Orthodox cross

See also: Patriarchal cross and Cross of Lorraine

The Orthodox, Byzantine or Russian (Orthodox) Cross, also known as the Suppedaneum cross, is a variation of the Christian cross, commonly found in some Slavic Eastern Orthodox Churches, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite and the Society for Eastern Rite Anglicanism. The cross has three horizontal crossbeams—the top one represents the plate which in the older Greek tradition is inscribed with a phrase based on John's Gospel "The King of Glory", but in later images it represents INRI, and the bottom one, a footrest. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the lower beam is slanted: the side to Christ's right is usually higher. This is because the footrest slants upward toward the penitent thief St. Dismas, who was (according to tradition) crucified on Jesus' right, and downward toward impenitent thief Gestas. It is also a common perception that the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ’s right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ’s left. One of the Orthodox Church’s Friday prayers clearly explains the meaning: "In the midst, between two thieves, was Your Cross found as the balance-beam of righteousness; For while one was led down to hell by the burden of his blaspheming, the other was lightened of his sins unto the knowledge of things divine, O Christ God glory to You." The earliest version of a slanted footstool can be found in Jerusalem, but throughout the Eastern Christian world until the 17th century, the footstool is slanted the other way, pointing upwards rather than downwards, making the downward footstool a Russian innovation. In the Greek and most other Orthodox Churches, the footrest remains straight, as in earlier representations, or is sometimes slanted the other way (upwards), in contrast to the Russian cross. Common variations include the "Cross over Crescent" and the "Calvary cross".

Russian variations

Calvary Cross

Cross over Crescent variation of the Orthodox Cross at the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral

One variation of the Orthodox Cross is the 'Cross over Crescent', which is sometimes accompanied by "Gabriel perched on the top of the Cross blowing his trumpet." Didier Chaudet, in the academic journal China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, writes that an "emblem of the Orthodox Church is a cross on top on a crescent. It is said that this symbol was devised by Ivan the Terrible, after the conquest of the city of Kazan, as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over Islam through his soldiers"; the Orthodox World Encyclopaedia concurs with this view. However, B.A. Uspensky offers another view, stating that in pre-Christian times, the 'Cross over Crescent' symbolized the sun and the moon, and that in the Christian Era, the cross is a symbol of Christ and the moon is a symbol of the Virgin Mary.

In Russia, the top crossbeam can be absent; however, in the Russian North it can be attached on top of the vertical beam.

A variation is a monastic "Calvary Cross", in which the cross is situated atop the hill of Calvary, its slopes symbolized by steps. To the viewer's left is the Holy Lance, with which Jesus was wounded in his side, and to the right, a pole topped by a vinegared hyssop sponge. Under Calvary are Adam's skull and bones; the right-arm bone is usually above the left one, and believers fold their arms across their chests in this way during Orthodox communion. Around the cross are abbreviations in Church Slavonic. This type of cross is usually embroidered on a schema-monk's robe.

Between 1577–1625, the Russian Orthodox Cross was depicted between the heads of a double-headed eagle in the coat of arms of Russia. It was drawn on military banners until the end of the 17th century.

Gallery

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  The Descent of Christ into hell, a mosaic from Hosios Loukas in Greece, the 11th century

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  Constantine and Helena in the Exaltation of the Cross, a mosaic from Hosios Loukas in Greece, the 11th century

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  The Crucifixion, a 13th-century mosaic from Constantinople

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  15th-century Russian depiction in which the traditional INRI plank is instead marked with "ЦР҃Ь СЛ҃ВЫ", standing for "King of Glory"

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  Coat of arms of Russia from the seal of Ivan IV (the Terrible), 1577

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  Coat of arms of Russia from the seal of Fyodor I, 1589

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  A rider with the banner from an icon Blessed Be the Host of the King of Heaven (Church Militant), 1550s

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  A 17th-century miniature of the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). A warrior bears a red banner with a cross

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  A copper cross typical for Old believers

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  A cross of a Russian Orthodox priest

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  A modern memorial to Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

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  Coat of arms of Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire, 1878

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  Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, the resting place of many eminent Russian émigrés.