Of the many different currents of Christianity, only Orthodox and Catholics revere icons and crosses. Crosses serve to decorate church domes, residential buildings, and are worn around the neck. Protestants do not recognize this symbol - the cross. They perceive it as a symbol of execution, an instrument with which Jesus suffered great suffering and death.

The reason for wearing a pectoral cross is different for everyone. Some in this way are simply trying to match fashion, others use it as a beautiful piece of jewelry, others consider it a talisman. However, for many, the cross, which was first put on during the rite of baptism, serves as a real symbol of sincere faith.

It is known that the cause of the cross was the martyrdom of Jesus, accepted by him according to the verdict, which Pontius Pilate was forced to pass. It was a popular method of execution in the ancient Roman state, which the Romans borrowed from the Carthaginians (it is widely believed that it was the Carthaginians who first began to use crucifixion). Most often, robbers were sentenced to execution in this way; many early Christians who were persecuted in the Roman Empire were also executed on the cross.

Before Jesus, the cross was a means of shameful execution. However, after His death, it turned into a symbol of the victory of life and good over death and evil, a reminder of the boundless love of the Lord, whose Son sanctified the cross with His blood, making it a means of grace and sanctification.

The Orthodox dogma of the Cross (also called the dogma of the Atonement) implies that the death of Jesus is a ransom for all people, a calling for all mankind. The cross differs from execution in any other way in that it allowed the Savior to die with his hands spread apart, as if calling people from all over the earth.

When reading the Bible, one can be convinced that the feat of Christ is the main episode of His life on earth. His sufferings on the Cross made it possible to wash away his sins, to cover the debt of people before the Lord - to redeem (that is, redeem) them. Calvary contains the incomprehensible mystery of the Creator's love.

So, the Catholic cross is the Orthodox cross - what is the difference between them?

Pectoral crosses- one of the most significant shrines for representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. When buying a cross for a baby before baptism or for themselves, many do not think about the features and differences between Catholic and Orthodox crosses, choosing the one that they like in design. Not always and the consultant knows the answers to all questions. The Zlato online store has compiled an extensive catalog of Orthodox crosses for you, and we will understand how they differ from Catholic ones further.

Cross shape

The first thing that distinguishes an Orthodox cross from a Catholic one is the shape.

Orthodox crosses are six- and eight-pointed. The oblique crossbar of the Orthodox cross, located in its lower part, symbolizes the road to the Kingdom of Heaven, leading from the sinful world.

catholic cross usually four-pointed without unnecessary details and crossbars. Its form is simple and well distinguishable.

The meaning of the engraving on the cross

Silver and gold jewelry in the form of a cross is usually complemented by an engraving - a short inscription. It looks like "I.Н.Ц.I" - in Slavonic or "INRI" - in Latin. This is an abbreviation, it stands for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

Only on Orthodox crosses on the reverse side is the inscription "Save and save." It never appears on Catholic crosses.

Location of Christ

Orthodox and Catholic crosses have another significant difference. It lies in the disposition of the crucified Christ. If you look closely, you can clearly see that the figures are located in different ways.

• the palms of Christ are unfolded, the fingers are not closed;
• triumph and joy are displayed on the face;
• the legs are not crossed, they are nailed separately.

Catholic cross:

• the head of Christ is lowered;
• palms are closed, arms sag;
• facial expression conveys inhuman suffering.

When choosing cross jewelry, just take a look at the number of nails present on Christ's feet and hands. There are four of them on the Orthodox cross - one on each palm and one on each leg. There are three of them on the Catholic cross - one on each palm and one on the legs superimposed on each other.

Modern variations of pectoral crosses

The Zlato online store offers a huge range of crosses from leading jewelry manufacturers: Silvex, Capital Jewelry Factory, Aurora, Onyx, HYUV, ZARINA, etc. Each brand regularly updates its collections of products, and among them there are crosses:

• for men, women and children;
• from gold and silver;
• with inlay and without stones;
• with enamel, blackening and other decoration techniques.

Men's Orthodox crosses are usually larger than women's and are designed for massive chains. They are made without stones, have a restrained execution. Women's and children's crosses are more refined - with openwork inserts, cubic zirconias and diamonds. The rarer and more valuable the stone, the higher the price of the jewelry. Pendants are worn on chains, leather and silk cords, often under clothing, to hide adherence to one's religion from prying eyes. We offer to compare branded crosses from different manufacturers in http://zlato.ua/. For each model, we have selected the best photos and detailed descriptions. To simplify and speed up the choice, use the site filters, setting the parameters by type of metal and design. This will allow you to choose and buy jewelry that matches the style of your other accessories.

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Christianity for more than two thousand years of its existence has spread throughout all the continents of the Earth, among many peoples with their own cultural traditions and characteristics. So it's no surprise that one of the world's most recognizable symbols, the Christian cross, comes in such a variety of shapes, sizes, and uses.

In today's material, we will try to talk about what crosses are. In particular, you will learn: are there "Orthodox" and "Catholic" crosses, can a Christian treat the cross with contempt, are there crosses in the shape of an anchor, why do we also honor the cross in the shape of the letter "X" and much more interesting.

Cross in the church

First, let's remember why the cross is important to us. The veneration of the cross of the Lord is connected with the redemptive sacrifice of the God-man Jesus Christ. Honoring the cross, an Orthodox Christian pays homage to God Himself, who incarnated and suffered on this ancient Roman instrument of execution for our sins. Without the cross and death there would be no redemption, resurrection and ascension, there would be no dispensation of the Church in the world and no opportunity to follow the path of salvation for every person.

Since the cross is so revered by believers, they try to see it as often as possible in their lives. Most often, the cross can be seen in the temple: on its domes, on sacred utensils and vestments of clergy, on the chest of priests in the form of special pectoral crosses, in the architecture of the temple, often built in the form of a cross.

Cross outside the church

In addition, it is common for a believer to expand his spiritual space to the whole life around him. A Christian sanctifies all its elements, first of all, with the sign of the cross.

Therefore, in the cemeteries above the graves there are crosses as a reminder of the future resurrection, on the roads there are worship crosses that sanctify the path, on the bodies of Christians themselves there are wearable crosses, reminding a person of his high calling to follow the path of the Lord.

Also, the shape of the cross among Christians can often be seen in home iconostases, on rings and other household items.

pectoral cross

The pectoral cross is a special story. It can be made from a wide variety of materials and have all sorts of sizes and decorations, retaining only its shape.

In Russia, people used to see the pectoral cross in the form of a separate object hanging on a chain or rope on the believer's chest, but in other cultures there were other traditions. The cross could not be made of anything at all, but applied to the body in the form of a tattoo, so that a Christian could not accidentally lose it and so that it could not be taken away. This is how the Christian Celts wore the pectoral cross.

It is also interesting that sometimes the Savior is not depicted on the cross, but an icon of the Mother of God or one of the saints is placed on the field of the cross, or even the cross is turned into a kind of miniature iconostasis.

On the "Orthodox" and "Catholic" crosses and contempt for the latter

In some modern popular science articles, one can come across the assertion that an eight-pointed cross with a short upper and oblique short lower additional crossbars is considered “Orthodox”, and a four-pointed cross elongated downwards is “Catholic” and the Orthodox, allegedly, refer or in the past referred to it with contempt.

This is a statement that does not stand up to scrutiny. As you know, the Lord was crucified precisely on a four-pointed cross, which, for the above reasons, was revered by the Church as a shrine long before the Catholics fell away from Christian unity, which occurred in the 11th century. How could Christians despise the symbol of their salvation?

In addition, at all times, four-pointed crosses were widely used in churches, and even now on the chest of Orthodox clergy you can find several possible forms of the cross - eight-pointed, four-pointed and figured with decorations. Would they really wear some kind of “non-Orthodox cross”? Of course not.

eight pointed cross

The eight-pointed cross is most often used in the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches. This form recalls some additional details of the death of the Savior.

An additional short upper crossbar denotes a titlo - a tablet on which Pilate wrote the guilt of Christ: "Jesus the Nazarene - the king of the Jews." On some images of the crucifixion, the words are abbreviated and it turns out "INTI" - in Russian or "INRI" - in Latin.

The short oblique lower crossbar, usually depicted with the right edge raised up and the left edge lowered down (relative to the image of the crucified Lord), denotes the so-called “righteous measure” and reminds us of the two thieves crucified on the sides of Christ and their posthumous fate. The right one repented before death and inherited the Kingdom of Heaven, while the left blasphemed the Savior and ended up in hell.

St. Andrew's Cross

Christians revere not only a straight, but also an oblique four-pointed cross, depicted in the form of the letter "X". Tradition tells us that it was on a cross of this form that one of the twelve disciples of the Savior, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, was crucified.

The "St. Andrew's Cross" is especially popular in Russia and the Black Sea countries, since it was around the Black Sea that the missionary path of the Apostle Andrew passed. In Russia, the St. Andrew's Cross is depicted on the flag of the navy. In addition, the St. Andrew's cross is especially revered by the Scots, who also depicted it on their national flag and believe that the Apostle Andrew preached in their country.

T-shaped cross

Such a cross was most common in Egypt and other provinces of the Roman Empire in North Africa. Crosses with a horizontal beam superimposed on a vertical post, or with a crossbar nailed just a little below the top edge of the post, were used to crucify criminals in these places.

Also, the “T-shaped cross” is called the “cross of St. Anthony” in honor of the Monk Anthony the Great, who lived in the 4th century, one of the founders of monasticism in Egypt, who traveled with a cross of this shape.

Archbishop's and Papal Crosses

In the Catholic Church, in addition to the traditional four-pointed cross, crosses are used with the second and third crossbars above the main one, reflecting the hierarchical position of the bearer.

A cross with two crossbars means the rank of cardinal or archbishop. Such a cross is sometimes also called "patriarchal" or "Lorraine". The cross with three bars corresponds to papal dignity and emphasizes the high position of the Roman pontiff in the Catholic Church.

Cross of Lalibela

In Ethiopia, church symbols use a four-pointed cross surrounded by a complex pattern, which is called the “Lalibela cross” in honor of the holy negus (king) of Ethiopia, Gebre Meskel Lalibela, who ruled in the 11th century. Negus Lalibela was known for his deep and sincere faith, the help of the Church and the generous work of alms.

Anchor cross

On the domes of some churches in Russia, you can find a cross that stands on a crescent-shaped base. Some mistakenly explain such symbolism by the wars in which Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire. Allegedly, "the Christian cross tramples on the Muslim crescent."

In fact, this shape is called the Anchor Cross. The fact is that already in the very first centuries of the existence of Christianity, when Islam had not yet arisen, the Church was called the “ship of salvation”, which delivers a person to the safe haven of the Kingdom of Heaven. At the same time, the cross was depicted as a reliable anchor on which this ship can wait out the storm of human passions. The image of a cross in the form of an anchor can be found even in the ancient Roman catacombs where the first Christians were hiding.

Celtic cross

Before converting to Christianity, the Celts worshiped various elements, including the eternal luminary - the sun. According to legend, when St. Patrick Equal-to-the-Apostles enlightened Ireland, he combined the symbol of the cross with the earlier pagan symbol of the sun to show the eternity and importance for every new convert of the Savior's sacrifice.

Christ is a reference to the cross

During the first three centuries, the cross, and even more so the Crucifixion, were not depicted openly. The rulers of the Roman Empire opened the hunt for Christians and they had to identify each other with the help of not too obvious secret signs.

One of the hidden symbols of Christianity closest to the cross in meaning was "chrism" - the monogram of the name of the Savior, usually made up of the first two letters of the word "Christ" "X" and "R".

Sometimes the symbols of eternity were added to the "chrism" - the letters "alpha" and "omega" or, alternatively, it was made in the form of an St. Andrew's cross crossed out with a cross line, that is, in the form of the letters "I" and "X" and could be read like "Jesus Christ".

There are many other varieties of the Christian cross, which are widely used, for example, in the international award system or in heraldry - on the coats of arms and flags of cities and countries.

Andrey Segeda

In contact with

pectoral cross- a small cross, symbolically displaying, on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified (sometimes with the image of the Crucified, sometimes without such an image), intended for constant wear by an Orthodox Christian as a sign of him and fidelity to Christ, belonging to the Orthodox, serving as a means of protection.

The cross is the greatest Christian shrine, a visible evidence of our redemption. In the service on the Feast of the Exaltation, he sings of the tree of the Cross of the Lord with many praises: "- the guardian of the whole universe, beauty, power of kings, the faithful affirmation, glory and plague."

The pectoral cross is handed over to a baptized person who becomes a Christian for constant wear in the most important place (near the heart) as an image of the Cross of the Lord, an external sign of the Orthodox. This is also done as a reminder that the Cross of Christ is a weapon against fallen spirits, having the power to heal and give life. That is why the Cross of the Lord is called Life-Giving!

He is evidence that a person is a Christian (a follower of Christ and a member of His Church). That is why the sin is for those who wear a cross for fashion, not being a member of the Church. The conscious wearing of a pectoral cross is a wordless prayer that allows this cross to manifest the true power of the Prototype - the Cross of Christ, which always protects the wearer, even if he does not ask for help, or does not have the opportunity to cross himself.

The cross is consecrated only once. You need to re-consecrate it only in exceptional conditions (if it was badly damaged and rebuilt, or fell into your hands, but you don’t know if it was consecrated before).

There is a superstition that when consecrated, the pectoral cross acquires magical protective properties. but teaches that the sanctification of matter allows us not only spiritually, but also bodily - through this sanctified matter - to partake of Divine grace, which is necessary for us for spiritual growth and salvation. But the grace of God works unconditionally. A correct spiritual life is required from a person, and it is this that makes it possible for the grace of God to have a salutary effect on us, healing from passions and sins.

Sometimes one hears the opinion that, they say, the consecration of pectoral crosses is a late tradition and this has not happened before. It can be answered that the Gospel, as a book, also once did not exist and there was no Liturgy in its present form. But this does not mean at all that the Church cannot develop forms of worship and church piety. Is it contrary to Christian doctrine to call on God's grace for the work of human hands?

Can two crosses be worn?

The main question is why, for what purpose? If you were given another one, then it is quite possible to reverently keep one of them in a holy corner next to the icons, and wear one all the time. If you bought another, then wear it ...
A Christian is buried with a pectoral cross, so it is not inherited. As for wearing a second pectoral cross somehow left over from a deceased relative, wearing it as a sign of memory of the deceased indicates a misunderstanding of the essence of wearing a cross, which testifies to the Sacrifice of God, and not family relationships.

The pectoral cross is not an ornament or an amulet, but one of the visible evidence of belonging to the Church of Christ, a means of grace-filled protection and a reminder of the commandment of the Savior: If anyone wants to follow Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me ... ().

In human culture, the cross has long been endowed with a sacred meaning. Many people consider it a symbol of the Christian faith, but this is far from the case. The ancient Egyptian ankh, the Assyrian and Babylonian symbols of the sun god are all variants of the cross, which were integral attributes of the pagan beliefs of peoples around the world. Even the South American tribes of Chibcha Muisca, one of the most advanced civilizations of that time, along with the Incas, Aztecs and Maya, used the cross in their rituals, believing that it protects a person from evil and personifies the forces of nature. In Christianity, the cross (Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox) is closely associated with the martyrdom of Jesus Christ.

The image of the cross in Christianity is somewhat variable, since it often changed its appearance over time. The following types of Christian crosses are known: Celtic, solar, Greek, Byzantine, Jerusalem, Orthodox, Latin, etc. By the way, it is the latter that is currently used by representatives of two of the three main Christian movements (Protestantism and Catholicism). The Catholic cross differs from the Protestant one in the presence of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. A similar phenomenon is explained by the fact that Protestants consider the cross a symbol of the shameful execution that the Savior had to accept. Indeed, in those ancient times, only criminals and thieves were sentenced to death by crucifixion. After his miraculous resurrection, Jesus ascended to Heaven, so Protestants consider placing a crucifixion with a living Savior on the cross as blasphemy and disrespect for the son of God.

Differences from the Orthodox cross

In Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the image of the cross has much more differences. So, if the Catholic cross (photo on the right) has a standard four-pointed shape, then the Orthodox one has six or eight-pointed ones, since it has a foot and a title. Another difference is manifested in the depiction of the crucifixion of Christ itself. In Orthodoxy, the Savior is usually depicted triumphant over death. Spreading his arms wide, he embraces all those for whom he gave his life, as if to say that his death served a good purpose. In contrast, the Catholic cross with a crucifix is ​​a martyr image of Christ. It serves as an eternal reminder to all believers of death and the anguish that preceded it, which the Son of God endured.

Cross of Saint Peter

The inverted Catholic cross in Western Christianity is by no means a sign of Satan, as third-rate horror films like to convince us. It is often used in Catholic icon painting and in the decoration of churches and is identified with one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. According to the assurances of the Roman Catholic Church, the apostle Peter, considering himself unworthy to die like the Savior, preferred to be crucified upside down on an inverted cross. Hence its name - the cross of Peter. In various photographs with the Pope, you can often see this Catholic cross, which from time to time causes unflattering accusations from the church in its connection with the Antichrist.