The origin of the cross

The symbol of the cross is the oldest and has a great deal of mystical significance. Most crosses are purely decorative and heraldic. Only a few crosses have religious significance.

In the ancient Persian Empire, the Kingdom of Damascus, the Kingdom of Judah, the Kingdom of Israel, Carthage, and ancient Rome, the cross was a means and form of execution. Due to the large amount of resources consumed, only a few people are usually punished in a year. It is usually used to kill rebels, pagans, slaves and people without citizenship. And this punishment will not apply unless it is an extreme felony. In the society at the time, such punishment was a taboo.

Today, the cross bar necklace is a sign of Christian faith. In Christian literature, the crucifixion is generally used as a metaphor for suffering. Christians draw or wear crosses on their chests to signify their identity, firm belief, or commemorate Jesus Christ's self-sacrifice to save all humanity. Here we will introduce several of them.

Types of crosses

• Coptic cross. After Mark introduced the Christian faith to Egypt, Anka was naturally combined with the reliquary and used in the Eastern churches. These are the two types of crosses used by Gnostic and Coptic churches. Later, Christians in Egypt used another variant of the Coptic Cross as a sign, the New Coptic Cross, which is used by Egyptian Christians and the Coptic Alexander Orthodox Church.
• Celtic cross. Originated in Ireland (Irish: cros Cheilteach), it is a cross symbol connected by a circle at the central intersection. It is common in the British Isles; a stone-made cross on a circular ring is a symbol of the Celtic church, called Celtic Haikolos, and it contains a belief in stones in Celtic culture. At the intersection of the Celtic cross, there is a circular ring symbolizing eternal life. In the Christian cultural tradition, the combination of circles and crosses represents the sky and the earth.
• Latin cross. Also known as Christian cross, especially the cross of the Latin Church (Western Church), Latin cross is the most common type of cross. It is vertical, horizontal, and short, with the longitudinal arm longer than the transverse arm and the transverse arm above the middle of the longitudinal arm. The crucifixion represents Jesus' crucifixion here. The Latin cross with Jesus crucified emphasizes the crucifixion.
• Gothic cross. A variant of the Latin cross, the three petals at the end of the cross represent the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• Greek cross. Orthodox cross, equal arm cross, used by the Orthodox Church. It was originally a form of the Catholic cross with four equal arms, here refers to a form of centralized church, mainly found in Byzantium.
• Russian Orthodox Cross. The cross that appeared in the Byzantine Empire. The first cross represents Jesus’ head, and the bottom slash represents Jesus' feet. Below the Orthodox Cross there is a short horizontal, upwardly inclined part representing the direction of heaven, and a downwardly inclined part representing the direction of hell. The Russian Orthodox Cross symbolizes the balance of salvation and curse.
• The Chiro Cross. It consists of the Greek letters X and P. It is the first two letters of the Greek writing of Christ, representing Jesus Christ. The symbol was also used by Roman King Constantine on military chess. In Greek mythology, this symbol also represents Kronos, the god of ancient Greek.
• Lorraine Cross. Consists of one vertical, two horizontal and three lines. Legend has it that the three lines are the same length. During the war between Britain and France, the French national hero Joan of Arc used the symbol and later became a symbol of French freedom. The difference from the cross of the patriarch and heraldic emblem is that the lower horizontal branch is closer to the bottom.
• Jerusalem cross. It is in the shape of "╋", and one small cross on each of the four corners surrounds the central cross "╋", which symbolizes the four poles of the gospel from Jerusalem to the earth.