Origin of the veneration of the cross

In the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Christians’ historical narrative, there is a part that says that the Jerusalem merchant Knai Thoma arrived in Kodungalloor in Kerala, and seeing people wearing crosses in their hair, identified them as Christians.  As this event is dated to 344 or 345CE, this narrative is often rejected as unhistorical, on the argument that veneration of the Cross began only after Emperor Constantine’s mother Helena’s discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem in 326CE.  They add that the cross was considered an instrument of shame, torture and death until then. 

St. Helena finding the Cross

Eusebius wrote his Life of Constantine’ between 337-339in which he gives an account of how Helena discovered the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem and how she got churches built in many holy sites.  We read the history of the discovery of the True Cross not from Eusebius, but from two Church subsequent historians, Socrates Scholasticus (380-c.440) and Sozomen (c.400-c.450) who give the story as we know it.

However, the argument that veneration of the cross began only with Helena’s discovery cannot be substantiated on the basis of a wide range of ancient literature on the Apostles and various other sources.  They appear to affirm that the Apostles themselves began using the sign and form of the cross as a powerful symbol of Christ, giving it sanctity and veneration in their own time, that is, well before 326AD. Consequently, it is not improbable that St. Thomas introduced this practice to the Christians in Kerala, and one which they continued, leading to the merchant Knai Thoma when he arrived in 344-5CE, seeing them wearing the cross as a badge of their religion.

The following is a brief review of some of these other sources:

1. In ancient Literature:

In numerous instances, the Apostles are seen to hold and use the sign of the cross as a symbol of Christ.  They signed the cross on themselves and on others to bless or invoke the power of Christ.

In The Contending of the Apostles (= ‘struggles of the Apostles’; translated by Wallis Budge, from a Coptic original)and The Mythological Acts of the Apostles, (translated by Agnes Smith Lewis (1904) from ancient apocryphal texts from the Syrian Monastery of St. Mary Deipara in Egypt and now in the British Museum, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai, and the Vatican Library), there are innumerable instances of the Apostles using the sign of the cross as a symbol and a memory of the Christ they were preaching. For example:

1. In an account of St. John the Apostle setting off for Ephesus, it says: “And he had a cross, and after three days he planted it on the ground before him. And John worshipped and prayed and said ‘O my Lord and my God Jesus Christ! Now thy promise to us is fulfilled.”  Lewis 1904:157
2. Of St. John working in a bath-house in Ephesus, it says: “And when they had taken away the ragged coat and rough hose, and the worn mantle in which he was wrapped, they came on a cross on his neck. And Tyrannus commanded them to take the cross from him. And when they drew nigh to him to take it from him, fire came out from the four limbs of that cross, and burnt their hands.” Lewis 1904:162.
3. And on the day of St. John’s death, it says: “Then he made the sign of the cross on his body, and said ‘Thou art with O Lord Jesus Christ, for ever.’” Lewis 1904:171.
4. Apostle St. Andrew makes the sign of the cross on a woman’s face when she was tormented by the devil. Lewis 1904:8.
5. Apostles St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew traced the cross on the face of a man possessed by evil spirits.  Lewis 1904:21
6. St. Philip cast out devils by the sign of the cross. Lewis 1904:67.
7. St. Paul signs the cross on his own face before being beheaded in Rome. Budge 1901:58.
8. St. Philip ‘drove out devils with the ‘most honourable sign of the cross’.  Budge 1901: 158

2. In the Patriarchal seat in the monastery of Al Zafran (Kurkuma dayra):

Joseph mar Dionysius, the Metropolitan of the JSOC, in his book Vishudha nadu sandarshanam describes hisjourney to Mardin in around 1865. In it he says: (p.76) 

‘In the Kurkuma dayra (Monastery of Al Zaffran), the seat of the Patriarch of Antioch, there is an arch built into the east wall of this chapel behind the altar. In the 2 sides of this arch there are 6 stones each, and there is a single stone at the top of the arch forming the key stone. On this is carved a cross.  These stones are believed to have been cut and the cross carved by the Holy Apostles. They formed the arch in the Apostle’s church in Antioch before the schism. Upon the arch are carved in relief the words in Syriac: the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  (Jesus’ words in Mathew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; andthe gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”)

‘When Antioch was attacked, the Holy Fathers removed these and ran away to Urfa and stored them there for many years. They then thought of making Mar Augin’s dayra (monastery) in Tur Abdin the seat of the Patriarch, and brought the stones there. But then the Nestorians became strong there, and began to contend that these stones belonged to their Dayra.

‘They also plotted to kill all the Syrians who would gather there on a certain feast day. Hearing this, on the night before, these stones were removed and taken to Kurkuma dayra. From that day, the Patriarch of Antioch’s seat has been in this dayra.

‘Many have died in protecting these stones.

‘Though the followers of St. Peter had to flee from the place where he had established his holy seat and Church, these stones that have been sanctified by his touch have been preserved even after 19 centuries witnessing the uninterrupted succession of his Apostolate. This is a matter of great satisfaction and delight to the Syrian Jacobites.  It is indisputable that in all respects, this is one of the foremost monuments of the Christian religion, and of those things considered holy by its heads and primates.’

3. Sources from Kerala

a) St. Thomas the Apostle

According to the Syrian Christian Ballad, the Thoma Parvam (Epic of Thoma) St. Thomas the Apostle himself is thought to have introduced the veneration of the cross in Malankara.

b)  Pukadiyil Ittoop

The historian Pukadiyil based his account of the SC on the many ancient ola documents in the possession of the SC.  On the arrival of the merchant Knai Thoma in 345AD he says: “Upon arrival, he looked about and saw Christians there who stood unwaveringly in the true confession of the Messiah and as a special mark of this wore the cross around their neck…..” (malayalathulla suriyani kristyanikalude sabhacharithram = Church-history of the Syrian Christians of Kerala. 1869 third edition 2004:113).

c) The Kandanad Chronicle

‘Following their (the Patriarch of Antioch and the Catholicos of Seleucia),  commanded to bring back information about Malankara, he (Knai Thoma) arrived in Malankara, and met with those who were made Christians by the efforts of St. Thomas the Apostle, identifying them by the cross which was their sign, and obtained from them all the information regarding their past state, and learnt from them of their sorrow for the want of priests, and deciding not to delay himself any more, quickly boarded his ship and returned to Jerusalem. (See Kandanad Grandhavari Chronicle of Kandanad Fr. J. Cheeran:2008: Part II, Chapter 2, pp.27-29, trans. by SK.)

d) The Chalakuzhy thaliyola Grandham (palm-leaf manuscript)

According to this ancient manuscript kept in the Chalakuzhy family in Kerala and now presumed lost, St Thomas established churches and erected crosses in 7 named places.  Apart from these, he also set up crosses in Aarthatt, Adavur, Aalikkam, Thiruvithamcodu. When he arrived in Niranam, it is stated that there was a commotion among the people, saying that “the man who had made the northerners wear the cross had arrived, and they decided to remove him from there”, and later, that “he established a church and erected a cross in this place (Niranam).”  (K.T. Zachariah 1973:24).

4. From the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria:

‘Theonas (16^th Patriarch of Alexandria 282-300), therefore, said to the holy Peter (the young son of a priest, blessed with the powers of the Holy spirit): “Go out to him, and drive this devil out of him.” So, Peter took a basin, and poured water into it, and presented it to the patriarch, begging him to make the sign of the cross over it; and he did so.’ 

(For a history of the Coptic Patriarchs, see:

thttps://www.tertullian.org/fathers/severus_hermopolis_hist_alex_patr_01_part1.htm#FIRST_PREFACE  )

5. From Tertullian

The theologian Tertullian who lived in the 2^nd century AD says: “When we enter our homes or go out of it, or dress ourselves, or take a bath, or take food, or go to sleep, in whatever we do we draw the sign of the cross on our foreheads.  This is not a commandment by Scriptural laws, but rather a tradition that has been taught to us, and we follow its practice.  By the sign of the cross, we confess publicly our faith in the Trinity and in the taking of the human form of our Lord, and in that way we perform this act of great blessing of our religion.” (cited in, Cardinal Gibbons: The Faith of Our Fathers 1876. Translated into Malayalam: nammude pithankkanmarude vishvasam by Fr. Thomas Inchakkalodi 1962:11.)

6. From the Scriptures

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus in his teachings is seen to lay great emphasis on the cross, using it as a metaphor for suffering, of dedication, and as a heroic symbol for the Christian who wished to follow him.

He says: “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:38) and “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt.16:  24); (Mark.8:  34). In His conversation with the rich young man, He said to him: ‘Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor… and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’ (Mark.10: 21). He also says: “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Lk.14:  27).

(For more on the cross, see: https://ukmidcopts.org/resources/spiritual-articles/veneration-of-the-cross/)

St. Paul said: ‘May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

7. The testimony of Jesus

Above all, the strongest affirmation of the validity of the SC narrative is to be seen in the story of Emperor Constantine’s conversion.

In 312, just before the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine saw “a cross of light” in the sky, along with the Greek words for “In this sign conquer.” Constantine put the sign of the cross on his soldiers’ shields before they went into battle and won a great victory, which led to the liberation of Christians from persecution, and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

From this it is clear that Jesus himself had conferred His divine power and significance on the sign of the cross, and not in 326, but 14 years prior to Helena’s discovery of the wood of the cross.

Taken together, these factors show that the veneration of the cross was begun, not in 326, but was instituted and taught by Jesus Christ during his salvific life of earth and transmitted to the Church by His Holy Apostles. While Christians have been taught to regard the concept and image of the cross as sacred from the inception of Christianity itself, St. Helena’s role was to augment this by the discovery of the wood of the cross.