The cross

{ The two symbols at the heart of Christian belief -- the Cross and the Grail -- represent the two faces of contemporary Christianity. The Cross is its outward face -- masculine, public, exalted. The Grail is its hidden or esoteric face -- magical, feminine, sought by many, but found only by those who are able to ask the right questions. In this inspiring and practical book, Robert Ellwood examines ways of making Christian belief vital and responsive to contemporary life, now and for the future. Drawing on the teachings of Theosophy and of the Liberal Catholic Church, as well as the themes and motifs of medieval romance, Ellwood shows Christian practice at its most profound to be a philosophical, meditative, and mystical path well in keeping with the Ancient Wisdom Tradition. }Amazon.com.In Christianity, communicants of the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches are expected to wear a cross necklace at all times; these are ordinarily given to believers at their baptism.Wikipedia.
The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross with unequal arms (✝) and the Greek cross (✚) with equal arms, besides numerous variants, partly with confessional significance, such as the tau cross, the double-barred cross, triple-barred cross, cross-and-crosslets, and many heraldic variants, such as the cross potent, cross pattée, cross moline, cross fleury, etc.
CriticismTHE cross is loved and respected by millions of people. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls the cross “the principal symbol of the Christian religion.” Nevertheless, true Christians do not use the cross in worship. Why not?An important reason is that Jesus Christ did not die on a cross. The Greek word generally translated “cross” is stau·rosʹ. It basically means “an upright pale or stake.” The Companion Bible points out: “[Stau·rosʹ] never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle . . . There is nothing in the Greek of the [New Testament] even to imply two pieces of timber.”In several texts, Bible writers use another word for the instrument of Jesus’ death. It is the Greek word xyʹlon. (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) This word simply means “timber” or “a stick, club, or tree.”Origin of the Cross​—Why True Christians Do Not Use the Cross | Bible Teach (jw.org)
* APPENDIX Why True Christians Do Not Use the Cross in Worship
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