Quest for the True Cross (2001)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written and Directed by Justin Cartwright
Narrated by Terry McDonald

Released by: Artistan
Region: 1
Rating: NR, safe for all ages
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Rent it if you’re interested in Christianity or medieval history

Quest for the True Cross introduces to audiences the titulus cruces, a piece of wood believed by the Vatican to have been part of the very sign that Pontius Pilate placed over the crucifixion of Christ. Various scholars and theologians, both pro and con, debate the authenticity of this artifact, including such questions as why the text is backwards, the order of the Greek, Latin, and Hebrew inscriptions, and so forth. The historical existence of Christ and his crucifixion, is of course a matter of Roman legal record, but whether or not this particular piece of wood was a part of that story is a matter for chemists and archeologists.

What is interesting about this piece is that the text is inscribed backwards, almost as if it had been meant to make reverse impressions, like a printing device. This is clearly not the case, but I would have loved to have had more sound ideas expressed by the interviewees as to why the carvings are mirror images. I do not buy that a Hebrew scribe, hired to do the writing in all three languages, would not have been educated enough to know that Greek and Latin were written and read left to right, as opposed to right to left, as Hebrew is. Perhaps we will never know the truth about this mystery, but it would have been nice to have had either a clear theory or a clear admission of ignorance, rather than vague and glossed-over non-comments.

While this is, as I have said, a fantastic special, I have one quibble; it would more effectively have been titled something like "Is the Titulus Part of the True Cross?" or "The History of the Titulus Cruces," as the show is not so much a broad historical consideration of the True Cross or the many possibilities for its existence, but rather a consideration of this one relic that may be a piece of the Holy Rood. This does not, of course, invalidate the worthy information and sheer interest in the program as it stands.

Of course, another issue raised by this program, but not addressed by it, is whether or not it indeed matters if this was the "real" titulus or not. Can faith only be sustained with tangible "evidence"? If this sign was a part of the "king of the Jews" sign, does that say anything substantive about Christ's divinity or lack thereof? Would it, in the end, settle anything about the validity of the Christian faith? And does faith really need "proof" to be valid in itself?

This show is of interest to anyone with an interest in the history of the medieval Church, relics, validation vs. debunking of relics, and so on. It’s also a solid show to give people new to the relics trade of the medieval period a bit of insight into how things worked. Once again, the Discovery Channel has succeeded in making something that could be pedantic or, at worst, overly pious, into something reverent, but educational. Both doubters and believers alike will be pleased with this one. We can only hope that the Vatican will respond to the interest generated by this show and consent to have the thing carbon dated, settling the matter.