True Cross

Christ CrucifiedbyGiotto,c. 1310

TheTrue Crossis said to be the realcrossthatJesus of Nazarethwascrucifiedon, according to Christian tradition.

It is related by numerous historical accounts andlegendsthatHelena,the mother of Roman EmperorConstantine the Great,recovered the True Cross at theHoly SepulchreinJerusalem,when she travelled to theHoly Landin the years 326–328. The late 4th-century historiansGelasius of CaesareaandTyrannius Rufinuswrote that while she was there, she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to have been used at the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves,DismasandGestas,who were executed with him. To one cross was affixed thetitulusbearing Jesus' name, but according to Rufinus, Helena was unsure of its legitimacy until amiraclerevealed that this was the True Cross.This event is celebrated on theliturgical calendaras theFeast of the Exaltation of the Cross(Roodmas) by theOriental Orthodox,Eastern Orthodox,Persian,Roman Catholic,Lutheran, and Anglican churches.

The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and theChurch of the Eastall claim to possessrelicsof the True Cross as objects ofveneration.Historians generally dispute the authenticity of the relics, as doProtestantand other Christian churches, who do not hold them in high regard.

Provenance

TheQueen of Shebavenerates the wood from which the Cross will be made (frescobyPiero della FrancescainSan Francesco, Arezzo).

The Golden Legend

In the Latin-speaking traditions of Western Europe, the story of the pre-Christian origins of the True Cross was well established by the 13th century when, in 1260, it was recorded byJacobus de Voragine,Bishop of Genoa,in theGolden Legend.

The Golden Legendcontains several versions of the origin of the True Cross. InThe Life of Adam,Voragine writes that the True Cross came from three trees which grew from three seeds from the "Tree of Mercy" whichSethcollected and planted in the mouth ofAdam's corpse.

In another account contained in "Of the Invention of the Holy Cross", Voragine writes that the True Cross came from a tree that grew from part of theTree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,"the tree that Adam ate of", that Seth planted on Adam's grave where it "endured there unto the time ofSolomon".Alternatively, it reached Solomon viaMoses,who used it as thestaff of Moses,andDavid,who planted it at Jerusalem. It was felled by Solomon to be a beam inhis templebut not found suitable in the end.

After many centuries, the tree was cut down and the wood used to build a bridge over which theQueen of Shebapassed on her journey to meet Solomon. So struck was she by theportentcontained in the timber of the bridge that she fell on her knees and revered it. On her visit to Solomon, she told him that a piece of wood from the bridge would bring about the replacement ofGod's covenantwith the Jewish people by a new order. Solomon, fearing the eventual destruction of his people, had the timber buried.

After fourteen generations, the wood taken from the bridge was fashioned into the Cross used tocrucifyJesus Christ.Voragine then goes on to describe its rediscovery by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine.

In theLate Middle AgesandEarly Renaissance,there was wide general acceptance of the account of the cross's history as presented by Voragine. This general acceptance is displayed in numerous artworks on the subject, culminating in one of the most famousfrescocycles of the Renaissance, theLegend of the True CrossbyPiero della Francesca,which he painted on the walls of thechancelof theChurch of San FrancescoinArezzobetween 1452 and 1466, faithfully reproducing the episodes ofThe Golden Legend.

Eastern Christianity

According to thesacred traditionof theEastern Orthodox Churchthe True Cross was made from three different types of wood:cedar,pineandcypress.This is an allusion toIsaiah 60:13:"The glory ofLebanonshall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box [cypress] together to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious. "The link between this verse and the crucifixion lies in the words" the place of my feet ", which is interpreted as referring to the footrest (Latin:suppedāneum) on which Jesus' feet were nailed and which appears on theOrthodox cross.(Compare with the Jewish concepts of theArk of the Covenantor theJerusalem Templeas being God's footstool,and the prescribedThree Pilgrimage Festivals,in Hebrewaliya la-regel,lit.ascending to the foot).

Tradition of Lot's triple tree

A further tradition holds that these three trees from which the True Cross was constructed grew together in one spot. A traditional OrthodoxicondepictsLot,the nephew ofAbraham,watering the trees.According to tradition, these trees were used to construct theTemple in Jerusalem( "to beautify the place of my sanctuary" ). Later, duringHerod'sreconstruction of the Temple,the wood from these trees was removed from the Temple and discarded, eventually being used to construct the cross on which Jesus was crucified ( "and I will make the place of my feet glorious" ).

Empress Helena and the Cross

The Finding of the True Cross,Agnolo Gaddi,Florence, 1380

Eusebius

TheLife of ConstantinebyEusebius of Caesarea(died 339) is the earliest and main historical source on the rediscovery of theTomb of Jesusand the construction of the first church at the site, but does not mention anything concerning the True Cross.Eusebius describes how the site of theHoly Sepulchre,once a site of veneration for the early Christian Church inJerusalem,had been covered over with earth and atempleofVenushad been built on top. Although Eusebius does not say as much, this would probably have been done as part ofHadrian's reconstruction of Jerusalem as a new pagan city,Aelia Capitolina,after 130, following the destruction of the formerly Jewish city at the end of theJewish Revoltin the year 70, and in connection withBar Kokhba's revoltof 132–135. Following his conversion to Christianity, EmperorConstantineordered in about 325–326 that the site be uncovered and instructedMacarius,Bishop of Jerusalem, to build a church on the site. Eusebius' work contains details about the demolition of the pagan temple and the erection of the church, but does not mention anywhere the finding of the True Cross.

Socrates Scholasticus

The three crosses are discovered. An injured young man is healed by the True Cross. Fifteenth-century frescoes at the Church ofSan Francesco, ArezzobyPiero della Francesca.

In hisEcclesiastical History,nearly a century after Eusebius,Socrates Scholasticus(bornc. 380) gives a description of the discovery later repeated bySozomenandTheodoret.In it he describes howHelena Augusta,Constantine's aged mother, had the pagan temple destroyed and the Sepulchre uncovered, whereupon three crosses, thetitulus,and thenailsfrom Jesus's crucifixion were uncovered as well. In Socrates's version of the story, Macarius had the three crosses placed in turn on a deathly ill woman. This woman recovered at the touch of the third cross, which was taken as a sign that this was the cross of Christ, the new Christian symbol. Socrates also reports that, having also found the cross's nails, Helena sent these toConstantinople,where they were incorporated into the emperor's helmet and the bridle of his horse.

Sozomen

In hisEcclesiastical History,Sozomen(diedc. 450) gives essentially the same version as Socrates. Without further attribution, he also adds that it was said that the location of the Sepulchre was "disclosed by a Hebrew who dwelt in the East and who derived his information from some documents which had come to him by paternal inheritance" —although Sozomen himself disputes this account—so that a dead person was also revived by the touch of the Cross.Later popular versions of this story state that the Jew who assisted Helena was named Jude or Judas but later converted to Christianity and took the nameKyriakos.

Theodoret

The proving of the True Cross, Jean Colombe in theTrès Riches Heures

Theodoret(diedc. 457) in hisEcclesiastical HistoryChapter xvii gives what would become the standard version of the finding of the True Cross:

When the empress beheld the place where the Saviour suffered, she immediately ordered the idolatrous temple, which had been there erected, to be destroyed, and the very earth on which it stood to be removed. When the tomb, which had been so long concealed, was discovered, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord's sepulchre. All held it as certain that one of these crosses was that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the other two were those of the thieves who were crucified with Him. Yet they could not discern to which of the three the Body of the Lord had been brought nigh, and which had received the outpouring of His precious Blood. But the wise and holy Macarius, the president of the city, resolved this question in the following manner. He caused a lady of rank, who had been long suffering from disease, to be touched by each of the crosses, with earnest prayer, and thus discerned the virtue residing in that of the Saviour. For the instant this cross was brought near the lady, it expelled the sore disease, and made her whole.

With the Cross were also found theHoly Nails,which Helena took with her back to Constantinople. According to Theodoret, "She had part of the cross of our Saviour conveyed to the palace. The rest was enclosed in a covering of silver, and committed to the care of the bishop of the city, whom she exhorted to preserve it carefully, in order that it might be transmitted uninjured to posterity."

Syriac tradition

Another popular ancient version from theSyriactradition replaced Helena with a fictitious first-century empress named Protonike, who is said to be the wife of emperorClaudius.This story, which originated in Edessa in the 430s,was transmitted in the so-calledDoctrina Addai,which was believed to be written byThaddeus of Edessa(Addai in Syriac texts), one of the seventy disciples.The narrative retrojected the Helena version to the first century. In the story, Protonike traveled to Jerusalem after she metSimon Peterin Rome.She was shown around the city byJames, brother of Jesus,until she discovered the cross after it healed her daughter of some illness.She then converted to Christianity and had a church built onGolgotha.Aside from the Syriac tradition, the Protonike version was also cited byArmeniansources.

Catholic commemoration

According to the 1955 Roman Catholic Marian Missal, Helena went to Jerusalem to search for the True Cross and found it 14 September 320. In the 8th century, the Feast of the Finding was transferred to 3 May and 14 September became the celebration of the "Exaltation of the Cross",the commemoration of a victory over thePersiansby theByzantineemperorHeraclius,as a result of which the relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem.

The True Cross in Jerusalem

Late antiquity

The silver reliquary that was left at theBasilica of the Holy Sepulchrein care of the bishop of Jerusalem was exhibited periodically to the faithful. In the 380s a nun namedEgeriawho was travelling onpilgrimagedescribed the veneration of the True Cross at Jerusalem in a long letter known as herItinerary(Latin:Itinerarium Egeriae), which she sent back to her convent:

Then a chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha behind the [liturgical] Cross, which is now standing; the bishop duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table covered with a linen cloth is placed before him; the deacons stand round the table, and a silver-gilt casket is brought in which is the holy wood of the Cross. The casket is opened and [the wood] is taken out, and both the wood of the Cross and thetitleare placed upon the table. Now, when it has been put upon the table, the bishop, as he sits, holds the extremities of the sacred wood firmly in his hands, while the deacons who stand around guard it. It is guarded thus because the custom is that the people, both faithful and catechumens, come one by one and, bowing down at the table, kiss the sacred wood and pass through. And because, I know not when, some one is said to have bitten off and stolen a portion of the sacred wood, it is thus guarded by the deacons who stand around, lest any one approaching should venture to do so again. And as all the people pass by one by one, all bowing themselves, they touch the Cross and the title, first with their foreheads and then with their eyes; then they kiss the Cross and pass through, but none lays his hand upon it to touch it. When they have kissed the Cross and have passed through, a deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon and the horn from which the kings were anointed; they kiss the horn also and gaze at the ring...

Before long, but perhaps not until after the visit of Egeria, it was possible also to venerate thecrown of thorns,the pillar at which Christ was scourged, and thelancethat pierced his side.

The Perso-Byzantine Wars

TheSassanidEmperorKhosrau II( "Chosroes" ) removed the part of the cross held in Jerusalem as a trophy after hecaptured the cityin 614. Thirteen years later, in 628, theByzantineemperorHeracliusdefeated Khosrau and regained the relic fromShahrbaraz.He placed the cross in Constantinople at first, before restoring it to Jerusalem on 21 March 630.Some scholars disagree with this narrative, withConstantin Zuckermangoing as far as to suggest that the True Cross was actually lost by the Persians and that the wood contained in the allegedly still sealed reliquary brought to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629 was a fake. In his analysis, the hoax was designed to serve the political purposes of both Heraclius and his former foe, recently turned ally and father-in-law, the Persian general and soon-king Shahrbaraz.

Islamic rule and the Crusades

Reliquaryof the True Cross at theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre,Jerusalem

When Jerusalemfell to the Muslimsin 638, Heraclius retrieved the True Cross but did not attempt to retake the city.

Around 1009, the year in whichFatimid caliphAl-Hakim bi-Amr Allahordered thedestruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,Christians in Jerusalem hid part of the cross and it remained hidden until the city was taken by the European soldiers of theFirst Crusade.Arnulf Malecorne,the firstLatin patriarch of Jerusalem,had the Greek Orthodox priests who were supposedly in possession of the Cross tortured in order to reveal its location.The relic that Arnulf recovered was a small fragment of wood embedded in a golden cross, and it became the most sacred relic of theKingdom of Jerusalem,with none of the controversy that had followed their discovery of theHoly LanceinAntioch.Displayed in a jewel-encrusted housing of gold and silver, it was housed in a northern chapel at theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre,overseen by itscanonsand protected by itsknights.A second chapel beside it was overseen by theSyrian Orthodoxand displayed another reliquary holding their fragment of the cross.The Latin fragment of the cross was repeatedly carried into battle against the Muslims.

Over the course of eachliturgical calendar,the Latin patriarch would oversee mass at the various churches around Jerusalem corresponding to the part of Jesus's life being celebrated. The celebrations ofHoly Weekclosely involved the Holy Sepulchre and its fragment of the True Cross. Duringlaudson eachGood Friday,the Latin relic was carried across the church to the chapel ofCalvaryon its south side, the supposed site of Jesus's crucifixion, and then venerated by the barefoot patriarch, the sepulchre's canons, and the assembled pilgrims untilsext.Prior to the liturgy onHoly Saturday,four pilgrims selected by the patriarch—preceded by athuriferand 2acolytes—carried the Latin relic from its chapel to theediculeof the Holy Sepulchre while the congregation waited with unlit candles. A New Fire would "spontaneously" light within the sepulchre. The crossbearer then would light his own candle from it, transit the entire church, and light the candle of the waiting patriarch. The candles of the canons and then the congregation were then lit from one to another, gradually filling the church with light.

AfterKing BaldwinIof Jerusalem presentedKing SigurdIofNorwaywith a splinter of the True Cross following theNorwegian Crusadein 1110, the Cross was captured bySaladinduring theBattle of Hattinin 1187. While some Christian rulers likeRichard the LionheartofEngland,theByzantine emperorIsaacII,andQueen TamarofGeorgiasought to ransom it from Saladin,the cross was not returned. In 1219 the True Cross was offered to the Knights Templar by Al-Kamil in exchange for lifting the siege ofDamietta.The cross was never delivered as Al-Kamil did not, in fact, have it. Subsequently the cross disappeared from historical records. The True Cross was last seen in the city of Damascus.

21st-century status

The Greek Orthodox church presents a small True Cross relic shown in the Greek Treasury within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the foot ofGolgotha.The Syriac Orthodox Church also claims a small relic of the True Cross (held in theMonastery of Saint Markin Jerusalem),as does theArmenian Apostolic Church(in Armenia).According to the 15th-centuryBook of Ṭeff Grains,theemperorDawitIreceived four fragments of the True Cross around the year 1400 fromCoptic Christiansas thanks for his protection.TheEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churchclaims these relics are still held at either Egziabher Ab or Tekle Maryam, two monasteries near the former imperial cemetery onAmba Geshen.

Dispersion of relics

An inscription of 359 found at Tixter, in the neighbourhood of Sétif inMauretania(in today Algeria), was said to mention, in an enumeration of relics, a fragment of the True Cross, according to an entry inRoman Miscellanies,X, 441.

Fragments of the Cross were broken up, and the pieces were widely distributed; in 348, in one of hisCatecheses,Cyril of Jerusalem remarked that the "whole Earth is full of the relics of the Cross of Christ" and, in another, "The holy wood of the Cross bears witness, seen among us to this day, and from this place now almost filling the whole world, by means of those who in faith take portions from it."Egeria's account testifies to how highly these relics of the crucifixion were prized.John Chrysostomrelates that fragments of the True Cross were kept in golden reliquaries, "which men reverently wear upon their persons." Even two Latin inscriptions around 350 from today's Algeria testify to the keeping and admiration of small particles of the cross.Around the year 455,JuvenalPatriarch of Jerusalemsent toPope Leo Ia fragment of the "precious wood", according to theLettersof Pope Leo. A portion of the cross was taken to Rome in the seventh century byPope Sergius I,who was of Byzantine origin. "In the small part is power of the whole cross", says aninscriptionin the FelixBasilicaofNola,built by bishop Paulinus at the beginning of 5th century. The cross particle was inserted in the altar.

TheOld EnglishpoemDream of the Roodmentions the finding of the cross and the beginning of the tradition of the veneration of its relics. TheAnglo-Saxon Chroniclealso talks of King Alfred receiving a fragment of the cross from Pope Marinus (see: Annal Alfred the Great, year 883).Although it is possible, the poem need not be referring to this specific relic or have this incident as the reason for its composition. However, there is a later source that speaks of a bequest made to the 'Holy Cross' atShaftesbury Abbeyin Dorset; Shaftesbury abbey was founded by King Alfred, supported with a large portion of state funds and given to the charge of his own daughter when he was alive—it is conceivable that if Alfred really received this relic, that he may have given it to the care of the nuns at Shaftesbury.

Most of the very small relics of the True Cross in Europe came fromConstantinople.The city was captured and sacked by theFourth Crusadein 1204. TheChronica Regia Coloniensisrelates that "After the conquest of the city Constantinople inestimable wealth was found: incomparably precious jewels and also a part of the cross of the Lord, which Helena transferred from Jerusalem and [which] was decorated with gold and precious jewels. There it attained [the] highest admiration. It was carved up by the present bishops and was divided with other very precious relics among the knights; later, after their return to the homeland, it was donated to churches and monasteries."The French knightRobert de Clariwrote that "within this chapel were found many precious relics; for therein were found two pieces of the True Cross, as thick as a man's leg and afathomin length. "

The misplacement of which particular class relics of the Holy Cross (and others in general)belong to,either as a result of confusion or exaggeration; and the outrightforgery of relics,was a recurring controversy during theMedieval Age.This happened, often in order to attractpilgrims;or even to facilitate the lucrative practice ofSimony.

By the end of the Middle Ages so manychurchesclaimed to possess relics of the True Cross, thatJohn Calvinis famously said to have remarked that there was enough wood in them to fill a ship:

There is no abbey so poor as not to have a specimen. In some places there are large fragments, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poitiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all the pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load. Yet the Gospel testifies that a single man was able to carry it.

— Calvin,Traité Des Reliques

Conflicting with this is the finding ofCharles Rohault de Fleury,who, in hisMémoire sur les instruments de la Passionof 1870 made a study of the relics in reference to the criticisms of Calvin andErasmus.He drew up a catalogue of all known relics of the True Cross showing that, in spite of what various authors have claimed, the fragments of the Cross brought together again would not reach one-third that of a cross which has been supposed to have been three or four metres (9.8 or 13.1 feet) in height, with transverse branch of two metres (6.6 feet) wide, proportions not at all abnormal. He calculated: supposing the Cross to have been of pine-wood (based on his microscopic analysis of the fragments) and giving it a weight of about seventy-five kilogrammes, we find the original volume of the cross to be 0.178 cubic metres (6.286 cubic feet). The total known volume of known relics of the True Cross, according to his catalogue, amounts to approximately 0.004 cubic metres (0.141 cubic feet) (more specifically 3,942,000 cubic millimetres), leaving a volume of 0.174 m³(6.145 cu ft), almost 98%, lost, destroyed, or from which is otherwise unaccounted.Four cross particles – of ten particles with surviving documentary provenances by Byzantine emperors – from European churches, i.e.Santa Crocein Rome,Caravaca de la Cruz,Notre Dame,Paris,Pisa CathedralandFlorence Cathedral,were microscopically examined. "The pieces came all together from olive."It is possible that many alleged pieces of the True Cross areforgeries,created by travelling merchants in the Middle Ages, during which period a thriving trade in manufactured relics went on.

Smyrnakis notes that the largest surviving portion, of 870,760 cubic millimetres, is preserved in the Monastery ofKoutloumousiouonMount Athos,and also mentions the preserved relics inRome(consisting of 537,587 cubic millimetres), inBrussels(516,090 cubic millimetres), inVenice(445,582 cubic millimetres), inGhent(436,450 cubic millimetres) and inParis(237,731 cubic millimetres).

Santo Toribio de Liébanain Spain is also said to hold the largest of these pieces and is one of the most visited Roman Catholicpilgrimagesites. In Asia, the only place where the other part of the True Cross is located is in theMonasterio de TarlacatSan Jose, Tarlac,Philippines.

TheEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churchalso claims to have the right wing of the true cross buried in the monastery of Gishen Mariam. This piece was gifted by theVenetian Republicto theEthiopian Empirein the medieval period and remained in theAtse Emperor'spersonal possession into the 18th century, even being lost in battle, before being buried atopAmba Geshen.

In 2016, a relic of True Cross held byWaterford Cathedralin Ireland, wasradiocarbon datedto the 11th century byOxford University.

In February 2020, theSevastopoldistrict archpriest Sergiy Khalyuta said that a piece of the True Cross was bought by a donor, and was to be placed on board the Russian missile cruiserMoskva,which has a chapel on board.The shipsank in April 2022during theRussian invasion of Ukraine.After the sinking, there was speculation that the fragment may have gone down with the ship.

• 
  An enamelled silver reliquary of the True Cross from Constantinople,c. 800
• 
  One of the largest purported fragments of theTrue Crossis atSanto Toribio de Liébanain Spain (photo by F. J. Díez Martín)
• 
  A "Kreuzpartikel"or fragment ofTrue Crossin theSchatzkammer (Vienna)
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  Fragments of True Cross in the Serbian Orthodox Monastery ofVisoki Dečani

Veneration

A relic of the True Cross being carried in procession through the Piazza San Marco, Venice.Gentile Bellini15th century.

John Chrysostomwrote homilies on the three crosses:

Kings removing their diadems take up the cross, the symbol of their Saviour's death; on the purple, the cross; in their prayers, the cross; on their armour, the cross; on the holy table, the cross; throughout the universe, the cross. The cross shines brighter than the sun.

TheCatholic Church,theEastern Orthodox Church,Oriental Orthodox Church,theAnglican Communion,and a number ofProtestantdenominations, celebrate theFeast of the Exaltation of the Crosson September 14, the anniversary of the dedication of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.In later centuries, these celebrations also included commemoration of the rescue of the True Cross from thePersiansin 628. In theGalicianusage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3. According to theCatholic Encyclopedia,when the Galician and Roman practices were combined, the September date, for which the Vatican adopted the official name "Triumph of the Cross" in 1963, was used to commemorate the rescue from the Persians and the May date was kept as the "Invention of the True Cross" to commemorate the finding.The September date is often referred to in the West asHoly Cross Day;the May date (see alsoRoodmas) was dropped from theliturgical calendarof the Catholic Church in 1960 when theRoman Breviarywas reformed byPope John XXIII.The Orthodox still commemorate both events on September 14,one of theTwelve Great Feastsof theliturgical year,and theProcession of the Venerable Wood of the Crosson 1 August, the day on which the relics of the True Cross would be carried through the streets ofConstantinopleto bless the city.

In addition to celebrations on fixed days, there are certain days of thevariable cyclewhen the Cross is celebrated. The Catholic Church has a formal Adoration of the Cross during the services forGood Friday.In Eastern Orthodox churches everywhere, a replica of the cross is brought out in procession duringMatinsofGreat and Holy Fridayfor the people to venerate. The Orthodox also celebrate an additional Veneration of the Cross on the third Sunday ofGreat Lent.

Image gallery

• 
  Reliquary of the True Cross atNotre Damein Paris
• 
  Base of the reliquary with one of theHoly Nails
• 
  A second reliquary with another nail at Notre Dame
• 
  A reliquary of the True Cross from the formerPremonstratensian monasteryin Rüti, Switzerland

See also

• Gospel of Nicodemus,apocryphal text
• Holy Grail,motif from the Arthurian literature
• Holyrood (cross)
• Île de la Cité
• Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
• Stavelot Triptych
• Tree of Jesse
• Relics associated with Jesus
  • Arma Christi
  • Holy Chalice,chalice used at the Last Supper
  • Holy LanceandHoly Sponge
  • Shroud of Turin
  • Titulus Crucis
  • Holy Prepuce

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Further reading

• Deuffic, Jean-Luc, ed. (2005),Reliques et Sainteté dans l'Espace Médiéval(in French), Pecia, archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-17.
• Frolow, A. (1961),La Relique de la Vraie Croix: Recherches sur le Développement d'un Culte(in French), Paris: Institut français d'études byzantines.
• Murray, Alan V. (1998), "Mighty against the Enemies of Christ: The Relic of the True Cross in the Armies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem",The Crusades and Their Sources: Essays Presented to B. Hamilton,Aldershot, pp. 217–238.
• Olmi, Massimo (2015),Indagine sulla Croce di Cristo(in Italian), Torino: La Fontana di Siloe.
• Olmi, Massimo (2018),I Segreti delle Reliquie Bibliche(in Italian), Rome: XPublishing.

External links

• Fernand Cabrol, "The true Cross":a Catholic view
• Relic of the True Cross in Wrocław, PolandArchived2016-05-21 at theWayback Machine