This sanctuary cross from the collection of the Yaroslavl Museum Reserve and its pedestal are made in the voluminous carving technique by Yaroslavl-based masters.

This solemn ritual object used to be stately decorated. It was finished with levkas, a special chalk primer. Onto it, paint, gold and silver foil were added. The sumptuous carving with floral motives of leaves and bunches of grapes narrate the meaning of the Crucifixion as the tree of a new life. Wine and grapevine are the important symbols of Christ. Christ used to say about himself and his pupils, I am the vine; you are the branches. According to the Christian tradition, the consecrated wine distributed during the Communion signifies Christ’s blood.

In its center and at its ends, the cross used to bear icons painted inside little rosettes picturing scenes from The Twelve Great Feasts. [1] The Twelve Great Feasts are the most important Orthodox feasts after Pascha (Orthodox Easter) which, together with Pascha, are the most significant dates on the Orthodox liturgical calendar. The feasts celebrate the most important events in the earthly lives of Jesus Christ and Holy Mother.

The cross and the pedestal are around three meters tall. This ritual object is always kept at the altar, the main part of any Orthodox church. Together with icons, it is carried at the front of the sacred procession. Earlier, this object of Orthodox art from the collection of the Yaroslavl Museum Reserve belonged to the Church of the Epiphany built in Yaroslavl in the late XVII c. for the money donated by merchant Alexey Zubchaninov. The church is known for its murals and tiled façade. Judging by the similarity in style, the sanctuary cross was carved by the same masters who worked on the altar screen installed inside the church.

In the XVIII-XIX c. the cross underwent some repairs. In 1829, it was repainted by Elisseus Stepanov Godunov (Kamenshikov), a Yaroslavl-based master. Repainting involved removal of the outer dilapidated layer of paint and filth and recreation of lost elements. In the first have of the XX c., the sanctuary cross was severely damaged and arrived in the museum in a state next to ruins, with lost painted rosettes and segments of the carved trim. In 1990-2010, this antiquity was restored by students of the Nicholas Roerich Saint Petersburg Art School.