Reliquary cross

A four-armed trefoil reliquary cross, made of silver-toned metal, in relief, hollow inside. On the front plate: at the center, a depiction of the Crucified Christ; on the upper straight crossbar of the cross are the letters "INRI" ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"). Above the crucifixion is a bust-length depiction of God the Father, with long hair, a long mustache and beard, his arms spread to the sides, with a round halo around his head. At the end of the left arm is a depiction of the Mother of God, dressed in a maphorion, her hands folded in a gesture of prayer, with a round halo around her head. At the end of the right arm is a depiction of John the Theologian, dressed in flowing robes, his left hand at chest level and his right hand bent at the elbow and touching his head, with a round halo around his head. Beneath the crucifixion is the skull of Adam with two crossed bones. On the reverse of the cross is the Church Slavonic inscription: "1707, August 30th, relics from the Holy Sepulchre from Jerusalem, a blessing for Fedir Hryhorovych, son of Liubchenko."

The cross was made in 1707. The reliquary cross belonged to the pre-war collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.