Cross

I

Introduction

Cross, ancient symbol found in many cultures, but especially associated with Christianity.

II

Forms of Crosses

The cruciform design consists essentially of two lines that intersect to form right angles. There are many variations. The tau (Greek letter t) cross, for example, is T-shaped; the Saltire, or St. Andrew's cross, is X-shaped. In the Latin cross, the short horizontal member is near the top of the longer vertical member; in the Greek cross, the members are of equal length and intersect in the center. The Russian cross has two unequal horizontals set on the vertical member above a small slanting bar. The cross of Lorraine has two unequal horizontals; the papal cross has three unequal horizontals, with the shortest near the top end of the vertical member. The Maltese cross is a Greek cross with V-shaped members widening from the center and being notched at the ends. The crux ansata (Latin for “cross with handles”), or ankh, is a tau cross with a circular loop above the horizontal bar. The Celtic cross is like a Latin one with the addition of a circle surrounding the intersection. In the swastika (fylfot cross) the members, of equal length, are bent at the ends.

III

Symbolism

The cross, as a basic design motif, appears in the pottery, weaving, carving, and painting of many cultures. It may be simply decorative, or it may have symbolic meaning. The tau cross, for example, was a symbol of life to the ancient Egyptians; when combined with the circle (as in the crux ansata), it stood for eternity (see Egyptian Art and Architecture). For most ancient peoples the Greek cross was a metaphor for the four indestructible elements of creation (air, earth, fire, and water), thus symbolizing permanence. The swastika, with the ends of its cross bars bent to the right, was common in both the Old World and the New World. It originally represented the revolving sun, fire, or life and later, by extension, good luck. To Buddhists, a swastika represented resignation; to the Jains, it symbolized their seventh saint. To Hindus, a swastika with arms bent to the left symbolized night, magic, and the destructive goddess Kali. In mid-20th-century Germany, the right-facing swastika was the Nazi party emblem (see Buddhism; Jainism; Hinduism; National Socialism).

The cross was also used in the ancient world as a symbol of execution by crucifixion. In Roman times only the lowest class of criminals was crucified. In Christianity the cross became not only a symbol of the shameful death of Jesus Christ as a criminal on a tau-shaped Roman cross, but also of his subsequent resurrection to eternal life and of his promise of salvation to Christian believers. The Greek letters Χ (chi) and Ρ (rho), the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ( Christos), were superimposed to form the chi-rho, which, as the monogram of Christ, became a pervasive decorative element in Early Christian and Byzantine Art (see Early Christian Art and Architecture; Byzantine Art and Architecture).

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IV

The Cross in Christian Usage

The cross became an important part of Christian liturgy and art. Christians make a sign of the cross with the right hand both to profess their faith and to bestow a blessing. Early Christian clergy used small hand-held crosses to bestow blessings. Larger crosses were carried in processions; these took spectacular forms in later centuries. In time, crosses were placed on altars in churches and erected outdoors in markets and along roads. Small crosses were worn by clergy and laity as tokens of piety, marks of ecclesiastical office (pectoral crosses), reliquaries, good-luck charms, or decoration. Most large medieval churches were built on the plan of a Latin or Greek cross, symbolic of Christ's body.

The cross, as first used in Christian art, generally did not show the body of Jesus, not only because the early church still followed the Jewish prohibition of images as idolatrous, but also because the empty cross symbolized Jesus' resurrection rather than his death. As a result, Christ was sometimes symbolized by a lamb or a bust of a youth above the cross. By the 7th century, however, it had become customary to represent the whole figure of Jesus, alive and robed, as the triumphant Christ, in front of the cross but not attached to it. Gradually, as the church put more emphasis on his suffering and death, Christ was portrayed naturalistically in a loincloth and crown of thorns, nailed to the cross. The wound in his side was visible. Thereafter, most three-dimensional crosses in the Roman Catholic church were crucifixes, and scenes of the crucifixion became popular themes of medieval and Renaissance painting and sculpture (see Renaissance Art and Architecture). Most non-Lutheran Protestant churches, which tend to follow early church traditions, use the cross alone.

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