Ever wonder where the adoration of the cross on Good Friday comes from? Wonder why we kiss the cross? I did too, but luckily the topic was covered in one of my classes recently. Here’s what I found out:

Apparently a woman named Egeria who was from France took a journey to the Holy Land from 384-386 AD. She toured the back country of Jerusalem and was on a journey to see all of the holy places.

She was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday where she describes the liturgy. She said they were kissing the cross at their liturgy (much like we do today). The catch was that they thought it was the actual cross of Jesus. By this time in history there were a few crosses going around the Holy Land and Europe as being the real cross, but the people at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were sure the one they had was the real one. Apparently someone took a bite out of it too.

Constantine’s mother, Helena, was the one who got a hold of the true cross and they venerated it here on Good Friday.

That’s what i know in a nutshell. Feel free to correct me or add to the story! ” title=”Smile” />