page_title: True Cross
hierarchical_section_title: True Cross
caption_attribution_description: Giotto, fresco from Scrovegni Chapel, Crucifixion
context_page_description: The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by the tradition of some Christian churches, are said to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.
  According to post-Nicene historians such as Socrates of Constantinople, Empress Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, travelled to the Holy Land in 326–328, founding churches and establishing relief agencies for the poor. Historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Rufinus claimed that she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to have been used at the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him. To one cross was affixed the titulus bearing Jesus's name, but Helena was not sure until a miracle revealed that this was the True Cross.
  Many churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition alleged to be those of the True Cross. While the bulk of Roman Catholic and Orthodox believers recognize them as genuine pieces of the cross of Christ, their authenticity is disputed by other Christians, mainly Protestants.
context_section_description: The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by the tradition of some Christian churches, are said to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.
  According to post-Nicene historians such as Socrates of Constantinople, Empress Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, travelled to the Holy Land in 326–328, founding churches and establishing relief agencies for the poor. Historians Gelasius of Caesarea (died 395) and Rufinus (344/45-411) claimed that she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to have been used at the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him. To one cross was affixed the titulus bearing Jesus's name, but Helena was not sure until a miracle revealed that this was the True Cross.
  Many churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition alleged to be those of the True Cross. While the bulk of Roman Catholic and Orthodox believers recognize them as genuine pieces of the cross of Christ, their authenticity is disputed by other Christians, mainly Protestants. In 2016 a fragment held by Waterford cathedral was tested by Oxford University radiocarbon experts and found to date from the 11th century, a period during which forged relics were common.
  The acceptance and belief of the True Cross tradition of the early Christian Church is generally restricted to the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and the Church of the East. The medieval legends that developed concerning the provenance of the True Cross differ between Catholic and Orthodox tradition.
caption: Christ crucified, painted by Giotto, circa 1310
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