The Holy
Empress Helen uncovered the Precious Cross and Nails of the Lord at Jerusalem
in 326.
At the
beginning of the reign of Saint Constantine the Great (306-337), the first
Roman emperor to recognize Christianity, he and his pious mother Saint Helen decided
to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. They also planned to build a church on the
site of the Lord’s suffering and Resurrection, in order to reconsecrate and
purify the places connected with the Savior’s death and Resurrection from the
foul taint of paganism.
The
empress Helen journeyed to Jerusalem with a large quantity of gold. Saint
Constantine wrote a letter to Patriarch Macarius I (313-323), requesting him to
assist her in every possible way with her task of the restoring the Christian
holy places.
After her
arrival in Jerusalem, the holy empress Helen began to destroy all the pagan
temples and reconsecrate the places which had been defiled by the pagans.
In her
quest for the Life-Creating Cross, she questioned several Christians and Jews,
but for a long time her search remained unsuccessful. Finally, an elderly
Hebrew named Jude told her that the Cross was buried beneath the temple of
Venus. Saint Helen ordered that the pagan temple be demolished, and for the
site to be excavated. Soon they found Golgotha and the Lord’s Sepulchre. Not
far from the spot were three crosses, a board with the inscription written by
Pilate (John 19:19), and four nails which had pierced the Lord’s Body.
Now the
task was to determine on which of the three crosses the Savior had been
crucified. Patriarch Macarius saw a dead person being carried to his grave,
then he ordered that the dead man be placed upon each cross in turn. When the
corpse was placed on the Cross of Christ, he was immediately restored to life.
After seeing the raising of the dead man, everyone was convinced that the
Life-Creating Cross had been found. With great joy the empress Helen and
Patriarch Macarius lifted the Life-Creating Cross and displayed it to all the
people standing about.
Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2018/03/06/100680-uncovering-of-the-precious-cross-and-the-precious-nails-by-the-e
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