Cross, Exaltation of the a festival in the Roman Catholic Church, instituted in commemoration of the exaltation of the supposed cross of Christ at Jerusalem, after its recovery from the Persians. The latter, when conquering Jerusalem in 614, carried off with them the relic which, since its "invention", SEE CROSS, CHRIST'S, by the empress Helena, had been venerated as the "Holy Cross." With a view to a heavy sum of ransom, they had it sealed up by the patriarch Zacharias with the patriarchal seal, and took it to a strong castle in Armenia. When, in 627, the emperor Heraclius conquered the Persians, he stipulated in the treaty of peace for the restoration of the Holy Cross, and took it with him to Constantinople. From there, in 629 (according to others in 680), he took it himself, accompanied by a large retinue, to Jerusalem, where it was again set up with great solemnities. It is this restoration of the cross to Jerusalem which is annually commemorated on Sept. 14 in the Church of Rome as the Exaltation of the Cross. — Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. 6:268.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More