The Hours of the Cross tell of Christ’s Passion, with the passing of each hour. From the Betrayal to the Entombment, each hour contains a hymn that reminds the reader of what Christ endured, while expressing gratitude for his sacrifice.

Within the text, matins commences with the Betrayal. Each hour then continues with each part: Christ before Pilate; Mocking of Christ; the Crucifixion; Dying on the Cross/Being Pierced by the lance; the Deposition (taken from the Cross); the Entombment.

At matins, we will see either the Crucifixion, as previously described, or the Finding of the True Cross by Empress Saint Helen. The other hours are not usually not adorned.

Empress Saint Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, visited the Holy Land c.326. There she summoned all of the Jews in Jerusalem, in order to determine where the cross that Christ had been crucified upon was buried. After being threatened, the crowd eventually told Saint Helene that a man named Judas knew where it was. Upon his capture, Judas refused to talk, so Helen had him thrown in a well to starve. After a week, Judas broke and told her where it was. Saint Helen excavated the location and found all three crosses. In order to determine which was the True Cross, as a funeral procession passed, Saint Helen took the corpse and touched it with each of the crosses. As the third cross touched the corpse, it sat up in its bier, signifying the cross’ divinity. This is the common depiction for the Finding of the True Cross by Saint Helen. In some scenes, Saint Helen is depicted with a large cross, wearing a crown and very expensive clothing.
 
 

The Crucifixion

Finding the True Cross