The Cross Would Take Many Forms and Traditions

•     During medieval times graves were often marked with crosses. They dominated much of the art and architecture of that era.

•     Sometimes the cross was depicted as a "living tree."

•     It was placed in churchyards and on altars.

•     The shape of the cross even became the floor plan for some church buildings.

    With the schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions came a dramatic alteration of the symbol. The Latin form of the cross remained the symbol of the Roman church. The Eastern church adapted the cross to various adaptations of equal bars (known as the Greek Cross). The Russian Orthodox adapted a Latin cross with an extra cross bar, or "foot rest," slanting on the lower part of the cross.

    The Protestant Reformation brought a radical change in ideas about the cross. There was a rejection of the "relic" approach to the cross. The focus on the cross was more of a "devotional" journey, leading Christ's followers from abstract thoughts of religion to the more concrete thoughts of the reality of the purpose of His redemption. The Protestants took the figure of Christ from the crucifix and generally limited their use of symbols in their worship. Under Oliver Cromwell's leadership, the Puritans abandoned the ornate for the plain and simple place of worship. Ironically, their belief in the value of simplicity became a symbol in itself.

    In the United States the influence of the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers had a lasting impact on use of the cross and other symbols in architecture and ornamentation of church buildings -- or as they were known years ago, "meeting houses." They believed a church should be a simple, plain building, with no art or stained glass, no pictures on the walls and no crosses, either inside or out. While today it is common to see a cross inside colorful Baptist churches, there are still a number of religious traditions that adhere to the simple, unadorned sanctuary.

    Today, the cross seems to be very popular everywhere, from pop culture to the purely decorative jewelry of the finest craftsman. The symbol of the cross permeates movies, music, art, and literature. Still, we must never forget that, to the Apostle Paul, the cross surely represented the power of God:

        "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom
        lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who
        are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... but we preach Christ crucified,
        a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called ... Christ the power
        of God and the wisdom of God."
                -     1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 23-24 (Revised Standard Version)