Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these feast days celebrate the Cross itself, as the sign of salvation.

[7] It was determined by Macarius to be authentic (the crosses of the two thieves were also recovered) and for it Constantine built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.

[8] Subsequently, pieces of the True Cross relic were distributed across the empire and by the turn of the 5th century were venerated as far away as Italy.

[9][10] The Ancient Georgian Iadgari (Chantbook) bears witness to the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross in Jerusalem prior to the middle of the 6th century.

Some communities which celebrate the liturgy in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite also observe the feast of the finding of the Holy Cross on 3 May.

The Second Council of Nicæa of 787, drew the distinction between veneration of the cross and worship or latria, "which, according to the teaching of the faith, belongs to the Divine nature alone."

[14] According to Christian tradition, the True Cross was discovered in 326 by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem.

Organization of these celebrations in the ordinary form is now left to the decision of episcopal conferences in view of local conditions and customs.

The ember days are still observed in the calendar of the Roman Rite's Extraordinary Form, the Anglican Ordinariate, and Western Orthodoxy.

Saranaya (Syriac) hold a shara every year in cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Modesto, California, and other parts of the world.

The shara in Modesto is held every Sunday prior to 13 September at East La Loma Park, where they sacrifice lambs[clarification needed] in remembrance of the Feast Of the Cross.

On the eve of the feast before small vespers the priest, having prepared a tray with the cross placed on a bed of fresh basil leaves or flowers, covered with an aër (liturgical veil), places it on the table of prothesis; after that service, the priest carries the tray on his head preceded by lighted candles and the deacon incensing the cross, processes to the holy table (altar), in the centre whereof he lays the tray, in the place of the Gospel Book, the latter being set upright at the back of the altar.

In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church, the readings in the Holy Mass for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross draw a comparison between the bronze serpent of Numbers 21, which was raised up on a pole so that all who looked upon it would be cured of the deadly poison of venomous snakes, and John 3:14–15, "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

[24] With the reorganisation of the liturgical calendar by his Motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of Pope John XXIII (1960), the Feast of the Finding of the Cross was celebrated only in some regions.

The propers of the feast are combined with those of the Holy Maccabean Martyrs, the commemoration of whose endurance is deemed appropriate for the first day of a fast.

The history of this feast begins in Constantinople where it was the custom to carry the relic of the True Cross through the streets and squares of the city to ask for God's blessing and for relief from sickness.

It was taken in procession daily throughout the city, offering it to the people to venerate, until the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (15 August), when it was returned to the imperial treasury.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, 12 October is the commemoration of the Translation of a Portion of the Life-Giving Cross from Malta to Gatchina.

On 12 October 1799, Maltese knights came to their new Priory Palace, just built for them by Paul in Gatchina (45 km [27 miles] south of St.  Petersburg), and offered these ancient and holy treasures to their new Grand Master, the tsar.

In the autumn of 1799 the holy items were transferred to St. Petersburg and placed in the Winter Palace within the internal church dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands.

On the Monday and Wednesday of that week, a veneration of the Cross takes place at the First Hour (repeating a portion of the service from matins of the previous Sunday).

On Friday of that week, the veneration takes place after the Ninth Hour, after which the priest and deacons return the cross to the sanctuary.

After this, they will often receive a blessing from the priest and bow towards their fellow worshippers on each side of the church (this latter practice is most commonly observed in monasteries).

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, and at some other services as well, it is customary for the faithful to come forward and venerate the "Blessing Cross" (hand-cross) which is held by the bishop or priest, and to kiss his hand.