The cross is the main symbol of Orthodox faith and one of the most important attributes of church services. Altar crosses were placed upon on the holy table of the altar, hence the name. They are used to bless believers; they are present at daily prayers and on holy days. It is the custom to kiss the cross after confession.

Another name of the altar cross is Golgothan. It appeared in commemoration of Mount Golgotha which was not far from Jerusalem. It was there that the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified stood. Altar crucifixes of the 19 the century were traditionally cast from a copper alloy using specially prepared wooden molds. They were eight-pointed big crosses, up to 40 centimetres tall.

There are a lot of inscriptions on the cross. Depicted on the lower bar which is at an angle are the towers of Jerusalem, and next to them we see embossed Cyrillic letters ‘НИКА’, ‘МЛPБ’ and ‘ГГ’. The first one is the name of a Christian martyr, who, like Christ, suffered for her faith. Besides, this word (Nike) means ‘victor’ in Greek. The letters ‘МЛPБ’, if translated from Russian, spell out as ‘the Place of the Skull is Paradise’, which means that after Jesus’ death, the Gates of Paradise opened for him and for the righteous people at the place of his execution. The Cyrillic letters “ГГ” is an abbreviated name for “Golgotha”.

The translation of the embossed text above the Saviour’s nimbus and on either side of him reads: ‘King of Glory Son of God’. This is meant to confirm his divine nature and the triumph of the Christian faith on earth. Inscribed above the upper edge of the middle bar is Christ’s abbreviated name, and the translation of the text in the lower part of the bar is as follows: “Thy Cross do we adore, O Lord, and thy holy Resurrection do we glorify”.