The Jerusalem Cross
Christians, Muslims and Jews all claim Jerusalem, the 'City of Peace', is their holy place. And sadly fighting over control of this tiny area continues to this day.
The Jerusalem Cross
also called the Crusader's Cross or Cantonee Cross
For some time now, there has been fierce debate on who are the rightful occupiers Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, from the Greek Hierousalem and the Hebrew Yerushalayim is from the base words yarah meaning 'he threw, cast', and shalom meaning 'peace'. Yet the city has hardly ever been peaceful. Melchizedek is the first King of Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible's book of Genesis1 (the city is pretty old!) followed by Adonizedek2. After his death, the city was set ablaze by the people of Judah3 but they didn't expel the Jebusites completely. We then read the story of David and Goliath4, after which David pushed out the remaining Jebusites5, about 3,000 years ago.
(Time-out please! I'm getting confused. Who is the rightful owner of the city?)
Let's move on a few years now, and skip the bits of history when the city was taken over by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the kings of Israel6, until the time when the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar knocked the whole place down completely7 in 588 BC, forcing the Jews to retreat to Egypt8. By 582 BC the place was deserted, as prophecised9.
(Ah! So nobody owned it then?)
In 536 BC, the Jews began rebuilding the city10 and ruled until the Greeks arrived in 331 BC, followed by the Roman rule of Herod, until Jerusalem was again destroyed in 70 AD.
(Hmmm... that sounds like a lot of wasted effort.)
In 131 AD, the emperor Hadrian rebuilt the city, then it was occupied by the Jews, until once more they were evicted and the city was destroyed again (in 135 AD). The Romans rebuilt another city on the site, named Aelia Capitolina, which was taken over by the Mohammedans who renamed it as el-Khuds.
Our story so far has completely omitted mention of the life and death of Jesus (see Stations of the Cross) but this had not escaped the memory of Helena, the mother of emperor Constantine, who in 326 AD identified Calvary, dug up the remains of the True Cross and built a church on what was believed to be the birth place of Jesus. Constantine followed suit and built a church on the site of Jesus' crucifixion (in 335 AD). Jews were permitted (just once a year) to visit the city to mourn and wail against the wall of their ancient home.
In 614 AD, the Persians took Jerusalem and stayed until 637, when it was taken by the Arabians. Then the Egyptians, and then the Turcomans, who kept the city Muslim.
(No, I'm lost again. Who is the rightful owner of the city?)
In the crusade beginning 1098, Godfrey of Bouillon took the city and one year later, his brother Baldwin was crowned the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1187, the sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem and since then, it has remained for most of the time in Muslim hands.
(Phew! Isn't it lucky this place was named the 'City of Peace'. Conquered and re-conquered 38 times. Imagine the history if it had been named the 'City of Troubles'.)
The Jerusalem Cross
Tau:
Old Testament
Greek:
New Testament
Teutonic
St. Chad's
St. Julian's
Crosslet
The Jerusalem Cross appeared on the coat-of-arms the Templar Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower-Lorraine. (See Lorraine Cross.)
This cross represents Christ's command to spread the Gospel around the world, a mission that started in Jerusalem. It was part of the coat of arms of the short-lived Jerusalem Kingdom (1099-1203 AD). It is a busy collection of five crosses and the most common interpretations are:
- A combination of the Old Testament teachings (the four Tau Crosses) and the New Testament teachings (the four Greek Crosses)
- The four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with Christ in the centre (see also Evangelists' Cross)
- Christianity (central cross) broadcast by missionaries to the four corners of the world
- Five crosses representing the five wounds of Jesus on the cross (small crosses for the hands and feet, and the large central cross for the spear wound in His side. See also the five pierce marks of the Fusils Cross)
The cross is also sometimes referred to as the New Jerusalem Cross, focusing attention on the Divine and heavenly restoration of Jerusalem. New Jerusalem occurs twice in the New Testament11 and is understood by the majority of Christians to be a conception of heaven.
Cantonee Cross
Flag of Georgia
With a plain central cross, it is referred to as a Cross Cantonee, canton being a division. This cross is often seen on old European coins and represents Christ and the Four Evangelists. This design is similar to the 14th century flag of the Republic of Georgia, the difference being that the four small crosses (bolnur-katskhuri) are slightly pattee.
The Jerusalem Cross is sometimes confused with the Teutonic Cross, assigned by Pope Innocent III to the Teutonic Knights near the end of the 12th century. It can also be confused with St. Julian's Cross, and the Cross Crosslet which is used in heraldic coats of arms rather than as a Christian symbol.
The modern crusader's cross. His mission is not to spread Christianity, or even democracy. His mission might include security, it might include retaliation. But his ultimate mission is to secure resources, such as oil reserves, for politicians and their paymasters.
The Jerusalem Cross is often called the Crusader's Cross because it was on the papal banner given to the crusaders by Pope Urban II in the Middle Ages. (See also Maltese Cross used by the Hostpitallers.) Not all these crusading knights were God-fearing Christians - for many it was just a job that would ensure they received rich payment back home. Just as the crusades of today, they were more about economic gains and spreading an empire than spreading Christianity.
Christians, Muslims and Jews all claim Jerusalem, the 'City of Peace', is their holy place. And sadly fighting over control of this tiny area continues to this day.
Time to do something different. (See Psalm 122:6-7)
Whilst we humans have shown we cannot be trusted to build and maintain a peaceful Jerusalem, we can have faith that God has prepared a New Jerusalem for people to live in eternal peace. (See The Meaning of the Cross.)
2 : Joshua 10:1
3 : Judges 1:1-8
4 : 1 Samuel 17:54
5 : 2 Samuel 5:9, 1 Chronicles 11:4-8
6 : 2 Kings 14:13-14, 18:15-16, 23:33-35, 24:14, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 26:9, 27:3-4, 29:3, 32:30, 33:11
7 : 25, 36, Jeremiah 39
8 : Jeremiah 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
9 : Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26:14-39
10 : Daniel 9:16-25, Ezra 1:2-11)
11 : Revelation 3:12, 21:2
