True Cross of Christ

The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Catholic Church tradition, are said to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

According to post-Nicene historians such as Socrates of Constantinople, the Empress St. Helena, mother of St. Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, travelled to the Holy Land in 326–28, founding churches and establishing relief agencies for the poor. Historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Rufinus claimed that she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to be used at the crucifixion of Jesus and of two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him; to one cross was affixed the titulus bearing Jesus' name, but St. Helena was not sure until a miracle revealed that that cross was the True Cross.

Many churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition alleged to be those of the True Cross. Their authenticity is not accepted by all Christians, mainly Protestants; however the bulk of Roman Catholic and Orthodox believers recognize them as genuine pieces of the cross of Christ. The acceptance and belief of that part of the tradition that pertains to the early Christian Church is generally restricted to the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and the Church of the East. The medieval legends that developed concerning its provenance differ between Catholic and Orthodox tradition. These churches honour Helena as a saint, as does also the Anglican Communion.

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