Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Happy Feast of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

IN Lately The holiday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is becoming increasingly popular, because it is considered one of the most important among the twelve main holidays of the Orthodox Church. It is celebrated on September 27. Ancient traditions are increasingly revered by the younger generation, so this article will examine not only the main signs of such a holiday, but also its history and significance. In any case, before celebrating anything, it’s worth understanding where it came from and how it was all treated in ancient times.

First memory of the holiday

According to legend, the Day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord arose precisely when the Cross was found by Queen Helen, Equal to the Apostles. It was on it that Jesus Christ was crucified. All this happened at the request of the Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine, who planned to start building temples of God at various sacred Christian sites in Palestine. The place was not chosen by chance, because it was here that the Lord Jesus Christ was born, suffered and rose again.

Search for the Cross of Christ

Finding the Cross for Queen Helen (she was the mother of Tsar Constantine) was not as easy as it might seem. First, she went to Jerusalem. Since the enemies of Christ buried the Cross in the ground, she put a lot of work into finding a person who could tell her where it was buried. Only the old Jew Judas did this.

It turned out that the Cross was thrown into a cave, littered with various debris, and a pagan temple was built in that place. Therefore, Helen ordered that this temple be destroyed and that she be given access to the cave.

After her order was carried out, it turned out that there were three crosses in the cave itself, and it was unknown which of them was the one needed.

How was the real Cross discovered?

From the very beginning, after the Cross was discovered, it showed its miraculous power, helping to heal serious illnesses, bites of deadly poisonous animals and neutralize the effects of poisons.

If we do not take into account the mysterious and mystical significance of the Cross for a true Christian, then it also has a purely moral significance. When we look at the suffering of our Savior, our cross-bearing does not seem so difficult. That is, the Cross serves as support in difficult life situations, helping to show your courage and not be afraid of close proximity to death.

This Orthodox holiday (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) is of great importance for Christians due to the fact that the ground for this has long been prepared in their souls. This celebration only multiplied people's love for the Cross, gradually becoming more and more solemn. It is the Cross that becomes a symbol that allows you to fight various invisible enemies and thus save your immortal soul.

Importance will be taken at the Exaltation

As you probably already guessed, there are many different interesting facts, which are directly related to the holiday of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Signs play in the celebration itself vital role. There are so many of them that some of them have never reached this day, and they have been forgotten forever. But there are also customs that even now continue to be performed and devote quite a lot of time and attention to it.

September 27 is considered the third Autumn, so in ancient times on this day everyone painted crosses on the doors of their houses, on matitsa or on the lintels. Matitsa is a thick beam in the form of a log, which was cut across the building itself. Crosses were drawn with garlic and charcoal, and chalk was also used for these purposes. More surprisingly, crosses were sometimes painted with the blood of animals that were sacrificed. Some simply carved a cross with a knife on a suitable surface.

Pet safety comes first

Many also tried to protect their cows or horses from various intrigues. For this they made special wooden crosses small size and put them in a manger. Those who did not have such an opportunity acted somewhat differently. They crossed rowan branches and put them in the manger. Since ancient times, rowan has been considered a symbol of bright light, which is capable of scaring away all evil spirits.

Such an Orthodox holiday (the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) is itself considered the final day of Indian summer. This is the third and most last meeting autumn.

Coming winter

It was on the day of this celebration that winter reminded everyone of itself. Autumn was becoming a full-fledged mistress, and therefore rural residents increasingly thought about the approaching cold, about snowstorms and frosts that awaited them. That is why sayings of this type were so popular: “On Vozdvizhenye, the fur coat follows the caftan!” or “The Exaltation will take off his caftan and put on a fur coat!”

It was also necessary to remember that the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a fast day, so it was important to observe all the necessary restrictions on food. Those who have completed everything correctly will have all seven sins forgiven.

It is surprising that even animals paid for their misdeeds on this day. For example, it was believed that if a snake bites someone, it will not be able to survive the winter. was based on the fact that everyone was sure of the existence of the mysterious place Iriy, where not only birds, but also snakes survived the winter. That is, the guilty snake will not be able to crawl there and will simply freeze soon.

Cabbage - what is it?

Exaltation Holy Cross The Lord's was previously even called "cabbage". This is precisely what is evidenced by many different once quite popular sayings that have not been forgotten to this day. In particular, this applies to such proverbs as “Exaltation is a cabbage plant, it’s time to chop the cabbage!” or the no less eloquent “A man won’t be full without bread, and cabbage soup can’t live without cabbage!” Such expressions indicate that cabbage was quite popular in terms of preparing various dishes from it.

Cabbages were also called fun parties, which were carried out not only in villages, but also in big cities. On this day, everyone dressed up in festive clothes and visited each other. Back then it was called “chopping cabbage.”

Features of carrying out cabbage

This series of large autumn parties was especially loved by young people, because they were expected no less than Maslenitsa, and the whole celebration lasted for about two weeks. When guests came to the house, they were always served beer, as well as sweet honey and all sorts of treats. What kind of snacks were offered to the guests was decided only in accordance with the income of the hosts.

This is how the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was celebrated. Signs also said that during this celebration, young guys picked brides for themselves. By the way, parties for single guys were called “cabbage parties” and all the girls tried to get there, because they knew that their suitors would be waiting for them there. It was the brides who were also called “cabbage girls.” Already late in the evening, general festivities took place, which later often led to weddings on the Intercession. This is how the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross became the beginning of family life for some young people.

How to please the groom and much more - signs for Exaltation

The most important sign that absolutely all the girls used was that before the evenings they should definitely read a special spell seven times. This is the kind of spell that will make a girl as attractive as possible in the eyes of the guy she likes. Only if such a sign is fulfilled will she be able to achieve success at the celebration.

On the day of the celebration, you cannot go into the forest, because then the bear must arrange a den for himself, but the legendary goblin must inspect his kingdom, and you cannot interfere with them in this. Because the goblin counts animals, a person who accidentally catches his eye can also be counted. But after this he will never be able to leave the forest and return home.

It is on September 27 that the birds fly south, and whoever sees them will be able to make any wish, which will certainly come true later. Among other things, true housewives always cleaned the house for the holiday, because in this way they drove out all evil spirits and damage.

An interesting fact is also that you cannot start any new business on Vozdvizhenie, because they are already doomed to failure.

By the way, several superstitions also arose about cabbage. For example, this concerns the fact that before sowing it, you should definitely hold the seeds in your hands for a while so that instead of cabbage it will not turn into rutabaga. At the same time, it was believed that if you planted cabbage on Thursday, it would be completely eaten away by worms, and it would be unfit for consumption.

Weather signs for Vozdvizhenie

The flight of geese indicates a low or high flood. That is, if they fly low, then we will face a low flood, and if they fly high, a high one.

Signs of such a holiday as the Exaltation Life-giving Cross of the Lord, also testify that if you see cranes, then pay attention to their flight. If they fly slowly, at the same time high enough and coo, then we will have a warm autumn.

If it blows on the day of celebration North wind, then in next year It will be a warm summer. The western one indicates bad weather.

If you notice a peculiar circle near the moon that is red, then this is a sign of dry and clear weather.

As you have already noticed, the history of the holiday and its most important signs are quite interesting. Some of them can be observed even today, especially with regard to weather forecasts. In connection with the restoration of many ancient traditions of our ancestors, in many cities you can see such a structure as the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Moscow region, Nizhny Novgorod and many others).

The church holiday of the Exaltation of the Lord (another name is the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord) is one of the twelve important celebrations. On this day it is customary to observe strict fast, you are only allowed to drink wine and eat vegetable oil. When is the Exaltation of the Lord in 2017? The date of this holiday regularly coincides with September 27th. That is, it is celebrated approximately a week after the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The origins of this holiday go back to ancient times, when Emperor Constantine decided to build temples of God in all the holy places of Palestine, and for this he needed the Cross on which Jesus Christ was tested.

History of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Constantine sent Elena, his mother, to find him, for which she first arrived in Jerusalem, where the Cross was buried, Judas helped her in this - he suggested that this place was where a pagan temple was built, earlier there was a cave that was filled with garbage . Elena immediately ordered its urgent destruction; three crosses were found in the cave. In order to recognize the real one among them, she first brought the first one to the woman who was dying, but nothing happened, then the second one - the result was the same, but after applying the third one to the patient, she recovered. Just at this time, a funeral procession was passing by the house of the cured woman, and Elena decided to test the power of the Cross again: she laid all three crosses again, but only after the last one did the dead come to life. The Queen bowed to the Cross and kissed it, and after her Patriarch Macarius and all the others present did the same. And no one had any doubt that in front of them was the same Honest and Life-giving Cross on which Jesus suffered his torment.

So on September 27, 326, the Cross was received again. Everyone reached out to this place to kiss him, but it was quite difficult to do this, because it would have to take a lot of time. The Patriarch found a way out - he stood on a height and raised the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, that is, erected it, everyone began to bow and shout: “Lord, have mercy!”

After these events, Elena could not take the Cross, so she took only part of it, which she gave to Constantine, and left the other in Jerusalem, where the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross was built, and it is still there today.

Signs and rituals for the holiday of September 27

This day is significant for mystical events, so people carefully monitored everything that happened on September 27th.

To protect the home from adversity on this day over front door They drew a cross with charcoal, chalk or animal blood, and also carved it out of wood and hung it on willow branches. To prevent evil spirits from harming domestic animals, they made small crosses from oak and placed them in barns and nurseries where the pets were. The wooden cross could be replaced with rowan branches folded into a cross. Oak and mountain ash were chosen for a reason - it was believed that they could scare away evil spirits.

It was believed that if a person or animal were guilty of something on this day, they would be punished: so those who do not observe strict fasting or are violent (for example, roosters fight or a snake bites) will face illness or even death.

There was a custom on this day to prepare cabbage for the winter - they fermented it in barrels, hid it in the cellar, and also cooked from it different dishes. Then you will be full all year.

In order to attract the guy she likes, the girl on the night of September 26-27 read a spell: “The Exaltation of the Lord has come, it has brought me beauty. I should be so that (boyfriend’s name) is mine!” After going to bed, in the morning your beloved guy will pay attention to the charmed girl.

On this day, the bear sets up a den, so it is better not to go into the forest so as not to disturb him. There was another reason why you shouldn’t visit the forest today - the goblin is counting the animals in his domain, and can count the person who came to him, which means he won’t let him out again - very often on the Exaltation, many fornicated in the forest and could not get out of it go out.

To see birds flying to warmer climes on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Lord is a sign of great happiness.

There was such a sign that on September 27 you need to clean the house, since along with the garbage from the house, evil spirits are swept out and washed away. After cleaning, be sure to cross each house three times with a wooden cross or rowan branches.

A child born on this day will always be under the protection not only of his guardian angel, but also under the Lord himself. As soon as the baby is born, he needs to be wrapped in a white swaddle and placed on rowan branches lined with three crosses - one at the head, the second at the level of the heart, and the third at the legs. Cross the baby three times.

Under no circumstances should you marry the Exaltation, as the marriage will be short and unhappy.

During the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, you must enter the church, carrying rowan branches with you; when leaving, you must first slap them twice on the shoulders, starting with the right one, and then once on the top of the head, so that all the bad things go away. At home, place them near the icon. Let them lie there until the Intercession.

If you find money on this day, you need to give it to the church; this money will not bring anything good - buying with it may be useless.

It is a bad omen to cry on September 27, since this is one of the few church holidays when people should rejoice, because the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is a great day.

The Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is one of the great Christian holidays. This very ancient holiday and custom of celebrating Saturday and Sunday in a special way before the Exaltation are associated with two major events in the history of the Christian Church.

During the time of persecution of the Church, the pagan Roman emperors tried to completely destroy in humanity the memories of the sacred places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for people and rose again. Emperor Hadrian (117-138) ordered Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher to be covered with earth and a temple of the pagan goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter to be erected on an artificial hill. Pagans gathered at this place and performed idol sacrifices.

However, after 300 years, by the Providence of God, the great Christian shrines - the Holy Sepulcher and the Life-Giving Cross were rediscovered by Christians and opened for worship. This happened under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great (May 21), the first of the Roman emperors to stop the persecution of Christians. During the struggle of the Roman Emperor Constantine with his co-emperor Maxentius before the decisive battle on the Flaminian Way (311), when Maxentius's forces outnumbered the emperor's army, Constantine saw a radiant cross in the sun with the inscription: “Hereby conquer!” His army also saw this cross.

At night, Jesus Christ appeared to the emperor in a dream and ordered him to make a military banner with a cross based on the model seen in heaven. Konstantin did just that. Having defeated Maxentius, the emperor ordered this banner to be placed in the hand of his statue, erected in the main square of Rome, and surrounded it with great veneration. Constantine took Christians under his protection and declared the faith of Christ state religion Roman Empire. He abolished execution by crucifixion and issued laws in favor of the Church of Christ. Saint Equal to the Apostles Constantine The Great (306-337), after his victory in 312 over Maxentius, the ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, and over Licinius, the ruler of its Eastern part, in 323 became the sole ruler of the vast Roman Empire. In 313, he issued the so-called Edict of Milan, according to which it was legalized christian religion and the persecution of Christians in the Western half of the empire ceased.

The ruler Licinius, although he signed the Edict of Milan to please Constantine, actually continued the persecution of Christians. Only after his final defeat and on Eastern part The decree of 313 on religious tolerance spread to the empire.

The Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine, who with the help of God won victory over his enemies in three wars, saw God’s sign in the sky - the Cross with the inscription “By this victory.” Ardently desiring to find the Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine sent his mother, the pious Queen Helen (May 21), to Jerusalem, providing her with a letter to Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem.

Although Saint Queen Helena was already in advanced years by this time, she enthusiastically took up the task of fulfilling the assignment. The queen ordered to destroy the pagan temples and idolatrous statues that filled Jerusalem. Looking for the Life-Giving Cross, she questioned Christians and Jews, but for a long time her search remained unsuccessful. Finally, she was pointed to an old Jew named Judas, who said that the Cross was buried where the temple of Venus stood. They destroyed the temple and, after praying, began to dig the ground. Soon the Holy Sepulcher was discovered and not far from it three crosses, a tablet with an inscription made by order of Pilate, and four nails piercing the Body of the Lord.

To find out on which of the three crosses the Savior was crucified, Patriarch Macarius one by one laid the crosses on the deceased. When the Cross of the Lord was laid, the dead man came to life. Seeing the risen man, everyone was convinced that the Life-Giving Cross had been found. Christians, who came in countless numbers to venerate the Holy Cross, asked St. Macarius to raise and erect the Cross, so that everyone could, although from afar, reverently contemplate It. Then the Patriarch and other clergy began to raise the Holy Cross high, and the people, crying out: “Lord, have mercy,” reverently worshiped the Honest Tree. This solemn event took place in 326. When the Life-Giving Cross was found, another miracle occurred: a seriously ill woman, when the Holy Cross overshadowed her, was immediately healed (* Nicephorus Callistus, book VIII, chapter 29). Elder Judas and other Jews believed in Christ and accepted holy baptism. Judas received the name Cyriacus and was subsequently ordained Bishop of Jerusalem.

Holy Queen Helen commemorated places associated with earthly life the Savior, the foundation of more than 80 temples erected in Bethlehem - the place of the Nativity of Christ, on the Mount of Olives, from where the Lord ascended to heaven, in Gethsemane, where the Savior prayed before His suffering and where she was buried Mother of God after the Dormition. Saint Helena brought with her a part of the Life-Giving Tree and nails to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine, Equal to the Apostles, ordered the construction of a majestic and extensive temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which included both the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha. The temple took about 10 years to build. Saint Helena did not live to see the consecration of the temple; she died in 327. The temple was consecrated on September 13, 335. The next day, September 14 (old style), it was established to celebrate the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross. It was then that a wonderful chant arose, connecting the Cross and the Resurrection: “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and we glorify Your holy Resurrection.” It was a historical, but at the same time deeply symbolic combination of the cross, suffering, humiliation - and resurrection, triumph and victory.

On this day, another event related to the Cross of the Lord is remembered - his return from Persia after 14 years of captivity back to Jerusalem. In the 7th century, in 614, the Persian king Khozroes, a pagan, fire-worshipper and enemy of Christians, fought with Byzantium, a Christian state in whose possession Jerusalem was located. The Persian king Khosroes II defeated the Greek army in the war against the Greeks. The king conquered the Middle East, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Asia Minor and Jerusalem. He captured the Christian population of Jerusalem and deported them, led by the patriarch, into the depths of Persia, plundered Jerusalem and took into captivity the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and the Holy Patriarch Zechariah (609 - 633). For Christians this was a great grief.

In 628, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, after numerous campaigns and many years of struggle, defeated the Persian king and defeated the Persian state. The cross stayed in Persia for 14 years, but only under Emperor Heraclius (610 - 641), who, with the help of God, defeated Khosroes and made peace with the latter’s son, Syroes, was their shrine returned to Christians - the Cross of the Lord. With great triumph, the Life-Giving Cross was brought to Jerusalem. Emperor Heraclius, wearing a royal crown and purple, carried the Cross of Christ to the Church of the Resurrection. Patriarch Zechariah walked next to the king. At the gate by which they ascended to Golgotha, the emperor suddenly stopped and could not move further. The Holy Patriarch explained to the Tsar that the Angel of the Lord was blocking his path, for He who carried the Cross to Golgotha ​​to redeem the world from sins, completed His Way of the Cross in a humiliated form. Then Heraclius, taking off his crown and purple, put on simple clothes and freely carried the Cross of Christ into the temple.

After this event, from the 7th century to the present Orthodox Church celebrates the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord on this very day - September 27, according to the new style. And since the consecration of the temple in the name of the Resurrection of the Lord under Constantine in 336 and the council, which established the holiday of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, were performed on Saturday, the day before Sunday, it was decided to celebrate a special holiday before this holiday - Saturday and the week before The Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

Parts of the holy tree are now in various cathedrals, including the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The celebration of the Exaltation by the Church lasts nine days: from the evening of September 13 to September 21 (old style) or from the evening of September 27 to October 5 (new style). Fasting is observed on the day of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (September 14/27). On the day of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, it is allowed to eat food with vegetable oil(dairy, eggs and fish are not allowed). On this day, a very ancient rite of the cross was carried out. The sign of the cross has been a symbol of the sun since prehistoric times. It was believed that during the Exaltation he radiates a protective power. The peasants carved crosses out of wood, crossed rowan branches, painted crosses in places they wanted to protect from evil spirits: in bins, stables. The Third Autumn is dedicated to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

The Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is a holiday that the Orthodox Church celebrates on September 27. On this day, believers remember how in 326 the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified was miraculously found in Jerusalem. We will talk about the events, meaning and traditions of the Exaltation of the Cross.

The full name of the holiday is the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. On this day, Orthodox Christians remember two events.

• As he writes Sacred Tradition, The Cross was found in 326 in Jerusalem. This happened near Mount Golgotha, where the Savior was crucified.
• And the second event is the return of the Life-Giving Cross from Persia, where it was in captivity. In the 7th century, it was returned to Jerusalem by the Greek Emperor Heraclius.

Both events were united by the fact that the Cross was erected in front of the people, that is, raised. At the same time, they turned it to all directions of the world in turn, so that people could bow to it and share with each other the joy of finding a shrine.

The Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is the twelfth holiday. The twelfth holidays are dogmatically closely connected with the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God and are divided into the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Theotokos (dedicated to the Mother of God). The Exaltation of the Cross is the Lord's holiday.

Exaltation: traditional dishes

If you are wondering what to cook for the Exaltation, keep in mind that this day is a fast day. Moreover, it was believed that those who did not eat eggs, meat, or milk on this day were forgiven seven sins at once.

Since cabbage harvesting was timed to coincide with this day, it was customary to treat everyone to cabbage dishes in the evening.

Lenten pie with cabbage

• Yeast dough: 1.2 kg flour,
• 2 tbsp. warm water,
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (you can use ¾ tbsp.),
• 30-40 g yeast,
• 1 tsp salt.
• For the filling: 1 small head of cabbage,
• vegetable oil, salt.

How to cook: Dissolve yeast in 0.5 tbsp. warm water and place in a warm place. When the yeast foams, knead the dough from the indicated products, cover with a towel and place in a warm place. Knead twice and form into a pie.

Roll out the dough for the bottom to a thickness of 1 cm, transfer to a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, straighten it, and place the filling. Cover the top with a second layer of dough, rolled out thinner - 7-8 mm, prick with a fork. If the filling is juicy, make a hole in the middle of the pie so that it does not burst from the steam during baking.

If desired, you can leave a small piece of dough, roll it out thinly and cut out various decorations with a knife or mold - stripes, leaves, berries, flowers, etc. The surface of the pie is smeared with strong sweet tea using a brush, decorated with prepared figures on top, greased with tea again and baked at 180o C until cooked.

After baking, lightly brush the cake with a brush. boiled water, cover with a towel and let “rest”. It is very good to put the dough not in water, but in rice water - the dough then turns out especially white.
Chop the cabbage into strips or cut into squares, simmer in a deep frying pan under a lid in vegetable oil, adding a small amount of water, and add salt. When the cabbage becomes soft, open the lid, let the excess moisture evaporate and lightly brown. Fill the pie with cooled cabbage and bake. Shape the cake into a rectangular shape.

Pumpkin pancakes

Required:

• 1 kg peeled pumpkin,
• 1 cup wheat flour,
• salt, sugar to taste,
• vegetable oil for frying.

Grate the pumpkin on a fine grater, add salt and sugar, add flour and mix everything together. Spoon into a heated frying pan and doused with vegetable oil. Fry on both sides. Serve with honey.

Apples stuffed with beets

Required:

• 4 apples,
• 1 small beet,
• 1 tablespoon sour juice,
• 1 apple celery root,
• 1 teaspoon horseradish,
• a handful of walnuts, salt, sugar, vegetable oil, dill.

Peel apples from seeds and seed chambers. Grate the beets on a fine grater, cut the celery into finely-fine cubes, sprinkle with sour juice, add chopped nuts, horseradish, season with salt, sugar, vegetable oil, chopped dill. Mix everything. Stuff the apples and bake.

Salad “Pre-simple”

Product composition:

• 4 boiled potatoes in their jackets,
• 2 fresh cucumbers,
• 1 bunch of dill,
• 1 packet of soy or lean mayonnaise.

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes, cut the cucumber into thin strips, chop the dill and mix all the ingredients together with soy mayonnaise. Place in a salad bowl and serve with Borodino bread.

When is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrated in 2018?

The Russian Orthodox Church remembers the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 27 according to the new style (September 14 according to the old style).

This holiday has one day of pre-celebration and seven days of post-celebration. Pre-festival – one or more days before big holiday, whose services already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, after-feasts are the same days after the holiday.

The holiday is celebrated on October 4th. Giving holiday - the last day of some important Orthodox holidays, celebrated with a special service, more solemn than on ordinary days of post-feast.

Traditions and customs for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

What can you do

During the Exaltation, it was customary to harvest and prepare cabbage for the winter. Cabbage parties were held with songs, games and gatherings.

Signs for September 27

• The caftan and fur coat will move, the last cart will leave the field, the birds will fly away, and the cold will approach.
• Whoever fasts on the Exaltation will have seven sins forgiven.
• The erection will take off the caftan and put on a fur coat.
• Exaltation with winters is not a problem, Pokrov-Father will say something (October 14).
• The rise of autumn moves towards winter.
• On Exaltation the reptile and the snake do not move, but the grain from the field will move.
• Know, woman, about cabbage on Vozdvizhen’s Day.
• A good man has a pie with cabbage on Exaltation Day.
• On Zdvizhenye, the good fellow has cabbage on the porch.
• It's winter on Vozdvizhenie - no problem for the peasant.

Name day on September 27 is celebrated by: Ivan

The name of the day is Ivan. Characteristics of a person named Vanya
It means “Yahweh (God) had mercy, had mercy.” A man with this name is distinguished by the fact that a variety of qualities coexist in him - strength and weakness, compliance and firmness, kindness and cruelty.

As a rule, those around him think that he is scattered: he has a very wide range of interests, he takes on a lot and, oddly enough, he manages to do a lot, although there are also many failures.

Ivans, born in September, are distinguished by their openness to the world, they are interested in everything that happens - politics, football, new car models, fishing and much more.

These people are very hospitable, they love big companies, love to receive guests and approach this creatively, with imagination, so they have no shortage of friends.

What not to do on Exaltation?

By folk beliefs, on this day you should not start any serious, responsible affairs, since they will not receive a successful completion. You cannot go into the forest on Exaltation, since bears and snakes were considered especially dangerous on this day.

This is the holiday that all Orthodox Christians celebrate on September 27 - the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the twelfth eternal holiday, always celebrated on the same day.

The cross was found by the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, Queen Helena, who came to Palestine and the Bishop of Jerusalem Macarius (314-333). As a result of excavations, the Cave of the Holy Sepulcher was found, and three crosses were discovered not far from it. The cross of Jesus Christ was determined when a sick woman, on whom they were placed one by one, received healing. According to another legend, a dead person was resurrected from contact with this cross and was carried along the street for burial (hence the name Life-Giving Cross
Holy Queen Helen commemorated places associated with the earthly life of the Savior by the founding of more than 80 churches erected in Bethlehem - the place of the Nativity of Christ, on the Mount of Olives, from where the Lord ascended to heaven, in Gethsemane, where the Savior prayed before His suffering and where the Mother of God was buried after the Dormition. Saint Helena brought with her a part of the Life-Giving Tree and nails to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine, Equal to the Apostles, ordered the construction of a majestic and extensive temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which included both the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha. The temple took about 10 years to build. Saint Helena did not live to see the consecration of the temple; she died in 327. The temple was consecrated on September 13, 335. The next day, September 14, it was established to celebrate the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross Return of the Cross

On this day, another event related to the Cross of the Lord is remembered - his return from Persia after 14 years of captivity back to Jerusalem. The Persian king Khosroes II, in the war against the Greeks, defeated the Greek army, plundered Jerusalem and took captive the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and Patriarch Zechariah (609-633). The cross stayed in Persia for 14 years, and only under Emperor Heraclius (610-641), who, with the help of God, defeated Khosroes and made peace with his son, was their shrine returned to Christians - the Cross of the Lord. With great triumph, the Life-Giving Cross was brought to Jerusalem. Emperor Heraclius, wearing a royal crown and purple, carried the Cross of Christ to the Church of the Resurrection. Patriarch Zechariah walked next to the king. At the gate by which they ascended to Golgotha, the emperor suddenly stopped and could not move further. The Holy Patriarch explained to the Tsar that the Angel of the Lord was blocking his path, for He who carried the Cross to Golgotha ​​to redeem the world from sins, performed His Way of the Cross in a humiliated form. Then Heraclius, taking off his crown and purple, put on simple clothes and freely carried the Cross of Christ into the temple.

Prayers to the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord

First prayer

Be the Honest Cross, guardian of soul and body: in your image, casting down demons, driving away enemies, exercising passions and bestowing reverence, life, and strength, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the honest prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God. Amen.

Second prayer

O Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! In ancient times you were a shameful instrument of execution, but now you are a sign of our salvation, ever revered and glorified! How worthily can I, the unworthy, sing to You and how dare I bend the knees of my heart before my Redeemer, confessing my sins! But the mercy and ineffable love for mankind of the humble Boldness crucified upon you gives me, so that I may open my mouth to glorify You; For this reason I cry to Ti: Rejoice, Cross, the Church of Christ is the beauty and foundation, the whole universe is the affirmation, all Christians are the hope, kings are the power, the faithful are refuge, Angels are glory and praise, demons are fear, destruction and driving away, the wicked and infidels - shame, the righteous - delight, the burdened - weakness, the overwhelmed - refuge, the lost - a mentor, those possessed by passions - repentance, the poor - enrichment, those floating - the helmsman, the weak - strength, in battle - victory and conquest, the orphans - faithful protection, widows - intercessor, virgins - protection of chastity, hopeless - hope, sick - a doctor and the dead - resurrection! You, typified by the miraculous rod of Moses, are a life-giving source, watering those thirsty for spiritual life and delighting our sorrows; You are the bed on which the Risen Conqueror of Hell rested royally for three days. For this reason, morning, evening, and noon, I glorify Thee, blessed Tree, and I pray by the will of the One who has been crucified on Thee, may He enlighten and strengthen my mind with Thee, may He open in my heart a source of more perfect love and may all my deeds and paths be overshadowed by Thee May I take out and magnify Him who is Nailed to You, for my sin, the Lord my Savior. Amen.

Troparion for the holiday

The life-giving Cross of Your goodness, which You have given to us unworthy, Lord, we offer to You in prayer, save the people and your praying city, the Mother of God, the One Lover of Mankind.

Troparion, tone 1

Save, Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, victories Orthodox Christian bestowing on the resistance, and preserving Your residence through Your cross.

Kontakion, tone 4

Having ascended to the Cross by will, grant Thy bounty to Thy new residence, O Christ God, Thy faithful people rejoice in Thy power, giving them victories as adversaries, aid to those who have Thy weapon of peace, invincible victory.

Magnification:

We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, through which You saved us from the work of the enemy.

A day of strict fasting.