A Russian missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sunk after it was heavily damaged in April 2022. Kremlin officials said that a fire on board caused munitions to explode, while Ukrainian officials claimed they had attacked the Moskva. Several media reports noted that the ship might have been carrying a relic of the “true cross,” a piece of the actual wooden cross on which Christians believe that Jesus suffered and died.
The possibility of the relic being on the sunken ship cannot be ruled out. A collector is said to have donated the relic in 2020 to the Russian navy, which planned to place it in the Moskva’s onboard chapel. It is unclear, however, whether the relic was on board the ship in its chapel when the vessel went into combat. But the widespread interest in the possibility of this ancient relic being on board points to its importance for many Christians.
