Armenian Church Celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Today, September 14, the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Khachverats). The Exaltation of the Cross is the last of the five main Tabernacle Feasts of the Armenian Church.

It is the most important of the feasts dedicated to the Cross because it is dedicated to the memory of the return of the cross from captivity and its glorification.

In the Armenian Church, the Exaltation of the Cross is celebrated on the Sunday falling between September 11 and 17. The Holy Cross is celebrated in memory of the return of the Lord's wooden cross from Persian captivity to Jerusalem and its erection (exaltation) on Golgotha. Hence the feast is called Khachverats (Exaltation of the Cross).

In popular tradition, Khachverats or "Srbkhech" is a joyous festival symbolizing the beginning of autumn. On the eve of the feast, Saturday, women prepare pastries, and men slaughter a kid goat and prepare a roast. According to folk tradition, goat meat and pilaf with dzavar (a type of wheat) are the special dishes of that day, without which the feast cannot be complete.

In many places, Khachverats, "Srbkhech," is perceived as the advent of autumn. As the people of Kesab used to say, "Cross, take your blanket and run inside," meaning those who sleep outdoors now sleep at home.

The day after the Exaltation of the Cross is Merelots (Day of the Dead). On that day, a Holy Liturgy is celebrated in churches, a requiem service is held, after which people visit the graves of the deceased.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has the following feasts dedicated to the Holy Cross: the Apparition of the Holy Cross, the Exaltation of the Cross, the Holy Cross of Varak, and the Discovery of the Holy Cross. Three of these four are celebrated in all Christian churches, and only the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak is purely Armenian and is celebrated only in our Church.