The Monastery of the Holy Cross is located approximately two miles west of the Old City of Jerusalem, that is about two miles away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of the Crucifixion and burial of Christ. The monastery’s original construction dates back to the 11th century, and as its name implies, it is deeply connected to the Cross of the Crucifixion. The interesting question is: in what sense was the monastery connected to the Cross, and when and why was this connection established?
The Monastery of the Holy Cross was constructed during the early decades of the eleventh century by Georgian monks, with the support of the Georgian king. Archeological findings confirm the presence of an early Christian church at the very site of the monastery’s church, with origins dating back to the fourth or fifth century. Importantly, the dedication of the early church is unknown, as its sanctuary is not referenced in any literary sources. Only during the eleventh century did pilgrims start to make references to a church situated at this location. They consistently associated it with the Georgian community and a particular sacred spot within the church: the place where the tree, which eventually became the cross of the crucifixion, grew.
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In fact, this type of reference mirrors an Eastern Christian legend regarding the tree of the Holy Wood, which exists in various versions but fundamentally unfolds as follows:
After Lot sinned with his daughters, he was warned by an angel that he would be saved only if the three shoots he received from Abraham grew, and only if he watered them with water from the Jordan River. Lot went to the river several times to fetch water, but consistently on his return journey, he encountered the devil who consumed the water. Once the shoots were eventually irrigated, they flourished into a tree comprising three distinct species: Cedar, Cypress, and Pine. Many years later, during Solomon’s preparations for constructing the Temple, the tree was cut down for its wood, however, for some reason, the workmen ultimately chose not to use it for the Temple. Ultimately, this wood was transformed into the Cross of the Crucifixion.
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The Monastery of the Holy Cross encircles the place where Lot is said to have planted the three shoots. The very spot where the miraculous tree grew is situated today within a side chapel within the monastery’s church, adorned with murals depicting various scenes from the legend (see below the entire sequence of murals).
The Monastery of the Holy Cross, a side chapel within the monastery church, marking the place where the Holy Tree flourished (photo: P. Arad)
Notably, the earliest known written references to the Eastern Christian legend of the Holy Wood date back to the eleventh century, namely, the very period when the monastery was built. It means that the founding of the monastery coincided with the crafting of the legend, or in other words, that the legend was crafted to imbue the new monastery with religious significance, elevating its status to a sacred place, particularly one associated with Christ.
Georgian pilgrims in the Chapel of the Holy Cross, reverently kissing the spot where the Holy Tree is believed to have once flourished (photo: P. Arad)
As a matter of fact, constructing a church alongside a legend is one of the methods through which sacred sites have been established in the Holy Land since the early Christian period. Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – which stands as the earliest Christian sacred site established in Jerusalem (and the Holy Land), encompassing Christ’s tomb and Golgotha (inaugurated in 335 AD) – was established through a similar method: simultaneous to the construction of the new church, a legend emerged recounting the manner in which the location was identified as the burial cave of Christ and his Crucifixion (it was, according to the legend, through the discovery of the Holy Cross nearby, which was regarded as a ‘sign’ of the place’s authenticity). Legends of that kind guarantee the authenticity and status of churches as holy places.
The holy spot is marked by a silver disk, decorated with a cross and three spices of trees: Cedar, Cypress, and Pine. The central hole allows the faithful to both see and touch the ground from which the Holy Tree originated (photo: P. Arad)
One of the earliest references to the Monastery of the Holy Cross and to the tradition of the Holy Tree appears in the pilgrimage account of the Russian pilgrim Daniel, who visited the Holy Land in 1106. In his words:
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This place is behind the mountain, west of Jerusalem. At this place the rest of the Crucifixion was cut, to which the feet of Jesus were nailed. And this place is fenced all around, and in the middle of the encircled area a very tall church is erected, in the name of the Holy Cross, well decorated. And beneath the great altar, deep beneath the table, the stump of the True Tree is kept, covered by slabs of white marble. A small round window is cut through in front of the tree. This is the Iberian monastery – quotation in English taken from Yana Tchekhanovets, The Caucasian Archaeology of the Holy Land: Armenian, Georgian, and Albanian Communities between the Fourth and Eleventh Centuries CE (Leiden: Brill, 2018), p. 180
As Yana Tchekhanovets observes, Daniel’s description testifies to the emergence of a new tradition regarding the footrest cross-bar of the Crucifixion, which over time, evolved into the cross-tree itself, and eventually led to the development of the legendary story about the tree ab Abrahae.
The monastery church as it looks today. The mural paintings were created in the 17th century, when a notable renovation project carried out within the monastery (photo: P. Arad)
It’s important to note that the monastery church is a unique example of a church built in Jerusalem in the eleventh century and has survived intact in its original form up to our present day. As attested by the pilgrim Daniel, the church was “well decorated,” yet none of its original adornments have survived. The majority of the mural paintings visible in the church today date back to the 17th century, while the earlier layer of murals dates to the 14th century.
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The main courtyard (photo: P. Arad)
Due to its renowned scriptorium, where translations were conducted from various languages into Georgian, and numerous copies of manuscripts were produced, the Monastery of the Holy Cross became a notable Georgian intellectual center. Nevertheless, due to financial hardships in the seventeenth century, the Georgians were compelled to transfer ownership of the monastery to the Greek Patriarchate in Jerusalem, and it has remained under the possession of the Greek Patriarchate since then. With the exception of the monastery church, which, as previously mentioned, dates back to the 11th century, all other architectural elements of the monastery were constructed in subsequent centuries, particularly during the 19th century.
The primary entrance to the monastery is adorned with flags of Greece and the Greek Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre (photo: P. Arad)
Visualization of the legend of the Holy Wood within the monastery
The complete legend of the Holy Wood is portrayed through a series of nine icons, arranged in a row along the three walls of the chapel at the level of one’s gaze. The icons tell the story of the holy instrument that played a pivotal role in the Crucifixion of Christ, while also being the instrument that sanctified the very location upon which the monastery stands. In other words, the icons not only depict the legend of the Holy Wood, but also bear witness to the sanctity of the monastery and forge a connection between the monastery and the most sacred event in Christianity.
Series of icons illustrating the legend of the Holy Wood (photo: P. Arad)
The first two icons depict two episodes from the Old Testament: (1) Abraham hosting the three angels at Mamre (Gen. 18: 1–18), with each of the angels holding a rod; (2) Lot escaping from Sodom with his daughters, while his wife is transformed into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19)
1.
2.
The next icon shows Abram giving Lot three small sticks, which, according to one version of the legend, were the three rods of the angels who visited him at Mamre.
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3.
The next scene depicts Lot meeting the devil while returning from the Jordan River with water.
4.
The next three icons show Lot watering the tree, a man cutting it down, and two men carry the wood.
5. 6.
7.
The most dramatic moment is illustrated on the next two icons, showing the nailing of Christ to the cross and his Crucifixion. The icon depicting the Crucifixion is positioned above the sacred location where the tree originally grew.
8.
9.
The final icon depicts Mary of Egypt, who according to her vita (attributed to Sophronius, the seventh-century Patriarch of Jerusalem), was a prostitute in Alexandria who arrived in Jerusalem out of curiosity and was prohibited from entering the Holy Sepulchre due to her way of life. Responding to a beckoning voice, she journeyed to the desert where she dwelled in utter seclusion for the remainder of her life. I haven’t come across any mention of Mary of Egypt being included in the legend of the Holy Wood.
10.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross in art
The earliest depiction of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in art can be found in a specific type of artwork called proskynetaria – paintings on textiles that depicted the entire Holy Land and were sold to Eastern Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem during the Ottoman era. The uniqueness of the proskynetaria lies not only in their fusion of Eastern and Western traditions and iconographies, but also in the fact that they functioned as authentic evidence that their owners became Hajjis in Jerusalem. That is to say that Eastern Christianity adopted in the Ottoman era the Muslim concept and title of hajji, and that the proskynetaria were the Christian parallel to the Muslim hajji certificates.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross and the legend of the Holy Wood are significant elements in the composition as well as the fact that a unique proskynetarion was made especially for the monastery, suggests that the monastery was involved in the production of these unique pilgrimage mementos.
Proskynetarion from the Monastery of the Holy Cross, painting on textile glued to wood (170×270), made in 1770 (photo: P. Arad)
The Monastery of the Holy Cross is seen in the center of the foreground, positioned just below the scene of the crucifixion in such a way that it becomes a platform for the hill of Golgotha. This position highlights the connection between the monastery and the event of the Crucifixion, in fact, expressing the same idea that was expressed in the series of icons within the Chapel of the Holy Wood. It associates the monastery with the most sacred event in Christianity and conceptualizes it as a Christological holy place.
Pnina Arad earned her PhD in visual studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2012). Her work focuses on visual representations of the Holy Land and the cultural role they have played in different societies from the Middle Ages to the present. She is the author of Christian Maps of the Holy Land: Images and Meanings (Brepols, 2020); “Another Reconsideration of the Madaba Map,” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 47.2 (2023): 1–19; “Post-Secular Art for a Post-Secular Age: Stational Installations of the Via Dolorosa in Western Cities,” Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief 18.2 (2022): 203–227. Learn more about Prina’s research on her Academia.edu page.
Further Readings:
Pnina Arad, “Landscape and Iconicity: Proskynetaria of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Period,” The Art Bulletin 100.4 (2018): 62–80
Galit Noga-Banai, “A Pre-Altar Cross in Jerusalem? Visual Medievalism and Loca Sancta Realities in the Monastery of the Cross,” Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies 1.1 (2018): 79–102.
By Pnina Arad
The Monastery of the Holy Cross is located approximately two miles west of the Old City of Jerusalem, that is about two miles away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of the Crucifixion and burial of Christ. The monastery’s original construction dates back to the 11th century, and as its name implies, it is deeply connected to the Cross of the Crucifixion. The interesting question is: in what sense was the monastery connected to the Cross, and when and why was this connection established?
The Monastery of the Holy Cross was constructed during the early decades of the eleventh century by Georgian monks, with the support of the Georgian king. Archeological findings confirm the presence of an early Christian church at the very site of the monastery’s church, with origins dating back to the fourth or fifth century. Importantly, the dedication of the early church is unknown, as its sanctuary is not referenced in any literary sources. Only during the eleventh century did pilgrims start to make references to a church situated at this location. They consistently associated it with the Georgian community and a particular sacred spot within the church: the place where the tree, which eventually became the cross of the crucifixion, grew.
In fact, this type of reference mirrors an Eastern Christian legend regarding the tree of the Holy Wood, which exists in various versions but fundamentally unfolds as follows:
After Lot sinned with his daughters, he was warned by an angel that he would be saved only if the three shoots he received from Abraham grew, and only if he watered them with water from the Jordan River. Lot went to the river several times to fetch water, but consistently on his return journey, he encountered the devil who consumed the water. Once the shoots were eventually irrigated, they flourished into a tree comprising three distinct species: Cedar, Cypress, and Pine. Many years later, during Solomon’s preparations for constructing the Temple, the tree was cut down for its wood, however, for some reason, the workmen ultimately chose not to use it for the Temple. Ultimately, this wood was transformed into the Cross of the Crucifixion.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross encircles the place where Lot is said to have planted the three shoots. The very spot where the miraculous tree grew is situated today within a side chapel within the monastery’s church, adorned with murals depicting various scenes from the legend (see below the entire sequence of murals).
Notably, the earliest known written references to the Eastern Christian legend of the Holy Wood date back to the eleventh century, namely, the very period when the monastery was built. It means that the founding of the monastery coincided with the crafting of the legend, or in other words, that the legend was crafted to imbue the new monastery with religious significance, elevating its status to a sacred place, particularly one associated with Christ.
As a matter of fact, constructing a church alongside a legend is one of the methods through which sacred sites have been established in the Holy Land since the early Christian period. Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – which stands as the earliest Christian sacred site established in Jerusalem (and the Holy Land), encompassing Christ’s tomb and Golgotha (inaugurated in 335 AD) – was established through a similar method: simultaneous to the construction of the new church, a legend emerged recounting the manner in which the location was identified as the burial cave of Christ and his Crucifixion (it was, according to the legend, through the discovery of the Holy Cross nearby, which was regarded as a ‘sign’ of the place’s authenticity). Legends of that kind guarantee the authenticity and status of churches as holy places.
One of the earliest references to the Monastery of the Holy Cross and to the tradition of the Holy Tree appears in the pilgrimage account of the Russian pilgrim Daniel, who visited the Holy Land in 1106. In his words:
This place is behind the mountain, west of Jerusalem. At this place the rest of the Crucifixion was cut, to which the feet of Jesus were nailed. And this place is fenced all around, and in the middle of the encircled area a very tall church is erected, in the name of the Holy Cross, well decorated. And beneath the great altar, deep beneath the table, the stump of the True Tree is kept, covered by slabs of white marble. A small round window is cut through in front of the tree. This is the Iberian monastery – quotation in English taken from Yana Tchekhanovets, The Caucasian Archaeology of the Holy Land: Armenian, Georgian, and Albanian Communities between the Fourth and Eleventh Centuries CE (Leiden: Brill, 2018), p. 180
As Yana Tchekhanovets observes, Daniel’s description testifies to the emergence of a new tradition regarding the footrest cross-bar of the Crucifixion, which over time, evolved into the cross-tree itself, and eventually led to the development of the legendary story about the tree ab Abrahae.
It’s important to note that the monastery church is a unique example of a church built in Jerusalem in the eleventh century and has survived intact in its original form up to our present day. As attested by the pilgrim Daniel, the church was “well decorated,” yet none of its original adornments have survived. The majority of the mural paintings visible in the church today date back to the 17th century, while the earlier layer of murals dates to the 14th century.
Due to its renowned scriptorium, where translations were conducted from various languages into Georgian, and numerous copies of manuscripts were produced, the Monastery of the Holy Cross became a notable Georgian intellectual center. Nevertheless, due to financial hardships in the seventeenth century, the Georgians were compelled to transfer ownership of the monastery to the Greek Patriarchate in Jerusalem, and it has remained under the possession of the Greek Patriarchate since then. With the exception of the monastery church, which, as previously mentioned, dates back to the 11th century, all other architectural elements of the monastery were constructed in subsequent centuries, particularly during the 19th century.
Visualization of the legend of the Holy Wood within the monastery
The complete legend of the Holy Wood is portrayed through a series of nine icons, arranged in a row along the three walls of the chapel at the level of one’s gaze. The icons tell the story of the holy instrument that played a pivotal role in the Crucifixion of Christ, while also being the instrument that sanctified the very location upon which the monastery stands. In other words, the icons not only depict the legend of the Holy Wood, but also bear witness to the sanctity of the monastery and forge a connection between the monastery and the most sacred event in Christianity.
The first two icons depict two episodes from the Old Testament: (1) Abraham hosting the three angels at Mamre (Gen. 18: 1–18), with each of the angels holding a rod; (2) Lot escaping from Sodom with his daughters, while his wife is transformed into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19)
1.
2.
The next icon shows Abram giving Lot three small sticks, which, according to one version of the legend, were the three rods of the angels who visited him at Mamre.
3.
The next scene depicts Lot meeting the devil while returning from the Jordan River with water.
4.
The next three icons show Lot watering the tree, a man cutting it down, and two men carry the wood.
5.
6.
7.
The most dramatic moment is illustrated on the next two icons, showing the nailing of Christ to the cross and his Crucifixion. The icon depicting the Crucifixion is positioned above the sacred location where the tree originally grew.
8.
9.
The final icon depicts Mary of Egypt, who according to her vita (attributed to Sophronius, the seventh-century Patriarch of Jerusalem), was a prostitute in Alexandria who arrived in Jerusalem out of curiosity and was prohibited from entering the Holy Sepulchre due to her way of life. Responding to a beckoning voice, she journeyed to the desert where she dwelled in utter seclusion for the remainder of her life. I haven’t come across any mention of Mary of Egypt being included in the legend of the Holy Wood.
10.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross in art
The earliest depiction of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in art can be found in a specific type of artwork called proskynetaria – paintings on textiles that depicted the entire Holy Land and were sold to Eastern Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem during the Ottoman era. The uniqueness of the proskynetaria lies not only in their fusion of Eastern and Western traditions and iconographies, but also in the fact that they functioned as authentic evidence that their owners became Hajjis in Jerusalem. That is to say that Eastern Christianity adopted in the Ottoman era the Muslim concept and title of hajji, and that the proskynetaria were the Christian parallel to the Muslim hajji certificates.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross and the legend of the Holy Wood are significant elements in the composition as well as the fact that a unique proskynetarion was made especially for the monastery, suggests that the monastery was involved in the production of these unique pilgrimage mementos.
The Monastery of the Holy Cross is seen in the center of the foreground, positioned just below the scene of the crucifixion in such a way that it becomes a platform for the hill of Golgotha. This position highlights the connection between the monastery and the event of the Crucifixion, in fact, expressing the same idea that was expressed in the series of icons within the Chapel of the Holy Wood. It associates the monastery with the most sacred event in Christianity and conceptualizes it as a Christological holy place.
Pnina Arad earned her PhD in visual studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2012). Her work focuses on visual representations of the Holy Land and the cultural role they have played in different societies from the Middle Ages to the present. She is the author of Christian Maps of the Holy Land: Images and Meanings (Brepols, 2020); “Another Reconsideration of the Madaba Map,” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 47.2 (2023): 1–19; “Post-Secular Art for a Post-Secular Age: Stational Installations of the Via Dolorosa in Western Cities,” Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief 18.2 (2022): 203–227. Learn more about Prina’s research on her Academia.edu page.
Further Readings:
Pnina Arad, “Landscape and Iconicity: Proskynetaria of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Period,” The Art Bulletin 100.4 (2018): 62–80
Galit Noga-Banai, “A Pre-Altar Cross in Jerusalem? Visual Medievalism and Loca Sancta Realities in the Monastery of the Cross,” Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies 1.1 (2018): 79–102.
Yana Tchekhanovets, The Caucasian Archaeology of the Holy Land: Armenian, Georgian, and Albanian Communities between the Fourth and Eleventh Centuries CE (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 173–181.
Vassilios Tzaferis, The Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1987).
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