The Exaltation of the Holy Cross: 1 Corinthians 1:18–24

On September 14, the Church celebrates the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. This feast commemorates two historical events, but it also reveals the center of the Christian faith: human salvation passes through the Cross of Christ. The Cross, once an instrument of shameful death, became through the Lord’s Crucifixion a sign of life, victory, forgiveness, and resurrectional hope.

The feast is first connected with the finding of the Precious Cross by Saint Helen in Jerusalem and with its elevation before the people, so that all might see it and venerate it. It is also connected with a second historical event: the recovery of the Precious Cross by Emperor Heraclius, after it had been seized by the Persians, and its return to Jerusalem. This double Exaltation reveals that, for Christians, the Cross is not simply a sacred relic, but a sign of Christ’s victory within history.

For this reason, even today, during the service of the feast, the Cross is elevated in the center of the church. The Church does not present it as a mere religious symbol, but as a sign of the presence, love, and saving power of God. The faithful are called to venerate it, not with the…