The Cross of Saint Euphrosyne was a revered

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of the Orthodox Church in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, which was made in 1161 by Lazar Bohsha on the order of Saint Euphrosyne of Polatsk and is regarded as a

national treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

of Belarus. Euphrosyne,

mother superior An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of Polatsk Convent, ordered the cross to decorate the new Transfiguration church. The simple

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

cross was decorated with gold, gemstones and enamel, depicting

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

(

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

), the Four Evangelists, the archangels Gabriel and Michael, and three patron saints of Euphrosyne and her parents. The work cost 120

hryvna The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'. Name Etym ...

s. Inside, the cross contained pieces of the Holy Cross and other relics. In the 13th century, the cross was relocated to

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

and in 1514 to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. It was returned to

Polatsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

in 1563. The cross was thoroughly photographed for the record in 1896. In 1928 the nationalized relic was taken to

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, then, in 1929, to

Mahilyow Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

, and was locked in a safe box of the regional

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

headquarters.

Disappearance

The cross disappeared during the swift invasion of Belarus (June-August 1941) by German forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is not known exactly what happened to the cross in 1941. There are at least three different versions (other than destruction by fire or plunder): * The official

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

version abruptly stated that the cross was looted by the Germans. * German paperwork of the

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head of ...

organization recorded a ''Mahilyow treasure'' captured by the Germans in Smolensk. However, there is no evidence it was the Polatsk Cross. * In 1991, the minister of culture of

asserted that the cross, together with other Belarusian treasures, had been evacuated to

. In 1997, Nikolay Kuzmich, a craftsman from

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

, completed an officially endorsed replica of the cross, now on display in the Polatsk cathedral.

Modern symbolic usage

The Cross of St. Euphrosyne is often used as a national symbol of Belarus. The 1991 version of the Belarusian coat of arms ''Pahonia'' and the coat of arms of

Vitsebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

features a cross resembling the Cross of St. Euphrosyne on the knight's shield. The Cross was also used as a common flag pole ornament with the red-white-red flag of Belarus in 1991–1995. The Cross is the subject of several postage stamps of Belarus, issued in 1992, 2001 and 2011, and a

commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...

of Belarus issued in 2007. Cross of Euphrosyne will appear on a Belarusian coi

/ref> The national-democratic opposition movement

Young Front Young Front ( be, Малады Фронт, malady front, МФ) is a Belarusian youth movement registered in the Czech Republic. It is the largest youth organisation of Belarus declaring democratic values. It is a member of the European Democrat ...

has the cross as a main element of its symbol. File:Evfrosiniya cross.jpg, 1863 drawing of the cross showing both sides File:Coat of Arms of Belarus (1991).svg,

Pahonia The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...

, the coat of arms of Belarus (1991 version) File:Stemp Efrasinia Polackaja.jpg, Stamp with the Cross of St. Euphrasyne from 1992 File:2011. Stamp of Belarus 05-2011-03-14-blok1.jpg, Stamp with the Cross of St. Euphrasyne from 2011 File:Cross of Saint Euphrosyne.jpg, Copy of Cross of Saint Euphrosyne 1997 File:Хрест ЄП.gif, A Belarusian commemorative coin from 2007 File:Coat of Arms of Vitsebsk Voblasts.svg, Coat of arms of Vitsebsk Region File:Herb mf.jpg, Emblem of the

, a national democratic opposition movement

References

{{Reflist Eastern Orthodoxy in Belarus Lost works of art Medieval Belarus National symbols of Belarus Eastern Orthodoxy in medieval Russia

Disappearance

Modern symbolic usage

See also

References