Most Christian worship spaces contain some kind of cross, either inside the sanctuary or outside mounted to the building. Some of those crosses include a figure of the crucified Jesus, which makes the symbol a
crucifix. Others—especially in Protestant churches—are empty of anything other than the horizontal and vertical boards. Regardless of their form, crosses are so common in church buildings that we have a tendency to forget why they are there and what they mean.
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| The Chi-Rho |
The cross was not a popular symbol among Christians for the first 300 years or so of the faith. The early believers remembered what crosses were used for: to cruelly torture and execute enemies of the Roman state. Only after Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the 4th century did the stigma of persecution, along with memories of the cross as a device of torture, begin to fade from the church's collective memory.
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| The Greek Cross |
Over time the worldwide church began to develop different symbols to represent the cross on which Jesus died. Just as his death has
many levels of meaning—from forgiveness of sin, to victory over death—the cross can symbolize many different aspects of the Christian faith. Here are some examples of different cross symbols:
The Chi-Rho symbol is not technically a cross but rather a
Christogram. These two superimposed letters represent the name of Christ in Greek (Chi resembles X, and Rho looks like P). Legend has it that Constantine used this symbol as a battle standard on his soldiers' shields during the military victory at
Milvian Bridge. Some scholars believe that Constantine also saw in this symbol a reference to the sun god, which he may have believed was a form of Jesus Christ. Whatever Constantine may have believed at that moment, the Chi-Rho is still a popular symbol today.
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| The Latin Cross |
The Greek Cross is one of the earliest forms adopted by Christians in the years after Constantine. There are many variations of it, but it essentially consists of four equal arms.
The Latin Cross is the form most Americans are familiar with, with the vertical arm extending longer below the intersection.
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| The Jerusalem Cross |
The Jerusalem Cross contains four smaller crosses around the central one. These represent the five wounds that Jesus suffered on the cross: one on each hand and foot, as well as one in his side. This is also known as the Crusader's cross, worn and carried by European soldiers on their quest to conquer Jerusalem.
The Orthodox Cross, also known as the Suppedaneum or Byzantine cross, has three horizontal bars. The top one represents the
inscription over Jesus' head. The lowest bar, often set at an angle, shows the footrest Jesus used to push himself up to catch his breath. There are several versions that have the footrest pointing upwards.
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| The Orthodox Cross |
St. Andrew's Cross is also called the Saltire. Tradition teaches us that Andrew the apostle was crucified on a cross of this shape. This form shows up on several flags, including that of Scotland.
Because these symbols of the cross carry a long history, some people react against the abuses they represent. Crosses were carried by crusading Europeans as they marched into Near Eastern lands, perpetrating unspeakable war crimes. To this day many peoples see these symbols as an affront to their heritage, making the displays of crosses on public lands a
hotly contested issue.
Crosses were also co-opted by American racist groups who erected and set them
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| St. Andrew's Cross |
on fire for the purpose of terrorizing minority communities.
Even many faithful Christians see the meaning behind the cross as a glorification of the wrong aspects of God's saving work; they feel that torture and repression is never to be celebrated or justified.
Yet the cross is troubling even to those who do not make these difficult historic associations. The American dream, for instance, is built on the foundation of optimism and the assurance of a better future. Christians who have been raised in that environment tend to see God's story in the same way, by rushing past the events of Good Friday and focusing on the Problem-Solving God who makes everything better on Easter Sunday. (Just think how many more Americans go to church on Easter than on Good Friday. Most Protestant churches don't even have services on Friday.) Many worship spaces for newer churches don't even have crosses at all, and not just because they would get in the way of the projection screens. A cross interrupts and challenges our assumptions that all is right with the world. It reminds us that we still live in the time-in-between, where evil is still very real and terrorizes us all. The cross therefore serves as a necessary reminder—it acknowledges that life in our fallen world is still messy and painful. In spite of our best efforts to improve the world, the power to heal it can only come from the one who died there.
