. I have long been interested in the question of what wood all the parts were made from Of the Honorable Cross on which the Lord was crucified? From Wikipedia, I know that the post, crossbar, foot and plate were made from several, different breeds wood. What is the official opinion of the ROC? What sources say about this? Thank you!

Sergius

Answers: Archpriest Alexander Butrin

Hello Sergiy. On the coming Friday, March 28, in the newspaper “Fact” and (I hope, soon, because it does not depend on me) in the heading “Mental Reading” on our website there will be material dedicated to the Cross of Christ. I suggest you familiarize yourself with it. And in this answer I am putting to you that part of the article, which is a direct answer to the question you asked earlier. This part was not included in the main material, since it was stylistically not mounted in it.

So, the question is: what was the Cross made of, on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified? IN Holy Scripture, the Gospel does not say this. Two thousand years ago, crucifixion was one of the ways people were executed. The crosses were different forms... The simplest one is two impressive crossbeams - horizontal and vertical, connected above the center of the latter. The vertical part was of considerable length. The man was being prepared for execution on earth. The hands of the crucified were tied to the horizontal component, and his legs were kept on a small platform. The man kept on the cross, being tied to it, resting his feet on the foot. Attaching it to the instrument of execution, the cross was raised, placing its base in a pre-prepared depression. The palms and feet were pierced with nails only to bring great physical torment to such a subject. terrible execution: the person was on the cross until the moment of his painful death. If for some reason it was necessary to speed it up, then the soldiers who carried out the execution interrupted the leg bones in the ankle area with special hammers. And from the painful shock, the man gave up his breath. Often, the bodies of those who died on the cross were not removed for a long time for the edification of all others living in this area.

The crosses were of several shapes. Even a T-shaped cross was used. Above the head of the crucified was often placed a wooden tablet with the writing of what he was executed for. The Cross on which Christ was crucified had a traditional four-pointed shape. Taking into account the foot and the sign with the inscription, we are talking about an eight-pointed cross.

It is surprising that wooden crosses are used as a means of killing people who have transgressed the law - after all, the Holy Land does not abound with vegetation. It is known that cedar trees for the construction of the Jerusalem temple were supplied from another country, from Lebanon. Most likely, the same cross, with a few exceptions, was used as an instrument of execution many times - the crosses were collapsible. One solid piece of wood quickly and easily joined to another.

It is possible that different parts of the cross were made from different types of trees. Of what kind was the Cross of Christ made? There is no documentary evidence of this. Church tradition connects the Cross of Christ with the history of involuntary sin and repentance of the righteous forefather Lot. We will not dwell on this in detail. Prophecies that Christ will be crucified on a three-part tree, which is possibly spoken of in the Bible, on those pages where the righteous Lot is narrated, and indications that these three types of wood are sacred, we find in the books of the Old Testament. The Prophet Isaiah says: "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, cypress and pevg (pine) and together a cedar to decorate the place of my sanctuary, and I will glorify my footstool" (Isa. 60.13). In Orthodox worship, this prophecy refers, in particular, to the Honorable Tree of the Cross of Christ (the third paremia at the Exaltation of the Cross). The Cross of Christ is called a cypress, a pevga and a cedar: "Like a cypress, mercy, like a cedar, sweet-smelling faith, like a cedar that brings true love, let us bow down to the Lord's Cross, on it we glorify the Redeemer who has been nailed" (Lenten Triodion, Wednesday of the fourth week, Matins, canon to the Preparation , canto 7). Cedar and cypress are mentioned among the trees of paradise in the book of the prophet Ezekiel (31; 8). These types of trees were used in the construction of the Jerusalem temple. Preparing for the construction of the House of the Lord, Solomon asked Hiram, king of Tire: "Send me cedar trees, and cypress and singing trees from Lebanon" (2 Chron. 2. 8).

Some theologians, including the saint righteous john Kronstadt, they doubt that the Cross of Christ was made specifically for the execution of the Savior from an incredibly ancient three-part, i.e. three different species of wood that have grown together. Most likely, the Church's thought about the three tree species - pine, cedar and cypress, from which the instrument of the killing of Jesus Christ was made, is that for the Cross itself, the girls with the Pilate inscription and the soles were made of different tree species.

Almost always, those sentenced were forced to carry this instrument of execution to the place of its execution. The cross carried by the Lord was very heavy: the Savior fell under his weight. Those who were crucified experienced incredible suffering. They were even more terrible from the consciousness that only death, which did not come for a long time, can free a person from these sufferings. The executed were tormented by thirst, but the warriors guarding them did not give water, and having planted a sponge on a spear, saturated it with vinegar mixed with bitter bile, and brought it to the lips of the victims ...

After the torment of the cross, the Lord gave up his ghost on the Cross - he died. The soldiers were surprised at His quick death. To test it, they struck with the sharp tip of a long spear at the place where the heart of the God-man was. The spear pierced the pure body of Christ and blood and lymph flowed from the wound. Due to important circumstances, Two other people who were crucified with Jesus were put to death; the bodies were removed from the crosses, and the crosses themselves were thrown to the ground, thrown from the mountain into the ditch. The pagan emperors and the malice of the Jews tried to completely destroy in a person the memories of sacred events and sacred places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for people and was resurrected. The Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha were covered with earth, and a pagan temple was erected on the site of an artificial hill. Later, they were also buried under a thick layer of earth. The discovery of the Cross of the Lord took place after the end of the persecution of Christianity by the pagan emperors, only three hundred and twenty-six years after the crucifixion of the Savior.

The Life-giving Cross, the True Cross, the Cross of the Lord, the Life-giving Tree_ cross, on which Jesus Christ was crucified. It is one of the instruments of the Passion of Christ and belongs to the main Christian shrines.
The origin of the Life-giving Tree takes us to the distant biblical times of the Old Testament. The basis of the story about the origin of the material for the Life-giving Cross is connected with the fall of Lot. Lot is the nephew of the patriarch Abraham (son of Aran).


	Righteous Abraham

The genealogy of Abraham goes back to Shem (Gen. 11. 10-26), his father was Terah, who had sons: Abram, Nahor, Aran (Gen. 11. 26). It begins with Abraham new stage The "sacred history" of the post-Flood time: the previous course of God's economy is contrasted with a new beginning of history with Abraham (cf. Gen. 11. 4 and Gen. 12. 2).
Abraham lived in the country of the Chaldees, not far from Babylon. He, with all his family, kept true faith into God. He was rich, had many cattle, silver and gold, and many servants; but had no children and grieved over it.
God chose the righteous Abraham to preserve the true faith, through his posterity, for all mankind. And in order to protect him and his offspring from his native pagan people (because among the native people - the pagans it was sooner possible to learn idolatry), God appeared to Abraham and said: “Come out of your land and from your father's house to the land that I will show you ... I will produce from you great people and I will bless you and magnify your name... And all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you ”, that is, in this nation - in its offspring, in time the Savior of the world promised to the first people will be born, Who will bless all the peoples of the earth.
Abraham was seventy-five years old at the time. He obeyed the Lord, took his wife Sarah, Lot's nephew and all the property that they had acquired, all his servants, and moved to the land that the Lord had shown him. This land was called Canaan and was very fertile. The Canaanites then lived there. It was one of the most wicked nations. The Canaanites were the descendants of Canaan, the son of Hamov. Here the Lord again appeared to Abraham and said: "All the land that you see, I will give you and your offspring." Abraham built an altar and offered a thanksgiving sacrifice to God.
After that, the land of Canaan began to be called the promised land, that is, the promised land, since God promised to give it to Abraham and his descendants, now it is called Palestine. This land is located on the east coast Mediterranean Sea, and the Jordan River flows in the middle of it.
When the flocks of Abraham and Lot multiplied so much that they became crowded together and there was incessant disputes between their shepherds, then they decided to disperse amicably.
Abraham said to Lot: “Let there be no contention between us, since we are relatives. Isn't the whole earth before you? Separate yourself from me; if you are to the right, then I am to the left. "
Lot chose the Jordan Valley and settled in Sodom. And Abraham remained to live in the land of Canaan and settled near Hebron, near the oak forest of Mamra.


	By the mamri oak

There, near the oak of Mamre, he pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord. This oak of Mamri is still growing in Palestine, near the city of Hebron.
Shortly after Lot settled in Sodom, the neighboring king of Elam attacked Sodom, defeated the city and took prisoners of people and property. Lot was among the captives.
Abraham, having learned about this, immediately gathered his servants (318 people), invited neighbors to help, caught up with the enemy, attacked him and fought off all the spoils.
When Abraham returned, he was greeted with triumph. Melchizedek, who was the priest of the Most High God and the king of Salem, he brought bread and wine to Abraham and blessed him.
Nothing is known about Melchizedek - his origin and death. The name Melchizedek means the king of righteousness; the word Salim means peace. Melchizedek was a representative of Jesus Christ: as Melchizedek was both a priest and a king, so Jesus Christ is the High Priest and King. As about Melchizedek, neither the beginning nor the end of his life is indicated - he seems to live forever, - so Christ is the eternal God, King and High Priest; and we call Jesus Christ the High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And how our Lord Jesus Christ gave us under the guise of bread and wine His body and blood, that is, St. the sacrament, so Melchizedek, representing the Savior, brought bread and wine to Abraham, and as the elder blessed Abraham.
Abraham reverently received the blessing from Melchizedek and gave him a tenth of his spoil.
(see the Bible, book "Genesis": chapters 12, 14, 15, 16, 17).

But back to Lot, as mentioned above, he settled in the city of Sodom. At the time of Abraham, Sodom was a flourishing and rich city, but since the inhabitants “were wicked and very sinful” (Gen. 13:13), “the Lord rained sulfur and fire from the Lord on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord from heaven, and overthrew these cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and [all] the growth of the earth ”(Genesis 19: 24–25).
Lot was the only inhabitant of Sodom whom the Lord had mercy on for his righteousness and told him to lead his family out of the doomed city.

Immediately after Lot and his family fled from the city, fire and brimstone poured from heaven, and everything was burned. God told them not to look back at what was happening to the cities, but Lot's wife disobeyed the prohibition, she looked back to look at the city dying in the fiery streams, and immediately turned into a pillar of salt.
But the sin still overtook Lot after the death of Sodom. Out of ignorance, he sinned with his own daughters, who treated their father so cruelly so as not to remain childless. Waking up and realizing his sin, he went to Abraham for repentance.
To atone for this sin, Saint Abraham gave him three wonderful staffs. The patriarch himself received them on the eve of the death of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord left them, appearing to him and Sarah in the form of three Angels in the Hebron oak forest of Mamre. Abraham commanded Lot to plant these staffs and water them with water, and when the leaves appear, the tree will come to life - this will be a sign of his forgiveness. For 40 years Lot bore great labors as a punishment for the sin of incest. Every morning he walked with his donkey far beyond the water and only in the evening returned to the valley. The devil hindered him in every possible way, assuming the appearance of oncoming wanderers, asking for a drink. But, nevertheless, every time Lot brought at least a little precious moisture. This continued until an unusual tree grew out of three staves: neither a cypress, nor a cedar, nor a peong, and the Tree in general is the Tree of Life. It had a single trunk with three divisions at the top - a triune tree - the image of the Trinity. Lot realized that his sin was forgiven. And the tree grew very beautiful.

In 965 BC, the third king of the people of Israel, Solomon, ascended the throne. Accepting the kingdom, Solomon, as the Bible says, did not ask the Lord for a long life, or wealth, or victories, but only "a reasonable heart" to judge God's people and distinguish between good and evil. And the Lord gave him such wisdom that no one had before, and no one else will have. This was the only period in history that the kingdom of Israel flourished.
In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon began building the Jerusalem Temple. For its construction, the Lebanese cedar was mainly used, which was transported by sea to Jaffa, and then sent by dry land to Jerusalem. However, the builders willingly used the local timber as well, if it was suitable for the work. It was then, according to legend, that the mysterious tree of Lot was cut down, but they could not attach it, because the tree was constantly changing in size - it decreased, then increased. And, attributing this to Lot's sin, they decided that it had been rejected by God, and threw it into the Siloam font, into which once a year the Angel of the Lord entered, stirring the waters of the font, healing the sick .. Once a year, the Angel of the Lord went into the font and disturbed the water - for the washing of the sacred trunk. The first one who immersed himself in water after that received healing. After the arrest of Christ, the tree emerged from the waters of the pool. They decided to make the Cross for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ from it, namely the vertical bearing pillar. It was not by chance that the Jews took this particular tree for the crucifixion of Christ. First, it was approaching Great Saturday, and there was no one and no time to prepare the logs. But even this is not the main thing. The main thing is that after nine centuries of being in the water, it has become heavier than a stone. This tree was chosen to annoy the Savior even more.

The place where the Cross was found is located in the side-chapel of the Finding of the Cross of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, in a former quarry. It is marked by a red marble slab embedded in the floor with the image of an Orthodox cross, the slab is surrounded on three sides by a metal fence, and the Cross was kept here for the first time. In the chapel of the Finding of the Cross from the underground Armenian Church St. Helena is led down by 22 metal steps, this is the lowest and most eastern point of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, two floors down from the main level. In the chapel of the Finding of the Cross, there is a window under the ceiling near the descent, marking the place from which Elena watched the excavation progress and threw money to reward those who worked. This window connects the chapel with the altar of St. Helena's Church.

Today, at the place where the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was found, there is a marble slab, marking the very place where the Cross was kept at first. A small slab serves both as a place of worship and a kind of "candlestick": on it the pilgrims light Jerusalem white candles. According to one of the legends, Saint Helena left most of the acquired Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem, and the rest - together with the discovered title, nails and thorns from the crown of thorns, as well as the earth from Calvary - she took with her to Rome in order to preserve these great shrines. in the Sessorian palace, which served as her residence.

If all of Palestine, consecrated by the life of our Savior in it, then the greatest shrine of this holy land is for all Orthodox Christians Golgotha - the place of the crucifixion and death on the cross Christ for the salvation of people. His whole life was an ascent to Calvary, to the great feat of obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father and the work of redemption for the human race. And even then, when the angels, at the birth of the Savior, sang "glory to God in the highest and peace on earth," they glorified Golgotha - the suffering and death of Christ. Yes, the whole life of Christ, from the Bethlehem manger to His last breath, to the great "finished," is the Savior's bearing of His cross to Golgotha and, finally, the acceptance of the cross on Golgotha. Here, when a villainous deed, marked by a wonderful darkness, was accomplished, the Divine Sun shone, casting its saving and life-giving rays on all mankind; here the night of the Old Testament ended and the radiant day of the New Testament began to shine, in a word, here, on Calvary, with the death of the Savior, the doors of new life and into the palaces of eternal life. All this for the Christian heart and mind is associated with the sacred name of Golgotha, with the holiest place crucifixion of our Savior. And bad is that Christian, whose heart does not beat with reverent joy at the name of Golgotha, at the remembrance of Golgotha! Now Calvary is climbed by two steep stairs of 18 steps each, since Calvary is located above the level of the temple. This hill (Golgotha) is an area of 21.5 arsh. length and width and is divided by two pillars into two parts, forming two side-altars (chapels): the side-altar of the Crucifixion (erection of the Cross of the Lord), belonging to the Greeks, and the Chapel of the Prolongation to the Cross, belonging to the Latins.
The side-altar of the crucifixion (in the north) is richly decorated with precious paintings and mosaics. In the depths of this chapel on a prominent part ancient rock three depressions, according to legend, indicate the location of the crosses of the Savior and two robbers. These recesses are located in the shape of a triangle, in the two lower corners of which there are the places of the crosses of the robbers, and in the upper place of the Cross of the Savior, which is somewhat lower (along the surface) in relation to the first two. Place of the cross of the robber crucified by right hand The Savior (the good robber, called the right robber among the Arabs), stands at the northern corner of the triangle, the place of the left robber's cross is on the south, and the Savior's Cross - on the west. The opening of the Cross of Christ is 0.5 arsh. depth and 0.25 arsh. in diameter; it is framed in silver. The openings of the robbers' crosses are laid, and their places are indicated only by black circles on the marble. In the eastern recess of the chapel, there is an open marble altar on four legs above the recess that marks the site of the Cross of the Lord. St. Cross with the image of the Crucified, and on the sides - images of the Mother of God and John the Theologian. This place is always lit with lamps and candles. At a distance of about two arsh. to the south of the hole of the left robber's cross there is a famous historical cleft of the rock covered with a silver board and below with a copper lattice, according to legend, formed at the time of the Savior's death. This crevice was already in the IV century. Cyril of Jerusalem pointed to the great events that took place here. Under the side-altar of the crucifix is the chapel of Adam, where, according to legend, the first man was buried and resurrected with the blood of Christ, flowing onto his skull through a crevice of the rock.

We worship Thy Cross, Master, and holy resurrection We glorify yours!

Hymn to the Cross

Look at the Sacred Cross of Christ
And remember how Christ suffered.
He is God and King, like a humble slave,
He suffered torment for us.
Before us is a terrible picture
The heavens tremble with fear:
Palestine is embraced with malice, -
Forgotten by God miracles.
Here comes the Praetor. On the heights
Pilate creates a crafty judgment,
And before him in humiliation
The Righteous Sufferer stands!
In a crown of thorns, in a purple robe,
Blood oozes from the ulcers on the forehead.
A cane of desecration in the right hand,
But He is all joy, all is Love
The court is lawless and unjust
Sinful sons do.
A wicked spirit embraced their souls,
Hearts are darkened by passions.
Raises the mournful voice of sobbing:
"O! My light! Oh, My Son! " And He is in unspeakable love
The crowd is raging, in a frenzy
Shouts: "Crucify Him, crucify!"
Pilate answered in dismay:
"I am not guilty of this Blood."
And now, nailed to the Tree,
Among the two robbers hangs
The judge himself, but condemned,
For human sin, He endures everything.
At that hour everything shuddered with fear,
The sun has faded on the ground,
The veil was torn in two
And everything was hidden in a terrible darkness.
We also have a terrible picture:
Virgo weeps - Mother of Christ,
And with her - Mary Magdalene,
Crouching at the foot of the Cross.
In exhaustion, the Most Holy,
Leaning head towards the Cross,
I cried to the Heavenly Father,
And meekness is all longsuffering,
I begged to forgive the villains.

The material was prepared by the head of the PS based on pilgrimage trips NS. Malinovskaya

Righteous Abraham

The Appearance of the Holy Trinity to Abraham in Hebron

According to this legend, when planting one of the trees of paradise, God says to Sataniel: "Here my body will be, and the tree will serve for your exile." When Sataniel rejected God, then, having come to look at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was expelled by his mysterious power from paradise, and the devil first became black. The tree grew into three trunks, called the trunks of Adam, Eve and the Lord (in the center). After the expulsion of the first people from paradise, the tree disintegrated, and only part of the Lord remained in place. Part of Adam fell into the Tigris and was brought by water to the land of Midian, and part of Eve fell into Merrah during the Flood. From these two parts, according to the Bogomil legend, the Cross for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was made.

"Golden Legend"

This text of the legend about the Life-giving Cross was preserved in the West as part of the "Golden Legend", in the East it is known only from a few Greek manuscripts.

The basis of the story about the origin of the material for the Life-giving Cross is taken from the apocryphal "Gospel of Nicodemus". It tells that when Adam was about to die, his son Seth went to the gates of Paradise in order to receive the oil of forgiveness and anoint his father's body with it. However, the Archangel Michael who appeared, said that the oil of forgiveness would be given to the whole world in 5500 years (the prophecy of the coming of Christ) and gave Seth a branch from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, the fruit of which Adam tasted during the Fall. Having handed the branch, the archangel said: "If you can revive this dry fruit, then he will be healed."

This king, having cut down a tree, tried to use it in the construction of the Jerusalem temple, but it did not fit because of its size. The timber was used in the construction of the bridge. When the Queen of Sheba, known for her wisdom, paid a visit to Solomon, she knelt before the tree. Having bowed, she predicted that the Savior of the world would be hanged on this tree, and therefore the kingdom of the Jews would come ruin and end. Then, instead of treading on a tree, she walked barefoot across the stream. Frightened, Solomon ordered to bury the timber.