The Cross
an emblem of Christianity
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The Cross
"...people sometimes go far as to make the cross an object of adoration or an icon in its own right"
God-fearing Christians believe that Jesus accepted crucifixion on a cross for the benefit of us all. The message from this is at the heart of all true gospel preaching and consequently the cross symbol is used by two billion Christians all over the world.
This has not always been the case however. Christians didn’t use the sign of the cross as their religious symbol for many generations after Christ was crucified. Rather than being a Christian symbol it had associations with executioners.
So initially, Christians adopted the 
fish symbol to identify their religion. Then, early in the fourth century, when execution by crucifixion was abolished by Emperor Constantine and the process began to convert the "official" religion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, the cross became the emblem for Christians.
The cross is now carried by more people than any other religious talisman and is considered by many to be sacred. People sometimes go far as to make the cross an object of adoration or an icon in its own right. (See also Pagan Items Adopted by Christians and The Old Rugged Cross.)
When an image of Christ (corpus) is shown nailed to a cross, it is usually called a crucifix. Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches often display crucifixes to emphasize Christ's sacrifice. Protestant crosses usually depict the cross without the corpus, to emphasize the resurrection.
Crosses are grouped into the following main categories:
The former () is often depicted as the type used to crucify Jesus, although we don't know for certain what the True Cross looked like. In any case, the style doesn't matter as much as the meaning of the cross.
Crux Immissa
The Crux Immissa has a horizontal beam inserted at right-angles to the upright post. Immissa means 'inserted', and this is the more common form of the Christian cross. Another name for this cross is Crux Capitata, which means 'with a head'.
There are no universally prescribed dimensions for a cross. Some are copied from national flags and retain the ratio (1:1.5, 1:1.6, 1:1.667, etc). Other designers prefer the aesthetically pleasing 'Golden Ratio' of 1:1.1618 (though this may be rejected as being too Pythagorean). In these pages, we have chosen a rather stunted ratio of 1:1.429.
There are two variations:
- crux humilis - a low cross, where the victim's feet were close to the ground. This was the most common form of cross; cheaper, easier to use, and also give the mob opportunity to torture the victim further. (Because of their extensive use during the Crusades, crosses have played a major role in heraldry. To suit the shape and size of shields, heraldic crosses are often shown where the height and width are equal, like the crux humilis.)
- crux sublimis - tall cross, where the victim was high off the ground. This would be used for people who had commanded a high rank in society.
Crux Simplex 
The crux simplex, being a simple upright post, does not have the transverse beam found on other forms. The ancient Greek word for stake is stauros (n) and stauroo (v). This simple post was common for crucifixions until the Phoenicians added a cross beam to make a crux immissa.
The crux simplex evolved from a tree - infelix lignum or arbor infelix - dedicated to the gods of the nether world, a non-fruiting tree, unproductive, valueless, and therefore considered suitable for crucifying criminals. The Bible says that Jesus was hung on a tree (Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29, Galatians 3:13, 1st Peter 2:24). Whether it was an actual rooted tree or an upright wooden post fixed into the ground (see stipe), it doesn't mean a transverse beam was not added to form a crux immissa. A common crucifixion method was to bind the condemned person's wrists to a beam (patibulum) and then attach that beam to a tree or stipe, thereby forming a cross (crux composita or crux acuta).
Crux Decussata 
Decussata comes from decus, Latin for 'distinction', 'honour', 'glory' and 'grace'.
The Roman numeral X is ten (decem). The Chinese and Japanese character for ten also happens to be a cross: 
. The origin of this East Asian character is usually, yet erroneously, explained as two lines crossing to symbolise the four main directions, which in turn expressed the concept of completeness and by association all the fingers, i.e. ten. However, this seems a confused version of its more likely origin. It probably derives from a depiction of a sewing needle with thread passing through the eye, and was used as a substitute for the more complex character 
, meaning 'hands together', i.e. ten fingers. (See also Fingers Crossed.)
Crux Commissa 
The Crux Commissa is a 'T' shaped cross; commissa meaning 'joined' or 'attached'. The more widely known names are the Tau Cross (St. Anthony's Cross) and the Forked Cross (Y-shaped Cross).
