Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is the major feast celebration in honor of the Holy Cross. Other churches commemorate this feast on September 14, in our Church, it is celebrated on the closest Sunday to the 14th. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is solidly based on a glorious historical event, when the Holy Cross was liberated from the Persians, in 629 AD.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the Armenian Church, takes place with great ceremony and includes the ritual of the Procession and Blessing of Basil. It is most likely that this particular ritual reflects the deep feeling and emotion aroused in Armenia when the Holy Cross was elevated and brought through on its return to Jerusalem from Persian captivity.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, one of the Five Tabernacle(Daghavar) Feasts of the Armenian Church, is preceded by the fast (Monday through Friday) as precedes the feasts of the Nativity, Resurrection, Transfiguration and Assumption. In connection with every daghavar feast, our Church also celebrates the Eve of the Feast (Navagadik), Day of Remembrance (Memorial Day-Merelotz), and post-festive celebration (7days)