Of all Christian confessions, only Orthodoxy and Catholicism honor both crosses and icons simultaneously. The cross carries with it a tremendous charge of spiritual energy – it is a symbol of faith, salvation, and atonement. This is why the cross pendant worn by every Christian is more than just a symbol – it is viewed as a link between man and God.
Orthodoxy does not impose strict requirements on the design of the cross, because it honors the actual cross and not any particular style of craftsmanship. What does matter, however, is that at least one of the cross’s lines be divided exactly in half. So, when studying the manufacturing of crosses, one should not look for stylistic differences, but rather pay attention to artistic idiosyncrasies inspired by the traditions of any given Orthodox country.
Pic. 1 depicts an eight-pointed cross that is most frequently encountered in Russian and Serbian Orthodox churches, Pic. 2 shows a Byzantine cross, and Pic. 3 presents a Greek cross (online video). The Orthodox Church concerns itself not with the decorative aspect of the cross, but rather with the image of Jesus Christ appearing on it.
Orthodox body icons and crosses bearing images of Christ or of various saints portray that image which is celebrated by the believers. Jesus Christ is shown everywhere as the omnipotent God. Yes, Christ suffered and died on the cross. But then He resurrected. And we know that He suffered not out of powerlessness, but, voluntarily, out of love for humanity, in order to teach us protection of the eternal soul and love and forgiveness for one another. This Easter joy is ever present in the Orthodox Crucifixion. This is why Christ does not die on the Orthodox cross, but openly spreads out his arms as if to embrace the entire humankind.
A fundamental difference between Orthodox and Catholic Crucifixions is the number of nails used to nail the Son of God to the cross. The Orthodox Christians believe that the feet of Christ were nailed to the cross with two separate nails, one in each foot, and therefore, the Orthodox Canons dictate that Christ’s feet be separated on the cross. In contrast, on Catholic crosses, Christ’s feet appear one atop the other, held in place with a single nail.
Oftentimes, in addition to the essential inscription ‘Save and Protect’, Orthodox cross necklaces get inscribed with various literal abbreviations and symbols. The prime examples of such inscriptions are listed below:
ЦС, ЦРЬ СЛ, ЦРЬ СЛВЫ, ЦРЬ СЛАВЫ – Царь Славы (King of Glory)
IНЦИ, ИN, ИНЦИ, IНЦI – (Иисус Назареянин - Царь Иудейский) which translates to English as "Jesus the Nazarene (Galilean), King of the Jews (Judeans)
NИКА (НИКА) – означает победу Христом смерти и ада (means "Jesus Christ Conquers”)
БГЪ – Бог (God)
IС ХС , IИС ХС, IИ Х, ИС ХС, ИСЪ ХСЪ – Иисус Христос (Jesus Christ)
К, КП, КОПIЕ, КОПИЕ – Копие – обозначение страстного орудия, которыми мучали Христа (denotes weapons (dart) used to torture Christ)
Т, ТР, ТРО, ТРОСТЬ – Трость – обозначение страстного орудия, которыми мучали Христа (denotes weapons used to torture Christ)
СНЪ БЖИ, СНЪ БЖIЙ – Сын Божий (Son of God)
МЛРБ – Место лобно рай бысть (Skull place is become paradise)
МТ – Матерь Теос – Матерь Божия (Virgin Mary)
ГГ – Гора Голгофа (Golgotha)
ГА – Голова Адама (Head of Adam)
ККЦ – Крест – красота церкви (Cross – The beauty of our Church)
КВУ – Крест – верных утверждение (Cross – a true statement)
КЦД – Крест – царем держава (Cross – King of Power)
КАС – Крест – ангелам слава (Cross – Angel fame)
КБЯ – Крест – бесам язва (Cross – the demon plague)
КТПВ – Кресту твоему поклоняемся, владыко (Worship Thy Cross, O Lord)
ББББ – Бич божий бьет бесов (Scourge of God beats demons)
ВВВВ – Всем верным возвращение в рай, Всей Вселенной возвещает веру. (All the faithful to return to paradise, the whole universe proclaims the faith)
ДДДД – Древу добро, досада дъяволу, Древо дарует древнее достояние. (Tree of goodness, pity, devil, Chart gives an ancient treasure)
ИВТС И – Воскресение Твое славим (And praise Thy Resurrection)
ВИМЬ – Алтарь (Altar)
Hep ВИМЬ – Четырёхкрылый Херувимъ, который парит над крестом. (Four-winged Cherub flying above the cross)
Череп – Череп у подножия Креста изображает прах Адама, грехи которого Христос омыл своею кровью на Голгофе. (Skull at the base of the Cross represents the ashes of Adam, whose sins were washed away with blood of Christ on Golgotha)
In rare cases (due to the labor intensity of the process), the beginning of a prayer may be engraved on the back side of a gold or silver cross pendant (see picture 4).
Such crosses are especially valuable, because they enable the wearer to remain in a continuous spiritual unification with God.
According to the Christian tradition, the person’s very first cross pendant is presented to him/her by his/hers Godparents on the day of his/her baptism. Baptism signifies the receipt of God’s blessing, and with that blessing, the person being baptized is assigned a Godfather and a Godmother, whose primary responsibility is to oversee moral and religious upbringing and maturation of their Godchild.
In addition to cross pendants, Christians are known to wear such charms as small icon necklaces bearing the image of their particular patron Saint (see pic. 5a, 5b). These religious jewelry patterns may be worn either on their own or together with a cross pendant.
There are also special Christian rings bearing the inscription ‘Save and Protect’ (see pic.6). These rings are worn on the ring finger, which is known to be connected to the human heart. This is also profoundly symbolic – the ring serves as a charm that enables a direct connection between its wearer’s heart (soul) and God.
The Betrothal Ceremony and the Sacrament of Nuptials are well known Christian traditions. A marriage that has been effected ‘in Heaven’ (i.e. in Church) is considered holy matrimony.
This significant step of two loving souls uniting is sealed through a symbolic exchange of wedding rings between bride and groom during the ceremony (see pic. 7). When the tradition is strictly observed, the groom presents the bride with a gold ring – a symbol of virility and sanctity, – while the bride gives the groom a silver (or white gold) ring – a symbol of innocence and spiritual purity.
Generally speaking, gold and silver are dominant colors in Christianity, because the glitter of gold corresponds to the glowing image of Christ and Heavenly Jerusalem, while the opalescence of silver embodies the Church as a symbol of purity, spiritual light and abundance.
