Christian culture has given rise to a huge number of symbols. Some of them are actively used and are familiar to almost everyone. Others, on the contrary, having once appeared in the church, eventually lost their popularity and are not so relevant in the context of modern culture, existing only in the backyard of the historical and cultural memory of the Christian community. One of these symbols is an inverted cross, that is, a cross in which the crossbar is lowered below the middle of the vertical line. This is the so-called cross of St. Peter. His photo is posted below. Many are familiar with it, but not everyone associates it with the New Testament religion.
The legend of the crucifixion of the Apostle Peter
The inverted cross owes its appearance in the bosom of the church to the legend of the supreme apostle Peter. To be more precise, it refers to his death, which, according tothe same tradition, took place in Rome in 65 or 67 years. According to Catholic doctrine, Peter was the head of the apostles and played the role of Christ's vicar on earth after the latter's ascension to heaven. Therefore, he went with the preaching of the good news to Rome to testify there about the Son of God before the emperor and the people of the eternal city. By converting a considerable number of pagans and Jews there to Christianity, Peter thereby made enemies among those who did not respond to his preaching. Among others, he was the then leader of the Roman Empire - Emperor Nero. There is a version that the latter disliked the apostle because he converted two of his wives to Christ, who from that moment began to shun Nero. True or not, Peter was put on trial and sentenced to death by crucifixion. The prince of the apostles had the opportunity to escape punishment. He even tried to take advantage of it by withdrawing from Rome. Church legends tell that on the way he met Jesus Christ, heading towards Rome, and asked him where he was going. Christ replied that he was going to Rome because Peter was fleeing from it. After that, the hapless apostle went back to meet his fate.
When Peter was already prepared for execution, he asked the executioners to crucify him upside down, arguing that he was not worthy of being executed like his divine teacher. The Roman executioners fulfilled his request by turning over the cross to which the apostle was nailed. That is why it is known as the cross of St. Peter.
Church meaning of the symbol
In Christian iconography and sculpture, it is rare to find an inverted cross. Nevertheless, sometimes it is still found, both in the Catholic and in the Orthodox tradition. Of course, in Catholicism its significance is somewhat higher, since it is in this branch of Christianity that the special, exclusive role of the Apostle Peter and his successors in the person of the Popes is postulated. Orthodoxy, on the other hand, levels the supreme dignity of the Apostle Peter to the level of primacy of honor, while Catholics literally understand the words of Jesus Christ that Peter is the stone on which the Christian church will be built. Hence the special attention of the adherents of the Roman see to everything connected with this apostle. The story of the crucifixion upside down was also no exception. Thus, the inverted cross, that is, the cross of St. Peter, is a symbol not just of the apostle, but also of his power, and therefore the power of the bishop of Rome and the institution of the papacy in general.
But even in this sense it is used quite rarely. It even happens that Catholics themselves are sometimes perplexed when they meet the cross of St. Peter among church paraphernalia or as symbols on liturgical utensils.
Mystical interpretation of the inverted cross in esotericism
Western occult tradition, based on the synthesis of Christianity, Kabbalah and a number of religious elements of other traditions, also did not bypass the cross of St. Peter. What it means, however, has not been clearly stated until now by anyone. Most often withit is associated with practices designed to purify the soul from certain sinful states. But the search for the hidden meaning of this symbol did not give much success, unlike, say, the Jewish hexagram or the pagan pentagram.
Satanic Interpretation Trends
Beyond the interests of Catholics and occultists, however, the cross of St. Peter has become extremely popular among the adherents of the devil. Each Satanist certainly wears or has at home an inverted cross, called in such cases an overturned cross. The meaning of this is quite obvious: since Satanism is not an independent religion, but a cult based on opposition to the Christian God, both its symbols and practice originate in Christianity. So, the main "virtues" of Satanism are the sins of Christian ethics, the liturgy or the so-called black mass of devil worshipers, this is a distorted Christian worship. In accordance with the same principle, the cross, being the main Christian symbol, became inverted, along with the inverted pentagram, the main symbol of Satanism. In this capacity, the followers of the prince of darkness in some associations use the cross of St. Peter as an altar, placing a naked girl on it, with whom ritual intercourse then takes place.
Cross of the Apostle Peter and upside down crucifix
In Christianity in general, the satanic interpretation of the inverted cross is not taken seriously. At least this applies to people who know his true origin. Really offensivefor Christians is an inverted crucifix. That is, not just an overturned cross, but a cross with the image of the crucified Christ. In this case, it is indeed considered a violation of the religious symbol and blasphemy. In practice, especially among devil worshipers, the difference between a cross and a crucifix is obscured, often leading to misinterpretations and preconceived notions.
Conspiracy theories
For example, this concerns various theories that suspect the Vatican and the Catholic Church in general of complicity with Satanism, serving the Antichrist and selling their Christian identity to the devil. The cross of St. Peter, whose meaning in the Catholic Church is uniquely and consecrated by tradition, suddenly begins to be used as evidence of the involvement of the papal entourage in a secret conspiracy to establish the power of the Antichrist and similar fictions. Unfortunately, there has never been a shortage of such unscrupulous theories and is unlikely to be.
