Latin Cross

... it has been found in China and Africa. It appears on Scandinavian Bronze Age stones depicting the destructive hammer of Thor, their god of thunder and war. It is regarded a magical symbol, bringing good luck and diverting evil. Rock carvings of the cross have been interpreted as a solar symbol, or a symbol of Earth with its points representing north, south, east, and west. As a representation of the human form:

• the upper section - corresponds to the north wind, the most powerful, the all-conquering giant, the head and intelligence
• the base - the south wind, the seat of fire and passion, and of melting and burning
• the right beam - the east wind, the heart and the source of life and love
• and the left beam - the gentle wind from the spirit land, the dying breath and the subsequent journey into the unknown

To alchemists, the cross was a symbol of the four elements: air, earth, fire, water. Elsewhere, the cross variously symbolised health, fertility, life, immortality, the union of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, the Sun and the stars.

...it is sometimes referred to as the Western Cross to differentiate from cross designs favoured in the east. The Latin Cross is typically used as the basic floor plan of western churches¹. It can be the identification mark for a church or chapel, hence the alternative names: Chapel Cross or Church Cross².

As a representation of the Trinity, the three shorter sections represent the Three Persons of the Trinity and the longer, lower portion signifies the One Divinity.

It is sometimes referred to as the Protestant Cross because it is plain, without any corpus³ attached. It does not deny the suffering on the cross but focuses the mind on Christ's resurrection and is mostly used in Protestant churches. When the cross includes a corpus, it is usually referred to as a crucifix and emphasises Christ's suffering and sacrifice which gives meaning and sense to His resurrection.

For Catholics, the corpus is sacramental and its removal would be heretical⁴. Protestantism initially prohibited the corpus as a graven image and idolatrous. Rood screens were pulled down to allow closer access to the altar by lay worshippers and Altar Crosses were removed as illegal 'Ornaments Rubrics'.⁵ This helped Protestants distance themselves from Roman Catholics and even today, crucifixes are found more in Catholic churches⁶ than Protestant churches. Generally today however, Protestants no longer protest too much and not averse to using a crucifix, and Catholics are quite happy to use a plain cross. Christ's ressurection is central to Christian doctrine, whatever the sect. (See also Empty Cross.)

...the Latin cross with its single horizontal bar, is known as a Passion Cross. (With two bars a cross is known as a Patriarchal Cross and with three bars, a Salem Cross, signifying the ultimate rank of the wearer. See also Cross and Crown.)

...the Latin Cross is seen on several regional flags; Recife (Brazil), Pernambuco (Brazil), and Tucumán (Argentina), for example. Heraldic versions, such as the Greek and Nordic crosses are seen on many national flags.

With or without a cross, it doesn't take long for patriots to take 'allegiance to the flag' literally and the flag becomes a fetish. Consider:

• - UK - the spectacular 'Trouping of the Colour' pageant in London each summer. This is a solemn religious ceremony. After new flags have been consecrated, the retiring flags are laid up in a church where another religious ceremony is held.
• - USA - the burning of the Stars and Stripes flag is considered anarchic and sacrilegious. There are serious proposals to make this a criminal offence (or offense since it would only apply in America). There is a pledge of allegiance to the flag, it has its own cross (Old Glory Cross), its own birthday (14th June), its own website (www.usflag.org), its own laws (the Flag Act), its own newspaper ('Stars and Stripes' - a soldier's rag since the American Civil War), it is saluted, raised at dawn to its own music, lowered at dusk to its own music, there are several songs (U.S. national anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner), a ceremony for folding it, and a 'funeral' ceremony for disposing of old flags.
• - Japan - In 2003, Tokyo school teachers were instructed that they must stand and respect the Japanese national flag hinomaru during enrollment and graduation ceremonies. This understandably created bad feeling amongst hundreds of teachers. The legality is debatable and even the Japanese Emperor has said that such respect cannot be forced. (See Japan Times article.)