CROSS, in antiquity, an instru ment of ancient vengeance, con sisting of two pieces of timber, crossing each other, either in the form of a T or an X. That on which our Saviour suffered, is represented on coins and other monuments to have been of the former kind. This punishment was only inflicted on malefactors and slaves, and wan thence called ser rile supplicium. The most usual method was to nail the criminal's hands and feet to this gibbet, in an erect posture ; though there instances of criminals so nail ed with their head downward.— Cross, the ensign of the Christian religion; and hence, figuratively, the religion itself. Also, a, monument with a cross upon it to excite devotion, such as were anciently set up in market plaecs.—In theology, the doctrine of Christ's sufferings and of the atonement. —Cross, in Christian Art, the sole and universal symbol of our redemption, and of the porous of our Saviour ; he is sym bolized under this form, as he is also under that of the Fish, the Lion, or the Lamb. The cross is either historic or symbolic, real or ideal ; in the one it is a gibbet, in the other an attribute of glory. There are four species of cross. 1. The cross without a summit, in the form of a T; this is the Egyptian cross, the Cross of the Old Testament. Many ancient churches, especially the Basili cas of Constantine, Et. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, are, in their ground phut, near ly of this form. 2. The cross with sum mit; it has four branches ; this is the true cross, the cross of Jesus and of the Evangelists. This form of cross is divided into two principal types, whirls also par take of many varieties; they are known as the Creek and the Latin cross; the first is adopted by the Creek and Oriental Christians, the second by the Christians of the West. The Greek cross is com
posed of four equal parts, the breadth being equal to the length. In the Latin cross, the foot is longer than the summit or the arms. The Greek cross is an ideal cross ; the Latin cross resembles the real cross upon which Jesus suffered. 3. The cross with two cross-pieces and summit.
4. The cross with summit and three cross pieces. When the cross retains its sim ple form, and is not loaded with attri butes or ornaments, we must distinguish the Cross of the Passion from the Cross of the Resurrection. The Cross of the Passion is a real cross, the gibbet upon which Christ suffered. This is the cross in common use in our churches; it is employed by painters and sculptors; and which in Catholic countries, meets us at every turn ; by the roadside, in the street, chapels. and cathedrals. It is also called the Triumphal Cross. The Cross of the Resurrection is the symbol of the true cross ; it is that put into the hands of Christ in representations of his resur rection. It is a lance, the staff of which terminates in a cross instead of a pike; it carries a flag or banner, upon which is depicted a cross, which is suspended from the point of intersection of the arms. It is the cross held by the Paschal Lamb ; it is that carried :1-t the head of religious processions. Ti is not a tree, like the Cross of the Passion, bat a staff; the first is the Cross of Suffering, the other is the Cross of Victory ; they are of the same general form, but the latter is spiritualized; it is the gibbet trans figured.