H.H. Pope Tawadros II extended his greetings to the members of the Church on the occasion of the Feast of the Cross, which the Coptic Orthodox Church will celebrate tomorrow.

This came during the Wednesday meeting held this evening at the Church of Archangel Michael at the Papal Residence in Cairo.

In his message, His Holiness stated:
“The Church celebrates tomorrow, March 19 (10 Baramhat), the commemoration of the discovery of the Holy Cross, which always falls during the Great Lent. The Church has also arranged another annual celebration of the Cross in September, from the 17th to the 19th of Tout.”

He added: “The wood of the Cross was discovered during the days of Saint Helena and the righteous King Constantine in Jerusalem. When the Cross was discovered in the fourth century, churches around the world desired to receive relics of it; thus, parts of it were distributed among the churches, reaching approximately 1,600 pieces, two of which are in Egypt.”

Pope Tawadros further noted: “Today marks seventeen centuries since the discovery of the wood of the Cross. The Council of Nicaea was held in the fourth century (AD 325), during which the Church nearly faced division due to the Arian heresy; however, the Fathers convened and formulated the faith in the Creed.”

He explained: “This is the same faith in which we have lived since the time of Christ. In the fourth century, it was formally articulated, as the Fathers derived the Creed from the verses of Holy Bible and composed for us the Creed which we recite in every prayer.”

His Holiness continued: “As we celebrate this year the passage of seventeen centuries since the discovery of the wood of the Cross, it is as though God, at that time, wished to reward the one Church that stood firm against heresies by revealing to her the wood of the Holy Cross.”

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