True Cross

Rare card · No. 47415

In some Christian churches, the term True Cross refers to any relic that is claimed to be part the original wooden cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. There is no evidence that any particular relic is an actual part of the original cross. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, as well as denominations of the Church of the East, have all claimed to possess relics of the True Cross as objects of veneration. Historians generally dispute the authenticity of the relics, as do Protestant and other Christian churches, who do not hold them in as high regard. Some fourth-century historians and certain Christian legends claim that Helena, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, recovered the True Cross at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem when she travelled to the Holy Land in the years 326–328. The late fourth-century historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Tyrannius Rufinus wrote that while Helena was there, she discovered the hiding place of three...

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