* The recovery of the [[Cross]] on which [[Jesus Christ]] was crucified from the Persians. The Persians had captured it as a prize of war in Jerusalem, and it was recovered by the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire ("Byzantine Empire"). This took place in 627 AD, when Emperor Heraclius decisively defeated the Sassanid Persians at The Battle of Nineveh, surrounding their capital Ctesiphon, recovering the [[Cross|True Cross]], and breaking the power of the Sassanid dynasty. Then on March 21, 630 AD, Emperor Heraclius entered Jerusalem amidst great rejoicing, and together with Patriarch Zacharios (609-633), transferred the Cross of Christ with great solemnity into the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)|temple of the Resurrection]], joyously held up for veneration by the Christian faithful.

==Celebration of the feast==

This is a holy day of fasting and repentance. On this day the faithful make dedication to the crucified Lord and pledge their faithfulness to him by making prostrations at the Lords feet on the life creating Cross. For the feast, the Cross is placed on a tray surrounded by flowers or branches of basil, and placed in the center of the Church for veneration.