The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross commemorates three historical events: the discovery of the True Cross in 326 AD, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335 AD, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628 AD. Nowadays, this feast also celebrates the boundless impact of Christ’s Cross upon all of creation.
The Edict of Milan, issued in 313 AD, granted religious freedom across the Roman Empire. This was a mutual agreement between Roman Emperors Constantine I in the West and Licinius in the East. However,
Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him. In 324 AD, Constantine defeated Licinius in battle and subsequently executed him on charges of conspiracy. This made Constantine the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, including Jerusalem.
In 326 AD Constantine’s mother, St Helena, a devout Christian, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to identify significant sites from Christ’s life and establish churches at those locations. In Jerusalem, she aimed to find the True Cross and to build a church over the sites of Mount Calvary and Jesus’ tomb, known as the Holy Sepulchre. According to tradition the Cross was found and a church built over the site of Calvary with the Cross being exalted on 14 September AD 335.