When is Exaltation of the Cross?
In 2026, Exaltation of the Cross falls on Sunday, September 27, 2026. It is an observance rather than a federal holiday, so federal offices and most businesses follow their normal schedules.
History of Exaltation of the Cross
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross recalls the finding and public veneration of the cross in Christian tradition. The feast is listed among the major Georgian Orthodox holidays in the constitutional agreement between the state and church.
Its language of the life-giving cross resonates strongly in Georgia’s visual Christian culture, where crosses, churches and pilgrimage sites are woven into the landscape. The date is a significant worship day but is not a nationwide statutory day off.
September 27 corresponds to September 14 on the Julian calendar and is traditionally kept as a strict fast despite its status as a great feast. Georgia’s own Christian heritage gives cross veneration special visual resonance, from early stone crosses to the vine cross associated with Saint Nino. However, neither this cultural importance nor inclusion among major church feasts creates an Article 30 holiday. Schools, offices and businesses normally operate, while worshippers attend services around their work and family obligations.
How Exaltation of the Cross is observed
A major Georgian Orthodox observance on September 27, not a nationwide statutory day off. Worship and fasting practices vary by parish and household. September 27 is a religious observance, not a statutory work-free day, and Georgian substitute-day rules do not apply.
Traditions of Exaltation of the Cross
Cross-centred worship
Church services honour the cross through prayers, hymns and veneration. Georgian cross imagery and the national memory of Saint Nino’s vine cross give the feast a particularly local devotional setting.
Fasting practice
Some believers observe a simple fast appropriate to the feast. Georgian cross imagery and the national memory of Saint Nino’s vine cross give the feast a particularly local devotional setting.
Pilgrimage
Worshippers may visit churches and shrines dedicated to the Holy Cross. Georgian cross imagery and the national memory of Saint Nino’s vine cross give the feast a particularly local devotional setting.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Georgian legal and official guidance. Religious-calendar dates and local-service schedules should be confirmed against the annual official calendar.
History sources: Legislative Herald: Constitutional Agreement with the Georgian Orthodox Church, Legislative Herald of Georgia: Labour Code, Article 30, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia: Public Holidays.
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