The Holy Cross is a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every true believer, at the sight of him, is involuntarily filled with thoughts of the Savior's death throes, which he accepted to deliver us from eternal death, which became the lot of people after the fall of Adam and Eve. The eight-pointed Orthodox cross carries a special spiritual and emotional burden. Even if there is no image of the crucifix on it, it always appears to our inner gaze.
The instrument of death that has become a symbol of life
The Christian cross is an image of the instrument of execution that Jesus Christ was subjected to under a forced sentence pronounced by the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. For the first time, this type of killing of criminals appeared among the ancient Phoenicians and already through their colonists - the Carthaginians came to the Roman Empire, where it became widespread.
In the pre-Christian period, mainly robbers were sentenced to crucifixion, and then the followers of Jesus Christ accepted this martyrdom. This phenomenon was especially frequent induring the reign of Emperor Nero. The very death of the Savior made this instrument of shame and suffering a symbol of the victory of good over evil and the light of eternal life over the darkness of hell.
Eight-pointed cross - a symbol of Orthodoxy
Christian tradition knows many different styles of the cross, from the most common crosshairs of straight lines to very complex geometric structures, complemented by a variety of symbols. The religious meaning in them is the same, but the external differences are very significant.
In the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, as well as in Russia, the eight-pointed, or, as is often said, the Orthodox cross, has been the symbol of the church for a long time. In addition, you can hear the expression "the cross of St. Lazarus", this is another name for the eight-pointed Orthodox cross, which will be discussed below. Sometimes an image of the crucified Savior is placed on it.
External features of the Orthodox cross
Its peculiarity lies in the fact that in addition to two horizontal crossbars, of which the lower one is large and the upper one is small, there is also an inclined one, called the foot. It is small in size and placed at the bottom of the vertical segment, symbolizing the crossbar on which the feet of Christ rested.
The direction of its inclination is always the same: if you look from the side of the crucified Christ, then the right end will be higher than the left. There is a certain symbolism in this. According to the words of the Savior at the Last Judgment, the righteous will standon his right hand, and sinners on his left. It is the path of the righteous to the Kingdom of Heaven that is indicated by the right end of the foot raised up, and the left end is turned into the depths of hell.
According to the Gospel, a board was nailed over the head of the Savior, on which the hand of Pontius Pilate wrote: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." This inscription was made in three languages - Aramaic, Latin and Greek. It is her symbolizes the upper small crossbar. It can be placed both in the interval between the large crossbar and the upper end of the cross, and at its very top. Such an inscription allows us to reproduce with the greatest certainty the appearance of the instrument of Christ's suffering. That is why the Orthodox cross is eight-pointed.
About the golden ratio
The eight-pointed Orthodox cross in its classical form is built according to the law of the golden section. To make it clear what we are talking about, let's dwell on this concept in a little more detail. It is commonly understood as a harmonic proportion, one way or another underlying everything that was created by the Creator.
One of its examples is the human body. By simple experience, it can be seen that if we divide the size of our height by the distance from the soles to the navel, and then divide the same value by the distance between the navel and the top of the head, then the results will be the same and will be 1.618. The same proportion is contained in the size of the phalanges our fingers. This ratio of values, called the golden ratio, can be found literally at every step: from the structure of a sea shell to the shape of an ordinary garden turnip.
Building proportions onThe basis of the law of the golden section is widely used in architecture, as well as other areas of art. Taking it into account, many artists manage to achieve maximum harmony in their works. The same regularity was observed by composers who worked in the genre of classical music. When writing compositions in the style of rock and jazz, it was abandoned.
The law of the construction of the Orthodox cross
An eight-pointed Orthodox cross is also built on the basis of the golden ratio. The meaning of its ends was explained above, now let's turn to the rules underlying the construction of this main Christian symbol. They were not established artificially, but poured out of the harmony of life itself and received their mathematical justification.
The eight-pointed Orthodox cross, drawn in full accordance with tradition, always fits into a rectangle, the aspect ratio of which corresponds to the golden section. Simply put, dividing its height by its width is 1,618.
The Cross of St. Lazarus (as mentioned above, this is another name for the eight-pointed Orthodox cross) in its construction has another feature related to the proportions of our body. It is well known that the width of a person's arms is equal to his height, and a figure with arms spread apart fits perfectly into a square. For this reason, the length of the middle crossbar, corresponding to the span of Christ's arms, is equal to the distance from it to the inclined foot, that is, his height. These simple, at first glance, rules should be considered by each person,which is faced with the question of how to draw an eight-pointed Orthodox cross.
Calvary Cross
There is also a special, purely monastic eight-pointed Orthodox cross, the photo of which is presented in the article. It is called the "Cross of Golgotha". This is the outline of the usual Orthodox cross, which was described above, placed above the symbolic image of Mount Golgotha. It is usually presented in the form of steps, under which bones and a skull are placed. A cane with a sponge and a spear can be depicted to the left and right of the cross.
Each of these items has a deep religious meaning. For example, the skull and bones. According to Holy Tradition, the sacrificial blood of the Savior, shed by him on the cross, fell on the top of Golgotha, seeped into its depths, where the remains of our progenitor Adam rested, and washed away the curse of original sin from them. Thus, the image of the skull and bones emphasizes the connection of the sacrifice of Christ with the crime of Adam and Eve, as well as the New Testament - with the Old.
The meaning of the image of the spear on the cross Golgotha
The eight-pointed Orthodox cross on monastic vestments is always accompanied by images of a cane with a sponge and a spear. Those familiar with the text of the Gospel of John well remember the moment full of drama when one of the Roman soldiers named Longinus pierced the ribs of the Savior with this weapon and blood and water flowed from the wound. This episode has a different interpretation, but the most common of them is contained in the writings of a Christian theologian and philosopher of the 4th centurySt. Augustine.
In them, he writes that just as the Lord created his bride Eve from the rib of sleeping Adam, so from the wound in the side of Jesus Christ, inflicted by the spear of a warrior, his bride church was created. The blood and water shed at the same time, according to St. Augustine, symbolize the holy sacraments - the Eucharist, where wine is turned into the blood of the Lord, and Baptism, in which a person entering the bosom of the church is immersed in a font of water. The spear with which the wound was inflicted is one of the main relics of Christianity, and it is believed that it is currently kept in Vienna, in the Hofburg Castle.
The meaning of the cane and sponge image
Equally important are the images of canes and sponges. From the stories of the holy evangelists it is known that the crucified Christ was twice offered a drink. In the first case, it was wine mixed with myrrh, that is, an intoxicating drink that allows you to dull pain and thereby prolong the execution.
The second time, having heard the cry “I thirst!” from the cross, they brought him a sponge filled with vinegar and bile. This was, of course, a mockery of the exhausted man and contributed to the approach of the end. In both cases, the executioners used a sponge impaled on a cane, since without it they could not reach the mouth of the crucified Jesus. Despite such a gloomy role assigned to them, these objects, like the spear, are among the main Christian shrines, and their image can be seen next to the Golgotha cross.
Symbolic inscriptions on the monastic cross
For those who firstsees a monastic eight-pointed Orthodox cross, questions often arise related to the inscriptions inscribed on it. In particular, these are IC and XC at the ends of the middle bar. These letters mean nothing more than an abbreviated name - Jesus Christ. In addition, the image of the cross is accompanied by two inscriptions located under the middle crossbar - the Slavic inscription of the words "Son of God" and the Greek NIKA, which means "winner" in translation.
On the small crossbar, symbolizing, as mentioned above, a tablet with an inscription made by Pontius Pilate, the Slavic abbreviation ІНЦІ is usually written, denoting the words "Jesus the Nazarene King of the Jews", and above it - "King of Glory". Near the image of the spear, it became a tradition to write the letter K, and near the cane T. In addition, from about the 16th century, they began to write the letters ML on the left and RB on the right at the base of the cross. They are also an abbreviation, and mean the words "Place of the Execution Crucified to Be".
In addition to the listed inscriptions, we should mention two letters G, standing to the left and right of the image of Golgotha, and being the initial ones in its name, as well as G and A - Adam's Head, written on the sides of the skull, and the phrase "King of Glory", crowning the monastic eight-pointed Orthodox cross. The meaning inherent in them is fully consistent with the gospel texts, however, the inscriptions themselves may vary and be replaced by others.
Immortality by faith
It is also important to understand why the name of the eight-pointed Orthodox cross is associated within the name of Saint Lazarus? The answer to this question can be found in the pages of the Gospel of John, which describes the miracle of his resurrection from the dead, performed by Jesus Christ, on the fourth day after death. The symbolism in this case is quite obvious: just as Lazarus was brought back to life by the faith of his sisters Martha and Mary in the omnipotence of Jesus, so everyone who trusts in the Savior will be delivered from the hands of eternal death.
In the vain earthly life, people are not given to see the Son of God with their own eyes, but they are given his religious symbols. One of them is the eight-pointed Orthodox cross, the proportions, general appearance and semantic meaning of which have become the topic of this article. He accompanies a believing person throughout his life. From the holy font, where the sacrament of baptism opens the gates of the Church of Christ to him, right up to the gravestone, he is overshadowed by an eight-pointed Orthodox cross.
Pectoral symbol of the Christian faith
The custom to wear small crosses on the chest, made of a variety of materials, appeared only at the beginning of the 4th century. Despite the fact that the main instrument of Christ's passion was an object of reverence for all his followers literally from the first years of the establishment of the Christian Church on earth, at first it was customary to wear medallions with the image of the Savior around the neck rather than crosses.
There is also evidence that during the period of persecution that took place from the middle of the 1st to the beginning of the 4th century, there were voluntary martyrs who wanted to suffer for Christ and put the image of the cross on their foreheads. Bythey were recognized by this sign, and then betrayed to torment and death. After the establishment of Christianity as the state religion, wearing pectoral crosses became a custom, and in the same period they began to be installed on the roof of temples.
Two types of pectoral crosses in Ancient Russia
In Russia, the symbols of the Christian faith appeared in 988, simultaneously with her baptism. It is curious to note that our ancestors inherited two types of pectoral crosses from the Byzantines. One of them was customarily worn on the chest, under clothing. Such crosses were called vests.
Along with them, the so-called encolpions appeared - also crosses, but somewhat larger and worn over clothes. They originate from the tradition of wearing shrines with relics, which were decorated with the image of a cross. Over time, the encolpions were transformed into the pectoral crosses of priests and metropolitans.
The main symbol of humanism and philanthropy
Over the millennium that has passed since the time when the Dnieper banks were illuminated by the light of Christ's faith, the Orthodox tradition has undergone many changes. Only its religious dogmas and the main elements of symbolism remained unshakable, the main of which is the eight-pointed Orthodox cross.
Gold and silver, copper or made of any other material, it keeps the believer, protecting him from the forces of evil - visible and invisible. Being a reminder of the sacrifice made by Christ for the salvation of people, the cross has become a symbol of the highest humanism andlove of neighbor.
