The Quest for the True Cross

by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew d'Ancona

• ISBN13: 9781403962126
• ISBN10: 140396212X
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The Cross is arguably the most recognizable symbol of Western civilization. But what are its historical origins and what happened to it after Christ's crucifixion? In a church outside Rome, a fragment of wood may hold the answer to these questions and could be fundamental to our understanding of Christianity. Focusing on a long-ignored fragment of the Titulus Crucis the inscribed headboard from Christ's crossthe authors provide evidence that it may date from the time of Christ and was brought to Rome by Queen Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, in AD 328. Their claim is a radical challenge to the modern view that all supposedly holy relics are fakes. Following in Helena's footsteps and drawing together the threads of history, archaeology, myth, religion, and science, this journey through the ancient world may transform your beliefs about early Christian faith.

Author Biography

Carsten Peter Thiede is Professor of Early Christian History at STH Basel, Switzerland.

Matthew D'Ancona is Deputy Editor of the Sunday Telegraph. Together, they co-authored the bestselling The Jesus Papyrus.

Table of Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Tree of Life: A Brief History of the Cross

Queen Helena and the Birth of Christian Europe

The Discovery of the True Cross

A Kiss of Life—Jerusalem and Rome, or: How a Piece of Walnut Wood Made History

Jews and Romans in Jerusalem: The Titulus, God, the Lord and the Saviour

The Earliest Christian Symbol: Believers under the Cross