Discovery of the True Cross

 

A sliver of wood said to be from the cross on which Jesus died, encased in a crystal on display at St. Francis of Assisi Church. Photographed by Rich Saal for The State Journal-Register (link to source).

In 2013, a stone chest appearing to contain a piece of Jesus’ cross was discovered in a 1,350-year-old church by a group of Turkish archaeologists under excavation team leader Gülgün Köroğlu. Yet authentication of the artifact “stalled out…because the box that had contained allegedly holy objects was now – mysteriously – empty” (McKinley). The conflicting sentiments of uncertainty, incredulity, unwavering belief, and hope that proceeded this phenomenon are in no way unique to this incident. Rather, they exist as part of a larger history of the cross’ discovery that began at the time of Emperor Constantine around 325-327 CE with the excavations at Golgotha. These archeological origins illustrate not only the power of belief in the creation of history, but the ability of an archaeological finding to develop from the discovery of an object into its solidification as a religious artifact and incorporation into legend. And, therefore, they are significant in the examination of how theological meaning can supersede historical reality in terms of the current importance that relics hold.

At the time of the Golgotha excavations, Emperor Constantine’s mother, the dowager empress Helena Augusta, had embarked on a tour of the eastern provinces that ended in Jerusalem – a visit which became “shrouded in legend” as, by the middle of the fifth century, it was believed that she had supervised the excavations that occurred and “discovered the relic of the cross on which Jesus had died” (Armstrong 187). Although there is no evidence from the time of the cross’ discovery linking it to Helena, the subsequent story that developed around her journey solidified her as being the “first biblical archaeologist” (McKinley). While many of the places and artifacts that Helena identified are, from a historical perspective, unlikely to be the actual places and artifacts connected to the events that gave them significance, the belief in their connection to the divine resulted in the development of a cult of relics, sacred spaces, and practices that would inspire pilgrimages to Jerusalem from throughout the Roman Empire (Armstrong 188).

The discovery of the cross was said to have occurred due to a vision in which Helena saw the tomb of Jesus below a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, prompting Constantine’s destruction of the temple and archeological excavation in search of the tomb. The subsequent finding of crosses believed to be involved in Jesus’ crucifixion sparked debate about which belonged to Jesus and which to the thieves he was crucified alongside – an event described by Mark Twain in his book Innocents Abroad, in which he states that such uncertainty “turned the public joy to sorrow.” Here, the power of belief in archaeological discovery is made evident, as belief in the authenticity of the True Cross’ sacred power was real enough to those experiencing its discovery as to spark joy and sorrow without necessity of proof. Twain further states that in order to determine which cross was Jesus’, the three relics were taken to a sick noblewoman, who reacted in screams, swooning, and “fearful convulsions” to the first two crosses, but was healed in the presence of the third (Twain). While this story does not actually prove the validity of the identification of the True Cross, it demonstrates belief in the relic at the time of its discovery, and thus illustrates the power of belief in shaping what is regarded as sacred and recorded as history.

Despite the skeptical view later taken by many about remnants of the True Cross – as demonstrated by Twain’s tongue-in-cheek words “and behold, a miracle!” followed by “So there is really no room for doubt” – belief in, and continual discovery of, pieces of the cross would persist for centuries (Twain). In 1870, Charles Rohault de Fleury determined (from existing fragments of wood believed to be pieces of the cross) that, assuming the fragments were authentic, the True Cross was made of pine wood (McKinley). Yet later examination of other True-Cross-fragments taken from different churches showed that these fragments were made of olive wood (McKinley). While the absence of residual wood from Roman crucifixion makes it difficult to determine which type of wood might have been used at this time and thus complicates authentication of any of the fragments, however, the authenticity of these pieces of wood is less significant to many (both historically and contemporarily) than the meaning they convey. 

As Mark Goodacre, a professor at Duke University’s Department of Religion, states, “this continued emphasis on the genuineness of true cross fragments is often at the expense of the cross’s meaning” (McKinley). In other words, it matters less whether the pieces of wood examined are actual fragments of the True Cross than that these fragments are extremely significant to religious communities throughout the world, and have served as inspiration for belief and pilgrimage for centuries. Whether or not the wooden fragments were pieces of the original cross, they themselves have gained meaning and, as Goodacre states, the cross is “about the person who hung there, the wood itself in the end is just the instrument of torture” (McKinley).

 

Citations 

Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. Alfred A Knopf, 1996.

McKinley, Michael. “What’s ‘true’ about the cross that killed Jesus?” CNN, 2 Apr. 2015, https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/living/jesus-true-cross/index.html.

Twain, Mark. “The Joy of the Whole Earth.” Innocents Abroad, American Publishing Company, 1869. Project Gutenberg, 16 Aug. 2006, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3176/3176-h/3176-h.htm.

https://www.sj-r.com/story/lifestyle/faith/2014/04/18/relic-true-cross-on/37571758007/.