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The Orthodox Cross
The cross is the most prominent of all Christian symbols. It is symbolic of the crucifixion of Christ and
His suffering and death for the sins of the world. Constantine, Emperor of the Roman Empire, replaced the
symbolic eagles of Caesar with the cross of Christ and this emblem has been the standard symbol of
Christian faiths the world over ever since.
The Orthodox cross is distinctive, especially in that it includes the lower bar or foot rest set at a
diagonal. There are several historical explanations for this. Beginning in the ninth century, crucifixes
began to have the additional footboard in the shape of a horizontal bar in addition to the earlier form
which had an upright bar and a single cross bar. This lower bar provided a place for Christ to rest his
feet. Byzantine artists used this form of the cross regularly.
The first Byzantine crosses had the added footboard placed horizontally but successive Orthodox crosses put the
lower bar at a sharp diagonal. This change took place between the tenth and the eleventh centuries.
One explanation of the symbolism of the Orthodox cross is that is serves as a graphic rebuke to those who held the
opinion that Christ did not actually suffer on the cross but only seemed to suffer. The inclined position of the
lower bar indicates the intense reality of the suffering in the flesh by Jesus as He hung on the cross. His
agony was so intense that His nailed feet wrenched loose the nailed parts of the cross when He thrust one foot
down while drawing the other up.
Another religious interpretation is that the right side of the footboard points up to indicate the lightened
burden for believers and the left side down to indicate the weighing down of disbelievers. The uplifted right
side also indicates that on the second advent of Christ, believers will soar up to Him. Christ's head on
the cross is also usually inclined to the right to beckon disbelievers to follow Him, worship Him, and be
saved.
Still another interpretation of the slanting footboard is that it symbolizes the part played by the two
thieves who were crucified with Christ. The thief on the right repented and is represented by the raised
right side of the lower crossbar while the lowered left side represents the other thief who blasphemed Christ
during His crucifixion and was condemned.
The extra cross bar at the top of the Orthodox cross represents the inscription board nailed above Christ
on the cross. The inscription, "This is Jesus, The Kind of the Jews," was written in three languages;
Greek, Latin and Hebrew.
One explanation sometimes given in Russian Orthodox literature is that the Orthodox cross is a replica
of the cross planted by the Apostle Andrew when he looked northward over the mountains of the
Caucasus and predicted that a great church would arise. St. Andrew thus became the prophet of the
Russian Orthodox Church. The modern St. Andrew's cross, however is in the form of an "X", the shape
of the cross upon which this disciple was crucified.
The Orthodox cross, with its added inscription bar at the top and the added slanting footboard bar below,
more fully symbolizes the crucifixion than the commoner simple cross which has only one upright bar
and only one crossbar.
Author Unknown
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