This Holy Cross was made during the period when copper crucifixes were a trend. Pomorye craftsmen made them bypassing the ban of the authorities, so that anyone could pray. People always wore cross pendants with them, on makeshift woven cords or chains.

The Church dissent led to a divergence in tradition. Around the 18th century, there were two types of Orthodox crosses: New Believer and Old Believer crosses. The former had laconic images and a minimum of details and decorations. The latter, in addition to the main image, had decorative features such as branchy ornaments, stripes, dots and triangles. A distinctive feature of Pomorye crucifixes was the use of colored enamel: yellow, green, blue or gilded.