Meaning of the cross: History, symbology, types, crucifix and more!

The cross has a very broad meaning, which varies according to the time and culture in which it is used, but today, all over the world, its most common use is as a symbol of Christianity. However, even within Christianity, it is possible to find different forms of use and meaning for the figure of the cross.

Historically, it is one of the oldest and most basic symbols, having both mystical-religious, social and philosophical interpretations. And it is “basic” in the sense that it is at the heart of human experience itself, since we, as a species, started to walk upright and to experience these tensions between the vertical and the horizontal on a daily basis.

Let us now see how the cross has evolved as a symbol within Western history and what are its main uses today, both in culture in general and in Christianity, where it can take on various formats and meanings.

From an instrument of torture to a fashion accessory: Discover now the origin of the cross as a Christian symbol and check out some of its main uses in contemporary culture in general.

There are records of the use of the cross as an instrument of torture long before the crucifixion of Christ by the Romans. The oldest of them dates back to 519 BC, when the Persian king Darius I crucified about 3000 enemies. Later in history, the Greeks also used the cross as a punishment against opponents of the empire.

In Rome, it was a much less used means of torture than one might think, mainly because Roman citizens never suffered this type of punishment, which was mainly aimed at slaves. It served to inflict maximum torture and shame on the condemned, who were crucified in large public sessions.

The crucifixion of Christ transformed the cross into the ultimate symbol of the Christian faith, although this process took several centuries, since early Christians mostly used the fish symbol to identify themselves, and eventually the letters X and P, which make up the name of Christ in Greek, merged into an ideogram.

Today, it represents the Christian faith in general, being seen more frequently in the Catholic Church only because the evangelicals tend to have a certain economy in the use of images. But beyond that, there are many other religions that use the cross or variations of it as a symbol.

With the expansion of Christianity in the world, the cross acquired several meanings related to Christ’s experience with it. Thus, over time, the cross came to mean pain and suffering, for example, and mainly, it began to be used to mark the place of a death or to indicate the date of a death.

Therefore, today, it is very common to find it on the side of roads or other places, indicating that someone died there. Likewise, on tombstones in cemeteries, it was conventional to use a star to indicate the date of birth and the cross for the date of death, certainly in reference to the death of Christ crucified.

During a very bloody battle in the middle of the 19th century, a Swedish doctor named Henri Dunant decided to organize care for all the wounded, regardless of which side they fought. Thus, Dunant established the use of the red cross as a symbol of health care so that whoever wore it would not be targeted in battle.

Around the world, it is customary to use the red cross to identify hospitals and medical care units. In many places, the green cross is also used to identify pharmacies, so the Federal Council of Pharmacies in Brazil recommends the use of the symbol to facilitate the identification of establishments on public roads and also by foreigners.

The use of the cross as a fashion accessory is very recent compared to other uses. It started in the early 1970s and is closely linked to the cultural and sexual revolution that took place at that time, having been transposed into the fashion world by the punks and goths of the period.

One of the main people responsible for popularizing the cross as a fashion accessory was the British model and actress Pamela Rooke, linked to the famous boutique Sex, in London, having worked with one of its owners, Vivienne Westwood.

But it was certainly the pop singer Madonna who finally popularized the use of the cross as a fashion accessory, using it in a more profane way and making room for it as a fashion accessory around the world.

The design is simple – two intersecting lines, but its meaning can be incredibly complex. Let’s now look at some of the more common ways the cross is used as a symbol from a mystical and religious perspective.

As the vertical line of the cross establishes a connection between heaven and earth, the cross is seen, then, within a mystical perspective, as a symbol of the union between the human and the divine.

In Christianity, this union is guaranteed by the sacrifice of Christ, which had precisely the purpose of redeeming humanity so that it could reconnect with its creator. Christ’s surrender to God’s designs is also an example of the way to this communion.

Also within a mystical perspective, throughout history, the cross is related to the four basic elements that are air, earth, fire and water. The same goes for other aspects of human nature (or nature in general) that can be divided into four, such as the cardinal points or personality types: choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic.

Magical thinking understands that air and fire are active elements, and therefore, in the representation of the cross, they would be on the vertical axis, on the rise. On the other hand, water and earth would be passive elements, which “fall”, and thus would be represented on the horizontal axis of the cross.

According to the biblical narrative and Christian faith around the world, Christ died on the cross to fulfill God’s plans for the salvation of mankind and the redemption of their sins. The resurrection, on the third day, would be the promise of eternal life and the certainty of victory over the powers of the flesh and the Devil.

In addition to the mystical aspects of this interpretation, Jesus’ sacrifice is understood as proof of his absolute and unconditional love for humanity. It is the very love of God, since the two are one in the Trinity. All these aspects of Christianity are present in the symbology of the cross used by Christians.

Although it was the instrument of Christ’s suffering and death, the nature of his sacrifice and the fact that he was raised on the third day make the cross as much a symbol of life as it is a symbol of death.

The teaching drawn from a symbolic analysis of Christ’s death and resurrection is that those who wish to approach God must die to the world and the flesh and be born again to the spirit and divine fellowship. It is in this way that the symbology of the cross acquires the ambivalent traits it possesses, representing both death and the victory of life.

Now, you will know different types of cross, not only in different cultures and different historical periods, but also within Christianity itself, where the image can vary and assume very particular meanings.

The Christian cross is what we call merely a cross, having the vertical axis longer than the horizontal one, which is located above the center of the vertical line. It is the one that represents, for Christians, the general and universal values ​​of Christianity, and it is also the one that receives the image of the crucified Christ, becoming a crucifix.

But long before Jesus passed through Earth, this cross was already used, both in the Neolithic period and later by Egyptians, Greeks, Celts and Aztecs. In some of these cases, it was represented inside a circle in reference to the sun and the cycles of nature.

The Maltese cross has four arms of equal length with the ends divided into two points each, making a total of eight points. It is also called Cross of Amalfi or Cross of Saint John. It represents the Order of the Knights Hospitaller, or the Order of Malta.

This Christian military order imposes eight duties on its knights, symbolized by the eight points of the Maltese cross. They also symbolize the rebirth of these knights, but it was also adopted by several other organizations as a symbol of protection and honor.

The red cross was first used in 1859 in Italy during the bloody battle of Solferino. The Swedish doctor Henri Dunant used it to protect a medical group that took care of wounded from both armies. The shape chosen was that of the red cross on a white background because this is an inversion of the colors of the flag of Sweden.

Since then, the red cross has become a symbol strongly associated with medical care. In 1863, Dunant founded the international institution of the Red Cross, which aims to bring humane medical care to all those in need around the world.

The Greek cross is equal to the mathematical sign of “plus”, being therefore square, with the four equal sides. It was the cross used by Christians in the fourth century, being called the basic cross or “crux quadrata” in Latin.

It represents the four cardinal points and the four winds, thus being a symbol of the dissemination of the word of God, which should be taken to the four corners of the world. Currently, it is no longer used by Christians, but its format is the one that appears on the red cross, being a symbol of medical help across the globe.

The Latin cross has a very long vertical axis and a shorter horizontal one. Generally, the side arms and the top one are the same length, but occasionally the top one is shorter. It is the closest, in fact, to the shape of the cross on which Jesus died.

Its Latin name is “cross immissa”, and its symbology refers to reincarnation, light and Jesus Christ. When placed upside down, it is called the cross of Saint Peter, and when placed on its side, it is called the cross of Saint Philip.

The cross of Saint Andrew has the shape of an “X” and is so called because Saint Andrew chose a cross with this shape to be crucified, when he received his condemnation, judging himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as his Lord Jesus Christ .

Her Latin name is “crux decussata”, and she is also called “sautor” or…