Скачать или смотреть A Visit to the Monastery of the Cross

The establishment of the Cross Monastery and the traditions concerning the sanctity of the place are remembered in countless legends and traditions. Most of the traditions are from the Middle Ages, a period when the monastery reached its peak, but some are earlier. One of the traditions attributes the establishment of the monastery to Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena in the fourth century. According to another tradition, possibly originating in the 18th century, the monastery was established by the Georgian king Titian in the 5th century. It is told about that king, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and decided to build a Georgian monastery in the west of Jerusalem, on land given as a gift to his ancestors by Constantine the Great. Another tradition attributes the establishment of the monastery to Justinianus, while a fourth tradition sees Heraclius as the builder of the monastery, after his return from his victorious campaign against the Persians in the seventh century. According to the same tradition, the victorious army and the king at its head gathered in the valley of the cross before entering Jerusalem. This was the place where the original tree from which the cross was made grew. That is, the same cross that Heraclius returned from the hands of the Persians to its true place. At that time, Heraclius decided to build a monastery and place of worship in honor of the Holy Cross.
According to one of the traditions, the beginning of the tree, which was used to make the cross, is in the Biblical period, in the days of Abraham our father, when God appeared before him in an oak from Mira through the three angels. The tradition adds and tells that after the angels fulfilled their mission (in Genesis 18) and headed towards Sodom, they left their staffs in Abraham's hands.
After the revolution of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's sin with his daughters (Genesis 19), Lot met Abraham, confessed his sin to him, and advised him how he could atone for his sin. Abraham gave him the three sticks that the angels left in his hands, and ordered him to plant them around Jerusalem and water them in the water of the Jordan. And if they sprout, it is a sign that God has forgiven him for his sins. Lot did as Abraham commanded. He planted the sticks in the place where the monastery is today and made sure to water them in the water of the Jordan - despite Satan's attempts to stand in his way. Immediately after he watered the sticks, they sprouted And there were three trees: pine, cypress and cedar. The legend goes on to say that the trees were cut down in the days of King Solomon, and the tree was used in the building of the temple. In any case, the wooden beams that were made from them did not fit their purpose anywhere and they were cursed and thrown aside. It was the tree from which the cross was later made.