Orthodox cross "Crucifixion. Archangel Raphael and holy healers" 131673 Onyx

Living in paradise, man ate from the Tree of Life, which grew in the middle of the Garden of Eden, and did not know illness or death. But having sinned, he could no longer live forever. To prevent sin from developing and becoming endless, the Lord allowed illness and death into the world. Illnesses are for the purification of a person’s soul through suffering, and death is for stopping his sin.

Only Christ the Savior Himself could heal a person. The Lord's suffering on the Cross saved people from eternal, cruel diseases, corruption and death. Therefore, the Church calls the tree of the Cross of Christ the Tree of Life and depicts the Lord not painfully hanging on it, but stretching out his arms, as a reminder that He, as it were, embraced all humanity with love from the cross.  But the Lord cannot eradicate the personal sins of every person. This must be done by the person himself, with his free will. Therefore, evil and disease remain in the world for now. To help fight them, God sends his assistants into the world - angels and saints.

In the center on the back of the cross is the powerful Archangel Raphael (Healing of God)  - healer of human ailments, guide and doctor of God. He is one of the seven highest seraphim, closest to God.  Around the Archangel are placed icons of great healers, whom the Church reveres as miracle workers. 

On the left is a military commander. Panteleimon the Healer, a free doctor who, for his deep, compassionate love for people, was awarded by God with great healing power. The saint resurrected people and healed any illnesses in the name of Christ. 

Saint Spyridon of Trimythous, depicted on the right on the cross. St. Spyridon performed many miracles for his flock: through his prayer, drought was replaced by rain, the sick were healed, and demons were cast out. He even had the power to resurrect the dead, and, of course, his storerooms were always open to those in need. The relics of the saint rest on the island of Corfu in the church named after him. 

At the top of the cross there is an icon of the newly glorified saint - St. Luke (in the world Prof. V. Voino-Yasenetsky), confessor, Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea. Having first accepted the priesthood after the death of his wife in 1919, and then monasticism, the saint spent almost twenty years in prisons and exile for his loyalty to the Church of Christ.where he did not stop his medical, spiritual and scientific activities, in difficult conditions of the Arctic, in front-line hospitals, performing unique operations. Many people were healed through prayers to him, not only in Russia and Ukraine, but also in other Orthodox countries.