Christian cross variants
This is a list of Christian cross variants. The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the corpus.
The term Greek cross designates a cross with arms of equal length, as in a plus sign, while the Latin cross designates a cross with an elongated descending arm. Numerous other variants have been developed during the medieval period.
Christian crosses are used widely in churches, on top of church buildings, on bibles, in heraldry, in personal jewelry, on hilltops, and elsewhere as an attestation or other symbol of Christianity.
Crosses are a prominent feature of Christian cemeteries, either carved on gravestones or as sculpted stelae. Because of this, planting small crosses is sometimes used in countries of Christian culture to mark the site of fatal accidents, or, such as the Zugspitze or Mount Royal, so as to be visible over the entire surrounding area.
Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran depictions of the cross are often crucifixes, in order to emphasize that it is Jesus that is important, rather than the cross in isolation. Large crucifixes are a prominent feature of some Lutheran churches, e.g. as a rood. However, some other Protestant traditions depict the cross without the corpus, interpreting this form as an indication of belief in the resurrection rather than as representing the interval between the death and the resurrection of Jesus.
Several Christian cross variants are available in computer-displayed text. A Latin cross is included in the extended ASCII character set, and several variants have been added to Unicode, starting with the Latin cross in version 1.1. For others, see Religious and political symbols in Unicode.
List of variants
Basic forms
Basic variants, or early variants widespread since antiquity.| Image | Name | Description |
| Greek cross | With arms of equal length. One of the most common Christian forms, in common use by the 4th century. |
Association with saints
| Image | Name | Description |
| Cross of Saint Peter | A cross with the crossbeam placed near the foot, that is associated with Saint Peter because of the tradition that he was crucified head down. | |
| Tau cross | A T-shaped cross. Also called the Saint Anthony's cross, the Saint Francis' cross and crux commissa. | |
| Saltire or crux decussata | An X-shaped cross associated with St. Andrew, patron of Scotland, and so a national symbol of that country. The shape is that of the cross on which Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred. Also known as St. Andrew's Cross or Andrew Cross. | |
| Brigid's cross | Bride's cross, also known as Brigid's cross or Brighid's cross, these are usually woven of rushes, wheat stalks or similar. They can be Christian or Pagan symbols, depending on context. | |
| Saint George's Cross | Sometimes associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader from the Late Middle Ages, the cross has appeared on many flags, emblems, standards, and coats of arms. Its first documented use was as the ensign of the Republic of Genoa, whereafter it was used successively by the crusaders. A notable uses are on the Flag of England and the Georgian flag. | |
| Mariner's cross | The mariner's cross is also referred to as Saint Clement's Cross in reference to the way he was martyred. | |
| Pectoral cross of Cuthbert | Cuthbert was originally a Celtic Christian. That connection, plus the similarity in shape, gives this cross the alternative name; Thor's Cross | |
| Cross of Saint Gilbert | A cross is usually shown erect, as it would be when used for crucifixion. The Portate Cross differs in that it is borne diagonally, as it would be when the victim bears the cross-bar over his shoulder as he drags it along the ground to the crucifixion site. | |
| Cross of Saint James | A red Cross of Saint James with flourished arms, surmounted with an escallop, was the emblem of the twelfth-century Spanish military Order of Santiago, named after Saint James the Greater. | |
| Saint Julian Cross | A Cross Crosslet tilted at 45 degrees with the tops pointing to the 'four corners of the world'. The image of Christianity being spread all around the world is one reason why this cross is sometimes referred to as the Missionary Cross. | |
| Grapevine cross | Also known as the cross of Saint Nino of Cappadocia, who Christianised Georgia. | |
| Saint Thomas Cross | The ancient cross used by Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala, India. | |
| Cross of Saint Philip | A sideways cross associated with Phillip the Apostle. | |
| Cross of Saint Florian | The cross of Saint Florian, patron saint of firefighters, is often confused with the Maltese Cross ; although it may have eight or more points, it also has large curved arcs between the points. | |
| Catherine wheel | Seven Catherines have been granted sainthood. This cross is composed of wagon wheels and is attributed to three saints: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Jarlath and Saint Quentin. | |
| Cross of Saint John | A Latin cross with the crossing point, starting initially as wide permanent and widening only at its end to the outside arms. It is not to be confused with the Maltese cross, also known as the St. John's cross. In heraldry, it is a common figure in coat of arms. | |
| Cross of Saint Chad | The cross is a combination of a Potent Cross and Quadrate Cross, which appears in the arms of the episcopal see of Lichfield & Coventry. | |
| Cross of Jeremiah | The cross of the prophet Jeremiah, also known as the "Weeping Prophet". | |
| Cross of Lazarus | A green Maltese cross associated with St. Lazarus. | |
| Cross of Saint Maurice | A white cross with the ends of the arms botonee, sometimes called a cross trefly, as the ends are shaped like a trefoil. When combined with the cross of Lazarus, it forms the insignia of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. |
Confessional or regional variants
| Image | Name | Description |
| Armenian cross | Symbol of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and a typical feature of khachkars. Also known as the "Blooming Cross" owing to the trefoil emblems at the ends of each branch. A khachkar is a popular symbol of Armenian Christianity. | |
| Bolnisi cross | Ancient Georgian cross and national symbol from the 5th century AD. | |
| Caucasian Albanian cross | Ancient Caucasian Albanian cross and national symbol from the 4th century AD. | |
| Canterbury cross | A cross with four arms of equal length which widen to a hammer shape at the outside ends. Each arm has a triangular panel inscribed in a triquetra pattern. There is a small square panel in the center of the cross. A symbol of the Anglican and Episcopal Churches. | |
| Celtic Cross | Essentially a Greek or Latin cross, with a circle enclosing the intersection of the upright and crossbar, as in the standing High crosses. | |
| Coptic ankh | Shaped like the letter T surmounted by an oval or circle. Originally the Egyptian symbol for "life", it was adopted by the Copts. Also called a crux ansata, meaning "cross with a handle". | |
| Coptic cross | The original Coptic cross has its origin in the Coptic ankh. As depicted in Rudolf Koch's The Book of Signs. | |
| New Coptic Cross | This new Coptic Cross is the cross currently used by the Coptic Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It evolved from the older Coptic Crosses depicted above. A gallery of Coptic Crosses can be found here. | |
| Cross and Crown | A Christian symbol used by various Christian denominations, particularly the Bible Student movement and the Church of Christ, Scientist. It has also been used in heraldry. The emblem is often interpreted as symbolizing the reward in heaven coming after the trials in this life . | |
| East Syrian cross | Syriac Orthodox cross. | |
| West Syrian cross | Syriac Orthodox cross. | |
| Huguenot cross | The symbolism of the Huguenot cross is particularly rich. The cross as an eminent symbol of the Christian faith, represents not only the death of Christ but also victory over death and impiety. This is represented also in the Maltese cross. It is boutonné, the eight points symbolising the eight Beatitudes Between the arms of the cross is the stylised fleur-de-lys, each has 3 petals; the total of twelve petals of the fleur-de-lys signify the twelve apostles. Between each fleur-de-lys and the arms of the Maltese cross with which it is joined, an open space in the form of a heart, the symbol of loyalty, suggests the seal of the French Reformer, John Calvin. The pendant dove symbolises the Holy Spirit. In times of persecution a pearl, symbolizing a teardrop, replaced the dove. | |
| Maltese cross | An eight-pointed cross having the form of four "V"-shaped elements, each joining the others at its vertex, leaving the other two tips spread outward symmetrically. It is the cross symbol associated with the Order of St. John since the Middle Ages, shared with the traditional Knights Hospitaller and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and by extension with the island of Malta. | |
| Order of Christ Cross | A red Greek cross starting initially as wide permanent and widening only at its end to the outside arms, with a white inner simple Greek cross. Not to be confused with the Cross of Saint John nor the Maltese cross. It's the symbol of the Military Order of Christ, former Knights Templar order as it was reconstituted in Portugal after the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312, being the Grand Master the current President of Portugal. It's an historical symbol of the Portuguese Navy, and current symbol of the Portuguese Air Force. | |
| Supreme Order of Christ Cross | A red Latin cross starting initially as wide permanent and widening only at its end to the outside arms, with a white inner simple Latin cross. Not to be confused with the Cross of Saint John nor the Maltese cross. It's the symbol of the Papal Supreme Order of Christ, the highest order of chivalry awarded by the Pope, and it's the Papal parallel to the Order of Christ in both Portugal and Brazil. | |
| Maronite cross | Cross of the Syriac Maronite Church. Reminiscent of the Papal cross and cross of Lazarus. | |
| Nestorian cross | In Eastern Christian art found on tombs in China, these crosses are sometimes simplified and depicted as resting on a lotus flower or on a stylized cloud. | |
| Occitan cross | Based on the counts of Toulouse's traditional coat of arms, it soon became the symbol of Occitania as a whole. | |
| "Carolingian cross" | Cross of triquetras, called "Carolingian" by Rudolf Koch for its appearance in Carolingian-era art. | |
| Rose Cross | A cross with a rose blooming at the center. The central symbol to all groups embracing the philosophy of the Rosicrucians. | |
| Serbian cross | A Greek cross with 4 Cyrillic S's in each of its angles, which represent the imperial motto of the Palaiologos dynasty when they resurrected the Byzantine Empire: King of Kings, Ruling Over Kings. A national symbol of Serbia and symbol of the Serbian Orthodox Church. | |
| Shield of the Trinity | Early variant of the Trinity Shield with the Christian cross on the bottom portion. | |
| Suppedaneum cross | Also known as the Russian cross, Slavic, Slavonic cross, or Orthodox, East Orthodox, Russian Orthodox cross. A three-barred cross in which the short top bar represents the inscription over Jesus' head, and the lowest short bar, placed near the foot, represents his footrest. This cross existed in a slightly different form in Byzantium, and it was changed and adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church and especially popularized in the East Slavic countries. | |
| Macedonian Cross, also known as Veljusa Cross. | Macedonian Christian symbol, symbol of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. | |
| Anuradhapura cross | A symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka. | |
| | Nordic cross/Scandinavian cross | The cross design represents Christianity, and the characteristic shift of the center to the hoist side is early modern, first described as the Danish civil ensign for merchant ships in a regulation of 11 June 1748, which specified the shift of the cross center towards the hoist as "the two first fields must be square in form and the two outer fields must be 6/4 lengths of those". |
Modern innovations
| Image | Name | Description |
| Marian Cross | A term invented to refer to Pope John Paul II's combination of a Latin cross and the letter M, representing Mary being present on Calvary. | |
| Off Center Cross of Christian Universalism. | The off-center cross was invented in late April, 1946, in a hotel room in Akron, Ohio, during the Universalist General Assembly, where a number of Universalist ministers pooled their ideas. | |
| Ordnance Survey cross symbols | Used on Ordnance Survey maps to represent churches and chapels. A cross on a filled square represents a church with a tower; and a cross on a filled circle represents a church with a spire. Churches without towers or spires are represented by plain Greek crosses. These symbols also now refer to non-Christian places of worship, and the cross on a filled circle also represents a place of worship with a minaret or dome. |