The Order of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(a Historical and Liturgical Inquiry)

Abstract

A liturgical feature of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross among the other Twelve Great feasts is the Exaltation of the Cross. In liturgical practice, this rite is not universally celebrated. Usually it is performed in monasteries and cathedral churches; as for parish churches, there are some cases when it is performed, but in other churches it is not. The supporters of the practice of its performance justify it by the practice of previous years or by the example of venerable clergymen, who performed this rite in various parish churches; those who are against its performance refer in their defence to a note in the Typicon, after the statement of the rite itself, which reads: "ZRI. If not in the cathedral churches, and the Exaltation of the Cross is not, only the adoration of the Cross, as it is appointed in the 3rd week of Lent". The answer to the question as to which side is right, in other words, whether the Exaltation of the Cross should be celebrated in parish churches or not, is the task of this essay.