St. Gregory of Nazianzus (in his second homily on the Son) testifies: "Such is the property of the image, that it expresses the prototype, of which is the image."

St. Chrysostom in the 3rd homily on the Epistle to the Colossians says the following about the image: "The image, since it is an image, must be completely similar to the original which it depicts in its features." (See also the commentary of the Evang. in the week of the 3rd Holy Lent.)

These testimonies about the similarity of the image with the formed one are sufficient for the Old Testament transformations to serve as proof for us of the authenticity or correctness of a certain thing or event in the New Testament. But since images do not pre-image a certain object from all sides, but only from one side – the internal, or together with the internal and external, it should be noted that the similarity of the image with the prototype is precisely in those aspects that are prefigured. Thus, the Holy Cross was foreshadowed in the Old Testament either by its power, properties and actions, or by its external form and power. For example, the pillar of cloud served as a prototype of the cross2, but only in terms of its power and actions. Of course, we will not cite such prophecies, but will deal only with the transformations of the cross, which indicated its form and actions.

On the Foreshadowing of the Holy Cross in the Old Testament

Before Jesus Christ planted the Life-Bearing Tree of the Cross on earth, in the law of the canopy and the scriptures, from time to time, the Lord showed people its shadow, or image, accompanied by signs and wonders. This shadow, or this image, had the form of either a four-pointed cross, or a simple staff, a piece of wood, etc., which formed the cross not in form, but in its internal properties. But it has never been in the form of an eight-pointed cross. Meanwhile, as we said above, the shadow or image of something, and according to the testimony of Sts. of the Fathers, and by common sense, have a perfect resemblance in a certain respect to that of which they serve as a shadow or image. Otherwise they would not be a shadow of a certain object and would not have its properties and power; thus, for example, the shadow of the Apostle Paul, which healed the sick, could not be called the shadow of the Apostle, and it would not have had healing properties, if it were not an accurate reflection of the holy grace-filled body of the Apostle. This means that the images of the four-pointed cross in the Old Testament were a shadow or images of the Life-Giving Cross itself.

We will cite here the images of the four-pointed cross according to the indication of Sts. Fathers and teachers of the Church.

In the Book of Genesis, the image of the victorious cross of Sts. the fathers found, first of all, in the three hundred of Abraham's household (318), with whom he went out against the people who had captured Lot, and defeated them, since this number is written through the ancient Hebrew and Greek letter t, which resembles the shape of the four-pointed cross3. Clement of Alexandria says: "When Abraham heard that Lot had been taken into captivity, he gathered together three hundred and eighteen men of his household and went out against the enemy, and defeated them in a far superior number." Therefore we say that the image of the sign of the Lord (in this number), considered in relation to the form, is the letter signifying three hundred, and iota and ita signify the saving name (of Jesus).4

In the Book of Genesis, we also see the image of the cross in the blessing of Joseph's children, Ephraim and Manasseh, by Patriarch Jacob. St. St. John of Damascus says that James, having laid his hands one over the other and made of them as slingshots in the blessing of Joseph's children, very clearly described the image of the cross.5

In the Book of Exodus, he foreshadowed the four-pointed cross: a) the lamb, which, after expiration, had to be eaten by the command of God. St. Justin Martyr says: "When lambs are baked, then they are in the form of a cross" (speciem crucis praexerunt), since one – straight – the horn falls from below to the head, and the other passes across the spine, to which the feet of the lamb are tied."6

b) The cross-shaped crossing of the sea by Moses' rod also prefigured the four-pointed cross: "The rod of Moses," says St. John of Damascus, "crossed the sea in the likeness of the cross, and saved Israel, and immersed Pharaoh"7. "The cross was inscribed by Moses..." – is also sung in the church hymn.8

Further, c) the four-pointed cross was formed by the hands of Moses praying on Mount Moses, folded in the form of a cross. "Arms stretched out like a cross," says St. John of Damascus, "drove Amalek away."9

d) The arrangement of the Israelite regiments in the wilderness into four parts also served as a foreshadow of the four-pointed cross in the following way: in the middle of the militia stood the canopy of the witness with the nod of the Covenant, and there was also the tribe of Levi, serving the tabernacle. In front, on the east, there were three regiments: Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; behind, from the west, there were also three regiments: Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. On the right side, from the south, there are three regiments: Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. On the left side, from the north, there are three: Dan, Assur, and Naphtali. Thus the army of the Israelites in the wilderness was cruciform.1010 This foreshadowing is also mentioned in the canon of the Exaltation, in the fourth canto, the third sticheron: "People are sacredly encamped in the fourfold parts, preceding the testimony of the tabernacle, glorified by the cross-shaped rites."