I hope I’m not the only one who gets the Feasts of the Cross mixed up. There are three main feasts of the Cross, and after twenty-odd years in the Orthodox Church, I still can’t keep the names straight, not to mention all the other important why’s and wherefore’s.

So I did a little research and offer the following quiz as a bit of fun and education.

(BTW, the answer to a question may be more than one feast or none of them. I thought it would be more sneaky that way.)

Your Cross Examination (ha ha)

A. This feast is celebrated on September 14: (Easy one, but I had to start somewhere.)

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

B. This can also be called The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

C. This feast is celebrated on August 1, coinciding with the start of the Dormition Fast:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

D. This is one of the 12 major feasts of the Church year:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

E. This takes place during the third Sunday of Great Lent:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

F. The troparion (or apolytikion) of this feast is “O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross, preserving Thy community.”

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

G. This feast was also traditionally the time of the blessing of the new honey collected for the year:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

H. This feast commemorates both the finding of the True Cross in 326 and its recovery from the Persians in 628.

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

I. This feast is celebrated in cathedrals and monasteries by the chanting of 500 “Lord, have mercy”s while the celebrant slowly raises and lowers the cross five times (as shown at right)

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

J. The celebration of this feast can include a procession with all the faithful following the cross:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

K. This feast commemorates the “Baptism of the Rus” in 988 and may also commemorate two decisive 12th century victories in battle:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

L. It is customary at this feast to decorate the Cross with flowers and basil leaves:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

M. Berries and berry wine are exchanged at the end of this feast:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

ANSWERS

(The answers are in red, just to keep anyone from having to scroll back and forth)

A. This feast is celebrated on September 14: (Easy one, but I had to start somewhere.)

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

B. This can also be called The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

C. This feast is celebrated on August 1, coinciding with the start of the Dormition Fast:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

D. This is one of the 12 major feasts of the Church year:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

E. This takes place during the third Sunday of Great Lent:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

F. The troparion (or apolytikion) of the feast is “O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross, preserving Thy community.”

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

Yep, it’s all of them. Well, it’s called the Apolytikion of the Cross, so it kind of figures, really.

G. This feast was also traditionally the time of the blessing of the new honey collected for the year:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

H. This feast commemorates both the finding of the True Cross in 326 and its recovery from the Persians in 628.

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

I. This feast is celebrated in cathedrals and monasteries by the chanting of 500 “Lord, have mercy”s while the celebrant slowly raises and lowers the cross five times (as shown at right)

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

I’ve only gotten to see it one time. Kind of neat.

(Later note: Oops, I may be wrong about this only being done for this feast. See Mimi’s comment HERE.)

J. The celebration of this feast can include a procession with all the faithful following the cross:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

Naturally.

K. This feast commemorates the “Baptism of the Rus” in 988 and may also commemorate two decisive 12th century victories in battle:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

L. It is customary at this feast to decorate the Cross with flowers and basil leaves:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

M. Berries and berry wine are exchanged at the end of this feast:

1. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
2. The Adoration of the Holy Cross
3. The Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross
4. none of the above

Sorry. I’m fasting in preparation for tonight’s service, and that just sounds really good to me right now.

SCORING:

• 1-3 wrong — Say! You’re a person who really knows your Feasts of the Cross!
• 4-6 wrong — Perhaps some additional prayer time would be beneficial?
• 7 or more wrong — See your spiritual father about catechism make-up classes.

Afterword: In looking into the August 1 Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross, I start to think that this one is more celebrated in the Russian Archdiocese than the Antiochian. So if you’re Antiochian, you can take all those questions off your score if you want. I am the nice one, aren’t I? But then, I’ve come back from the service now and I’m feeling beneficent.