This is a cross for the clergy who served during the Patriotic War of 1812.

In that fateful year, the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church prayed for the granting of victory to the Russian army and called on all Christians of Russia to participate in the protection of the sacred land from foreign invaders. The clergy assisted the wounded on the battlefield and in hospitals. All members of the Russian clergy, from the highest religious dignitaries to modest rural priests and simple monks, contributed to this cause. With their sermons, they urged the people to defend the Orthodox faith, the tsar and the Fatherland, and thereby turned into ardent fighters for victory in that nationwide war.

By their service, Church pastors instilled a spirit of hope in the people and gave them courage in that difficult time. In their sermons, they quoted the fiery lines of the imperial manifesto, which called on the entire Russian people to defend their Fatherland:

Listening to these words, the people were inspired by hope and faith in victory, took up arms and, regardless of anything — even knowing that they faced almost certain death, fought with the French.

The Orthodox clergy often set an example of courage and selflessness in fierce battles with the enemy. As true fighters, they were always with the military units of the army and the people’s militia: they prayed for their morale, fought behind enemy lines, both in partisan detachments and alone — for reconnaissance purposes, sometimes getting valuable information for the Russian command.

Many similar crosses were made in 1912, when the centenary of the Patriotic War was celebrated. Direct male descendants of the clergymen awarded in 1812 were allowed to wear the 1912 crosses.