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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1902)
Romantic History of the True Cross 1 mmnt.H or noi one Deuovcs mat I the Cross of Christ was ever dis- which for centuries the world ac cented without question as the true cross Is one of the most fascinating In all history, especially at Easter time. Kor nearly a thousand years that piece cf wood was the focus of the Christian world. Vows of faith were made upon it. pilgrims Innumerable, through many gen erations, knelt before it In adoration; thou sands upon thousands died to rescue it from th.1 hands of 1 lis Infidel. Kings re signed their thrones to rescue and defend it and when, at last, under the conquering Saladin, it disappeared forevcT from view, a mighty cry of anguish went up all over the Christian world. Numberliss fragments alleged to be lilts of the true cross nre still in existence and the Church of Santa Croce at Florence pos ses::, s th inscription which was intrusted to It by Constant ine. Contrary to the gen eral idea, these fragments, if all gathered together, wculd form but an Insignificant lit cf wood. Nearly all of them are so minute that they can scarcely be teen by the naked eye. They are mostly Indus d In large and imposing reliquaries ami Ic- ause of their size the impn ssien has gom abroad that the alleged parts cf the mi en ss extant today would make many crosses If brought togeth r. 'I lie Discovery iif the Crn. The main section of the wood long knawn as the true cross was lost at Jerusalem. The faith of men in tin- verity of that wool shaped the history of Europe and changed the whole course of eveuls in Christendom for centuries. On or about May 3, in the year 320, Helena, the mother of Constantine, Is re ported to have made the discovery. Tin story runs that this venerable woman vis ited the Holy Land in her "'.'th year and was guided to the site of Calvary by an aged Jew, who had treasured up all the traditions which th' anti-Christian ani mosity of Jerusalem's heathen conquerors had failed entirely to obliterate. An exca vation was made and at a considerable dcDth three crosses wire found. With them, but lying apart by Itself, was the itle placed by Pilate's command on the ross of Christ. According to some church authorities, however, among others Chrysostom and Ambrose, the title or part of It remained attached to the cross of Christ and this distinguished it from the crosses of the thieves which had been buried with it. Others hold, and this is the generally ac cepted version among Roman Catholics, that at the Instigation of Marcarius, bishop cf Jerusalem, the three crosses were car ried to the bedside of an Invalid woman and applied singly to the patient, who was cured by the touch of one of them. It was, therefore, selected as the cross that had been dyed with the blood of the Savior. The greater part of the cross thus vin dicated was deposited in a church built upon the site of the discovery. Here it was enshrined In a splendid silver case. Helena took the remainder to her son In Constantinople, whence a portion was sent bv Constantine to Rome. Now whether Helena discovered the true cross or not Is a question involving much argumentation which cannot be entered into here. The wood was accepted as the true cross of Christ and was so venerated for centuries, as the fragments still left are venerated today. A fistlval commemo rating the discovery is celebrated by the Latin and Greek churches every year on May 3. For 300 years the principal portion of the wood obtained by Helena In Jerusalem and known as the Vera Crux (the True Cross), jyts kept in the custody of the bishop of Jerusalem ana was exhibited every Easter Sunday to the pilgrims who thronged the Holy City. From time to time persons of large wealth and influence were allowed to purchase small fragments and splinters and these were carried to Europe and placed in monasteries, abbeys and churches. They were most highly prized and received with the greatest veneration. Some cf them have had most Interesting histories. Cro ruptured and Itvtnken. The history of Jerusalem and Its sacred place and relics during three centuries after Constantine is very obscure. In the seventh century the Holy City went through a series of vicissitudes. In 1614 the Persian emperor, Chosroes, descended upon, captured and sacked Jerusalem. The churches were burnt and among other precious relics carried away was the true cross. Ninety thousand Christians fell fighting In defense of the cross, which wa only taken after the last defender bad fallen. The tide of battle rolled westward and northward. The victorious monarch re tired beyond the Euphrates, bearing w.th hlra the cross as the chief trophy of hii conquest. Jerusalem was in ashes and for fourteen years the Christ. an world mourned the loss of the cross and prayed for its restoration. While it was in the hands of the infidel a new power began to arise which was to control the destlnlo of the eastern world, destined to becom? the most powerful opponeut of the cross. The camel driver of Mecca had become a ophet and saw visions and the children Ishmael and Esau had begun to as sume the Inheritance of Esau and Jacob. The crescent began Its rise while the cross was in the hands of its enemies. Then Heracllus. emperor of Rome, de clared war upon Chosroes and after many years of varying success finally cut the Persian army to pieces at Nineveh In 627. The true cross was recovered and brought to Constantinople In triumph. I rcinpi Kent a; rrri to .Icrusnlciii. Heracllus In person restored It to Jeru salem. He wculd fain have carried It on his shoulders with the utmost pomp into the city. But, as the story runs, ho was ste pped suddenly at the entrance by som invisible power and found that he could not gii forward. The patriarch Zachary, who wa ked at his side, suggested to him that this pomp seemed nal In consonance with the humble appearance which Christ made when He bore the cross through the streets of Jerusalem. The emperor ac cepted the reproof. He laid aside hi royal purple, put on mean garments and, barefooted, entered the city and placed the cross in Its fi rmer abiding place. The day of its return is celebrated as the feast of the exaltation to this day in church calendars of th.1 cross ami remains the Roman and English as Holy Cross dav. Hut J rusalem remain in repos was not long destined to . For many years it wis of fiercest battles and in- ti) be t h bci no de d the streets of no other city have been washed with so much blood. The crescent was in the ascendant, and In the year 6ii7 Jerusalem again bowed her head to a con queror in the person of Omar, leading th? Arab forces. Hut Musli m rule was tolerant. A special edl:'t permitted the cress to remain in the custody of the Christians or Jerusalem and ihe pilgrims continued as before to throng ell the avenues of approach to the city. Worship, however, had to be carried on in a quiet and unostentatious manner. For 400 years the Caliphs governed Jerusalem and the holy places remained in their hands. During those 4" years pilgrims came from all over the Christian world to adore the cross and visit the holy eepulcher. Thousands perished and were buried about the walls of Jerusalem. The history of these pilgrimages has never been wrlttiMi, but it is beyond question that the piece of wood known as the true cross in Jerusalem influenced the history of every nation In Europe and guided the destiny of Christen dom. At the beginning of the eleventh century El Hakim, the fanatic caliph of Egypt, In Sadie Shaddueh. Olive HIGH . . r ii Margaret Caldwell Grace buresh. Inez Honnel. Clara Helinrod. v VT 5? s yp i At. !, ' HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WHO TOOK PART IN "A DRESS REHEARSAL" Photo by a Staff Artist. vaded Palestine and destroyed Jerusalem. The cross wan rescued and cineialed by Christians in the h ly city and remain al hidden for many years, at linns Initio ex posed to the eyis of the d vout dtir ng the turl ulcnt years that wire passing in .! ra fale m. Fir neatly a cintury the pigiias sulTiiid many wrongs and privations a. it ken eaine the day of vengeance. 'I he run mil em. mill the ( max. The entire history of the first, second an 1 part of the third crusades belongs to ihe story if the true cross. All ever Kutop' oaths wt-r. made upon its fragments to "lake tlie cioss" and redtciti the io!y Land. The i ri fr was the sign to distin guish the i in ad is. Armies knell when pi i s:s II. ted the jewel, d rcliqiiiir!e wl.l.h he'd minute fragments of the sacred w, i., and the faith of the Christian world pledged to Its res.'iie. Inning the years wliiih narked the ap proai h cf Godfrey and his criisadi i s th diss remained concealed III Christian hauls in Jerusalem until that morning cf the IS li of July, lu'J!', when the while horsemen ap peared on Ihe Mount of Olives, the Chris tian bests entered the breach and Jerusalem again was in the hands of the Christ. an world. It was a furious and bloody combat when LA I' It A RHOADES, PRESIDENT P. G. S., OMAHA HIGH SCHOOL Photo by a Staff Artist. t ' t' 4 'V si. ' Carpenter. Elizabeth Weldensall. Emily Cleve. SCHOOL GIRL& ORCHESTRA Photo by a Staff Artist. . 'i m . . h.s J a Helen Anderson. Huth Marhoff. Huth Fremh. lira Ogle ixlia Shaw. Florence Kolm. lternlce Carson. Iulie Parmelee. Jerusalem fell into the ban. Is cf the cru saders. No quarter was given and the streets ran ml with the Moid of Infidels. Suddenly the carnage ceas d. sw.rds fell from the hands of slayers, as a process. on i f priests, headed by the legate of the p, pe, filed along bearing the wood of the cross. The crusaders beheld It safe and Intact and fell on their knees In give thanks foi ls deliverance. The Christian klngdi in of Jerusalem was founded. Restored t Its place In Ihe rock the object of un noloste'd pilgrimages from all over the world One by one the Christian kings of Jem -alc-.n diid and were buried at its base, Gil.rc. first al its right, then Baldwin on the 1 ft. ley down and slept at the foot of th.' cross they had n soiled. For is; years the kin-' d 111 had cxlstt nco, and then It became but a name, a -.milling title annexed to west ern thrones, until It fell before the swel l cf Saladin. tiny ef I.iislgnan. the unworib.. and th ' last l.ing of Jerusalem, took the i-r ss In the plain of Galilee to rally th' drooping spirits of his soldiery, and lost it w It li his kingdom. 'Ilit True tropin l.i m( l-'orever. On July 1. UsT. a council of knights was eallid in the camp of Si ph uri. where die Christian army was gal lu red for the last .struggle with Saladin. Dissensions, Jc. li eu di s. enmities, all the ordinary cor.s -i.il' n. rs of greed, ambition, avarice mil pri le had weakened the kingdom. There were jealousies and dissensions even la thai last camp, and the council of the knights was fierce and angry. Tile holy i ross was raised 111 (he cell er of the camp. The army of Ihe rrn.-a i.nd Ihe army of the crescent were en amp '.I w II bin a few mil s of each other. Their leaders prisentid a remarkable contrast in character, which doubtless Influenced Ihe result of Ihe battle. Hut Ihe religion of the cross could not be held responsible for the shame of Ihe one who was a worth less king and a prejudiced knight, nor was Ihe crescent to be entirely credited with the nobleness of the other. xeepllonal disgrace to Saladin was an exceptional hammi danism. Yielding In Guy was an Christianity, glory of Mo tile advice of the grand master of the Templars, and against Ihe council of Raymond, count of Tripoli, the wisest and noblest of the knights assembled at Ihe council, Guy moved his army out upon the plain of Hal tin. Saladin advanced from the seashore lo meet him. Saladin observed how the Christians gathered In strangest array about the wood C'leda, Strawn. HI A- i f the cress and remarked, as an Arabian b sliriin records, that they rall.ed around it. s if th y bela u d it tlulr greatest Missing. sitoiiKc.-t bond of union an I sure; dcrvme." All day bug Ihe I al of battle surgiil over the field of llaliui and iil -.hl f. II with Us fate undecided. II was July the fourth, aid nil day Hie two hosts had fought with the greatest fury. Sila lin made desperate aOails Willi V.oi n men ami the charge of L'h.i mi horsemen, led by ihe sultan In per son, was one of the most (enable in mili tary lii toiy. The plain of llaliiu be aiue a very boll, where, as an old chronicler savs, "the sons of heaven and the children of lire fought their great battle." Saladin directed his ma.ii el'fi Us toward the capture i f the holy cross, for he sill mined that its rupture would decide Ihe fat of llu day. Fighting around the cross fell the b avest of the Christian knights, fi li thousands of soldiers Not until its last defender had fallen did the Sar.ici in seize the sacred talisman. So n the Held of Hall ill the ir ss a- lest an I never again was It to be III the possession of the Chris tians. The Saracens lejol.-i d greatly over Its capluio and ever the tpVnilor of Ihe gold and Jewels which cuensed It. Saladin himself lo k th wood and probably finally destroyed it. Ills vleti ry was lomplile and he pursued It until he captured Jerusalem and this pir an end to the kingdom which G idfr. y had founded. A glial wall an ee ovi r nil til' Christian world wlun the terrible news thai (he oro.-s was lost upload evi r Chris tendom. Ctusaders thr nged Hi - Ibdy Land to do bal'le with Saladin. tlow Klchanl Onctir de Leon fongll with the Mesliins and how he liually made a truce with Saladin for a It t in of years is t Id In his tory. Richard again and again made effort ( purchase (he cross from Siladln, but In vain. It is slated thai sumo of the English crusaders who went (o Jort-c-a cm were pel -n il'icl by Saladin lo see and kiss the enss. Kill see n afterward disappeared and was never so. li again. Dnubtl si b ng ago It be came dust c f the dust of Jerusalem. Seven hiuiilre 1 yens and in re have elapsed slnee Hie (rue cross was lost cm the plain of Galilee, and save for Hie frag ments that are suppisid to survive It has heroine bin memory. For centuries li was the burden of song and slorv. and the minstrel swept his hand over his harp to sing of brave deeds done In the Holy Land ill the great battles that waged about Ihe e roe- s of Christ. Whi'thei it was truly the cross of Christ or not his. tory cannot point In am (her talisman that has played Mle h a liguie In the gr in diatu i of humanity. GEORGE E. WALSH. Hard to Matriculate Mr. I'oixoto, 1 dg' ke per a( Girar l col lege, prides himself en Ills Intimate knowl edge of Ihe regulations if the iiiHtitu'ioi, says the Phlladelniila Times. The other day a brigh' -li oklng oin g bo d.uni of some' 7 years of age, cariyiiig a leles opt lag and with a cigarette J. mil ily poised In Irs mouth, entered the bilge'. "Say, I want ta come to this i-chool," sail the visitor. "Von can't come here If you nnake that thing." nnsweri'il l'eixoto. "Well. I'll throw It awav." was I lie ready re ply. "Is your father living?" asked the lodge keeper. '"Course he Is." said the I oy. "We don't a din t pup Is whose fathers are not dead, only orphans." "Gee!" was Ihe res onse. "Then to g t III I've got to kill the old man. Data tough!" Ill the Wild West Brooklyn Eagle: Everybody seemed to avoid the man. "W hat's (he matter?" asked the i-.trai ger fiom the cast. "He Is lin king In public spirit," was the scornful reply. "How is that?" aski'd Ihe stranger. "Oh. he doesn't care anv.hing for the general welfare or the enjoyment of the iiiinuii U v. Onlv a moan man would spoil a 1 v ii i h'nif nfie-r a dull seas n. when the boys were Just dying for a bit of sport." "Did he do (hat?" "Sine. Everything was frum el up r ght ami we had ihe rope on him, wh-n lh darned mean critter un an I proved lhat ho wasn't the man we w.mt d and we had to let him go. The boys'll never forgive him for that." (ioldlish Hat .Mosquitoes Admirers of goldlish as house pets and ornaments for aquariums and artificial ponds may be able to show that Ih ir fa vorites have something besides ihelr beauty lo recommend them, Bays Youth's Coiiipan le n. I're.f. M. L. I'ml rwooel of the Massa chusetts Institute of Te. hnoli gy reports Hi ( mosquito larvae are favorite food for gold fish. He has made many experiments that prove the fait, and he suggests lhat th" introduction of goldfish In small bodies of water where mosqultoi s breed wculd be preferable to the use of kerosene In de stroying the pests. Goldfish, he finds, will thrive in our natural northern waters and can easily be bred In any sheltered pool, where the water Is not fed by too many cold springs.