The Quest for the True Cross [Hardcover]

Carsten Peter Thiede (Author), Matthew D'Ancona (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

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 cross-the 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When did Christians begin to venerate the cross of Jesus? Thiede and d'Ancona, who stirred up controversy about the dating of the Gospels in The Jesus Papyrus, challenge the prevailing scholarly opinion that the cross became a central symbol only after the emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. According to legend, Constantine sent his mother to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where she excavated and brought back to Rome the Titulus Crucis, or the headboard of the cross on which was written the words "King of the Jews." Using philological, literary and archeological evidence, the authors argue against this legend, claiming instead that the earliest Christians must have begun a tradition of venerating Jesus' cross. For example, they find the Chi-Rho symbol in papyri from the second century, and on a shard from Bethsaida from the first century. In their view, such discoveries support the claim that the cross functioned as a key symbol in pre-Constantinian Christianity. In addition, the authors discover the Titulus Crucis in a church in Rome and use the same tools to suggest a "plausible if unprovable" chronology of the life of this relic. Unfortunately, the book's tone is often arrogant and condescending to any scholars who hold beliefs other than the authors'. Moreover, it is plagued by so much repetition that it would have been more appropriate as a journal article. Overall, the authors' case appears rather thin, using scanty evidence to make definitive assertions about the True Cross.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

...interesting, well-made, and should attract much attention. -- Kirkus Reviews

...interesting, wellmade, and should attract much attention. -- Kirkus Reviews

Important and riveting-a book every inquiring Christian, and open-minded sceptic, should read. -- Daily Telegraph

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Griffin; 1st Palgra edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312294247
• ISBN-13: 978-0312294243
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cross Paths, May 28, 2006

By 

Labarum (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Quest for the True Cross (Paperback)

For close to a millennia, the most holy relic in Christendom were the alleged pieces of the true cross held in Jerusalem. That relic has long been lost as it was destroyed in the defeat of the Crusaders and retaking of the Holy Land by Muslim conquerors. In recent years, Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew d'Ancona have theorized in The Quest for the True Cross that we might still have a piece of that relic in part of the titulus (the inscription placed above Jesus' head on the cross) that had been taken to Rome.

In a fast paced and enjoyable read, the authors take us back through the annals of time to the period of the early Church when Constantine came to power and legalized the Christian religion. The reader is taken on a marvelous ride through the beginnings of Christendom and the travels of Constatine's mother Helena to the Holy Land in search of holy sites for Christianity. Most important was the site of Golgotha and Christ's Tomb upon which was built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Also allegedly discovered were the true cross including the inscription that was placed above Christ's head. The relic was divided and some taken back to Constantinople and some to Rome while most ended in Jerusalem. As mentioned these relics were believed to be lost in the sands of time but one may have survived at a church on the outskirts of Rome called Santa Croce built upon Helena's old palace.

We are given a possible reconstruction of how the piece of the inscription came to find its way there and some solid evidence that it is in fact a piece of the inscription that Helena recovered. Whether what Helena recovered was genuine or not is up to debate but a circumstantial case is made to support the possibility of this claim.

For its excellent treatment of such a commonly misunderstood period alone, The Quest for the True Cross is essential reading. Given the possibility of finding such an important piece of Christian history, it makes it even more worthwhile.