In the Shadow of the Cross: The Holy Cross and Our Armenian History

Two special events are also remembered during the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  One is the re-discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (the mother of the Emperor Constantine) in the 4th century.  The other occurred in the early 6th century, after the True Cross had been carried away following the Persian conquest of Jerusalem.  The Persians were ultimately defeated, and the Cross was returned to the Holy City.  These events transpired in and near our homeland, with the full participation of Armenian soldiers.

This latter episode is a source of great national pride for us as a khachagir -- or "cross-bearing" -- nation.  For over the centuries, Armenians have borne Christ's cross with faith, hope and love.  What was once an instrument of torture and death -- comparable to the modern electric chair -- became for us Christians the symbol of salvation, and victory over death.

Naturally, to those with no faith, our veneration for the cross makes no sense at all.  They cannot understand how so base an instrument could be at the center of our worship, on our churches and altars.  But we see in the cross the instrument on which our Lord sacrificed Himself in order to cleanse mankind of its sins.  The cross for us is the instrument of life: a divine sign that shows the power of life over death.  It is for this reason that Christians throughout the world venerate the Holy Cross.

Throughout our history, we Armenians have lived in the shadow of the cross.  Armenians were (and still are) geographically situated on the "leading edge" of the Christian world.  Having suffered for our faith in Christ, we have also shared in the passion of His Crucifixion.  No wonder, then, that the cross would become pre-eminent among our national emblems, appearing on the domes and walls of our churches, on our altars, in our homes -- even erupting out of the Armenian landscape, as stone khachkars.

Imagine the impact this sign must have had on the minds of our ancestors in the Middle Ages!  Everywhere they turned, the sign of the cross confronted their eyes -- in overt but also rather subtle ways.

Our churches have cruciform plans, and our priests bless their congregations with crosses.  We put chaplets with crosses on the heads of those making the marriage vow.  Babies -- both boys and girls -- are given crosses at the time of baptism.  We also give those children names like "Khachig" and "Khachadoor" (in medieval times, our ancestors used feminine forms of these as well).  We even trace the lines of the invisible cross etched into the very architecture of the human body, when we make the Sign of the Cross.

Why did our ancestors surround themselves with crosses?  Perhaps because they understood that, human nature being what it is, all of us are prone to making the wrong choices.  So, in anticipation of their own moments of fateful decision, they dotted the landscape with crosses, to unavoidably remind themselves of "the power of God."  To view the cross as a sign of God's power is not simply to recall that He is watching us, knows the secrets of our hearts, and will judge us accordingly (although this, of course, is true).  But more significantly, the cross is our evidence that God has used -- and will use -- His power to help us in our times of trial: that through His son, He has stretched forth His hand to mankind as a whole, and to every human individual, to redeem us, guide us, support us -- and make us worthy of His kingdom, in spite of our mortal tendency to defy Him.

The Armenians of old took this power very seriously.  One of their favorite sayings was: Sourp Khachn yeghitsi eents oknagan -- "Let the Holy Cross be my support."  We today could benefit from their wisdom, by keeping our own thoughts focused on the mystery of the Holy Cross.

Such veneration should not be confused with idolatry.  We worship the idea or the mystery behind the Holy Cross.  Our expectation and hope from the sign of the cross is a reflection of our faith in the Resurrection of Christ.  The presence of that sign at every stage and every turn in our lives reminds us that His blood was shed over the original cross, to free us as individuals from our sins.  As frequently as we confront a cross, we must be aware of the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf.  More to the point, we must consider why that sacrifice was necessary -- and what is required from us in response.

During times of adversity and upheaval, the Holy Cross has been the most powerful support for the Armenian flock of Christ.  And in times of peace, too, the sign of the Holy Cross has been -- and is -- our most abundant source of consolation.  The cross casts its shadow over our lives -- but it also sheds light, healing old wounds, and illuminating before us the way to God's kingdom.  It guides us along a path of righteousness, whose ultimate destination is victory over the ills of the world.

-- Fr. Krikor Maksoudian & Christopher H. Zakian