Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak (Varaka Khach)

Unique to the Armenian Church, this feast celebrates the burial, in the 3rd  century, of an authentic relic of the cross by the nun Hripsime.  Hripsime buried the relic to protect it from the soldiers of Emperor Constantine who were pursuing her. 

Centuries later, a monk by the name of Todik had a dream of a church with 12 pillars on Mount Varak, in the center of which was a radiant cross.  The cross then came to rest over the altar of the Monastery of Varak, where the monk Todik discovered the cross relic.  When told of Todik’s dream, Catholicos Nersess (the Builder) came to Varak, verified the relic’s authenticity, and established a feast in honor of the discovery.

The Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak is celebrated on the nearest Sunday to Sept. 28, always two weeks after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  The Holy Cross is recognized as the symbol of salvation for all Christians and there are three important feast days associated with the cross.  September 11, we celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Two special events are remembered during the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  One is the re-discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine) in the 4th century.  The other occurred in the early 6th century, after the True Cross had been carried away following the Persian conquest of Jerusalem.  The Persians were ultimately defeated, and the Cross was returned to the Holy City.  These events took place in and near Armenia, with the full participation of Armenian soldiers.

Armenians consider themselves a khachagir (or cross-bearing) nation.  Over the centuries, Armenians have borne Christ’s cross with faith, hope and love, seeing it as the symbol of salvation and victory over death. It appears on the domes and walls of our churches, on our altars, in our homes—even erupting out of the Armenian landscape as stone khachkars.  Imagine the impact this sign must have had on the minds of our ancestors.  Everywhere they turned, the sign of the cross confronted them, a reminder of their Christian faith.