Quadrant Model of Reality Book 9 Art

Art chapter

QMRAlbrecht Dürer - The Four Holy Men (Mark and Paul)

QMRThe Four Ladies[edit]

The Four Ladies of Hollywood gazebo at the western border of the Walk of Fame.

The Four Ladies of Hollywood gazebo[79]—known officially as the Hollywood and La Brea Gateway[80]—stands upon a small triangular island formed by the confluence of Hollywood Boulevard, Marshfield Way, and North La Brea Avenue at the westernmost extension of the Walk of Fame. It was commissioned in 1993 by the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency Art Program and created by the architect, production designer, and film director Catherine Hardwicke as a tribute to the multi-ethnic women of Hollywood.[80] The gazebo is a stainless steel stylized Art Deco lattice structure. The roof is an arched square supporting a circular dome, which is topped by a central obelisk with descending neon block letters spelling "HOLLYWOOD" on each of its four sides. Atop the obelisk is a small gilded weathervane-style sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her iconic billowing skirt pose from The Seven Year Itch.[81] The domed structure is held aloft by four caryatids sculpted by Harl West[80] to represent the African-American actress Dorothy Dandridge, Asian-American actress Anna May Wong, Mexican actress Dolores del Río, and the multi-ethnic, Brooklyn-born actress Mae West.[79]

The gazebo was dedicated on February 1, 1994, to a mixed reception. Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight called it "the most depressingly awful work of public art in recent years," representing the opposite of Hardwicke's intended tribute to women. "Sex, as a woman's historic gateway to Hollywood," he wrote, "couldn't be more explicitly described."[82] Independent writer and film producer Gail Choice called it a fitting tribute to a group of pioneering, courageous women who "...carried a tremendous burden on their feminine shoulders. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I'd ever see women of color immortalized in such a creative and wonderful fashion."[83] Hardwicke contended that critics had missed the "humor and symbolism" of the structure, which "embraces and pokes fun at the glamour, the polished metallic male form of the Oscar, and the pastiche of styles and dreams that pervades Tinseltown."

Painting chapter

QMRThe crossed keys in the coat of arms of the Holy See symbolise the keys of heaven entrusted to Simon Peter. The keys are gold and silver to represent the power of loosing and binding. The gold key alludes to the power in the kingdom of the heavens and the silver key indicates the spiritual authority of the papacy on earth. The cord with the bows that unites the grips alludes to the bond between the two powers. The triple crown (the tiara) represents the pope's three functions as "supreme pastor", "supreme teacher" and "supreme priest". The gold cross on a monde (globe) surmounting the tiara symbolizes the sovereignty of Jesus.

The crossed keys form a cross and within the keys are crosses

In ecclesiastical heraldry, papal coats of arms (those of individual popes) and those of the Holy See and Vatican City State include an image of crossed keys to represent the metaphorical keys of the office of Saint Peter, the keys of heaven, or the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, that, according to Roman Catholic teaching,[1] Jesus promised to Saint Peter, empowering him to take binding actions.[2] In the Gospel of Matthew 16:19, Jesus says to Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

QMRThe Cross of St. Peter or Petrine Cross is an inverted Latin cross traditionally used as a Christian symbol, but in recent times also used as an anti-Christian symbol.

Contents [hide]

1 In Christianity

2 Anti-Christian imagery

3 References

4 External links

In Christianity[edit]

Crucifixion of St. Peter by Caravaggio

Peter's Cross on a Lutheran church

The origin of the symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that Simon Peter was crucified upside down,[1] as told by Origen of Alexandria. The tradition first appears in the "Martyrdom of Peter", a fragmented text found in, but possibly predating, the apocryphal Acts of Peter, which was written no later than 200 A.D. It is believed that Peter requested this form of crucifixion as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Jesus died. As such, some Catholics use this cross as a symbol of humility and unworthiness in comparison to Jesus.

According to Roman Catholicism, the pope is Peter's successor as Bishop of Rome. Therefore the Papacy is often represented by symbols that are also used to represent Peter — one example being the Keys of Heaven, another the Petrine Cross.

Anti-Christian imagery[edit]

See also: Anti-Christian sentiment

By inverting the primary symbol of Christianity, the upside-down cross has become popular within anti-religion groups[2] and has appeared in films such as The Masque of the Red Death, Rosemary's Baby, Exorcist: The Beginning, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Ghost, The Devil Inside, Paranormal Activity, Constantine, Devil, Phoonk, The Omen, The Conjuring, Omen, Annabelle, V/H/S: Viral and Gummo.

The inverted cross is also a recurring motif in punk rock, black metal, and heavy metal, where it is embraced as symbol of anti-authoritarianism and defiance (but not necessarily Anti-Christian), and is featured in the iconography of punk-themed fashion label Cheap Monday, hip-hop collective Odd Future, worn by fictional bassist Murdoc Niccals of Gorillaz, and throughout the rock opera American Idiot based on the music of Green Day.

A Cross of Peter is an inverted Latin cross

Crucifixion of St. Peter by Caravaggio

Peter's Cross on a Lutheran church

QMRAccording to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, since he saw himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. Tradition holds that he was crucified at the site of the Clementine Chapel. His remains are said to be those contained in the underground Confessio of St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope Paul VI announced in 1968 the excavated discovery of a first-century Roman cemetery. Every June 29 since 1736, a statue of Saint Peter in St. Peter's Basilica is adorned with papal tiara, ring of the fisherman, and papal vestments, as part of the celebration of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. According to Catholic doctrine, the direct papal successor to Saint Peter is Pope Francis.

QMRThe symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells. The four winged creatures symbolize, clockwise from top left, Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke.

They are within a quadrant

QMRThe labarum (Greek: λάβαρον) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) — Chi (χ) and Rho (ρ).[1] It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I. Since the vexillum consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize the crucifixion of Christ.

Ancient sources draw an unambiguous distinction between the two terms "labarum" and "Chi-Rho", even though later usage sometimes regards the two as synonyms. The name labarum was applied both to the original standard used by Constantine the Great and to the many standards produced in imitation of it in the Late Antique world, and subsequently.

QMRThe Chi Rho (/ˈkaɪ ˈroʊ/) is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" = KRistos = Christ in such a way to produce the monogram.[1] Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the authority of Jesus, as well as symbolising his status as the Christ.[citation needed]

The Chi-Rho symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing for chrēston, meaning "good."[2] Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246–222 BC) were marked with a Chi-Rho.[3]

The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I as part of a military standard (vexillum), Constantine's standard was known as the Labarum. Early symbols similar to the Chi Rho were the Staurogram (Christliche Symbolik (Menzel) I 193 2.jpg) and the IX monogram (Christliche Symbolik (Menzel) I 193 4.jpg).

QMRChrismon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Christian symbolism. For the German Lutheran magazine called "Chrismon", see Chrismon (magazine).

It has been suggested that this article be merged with Christogram. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2012.

The Chi Rho Chrismon with Alpha and Omega, c. 1467

A chrismon is a Christian symbol representing Jesus Christ.[1] As in the case of Christogram, the term chrismon comes from the Latin phrase "Christi monogramma", meaning "monogram of Christ".[2]

Since early Christianity, the term chrismon has traditionally referred to any symbol or figure reminiscent of the name of Christ, by contrast with the basic christogram consisting of plain letters typically implying the presence of some kind of calligraphic ornamentation.[3][4]

In the 20th century the term also started to be used in a wider sense to refer to ornaments that are "symbols for Christ or some part of Christ's ministry"; these are often used during Advent and Christmas,[5] to decorate a Chrismon tree (or a Christmas tree), and include "the crow, descending down, fish, Celtic cross, Jerusalem cross, shepherd's crook, chalice, shell, and others".[6][7]

Traditional usage[edit]

A prominent chrismon is the Chi Rho symbol, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" =Christ.[8]

The Alpha and Omega symbols may at times accompany a chrismon.[9] In the 4th century, during the reign of Constantine, the terms chrismon and christogram only referred to the Chi Rho symbol.[10][dubious – discuss]

Chrismon tree[edit]

A Chrismon tree in the nave of St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral in Oviedo

A Chrismon tree is an evergreen tree often found in the chancel or nave of a church during Advent and Christmastide.[7][11] The Chrismon tree was first used by North American Lutherans in 1957,[12] although the practice has rapidly spread to other Christian denominations,[13] including Anglicans,[14] Catholics,[6] Methodists,[15] and the Reformed.[16] As with the Christmas tree,[17][18] the evergreen tree itself, for Christians, "symbolizes the eternal life Jesus Christ provides".[19] However, the Chrismon tree differs from the traditional Christmas tree in that it "is decorated only with clear lights and Chrismons made from white and gold material", the latter two being the liturgical colours of the Christmas season.[7][11] The Chrismon tree is adorned with Chrismons, "ancient symbols for Christ or some part of Christ's ministry: the crow, descending down, fish, Celtic cross, Jerusalem cross, shepherd's crook, chalice, shell, and others."[7][20] Laurence Hull Stookey writes that "because many symbols of the Chrismon tree direct our attention to the nature and ultimate work of Christ, they can be helpful in calling attention to Advent themes."[21]

Chrismon tree[edit]

A Chrismon tree in the nave of St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral in Oviedo

A Chrismon tree is an evergreen tree often found in the chancel or nave of a church during Advent and Christmastide.[7][11] The Chrismon tree was first used by North American Lutherans in 1957,[12] although the practice has rapidly spread to other Christian denominations,[13] including Anglicans,[14] Catholics,[6] Methodists,[15] and the Reformed.[16] As with the Christmas tree,[17][18] the evergreen tree itself, for Christians, "symbolizes the eternal life Jesus Christ provides".[19] However, the Chrismon tree differs from the traditional Christmas tree in that it "is decorated only with clear lights and Chrismons made from white and gold material", the latter two being the liturgical colours of the Christmas season.[7][11] The Chrismon tree is adorned with Chrismons, "ancient symbols for Christ or some part of Christ's ministry: the crow, descending down, fish, Celtic cross, Jerusalem cross, shepherd's crook, chalice, shell, and others."[7][20] Laurence Hull Stookey writes that "because many symbols of the Chrismon tree direct our attention to the nature and ultimate work of Christ, they can be helpful in calling attention to Advent themes."[21]

QMRThe college shield of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, prominently depicting a Catherine wheel. It is depicted as a quadrant

QMRMariner's Cross. It is represented as a quadrant anchor

QMRThe anchored cross, or mariner's cross, is a stylized cross in the shape of an anchor. It is a symbol which is shaped like a plus sign with anchor-like protrusions at the end of each arm, hence the name. The symbol can be used to signify 'fresh start' or 'hope', as in The Bible, Hebrews 6.19: "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil".[1]

The mariner's cross is also referred to as St. Clement's Cross in reference to the way he was martyred.

QMRA "fiddleback" chasuble from the church of Saint Gertrude in Maarheeze in the Netherlands. It is a cross

Neo-Gothic "solar" monstrance at the hermitage church of Warfhuizen.

It is a cross

QMRMitre of Bishop Sztojkovics, Hungary, c. 1860, stolen in 1989. It is topped with a cross

QMRChristian Flag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Christian flag)

The Christian Flag

The Christian Flag is a flag designed in the early 20th century to represent all of Christianity and Christendom,[1] and has been most popular among Protestant churches in North America, Africa and Latin America. [2] The flag has a white field, with a red Latin cross inside a blue canton. The shade of red on the cross symbolizes the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary.[3] The blue represents the waters of baptism as well as the faithfulness of Jesus.[4] The white represents Jesus' purity.[5] In conventional vexillology, a white flag is linked to surrender, a reference to the Biblical description of Jesus' non-violence and surrender to God.[6] The dimensions of the flag and canton have no official specifications.

The Christian Flag was first conceived on September 26, 1897, at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York in the United States. The superintendent of a Sunday school, Charles C. Overton, gave an impromptu lecture to the gathered students, because the scheduled speaker had failed to arrive for the event. He gave a speech asking the students what a flag representing Christianity would look like.[7] Overton thought about his improvised speech for many years afterward. In 1907, he and Ralph Diffendorfer, secretary of the Methodist Young People's Missionary Movement, designed and began promoting the flag.[8] With regard to the Christian symbolism of the Christian Flag:

The ground is white, representing peace, purity and innocence. In the upper corner is a blue square, the color of the unclouded sky, emblematic of heaven, the home of the Christian; also a symbol of faith and trust. in the center of the blue is the cross, the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity: the cross is red, typical of Christ's blood.[7]

The ecumenical Christian organization, Federal Council of Churches, now succeeded by the National Council of Churches and Christian Churches Together, adopted the flag on 23 January 1942.[1] The Christian Flag intentionally has no patent, as the designer dedicated the flag to all of Christendom.[9] The famous hymn writer, Fanny J. Crosby, devoted a hymn titled “The Christian Flag”, with music by R. Huntington Woodman, in its honour;[1] like the flag, the hymn is also free use.[10] On the Sunday nearest 26 September 1997, the Christian Flag celebrated its one hundredth anniversary.[11]

Usage[edit]

The Christian Flag displayed alongside the flag of the United States next to the pulpit in a church in California. Note the eagle and cross finials on the flag poles.

The flag was first accepted by the mainline Protestant denominations in the United States, and by the 1980s many institutions had described policies for displaying it inside churches. During World War II the flag was flown along with the U.S. flag in a number of Lutheran churches, many of them with German backgrounds, who wanted to show their solidarity with the United States during the war with Germany.

The Christian Flag spread outside North America with Protestant missionaries. It can be seen today in or outside many Protestant churches throughout the world, particularly in Latin America and Africa, It has so far been adopted by some churches in Europe, Asia, and Africa as well.[2] Eastern Orthodox, especially parishes in the Western Rite tradition have only recently started to use the flag.[12]

Pledge[edit]

A version of the Christian Flag, specialized for the Eastern Orthodox Church

Some churches practice a "pledge of allegiance" or "affirmation of loyalty" to the Christian Flag, which is similar to the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. The first pledge was written by Lynn Harold Hough, a Methodist minister who had heard Ralph Diffendorfer, secretary to the Methodist Young People's Missionary Movement, promoting the Christian flag at a rally.[13] He wrote the following pledge:

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Saviour for whose kingdom it stands; one brotherhood, uniting all mankind in service and in love.[13]

Some more conservative churches may use an alternative version of the pledge:

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Saviour for whose Kingdom it stands; one Saviour, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.[13]

Denominational flags[edit]

Many Christian denominations have their own denominational flag and display it alongside the Christian Flag or independent from it.[14]

Catholic Churches in communion with the Holy See often display the Vatican flag along with their respective national flag, typically on opposite sides of the sanctuary, near the front door, or hoisted on flagstaffs outside. Individual dioceses may also fly flags based on the diocesan coat of arms.

Eastern Orthodox Churches, particularly jurisdictions of the Greek Orthodox Church under the direct authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch, often display his flag, which is a Byzantine double-headed eagle on a yellow (Or) field.

Parishes in the Episcopal Church frequently fly the Episcopal flag, a Cross of St. George with the upper-left canton containing a Cross of St. Andrew formed by nine cross-crosslets (representing the nine original dioceses) on a blue background.

The Salvation Army has a flag with a blue border (symbolizing the purity of God the Father), a red field (symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ), and a gold eight-pointed star (symbolizing the fire of the Holy Spirit). The star bears the Salvation army's motto, "Blood and Fire".

The Anglican Communion have a blue flag with a St George's Cross in the centre surrounded with a gold band with the wording, "The Truth shall make you free." in New Testament Greek on it. From the band sprout the points of a compass (symbolising the spread worldwide of Anglicanism). On the "North" of the compass is a mitre (a symbol of apostolic order essential to all Churches and Provinces constituting the Anglican Communion).

The Church of Scotland use a Flag of Scotland depicting the Burning Bush (or Unburnt Bush, in some traditions).

The Church in Wales use a blue Cross of St George defaced with a gold Celtic Cross.

The Church of Ireland use the St Patrick's Saltire but also use the Compass-rose Flag of the Anglican Communion equally.

Additionally, many Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches maintain the use of the Labarum, a historical symbol of Christianity, which is rarely used as a flag at present.

Flag of Vatican City

Flag of the Greek Orthodox Church

Flag of the Georgian Orthodox Church

Flag of the Episcopal Church

Flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Flag of the Copts - the Christians of Egypt

Armenian Apostolic Church flag

Standard of The Salvation Army

Flag of the Anglican Communion

Flag of the Albanian Orthodox Church

Flag of the Church in Wales

Flag of the Anglican Church of Canada

National flags[edit]

All the flags based on the Dannebrog, including the Flag of Finland, Flag of the Faroe Islands, Flag of Iceland, Flag of Norway and Flag of Sweden contain a Christian cross, representing Christianity.[15][16] The Union Jack of Great Britain, as well as its descendant flags, "makes reference to three Christian patron saints: the patron saint of England, represented by the red cross of Saint George, the patron saint of Ireland, represented by the red saltire of Saint Patrick, and the patron saint of Scotland, represented by the saltire of Saint Andrew."[17] In addition, the Flag of Greece, as well as the Flag of Switzerland, contain a Christian cross to represent the faith.[18] The "cross on the flag of Dominica represents Christianity while the three colours of which the cross consists stand for the Trinity" and the "coat of arms depicted on the Flag of Slovakia shows a double cross".[19] The Flag of the Dominican Republic also depicts a Bible and a cross.[19] The Flag of Georgia, Flag of Moldova and Flag of Serbia all display a cross representing Christianity.[19] The Flag of Portugal also has Christian symbolism, bearing the five wounds of Christ.[20]

Flag of Denmark

Flag of Sweden

Flag of Norway

Flag of Iceland

Flag of Finland

Flag of the Faroe Islands

Flag of the United Kingdom

Flag of Switzerland

Flag of Greece

Flag of Dominica

Flag of the Dominican Republic

Flag of Slovakia

Flag of Georgia

Flag of Moldova

Flag of Serbia

Flag of Portugal

Flag of Tonga

QMRAltar crucifix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Altar cross)

An altar cross in the center of an altar table of a Methodist chapel in Kent, Ohio, United States. The center of the altar cross contains the christogram "IHS".

An Altar Crucifix or Altar Cross is a cross placed upon an altar, and is the principal ornament of the altar.[1

History[edit]

The first appearances of a cross upon the altar occurred approximately in the 6th century, although it remained unusual for several centuries, and even discouraged. When it was used, it seems to have been only during actual services, and probably a processional cross which was detachable from its staff, and placed on the altar after processing. This would at first almost always a cross rather than a true crucifix; these began to be made specifically for altars in the late 11th century,[2] and became more common from the 12th century, though they may have been expensive at first. By the start of the 13th century, treatises by Pope Innocent III expect there to be a cross between two candles on the altar during the mass.[3] This period was also the era when candlesticks, also probably carried in procession at the start of a service, started appearing upon altars instead of nearby, and as such marked a rather large evolution in the adornment of altars. Around the 14th century, altar crosses were almost universally replaced by crucifices, probably now affordable by all churches, however, it was not until the Roman Missal of Pius V in 1570 that there is any mention of an obligation to have the crucifix on the altar.

Early Christians were not accustomed to publicly expose the cross or crucifix due to fear of subjecting it to the insults of pagans or scandalizing the weak. To avoid this, they often used symbols like the anchor or trident.

Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches[edit]

Altar with crucifix in the Armenian cathedral in Echmiatsin.

The crucifix placed upon the altar is intended to serve as a reminder to the people in attendance and the celebrant of the believed nature of the Eucharist as the actual body of Christ; the altar itself symbolically represents Golgotha. It is for this reason that Roman Law decrees it necessary to have the crucifix upon the altar whenever Mass is celebrated. Specifically, it is placed directly in between the Candlesticks in such a way that it is conveniently seen by the people. In some cases, to better fulfill this requirement, the crucifix is instead hung on the wall behind the altar, so that when the priest is facing the congregation the crucifix is not obstructed. In some churches the crucifix is suspended mid-air via strong, nearly invisible metal cords, directly above the altar itself.

While the crucifix is demanded to be upon or at least near the altar at all times, during the period of time from the first Vespers of Passion Sunday to the unveiling of the cross on Good Friday it is expected to be covered with a violet veil, except for the High Mass on the altar, when the veil is white, and Good Friday, when the veil is usually black. After Good Friday, until Holy Saturday it is necessary for all, including the bishop, the canons of the cathedral, and the celebrant to genuflect to the crucifix, which is in contrast to any other time of the year when the aforementioned are not required to genuflect.

Protestant Churches[edit]

In many of the mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention and United Methodist,[4] also have altar crosses; usually a cross without the body of Jesus Christ, as Protestantism to be more austere when it comes to use of religious imagery.[5] These crosses are traditionally, but not always, brought in as processional crosses at the beginning of the religious service and placed at the altar in the sanctuary.[6] When approaching the altar, the acolyte is to bow at the cross to show respect toward the Lord.

Altar with crucifix in the Armenian cathedral in Echmiatsin.

QMRProcessional cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Processional Cross)

Ottonian processional crucifix, 10th century Essen cathedral.

A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions.[1] Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to Bede. Other sources suggest that all churches were expected to possess one. They became detachable from their staffs, so that the earliest altar crosses were processional crosses placed on a stand at the end of the procession. In large churches the "crux gemmata", or richly jewelled cross in precious metal, was the preferred style. Notable early examples include the Cross of Justin II (possibly a hanging votive cross originally), Cross of Lothair, and Cross of Cong.[2]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are different traditions surrounding the use of the processional cross. Traditional practice, still followed among churches of the Russian or other Slavic traditions, is that the use of the processional cross during the normal cycle of divine services is a primatial privilege, and will only be done when the Patriarch or First Hierarch is serving. In the modern Greek tradition, the processional Cross is often carried during the Entrance at Vespers, and during the Lesser and Great Entrances at the Divine Liturgy, regardless of whether the celebrant is a primate.

In all traditions, the cross is carried in outdoor processions, known as cross-processions for such events as Palm Sunday, Paschal Matins, during Bright Week, processions to honour the relics or icon of a saint, or on other festal occasions. On its patronal feast day a parish church or monastery will often serve a moleben (intercessory prayer service) during which a cross-procession will take place around the outside of the church. The processional cross is also used at funerals.

During an outdoor procession, the cross will usually be preceded by a large processional lantern and a deacon with thurible (incense). Religious banners and icons will follow. Then the chanters and clergy, and finally the people.

When not in use, the processional cross may be placed in the sanctuary, behind the Holy Table (altar).

Some Orthodox processional crosses will have an icon of the Crucifixion on one side, and the Resurrection on the other. The side with the Resurrection will face forward on Sundays and during the Paschal season, the Crucifixion will face forward on other days.

Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism[edit]

Catholic Processional crucifix

In the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, processional crosses are used in processions preceded by incense and flanked or followed with candles. The cross is brought up to the altar by an altar server who has been chosen to serve as crucifer.

Among Roman Catholics and High Church Anglicans, the processional cross will usually be a crucifix; in more Protestant-leaning parishes the processional cross will usually be an empty cross.

Methodism, Lutheranism and Reformed[edit]

In some Methodist, Lutheran and Reformed (Presbyterian) churches the processional cross is brought up to the altar or Chancel by a crucifer at the beginning of the service and placed at the altar, then acting as an Altar cross.[3] The acolytes that follow then bow to the cross at the altar. The Cross represents the Lord's presence at the altar.[4]

QMRCrucifer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the vegetable family, see Cruciferae.

"Cross-bearer" redirects here. For the 2012 film, see Cross Bearer.

A crucifrice

A crucifer is, in some Christian churches (particularly the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutherans), a person appointed to carry the church's processional cross, a cross or crucifix with a long staff, during processions at the beginning and end of the service.[1] However, while it is used in several different denominations, the term is most common within Anglican churches.

The term "crucifer" comes from the Latin crux (cross) and ferre (to bear, carry). It thus literally means "cross-bearer". Before the Roman Catholic reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the function of the crucifer was carried out by a subdeacon.

QMRFour medieval relics[edit]

During the Middle Ages, three major contenders for the position of Holy Chalice stood out from the rest, one in Jerusalem, one in Genoa and the third in Valencia. A fourth medieval cup was briefly touted as the Holy Chalice when it was discovered in the early 20th century; it is known as the Antioch Chalice and is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York.

The Jerusalem Chalice[edit]

The earliest record of a chalice from the Last Supper is the account of Arculf a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon pilgrim who described it in De locis sanctis as being located in a reliquary in a chapel near Jerusalem, between the basilica of Golgotha and the Martyrium. He described it as a two-handled silver chalice with the measure of a Gaulish pint. Arculf kissed his hand and reached through an opening of the perforated lid of the reliquary to touch the chalice. He said that the people of the city flocked to it with great veneration. (Arculf also saw the Holy Lance in the porch of the basilica of Constantine.) This is the only mention of the Holy Chalice being situated in the Holy Land.

The Genoa Chalice[edit]

Of two vessels that survive today, one is at Genoa, in the cathedral. The hexagonal vessel is known as the sacro catino, the holy basin. Traditionally said to be carved from emerald, it is in fact a green Egyptian glass dish, about fourteen inches (35 cm) across. It was sent to Paris after Napoleon’s conquest of Italy, and was returned broken, which identified the emerald as glass. Its origin is uncertain; according to William of Tyre, writing in about 1170, it was found in the mosque at Caesarea in 1101: "a vase of brilliant green shaped like a bowl." The Genoese, believing that it was of emerald, accepted it in lieu of a large sum of money. An alternative story in a Spanish chronicle says that it was found when Alfonso VII of Castile captured Almería from the Moors in 1147 with Genoese help, un vaso de piedra esmeralda que era tamanno como una escudiella, "a vase carved from emerald which was the size of a dish". The Genoese said that this was the only thing they wanted from the sack of Almería. The identification of the sacro catino with the Holy Chalice is not made until later, however, by Jacobus de Voragine in his chronicle of Genoa, written at the close of the 13th century.

The Valencia Chalice[edit]

The Valencia Chalice in its chapel in Valencia Cathedral

The other surviving Holy Chalice vessel is the santo cáliz, an agate cup in the Cathedral of Valencia. It is preserved in a chapel consecrated to it, where it still attracts the faithful on pilgrimage.

The piece is a hemispherical cup made of dark red agate which is mounted by means of a knobbed stem and two curved handles onto a base made from an inverted cup of chalcedony. The agate cup is about 9 centimeters/ 3.5 inches in diameter and the total height, including base, is about 17 centimeters/ 7 inches high. The agate cup, without the base, fits a description by Saint Jerome.[citation needed] The lower part has Arabic inscriptions.

After an inspection in 1960, the Spanish archaeologist Antonio Beltrán asserted that the cup was produced in a Palestinian or Egyptian workshop between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD.[citation needed] The surface has not been dated by microscopic scanning to assess recrystallization.

The Chalice of Valencia comes complete with a certificate of authenticity,[citation needed] an inventory list on vellum, said to date from AD 262, that accompanied a lost letter of which details state-sponsored Roman persecution of Christians that forces the church to split up its treasury and hide it with members, specifically the deacon Saint Lawrence. It goes on to enumerate all precious items. The physical properties of the Holy Chalice are described and it is stated the vessel had been used to celebrate Mass by the early Popes succeeding Saint Peter.[citation needed]

The first explicit inventory reference to the present Chalice of Valencia dates from 1134, an inventory of the treasury of the monastery of San Juan de la Peña drawn up by Don Carreras Ramírez, Canon of Zaragoza, December 14, 1134: "En un arca de marfil está el Cáliz en que Cristo N. Señor consagró su sangre, el cual envió S. Lorenzo a su patria, Huesca". According to the wording of this document, the Chalice is described as the vessel in which "Christ Our Lord consecrated his blood".[3]

Reference to the chalice is made in 1399, when it was given by the monastery of San Juan de la Peña to king Martin I of Aragon in exchange for a gold cup. By the end of the century a provenance for the chalice can be detected, by which Saint Peter had brought it to Rome.[clarification needed]

Pope John Paul II himself celebrated mass with the Holy Chalice in Valencia in November 1982, causing some uproar both in skeptic circles and in the circles that hoped he would say accipiens et hunc praeclarum Calicem ("this most famous chalice") in lieu of the ordinary words of the Mass taken from Matthew 26:27). For some people, the authenticity of the Chalice of Valencia failed to receive papal blessing.

In July 2006, at the closing Mass of the 5th World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Pope Benedict XVI also celebrated with the Holy Chalice, on this occasion saying "this most famous chalice", words in the Roman Canon said to have been used for the first popes until the 4th century in Rome, and supporting in this way the tradition of the Holy Chalice of Valencia. This artifact has seemingly never been accredited with any supernatural powers, which legend apparently confines to other relics such as the Holy Grail, the Holy Lance and the True Cross.

In Saint Laurence and the Holy Grail, Janice Bennett claims to trace the chalice's history, carried on Saint Peter's journey to Rome, entrusted by Pope Sixtus II to Saint Lawrence in the third century, sent to Huesca in Spain when the Hispanic saint was martyred on a gridiron during the Valerian persecution in Rome in AD 258, sent to the Pyrenees for safekeeping, where it passed from monastery to monastery, in accordance with all the claims to former possession of the Chalice, and venerated by the monks of the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña. Emerging there into the light of history, the monastery's agate cup was acquired by King Martin I of Aragon in 1399 who kept it at Zaragoza. After his death, King Alfonso V of Aragón brought it to Valencia, where it has remained.

Bennett presents as historical evidence a 17th-century Spanish text entitled Life and Martyrdom of the Glorious Spaniard St. Laurence from a monastery in Valencia, which is supposed to be a translation -as the original manuscript does not exist- of a 6th-century manuscript Latin entitled Vita, written by Donato, an Augustinian monk who founded a monastery in the area of Valencia, which contains circumstantial details of the life of Saint Laurence and details surrounding the transfer of the Chalice to Spain. Her claims are not corroborated by the main source for the life of St. Laurence, the poem Peristephanon by the 5th-century poet Prudentius, which does not mention the Chalice that was later said to have passed through his hands.

In 1960 the Spanish archeologist Antonio Beltrán studied the Chalice and concluded: "Archeology supports and definitively confirms the historical authenticity".[citation needed] "Everyone in Spain believes it is the cup," Bennett said to a reporter from the Denver Catholic Register. "You can see it every day that the chapel is open."

The Antioch Chalice[edit]

A photo of a large ovoid vessel standing on a short knobbed stem. The cup comprises a silver body enclosed in an openwork layer of gold. The gold ornamentation represents vine scrolls enclosing small seated and praying figures.

The Antioch Chalice, first half of the 6th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The silver-gilt object originally identified as an early Christian chalice is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was apparently made at Antioch in the early 6th century and is of double-cup construction, with an outer shell of cast-metal open work enclosing a plain silver inner cup. When it was first recovered in Antioch in 1910, it was touted as the Holy Chalice, an identification the Metropolitan Museum characterizes as "ambitious". It is no longer identified as a chalice, having been identified by experts at Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, believed to be a standing lamp, of a style of the 6th century.[4]

QMRTrue Cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from True cross)

For detailed information regarding the Crucifixion itself, see Crucifixion of Jesus.

Christ crucified, painted by Giotto, circa 1310.

The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.[1]

According to post-Nicene historians such as Socrates Scholasticus, the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, travelled to the Holy Land in 326–28, founding churches and establishing relief agencies for the poor. Historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Rufinus claimed that she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to be used at the crucifixion of Jesus and of two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him, and that a miracle revealed which of the three was the True Cross.

Many churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition alleged to be those of the True Cross. Their authenticity is not accepted universally by those of the Christian faith and the accuracy of the reports surrounding the discovery of the True Cross is questioned by some Christians.[2] The acceptance and belief of that part of the tradition that pertains to the Early Christian Church is generally restricted to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The medieval legends that developed concerning its provenance differ between Catholic and Orthodox tradition. These churches honour Helena as a saint, as does also the Anglican Communion.

Provenance of the True Cross[edit]

The Queen of Sheba venerates the wood from which the Cross will be made (fresco by Piero della Francesca in San Francesco, Arezzo).

The Golden Legend[edit]

In the Latin-speaking traditions of Western Europe, the story of the pre-Christian origins of the True Cross was well established by the 13th century when, in 1260, it was recorded, by Jacopo de Voragine, Bishop of Genoa, in the Golden Legend.[3]

The Golden Legend contains several versions of the origin of the True Cross. In The Life of Adam, Voragine writes that the true cross came from three trees which grew from three seeds from the "Tree of Mercy" which Seth collected and planted in the mouth of Adam's corpse.[4] In another account contained in Of the invention of the Holy Cross, and first of this word invention, Voragine writes that the True Cross came from a tree that grew from part of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, or "the tree that Adam ate of", that Seth planted on Adam's grave where it "endured there unto the time of Solomon".[5]

After many centuries the tree was cut down and the wood used to build a bridge over which the Queen of Sheba passed, on her journey to meet King Solomon. So struck was she by the portent contained in the timber of the bridge that she fell on her knees and revered it. On her visit to Solomon she told him that a piece of wood from the bridge would bring about the replacement of God's Covenant with the Jewish people, by a new order. Solomon, fearing the eventual destruction of his people, had the timber buried. But after fourteen generations, the wood taken from the bridge was fashioned into the Cross used to crucify Christ. Voragine then goes on to describe its finding by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine.[6]

Acceptance of this tradition[edit]

In the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance, there was a wide general acceptance of the origin of the True Cross and its history preceding the Crucifixion, as recorded by Voragine. This general acceptance is confirmed by the numerous artworks that depict this subject, culminating in one of the most famous fresco cycles of the Renaissance, the Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca, painted on the walls of the chancel of the Church of San Francesco in Arezzo between 1452 and 1466, in which he reproduces faithfully the traditional episodes of the story as recorded in The Golden Legend.

Eastern Christianity[edit]

The Golden Legend and many of its sources developed after the East-West Schism of 1054,[citation needed] and thus is unknown in the Greek- or Syriac-speaking worlds. The above pre-Crucifixion history, therefore, is not to be found in Eastern Christianity.[citation needed]

According to the Sacred Tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the True Cross was made from three different types of wood: cedar, pine and cypress.[7] This is an allusion to Isaiah 60:13: "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box [cypress] together to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious." The link between this verse and the Crucifixion lies in the words, "the place of my feet", which is interpreted as referring to the suppendaneum (foot rest) on which Jesus' feet were nailed (see Orthodox cross).

There is a tradition that the three trees from which the True Cross was constructed grew together in one spot. A traditional Orthodox icon depicts Lot, the nephew of Abraham, watering the trees.[7] According to tradition, these trees were used to construct the Temple in Jerusalem ("to beautify the place of my sanctuary"). Later, during Herod's reconstruction of the Temple, the wood from these trees was removed from the Temple and discarded, eventually being used to construct the cross on which Jesus was crucified ("and I will make the place of my feet glorious").

Finding the True Cross[edit]

The Finding of the True Cross, Agnolo Gaddi, Florence, 1380.

According to Eusebius[edit]

Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Life of Constantine,[8] describes how the site of the Holy Sepulchre, originally a site of veneration for the Christian community in Jerusalem, had been covered with earth and a temple of Venus had been built on top. Although Eusebius does not say as much, this would probably have been done as part of Hadrian's reconstruction of Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina in 135, following the destruction during the Jewish Revolt of 70 and Bar Kokhba's revolt of 132–135. Following his conversion to Christianity, Emperor Constantine ordered in about 325–326 that the site be uncovered and instructed Saint Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, to build a church on the site. In his Life of Constantine, Eusebius does not mention the finding of the True Cross.

According to Socrates Scholasticus[edit]

Socrates Scholasticus (born c. 380), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a full description of the discovery[9] that was repeated later by Sozomen and by Theodoret. In it he describes how Saint Helena, Constantine's aged mother, had the pagan temple destroyed and the Sepulchre uncovered, whereupon three crosses and the titulus from Jesus's crucifixion were uncovered as well. In Socrates's version of the story, Macarius had the three crosses placed in turn on a deathly ill woman. This woman recovered at the touch of the third cross, which was taken as a sign that this was the cross of Christ, the new Christian symbol. Socrates also reports that, having also found the nails with which Christ had been fastened to the cross, Helena sent these to Constantinople, where they were incorporated into the emperor's helmet and the bridle of his horse.

According to Sozomen[edit]

Sozomen (died c. 450), in his Ecclesiastical History, gives essentially the same version as Socrates. He also adds that it was said (by whom he does not say) that the location of the Sepulchre was "disclosed by a Hebrew who dwelt in the East, and who derived his information from some documents which had come to him by paternal inheritance" (although Sozomen himself disputes this account) and that a dead person was also revived by the touch of the Cross. Later popular versions of this story state that the Jew who assisted Helena was named Jude or Judas, but later converted to Christianity and took the name Kyriakos.

According to Theodoret[edit]

The proving of the True Cross, Jean Colombe in the Très Riches Heures.

Theodoret (died c. 457) in his Ecclesiastical History Chapter xvii gives what had become the standard version of the finding of the True Cross:

When the empress beheld the place where the Saviour suffered, she immediately ordered the idolatrous temple, which had been there erected, to be destroyed, and the very earth on which it stood to be removed. When the tomb, which had been so long concealed, was discovered, three crosses were seen buried near the Lord's sepulchre. All held it as certain that one of these crosses was that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the other two were those of the thieves who were crucified with Him. Yet they could not discern to which of the three the Body of the Lord had been brought nigh, and which had received the outpouring of His precious Blood. But the wise and holy Macarius, the president of the city, resolved this question in the following manner. He caused a lady of rank, who had been long suffering from disease, to be touched by each of the crosses, with earnest prayer, and thus discerned the virtue residing in that of the Saviour. For the instant this cross was brought near the lady, it expelled the sore disease, and made her whole.

With the Cross were also found the Holy Nails, which Helena took with her back to Constantinople. According to Theodoret, "She had part of the cross of our Saviour conveyed to the palace. The rest was enclosed in a covering of silver, and committed to the care of the bishop of the city, whom she exhorted to preserve it carefully, in order that it might be transmitted uninjured to posterity."

Syriac tradition[edit]

Another popular ancient version from the Syriac tradition replaced Helena with a fictitious first-century empress named Protonike.

Scholarly opinion[edit]

Historians[who?] consider these versions to be apocryphal in varying degrees. It is certain, however, that the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre was completed by 335 and that alleged relics of the Cross were being venerated there by the 340s, as they are mentioned in the Catecheses of Cyril of Jerusalem (see below).

The relics of the Cross in Jerusalem[edit]

After Empress Helena[edit]

The silver reliquary that was left at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in care of the bishop of Jerusalem was exhibited periodically to the faithful. In the 380s a nun named Egeria who was travelling on pilgrimage described the veneration of the True Cross at Jerusalem in a long letter, the Itinerario Egeriae that she sent back to her community of women:

Then a chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha behind the [liturgical] Cross, which is now standing; the bishop duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table covered with a linen cloth is placed before him; the deacons stand round the table, and a silver-gilt casket is brought in which is the holy wood of the Cross. The casket is opened and [the wood] is taken out, and both the wood of the Cross and the title are placed upon the table. Now, when it has been put upon the table, the bishop, as he sits, holds the extremities of the sacred wood firmly in his hands, while the deacons who stand around guard it. It is guarded thus because the custom is that the people, both faithful and catechumens, come one by one and, bowing down at the table, kiss the sacred wood and pass through. And because, I know not when, some one is said to have bitten off and stolen a portion of the sacred wood, it is thus guarded by the deacons who stand around, lest any one approaching should venture to do so again. And as all the people pass by one by one, all bowing themselves, they touch the Cross and the title, first with their foreheads and then with their eyes; then they kiss the Cross and pass through, but none lays his hand upon it to touch it. When they have kissed the Cross and have passed through, a deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon and the horn from which the kings were anointed; they kiss the horn also and gaze at the ring...[10]

Before long, but perhaps not until after the visit of Egeria, it was possible also to venerate the crown of thorns, the pillar at which Christ was scourged, and the lance that pierced his side.

During Persian-Byzantine war (614-630)[edit]

In 614 the Sassanid Emperor Khosrau II ("Chosroes") removed the part of the cross held in Jerusalem as a trophy, when he captured the city. Thirteen years later, in 628, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeated Khosrau and regained the relic from Shahrbaraz. He placed the cross in Constantinople at first, and took it back to Jerusalem on 21 March 630.[11] Some scholars disagree with this narrative, Professor Constantin Zuckerman going as far as to suggest that the True Cross was actually lost by the Persians, and that the wood contained in the allegedly still sealed reliquary brought to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629 was a fake. In his analysis, the hoax was designed to serve the political purposes of both Heraclius and his former foe, recently turned ally and co-father-in-law, Persian general and soon-to-become king, Shahrvaraz.[12]

Fatimids, Crusaders and loss of the Cross[edit]

Around 1009, the year in which Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christians in Jerusalem hid part of the cross and it remained hidden until the city was taken by the European knights of the First Crusade. Arnulf Malecorne, the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, had the Greek Orthodox priests who were in possession of the Cross tortured in order to reveal its position.[13] The relic that Arnulf discovered was a small fragment of wood embedded in a golden cross, and it became the most sacred relic of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, with none of the controversy that had followed their discovery of the Holy Lance in Antioch. It was housed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre under the protection of the Latin Patriarch, who marched with it ahead of the army before every battle.

Reliquary of the True Cross at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

After King Baldwin I of Jerusalem presented King Sigurd I of Norway with a splinter of the True Cross following the Norwegian Crusade in 1110, the Cross was captured by Saladin during the Battle of Hattin in 1187, and while some Christian rulers, like Richard the Lionheart,[14] Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos and Tamar, Queen of Georgia, sought to ransom it from Saladin,[15] the cross was not returned and subsequently disappeared from historical records. The True Cross was last seen being paraded through the streets of Damascus upside down by the victorious Muslims after the Battle of Hattin. [16]

Current relic[edit]

Currently the Greek Orthodox present a small True Cross relic shown in the so-called Greek Treasury at the foot the Golgotha, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[17]

Dispersal of relics of the True Cross[edit]

An enamelled silver reliquary of the True Cross from Constantinople, c. 800.

One of the largest purported fragments of the True Cross is at Santo Toribio de Liébana in Spain. (photo by F. J. Díez Martín).

A "Kreuzpartikel" or fragment of True Cross in the Schatzkammer (Vienna).

An inscription of 359, found at Tixter, in the neighbourhood of Sétif in Mauretania, was said to mention, in an enumeration of relics, a fragment of the True Cross, according to an entry in Roman Miscellanies, X, 441.

Fragments of the Cross were broken up, and the pieces were widely distributed; in 348, in one of his Catecheses, Cyril of Jerusalem remarked that the "whole earth is full of the relics of the Cross of Christ,"[18] and in another, "The holy wood of the Cross bears witness, seen among us to this day, and from this place now almost filling the whole world, by means of those who in faith take portions from it."[19] Egeria's account testifies to how highly these relics of the crucifixion were prized. Saint John Chrysostom relates that fragments of the True Cross were kept in golden reliquaries, "which men reverently wear upon their persons." Even two Latin inscriptions around 350 from today's Algeria testify to the keeping and admiration of small particles of the cross.[20] Around the year 455, Juvenal Patriarch of Jerusalem sent to Pope Leo I a fragment of the "precious wood", according to the Letters of Pope Leo. A portion of the cross was taken to Rome in the seventh century by Pope Sergius I, who was of Byzantine origin. "In the small part is power of the whole cross", so an inscription in the Felix Basilica of Nola, built by bishop Paulinus at the beginning of 5th century. The cross particle was inserted in the altar.[21]

The Old English poem Dream of the Rood mentions the finding of the cross and the beginning of the tradition of the veneration of its relics. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also talks of King Alfred receiving a fragment of the cross from Pope Marinus (see: Annal Alfred the Great, year 883).[22] Although it is possible, the poem need not be referring to this specific relic or have this incident as the reason for its composition.

Most of the very small relics of the True Cross in Europe came from Constantinople. The city was captured and sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204: "After the conquest of the city Constantinople inestimable wealth was found, incomparably precious jewels and also a part of the cross of the Lord, which Helena transferred from Jerusalem and was decorated with gold and precious jewels. There it attained highest admiration. It was carved up by the present bishops and was divided with other very precious relics among the knights; later, after their return to the homeland, it was donated to churches and monasteries."[23][24][25] A knight Robert de Clari wrote: "Within this chapel were found many precious relics; for therein were found two pieces of the True Cross, as thick as a man's leg and a fathom in length."[26]

By the end of the Middle Ages so many churches claimed to possess a piece of the True Cross, that John Calvin is famously said to have remarked that there was enough wood in them to fill a ship:

"There is no abbey so poor as not to have a specimen. In some places there are large fragments, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poitiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all the pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load. Yet the Gospel testifies that a single man was able to carry it."

— Calvin, Traité Des Reliques.

Conflicting with this is the finding of Charles Rohault de Fleury, who, in his Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion of 1870 made a study of the relics in reference to the criticisms of Calvin and Erasmus. He drew up a catalogue of all known relics of the True Cross showing that, in spite of what various authors have claimed, the fragments of the Cross brought together again would not reach one-third that of a cross which has been supposed to have been three or four metres in height, with transverse branch of two metres wide, proportions not at all abnormal. He calculated: supposing the Cross to have been of pine-wood (based on his microscopic analysis of the fragments) and giving it a weight of about seventy-five kilogrammes, we find the original volume of the cross to be 0.178 cubic metres (6.286 cubic feet). The total known volume of known relics of the True Cross, according to his catalogue, amounts to approximately 0.004 cubic metres (0.141 cubic feet) (more specifically 3,942,000 cubic millimetres), leaving a volume of 0.174 m3 (6.145 cu ft) lost, destroyed, or otherwise unaccounted for.[27]

Four cross particles – of ten particles with surviving documentary provenances by Byzantine emperors – from European churches, i.e. Santa Croce in Rome, Notre Dame, Paris, Pisa Cathedral and Florence Cathedral, were microscopically examined. "The pieces came all together from olive."[28] It is possible that many alleged pieces of the True Cross are forgeries, created by travelling merchants in the Middle Ages, during which period a thriving trade in manufactured relics existed.[citation needed]

Gerasimos Smyrnakis[29] notes that the largest surviving portion, of 870,760 cubic millimetres, is preserved in the Monastery of Koutloumousiou on Mount Athos, and also mentions the preserved relics in Rome (consisting of 537,587 cubic millimetres), in Brussels (516,090 cubic millimetres), in Venice (445,582 cubic millimetres), in Ghent (436,450 cubic millimetres) and in Paris (237,731 cubic millimetres). (For comparison, the collective volume of the largest of these sets of fragments would be equivalent to a cube of a little less than 4 inches per side, while the smallest of these would have an equivalent cubic dimension of about 2.5 inches per side. The volume figures given by Smyrnakis for these objects -- six significant figures and to the cubic millimeter -- are undoubtedly the result of multiplying slightly approximate numbers and should not be seen as implying scientific accuracy of the highest order in a book written over a century ago.)

Fragments of True Cross in Serbian Monastery of Visoki Dečani

Santo Toribio de Liébana in Spain is also said to hold the largest of these pieces and is one of the most visited Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites. Another portions of the True Cross is believed to be in the Monasterio de Tarlac at San Jose, Tarlac, Philippines and one at National Shrine of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina in San Pedro, Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines.[30]

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church also claims to have the right wing of the true cross buried in the monastery of Gishen Mariam. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has an annual religious holiday, called Meskel or Demera, commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena. Meskel occurs on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or September 28 in leap years). "Meskel" (or "Meskal" or "Mesqel", there are various ways to transliterate from Ge'ez to Latin script) is Ge'ez for "cross".[31]

The festival is known as Feast of the exaltation of the holy cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. The churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate the feast on September 14

Veneration of the Cross[edit]

St John Chrysostom wrote homilies on the three crosses:

Kings removing their diadems take up the cross, the symbol of their Saviour's death; on the purple, the cross; in their prayers, the cross; on their armour, the cross; on the holy table, the cross; throughout the universe, the cross. The cross shines brighter than the sun.

A relic of the True Cross being carried in procession through the Piazza San Marco, Venice. Gentile Bellini 15th century.

The Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and a number of Protestant denominations, celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14, the anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In later centuries, these celebrations also included commemoration of the rescue of the True Cross from the Persians in 628. In the Galician usage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, when the Galician and Roman practices were combined, the September date, for which the Vatican adopted the official name "Triumph of the Cross" in 1963, was used to commemorate the rescue from the Persians and the May date was kept as the "Invention of the True Cross" to commemorate the finding.[32] The September date is often referred to in the West as Holy Cross Day; the May date (See also Roodmas.) was dropped from the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in 1970 as part of the liturgical reforms mandated by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The Orthodox still commemorate both events on September 14, one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year, and the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross on 1 August, the day on which the relics of the True Cross would be carried through the streets of Constantinople to bless the city.[33]

In addition to celebrations on fixed days, there are certain days of the variable cycle when the Cross is celebrated. The Roman Catholic Church has a formal 'Adoration of the Cross' (the term is inaccurate, but sanctioned by long use) during the services for Good Friday, while Eastern Orthodox churches everywhere, a replica of the cross is brought out in procession during Matins of Great and Holy Friday for the people to venerate. The Orthodox also celebrate an additional Veneration of the Cross on the third Sunday of Great Lent.

Photo gallery[edit]

Reliquary of the True Cross at Notre Dame de Paris.

Base of reliquary of the True Cross and nail of the crucifixion. Notre Dame de Paris.

Reliquary of the True Cross and a nail of the crucifixion. Notre Dame de Paris.

Fragment, treasury of the former Premonstratensian Abbey in Rüti in Switzerland.

True Cross at Visoki Dečani, Serbia.

QMRLouis IX's Sainte-Chapelle (1245), built as a reliquary to house the Crown of Thorns and a piece of the True Cross, enclosed within the mid 19th century Palais de Justice.

QMRMeskel (Ge'ez: መሰቀል) is an annual religious holiday in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on the 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or on 28 September in leap years). "Meskel" (or "Meskal" or "Mesqel", there are various ways to transliterate from Ge'ez to Latin script) is Ge'ez for "cross".

The festival is known as Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. The churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate the feast yearly on September 14.

QMRRelic from the shrine of Saint Boniface of Dokkum in the hermit-church of Warfhuizen: bone fragment in middle is from Saint Boniface; little folded papers on the left and right contain bone fragments of Saint Benedict of Nursia and Bernard of Clairvaux

It is a quatrefoil

QMRGrapevine cross of Saint Nino of Georgia (Sioni Cathedral, Tbilisi, Georgia)

QMRRelics of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in the Catholicon of Mar Saba Monastery in the Kidron Valley

QMRThe Church of the Holy Sepulchre[1] (Latin: ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri; Hebrew: כנסיית הקבר הקדוש, Knesiyyat HaKever HaKadosh), also called the Church of the Resurrection i.e. Church of the Anastasis by Orthodox Christians (Arabic: كنيسة القيامة, kanīssat al Qi'yāma; Armenian: Սուրբ Յարութեան տաճար, Surb Harut’ian tačar; Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως, Naós tēs Anastáseōs), is a church within the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan.

The church contains, according to traditions dating back at least to the fourth century, the two holiest sites in Christendom: the site where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified,[2] known as "Calvary" in Latin and "Golgotha" in Greek,[3] and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected. Within the church proper are the last four (or, by some definitions, five) Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus' Passion. The church has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination since its creation in the fourth century, as the traditional site of the Resurrection of Christ, thus its original Greek name, Church of the Anastasis.

QMRThe Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Latin: Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem, Italian: Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy.

QMRThe Ball and the Cross is a novel by G. K. Chesterton. The title refers to a more worldly and rationalist worldview, represented by a ball or sphere, and the cross representing Christianity. The first chapters of the book were serialized from 1905 to 1906[1] with the completed work published in 1909. The novel's beginning involves debates about rationalism and religion between a Professor Lucifer and a monk named Michael. A part of this section was quoted in Pope John Paul I's Illustrissimi letter to G. K. Chesterton.[2] Much of the rest of the book concerns the dueling, figurative and somewhat more literal, of a Jacobite Catholic named Maclan and an atheist Socialist named Turnbull.[3] Lynette Hunter has argued that the novel is more sympathetic to Maclan, but does indicate Maclan is also presented as in some ways too extreme.[4] Turnbull, as well, is presented in a sympathetic light: both duelists are ready to fight for and die for their antagonistic opinions and, in doing so, develop a certain partnership that evolves into a friendship. The real antagonist is the world outside, which desperately tries to prevent from happening a duel over "mere religion" (a subject both duelists judge of utmost importance).

QMRHoly Face of Lucca

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Volto Santo of Lucca

The legend of the fiddler in a Parisian miniature of 1400-20

The Holy Face of Lucca (Italian: Volto Santo di Lucca) is a venerated wooden corpus (body) of a crucifix in Lucca, Italy. Medieval legends stated that it had been sculpted by that Nicodemus who assisted Joseph of Arimathea in depositing Christ in the tomb and specifically dated its arrival in Lucca to AD 742.

The present Holy Face itself is an early thirteenth-century copy of the original ascribed to the circle of Benedetto Antelami.[1] It appears that the original was chipped away beyond repair by relic-seeking pilgrims. The earliest copies date from the early twelfth century, which may suggest that the original in fact dates only from the 11th century. Its presence in Lucca can only be securely documented from about 1100, although Abbot Leofstan of Bury St Edmunds Abbey, who died in 1065, recorded that the inspiration for a life-size crucifix he had made for Bury St Edmunds was one he saw at Lucca on his way to Rome.[2]

The Holy Face is located in the free-standing octagonal Carrara marble chapel (the tempietto or "little temple"), which was built in 1484 by Matteo Civitali, the sculptor-architect of Lucca, to contain it. The tempietto stands in the right-hand nave of the cathedral of San Martino in Lucca, Italy.

Copies of a similar size from the 12th century are found widely spread across Europe. These include the Cross of Imervard in the Brunswick Cathedral at Braunschweig, Germany, the Holy Face of Sansepolcro at Sansepolcro, Italy and possibly the Batlló Crucifix of Barcelona, Spain.[3]

QMRCloisters Cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cloisters Cross, 2009

The Cloisters Cross, also referred to as the Bury St Edmunds Cross, is an unusually complex 12th century ivory Romanesque altar cross in The Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The cross is carved from walrus ivory and measures 225⁄8 × 141⁄4 in. (57.5 × 36.2 cm).

The carvings which cover both front and back sides include ninety-two intricately carved figures and ninety-eight inscriptions. The figures, each of which is only about one-half inch tall, illustrate a number of Biblical scenes, and on the back a number of the Old Testament prophets with banderoles containing quotations from their books. There is debate over whether or not these inscriptions are chosen with an anti-Semitic intent. The Metropolitan website currently says: "Prominent among the inscriptions are several strong invectives against Jews. Though it is impossible to know precisely who commissioned this piece and with what aims, the cross certainly offers some indication of the anti-Semitism prevalent in England at this time. Indeed, by the end of the thirteenth century, Jews were expelled from the country".[1] This theme was developed in a book by Thomas Hoving, the curator involved when the Metropolitan acquired the cross, and later Director. This was unkindly described in an academic review of Parker and Little as "an autobiographical romance ... written in Raymond Chandler style".[2]

Elizabeth C. Parker and Charles T. Little, in a book also published by the Metropolitan, disagree with Hoving and think that it is doubtful that the cross, a sophisticated theological object, was specifically designed for the purpose of either castigating or converting any member of the small Jewish population in England in the mid-twelfth century.

The sculptor is not known. Thomas Hoving, who managed the acquisition of the cross while he was Associate Curator at The Cloisters, concluded that it was carved by Master Hugo at the Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in Suffolk. However, there is no certain evidence to suggest that the cross was even made in England, although this is accepted by most scholars, and other places of origin such as Germany have been proposed.

The history of the cross before it was acquired by Ante Topić Mimara is unknown. He sold it to the Metropolitan Museum in 1963. The British Museum also had an interest in acquiring the cross.

QMRThe Papal ferula (from Latin ferula, "rod") is the pastoral staff used by the pope. It is a rod with a knob on top surmounted by a cross. This is in contrast to other bishops, who use a crosier which is shaped like a shepherd's crook: bent or crooked at the top and pointed at the lower end.

QMR A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross,[1] is a cross or crucifix, especially the large Crucifixion set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church.[2] Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Derivation[edit]

Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda "rod".[3]

Rood was originally the only Old English word for the instrument of Jesus Christ's death. The words crúc and in the North cros (from either Old Irish or Old Norse) appeared by late Old English; "crucifix" is first recorded in English in the Ancrene Wisse of about 1225.[4] More precisely, the Rood was the True Cross, the specific wooden cross used in Christ's crucifixion. The word remains in use in some names, such as Holyrood Palace and the Old English poem The Dream of the Rood. The phrase "by the rood" was used in swearing, e.g. "No, by the rood, not so" in Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 4).

The alternative term triumphal cross (Latin: crux triumphalis, German: Triumphkreuz), which is more usual in Europe, signifies the triumph that the resurrected Jesus Christ (Christus triumphans) won over death.[5]

History[edit]

Numerous near life-size crucifixes survive from the Romanesque period or earlier, with the Gero Cross in Cologne Cathedral (AD 965–970) and the Volto Santo of Lucca the best known. The prototype may have been one known to have been set up in Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel in Aachen, apparently in gold foil worked over a wooden core in the manner of the Golden Madonna of Essen,[8] though figureless jeweled gold crosses are recorded in similar positions in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in the 5th century. Many figures in precious metal are recorded in Anglo-Saxon monastic records, though none now survive. Notables sometimes gave their crowns (Cnut the Great at Winchester Cathedral), necklaces (Lady Godiva to the Virgin accompanying the rood at Evesham Abbey), or swords (Tovi the Proud, Waltham Abbey) to decorate them.[9] The original location and support for the surviving figures is often unclear but a number of northern European churches preserve the original setting in full — they are known as a Triumphkreuz in German, from the "triumphal arch" (or "chancel arch") of Early Christian architecture. As in later examples the Virgin and Saint John often flank the cross, and cherubim and other figures are sometimes seen. A gilt rood in the 10th-century Mainz Cathedral was only placed on a beam on special feast days.[10]

Components[edit]

Rood cross on rood screen at Albi Cathedral, France

Image of Christ[edit]

In the Romanesque era the crucified Christ was presented as ruler and judge. Instead of a crown of thorns he wears a crown or a halo, on his feet he wears "shoes" as a sign of the ruler. He is victorious over death. His feet are parallel to each other on the wooden support ("Four nail type") and not one on top of the other.[11] The perizoma (loincloth) is highly stylized and falls in vertical folds.

In the transition to the Gothic style, the triumphant Christ becomes suffering Christ, the pitiful Man of Sorrows. Instead of the ruler's crown, he wears the crown of thorns, his feet are placed one above the other and are pierced with a single nail. His facial expression and posture express his pain. The wounds of the body are often dramatically portrayed. The loincloth is no longer so clearly stylized. The attendant figures Mary and John show signs of grief.[12]

Attendant figures[edit]

A triumphal cross may be surrounded by a group of people. These people may include Mary and John, the "beloved disciple" (based on John's Gospel (John 19:25-27, Matthew 27:25f, Mark 15;40f and Luke 23:49)), but also apostles, angels and the benefactor.

The triumphal cross of the Church of Öja in Gotland stands on a transverse beam beneath the triumphal arch and is flanked by two people: Mary and John.

The triumphal cross in the abbey church of Wechselburg stands in an elevated position on the rood screen and also has the same pair of attendant figures.

The triumphal cross in Schwerin Cathedral is also flanked by Mary and John. At the end of the cross' beam the Evangelist's symbols may be seen.

In St. Mary's Church in Osnabrück there are only the empty stone pedestals of the attendant figures.

The triumphal cross above the screen in Halberstadt Cathedral is not flanked by Mary and John, but by two angels.

On the supporting beam of the triumphal cross in Lübeck Cathedral there is also a bishop, presumably the benefactor of the cross.

Rood screens[edit]

Rood screens developed in the 13th century, as a wooden or stone screens, also usually separating the chancel or choir from the nave, upon which the rood now stood. The screen may be elaborately carved and was often richly painted and gilded. Rood screens were found in Christian churches in most parts of Europe by the end of the Middle Ages, though in Catholic countries the great majority were gradually removed after the Council of Trent, and most were removed or drastically cut down in areas controlled by Calvinists and Anglicans. The best medieval examples are now mostly in the Lutheran countries such as Germany and Scandinavia, where they were often left undisturbed in country churches.

Rood screens are the Western equivalent of the Byzantine templon beam, which developed into the Eastern Orthodox iconostasis. Some rood screens incorporate a rood loft, a narrow gallery or just flat walkway which could be used to clean or decorate the rood or cover it up in Lent, or in larger examples by singers or musicians. An alternative type of screen is the Pulpitum, as seen in Exeter Cathedral, which is near the main altar of the church.

The rood itself provided a focus for worship, most especially in Holy Week, when worship was highly elaborate. During Lent the rood was veiled; on Palm Sunday it was revealed before the procession of palms and the congregation knelt before it. The whole Passion story would then be read from the rood loft, at the foot of the crucifix, by three ministers.

No original medieval rood now survives in a church in the United Kingdom.[13] Most were deliberately destroyed as acts of iconoclasm during the English Reformation and the English Civil War, when many rood screens were also removed. Today, in many British churches, the "rood stair" that gave access to the gallery is often the only remaining sign of the former rood screen and rood loft.

In the nineteenth century, under the influence of the Oxford Movement, roods and screens were again added to many Anglican churches.

Representative examples[edit]

Cross from Linde Church on Gotland (today in the Swedish History Museum) also displays the symbol of a ruler, demonstrating the origin of the name.

Triumphal cross of Notke in Lübeck Cathedral

Triumphal cross (Christ's side) in Doberan Minster

The "plate cross" (Scheibenkreuz) in St. Mary's (Hohnekirche) in Soest (around 1200)

Forked cross in St. Peter's at Merzig

Representative examples[edit]

Cross from Linde Church on Gotland (today in the Swedish History Museum) also displays the symbol of a ruler, demonstrating the origin of the name.

Triumphal cross of Notke in Lübeck Cathedral

Triumphal cross (Christ's side) in Doberan Minster

The "plate cross" (Scheibenkreuz) in St. Mary's (Hohnekirche) in Soest (around 1200)

Forked cross in St. Peter's at Merzig

The Charlton-on-Otmoor Garland[edit]

The Charlton-on-Otmoor rood in 2011

Two corn-dolly-like garlands formerly stood in the rood loft, as illustrated in 1823.[citation needed]

The single garland in the rood loft at Charlton-on-Otmoor, illustrated by J.H. Parker in 1840.

A unique rood exists at St Mary's parish church, Charlton-on-Otmoor, near Oxford, England, where a large wooden cross, solidly covered in greenery, and known as the Garland, stands on the early 16th-century rood screen (said by Sherwood and Pevsner to be the finest in Oxfordshire).[14] The cross is redecorated twice a year, on 1 May and 19 September (the patronal festival, calculated according to the Julian Calendar), when children from the local primary school, carrying small crosses decorated with flowers, bring a long, flower-decorated, rope-like garland. The cross is dressed or redecorated with locally obtained box foliage. The rope-like garland is hung across the rood screen during the "May Garland Service".[15]

An engraving from 1823 shows the dressed rood cross as a more open, foliage-covered framework, similar to certain types of corn dolly, with a smaller attendant figure of similar appearance. Folklorists have commented on the garland crosses' resemblance to human figures, and noted that they replaced statues of St Mary and Saint James the Great which had stood on the rood screen until they were destroyed during the Reformation. Until the 1850s, the larger garland cross was carried in a May Day procession, accompanied by morris dancers, to the former Benedictine Studley priory (as the statue of St Mary had been, until the Reformation). Meanwhile, the women of the village used to carry the smaller garland cross through Charlton,[15] though it seems that this ceased some time between 1823 and 1840, when an illustration in J.H. Parker's A Glossary of Terms Used in Grecian, Roman, Italian, and Gothic Architecture shows only one garland cross, centrally positioned on the rood screen.[16]

QMRDream of the Rood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mediaeval manuscript of The Dream of the Rood

The Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Christian poems in the corpus of Old English literature and an example of the genre of dream poetry. Like most Old English poetry, it is written in alliterative verse. Rood is from the Old English word rod 'pole', or more specifically 'crucifix'. Preserved in the 10th century Vercelli Book, the poem may be as old as the 8th century Ruthwell Cross, and is considered one of the oldest works of Old English literature.

QMRHolyrood (cross)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Holyrood or Holy Rood is a Christian relic considered to be part of the True Cross on which Jesus died. The word derives from the Old English rood, meaning a cross, or from the Scots haly ruid ("holy cross"). Several relics venerated as part of the True Cross are known by this name, in England, Ireland and Scotland.

Black Rood of Scotland[edit]

Saint Margaret (c.1045–1093), a Saxon Princess of England, was born in Hungary. Following the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, she fled to Scotland, where she married Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scotland. She is said to have brought the "Holy Rood", a fragment of Christ's cross, from Hungary or England to Scotland with her. It was known as the Black Rood of Scotland.

The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that Saint Margaret brought the cross from Waltham Abbey, after which it was kept in Holyrood Abbey, which her son erected in Edinburgh.[1]

The relic was removed from Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296, along with the Stone of Scone and other treasures, but the Black Rood was returned in 1328. It was lost to the English again following the battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, after which it was held in Durham Cathedral until the Reformation of 1540, when it was presumably destroyed.[2]

An inventory made in England described the cross and its case in Latin soon after it was taken from Edinburgh Castle in 1296 as; "Unum scrinium argenteum deauratum in quo reponitur crux que vocatur le blake rode", which can be translated as "A silver-gilt casket in which lies the cross called the Black Rood".[3]

Holy Cross Abbey[edit]

A fragment of the Holy Rood was brought to a Cistercian Abbey in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland by Isabella of Angoulême, widow of King John of England, and thenceforth the Abbey was called Holy Cross Abbey. The relic was lost following the Cromwellian war in Ireland. However, it was later found and is currently in the Abbey.

Waltham Abbey[edit]

The term is also applied to the black flint cross formerly held at Waltham Abbey in Essex, England. The Holy Rood or Cross was the subject of veneration and pilgrimage in the middle ages, but disappeared when the Abbey was dissolved in 1540.[4]

QMRHoly Rood Church may refer to several religious sites in the United Kingdom:

Holyrood Abbey Church, Edinburgh

Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh

Holy Rood Church, Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Church of the Holy Rood, Edwalton, Nottinghamshire

Holy Rood Church, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire

Holy Rood Church, Ossington, Nottinghamshire

Holyrood Church, Southampton, Hampshire

Holy Rood Church, Swindon, Wiltshire

Holy Rood Church, Watford, Hertfordshire

QMRLegend of the Rood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Legend of the Rood (Latin: De ligno sancte crucis) is a complex of medieval tales loosely derived from the Old Testament.

In its fullest form, the narrative tells of how the dying Adam sends his son Seth back to Paradise to seek an elixir which will render him immortal. This part of the tale is sometimes referred to as "the Quest of Seth for the Oil of Life". The angel guarding the gates of Paradise refuses Seth access, but does give him a seed from the tree from which Adam and Eve had stolen the apple. On his return, Seth finds his father dead, but places this seed under his tongue and then buries him at Golgotha. A tree grows from the seed, which is cut down. The wood experiences many adventures, reappearing as a leitmotif in popular renderings of many Old Testament stories. At one point it is a bridge over which the Queen of Sheba passes. Ultimately, it is made into the cross (Middle English: rood) on which Jesus is crucified.

The Legend of the Rood is a key component in the complex of motifs known as the Medieval popular Bible. It is found in many medieval Adam Books, and provides the central framework of works such as the Welsh Ystorya Adaf.

These narratives have been extensively studied by Beryl Smalley, Brian O Murdoch, Robert Miller and others.

Medieval scholars tend to use the word "legend" solely as a translation of Latin legenda, meaning the biography of saints as a literary form, and hence are often reluctant to use the word too liberally in other contexts. However, as a set-phrase, "Legend of the Rood" has become familiar enough to be uncontroversial.

QMRMaster of the Blue Crucifixes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Double-sided Crucifix (13th century), tempera on panel, 109.5 x 77 cm.

The Master of the Blue Crucifixes was an Italian artist active either in the region of Umbria or Emilia during the middle of the thirteenth century. He is associated with the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, and may have been an assistant of Giunta Pisano, whose work his paintings resemble. A number of his works, mainly processional crucifixes (from which, along with his favoring of blue paint as a background, his name is derived) survive.

QMRLamb bleeding into the Holy Chalice, carrying the vexillum.

QMRMedieval Agnus Dei with halo and cross; Euphrasian Basilica, Poreč, Croatia.

QMRSan Damiano Cross depicts the sacrificial Christ as Agnus Dei'

QMRLamb of God mosaic in presbytery of Basilica of San Vitale (built A.D. 547) Ravenna, Italy.

The ceiling is a quadrant shape

QMRAdoration of the Mystic Lamb, with gushing blood, detail of the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck. The lamb is next to a cross

QMR An heraldic escutcheon blazoned as A paschal lamb, as drawn by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1871-1928) The lamb carries a cross

QMRGallery[edit]

The Coat of arms of Puerto Rico features the Lamb of God and other symbols including the Kingdom of Jerusalem Cross and the Catholic Monarchs initials.

The seal of the Moravian Church, the Agnus Dei window with the Lamb of God carrying the vexillum

Brass Agnus Dei from altar-front in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky.

Agnus Dei on the 1311 coin of King Philip IV of France.

Eucharistic Pall, embroidered with the Agnus Dei reposing on the book of the Seven Seals.

William Blake's The Lamb from his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Stained glass Lamb of God carrying the vexillum, Royal Military College of Canada

Modern copy of a Romanesque Agnus Dei, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia

The Agnus Dei on Perth, Scotland's coat of arms holds the Scottish flag.

The lambs all carry crosses or flags with crosses

QMRAs a visual motif the lamb has been most often represented since the Middle Ages as a standing haloed lamb with a foreleg cocked "holding" a pennant with a red cross on a white ground, though many other ways of representing it have been used.

QMRArt[edit]

Lamb of God mosaic in presbytery of Basilica of San Vitale (built A.D. 547) Ravenna, Italy.

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, with gushing blood, detail of the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck.

In Christian iconography, an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb, since the Middle Ages usually holding a standard or banner with a cross. This normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. Often the cross will have a white banner suspended from it charged with a red cross (similar to St George's Cross), though the cross may also be rendered in different colors. Sometimes the lamb is shown lying atop a book with seven seals hanging from it. This is a reference to the imagery in the Book of Revelation 5:1-13, ff. Occasionally, the lamb may be depicted bleeding from the area of the heart (Cf. Revelation 5:6), symbolizing Jesus' shedding of his blood to take away the sins of the world (Cf. John 1:29, 1:36).

In Early Christian art the symbol appears very early on. Several mosaics in churches include it, some showing a row of twelve sheep representing the apostles flanking the central Agnus Dei, as in Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome (526-30).

The Moravian Church uses an Agnus Dei as their seal with the surrounding inscription Vicit agnus noster, eum sequamur ("Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow him").

Although the depiction of Jesus as the Lamb of God is of ancient origin, it is not used in the liturgical iconography of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The reason for this is that the depictions of Jesus in the Orthodox Church are anthropomorphic rather than symbolic, as a confession of the Orthodox belief in the Incarnation of the Logos. However, there is no objection to the application of the term "Lamb of God" to Jesus. In fact, the Host used in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy is referred to as the Lamb (Greek: άμνος, amnos; Slavonic: Агнецъ, agnets).

Heraldry[edit]

An heraldic escutcheon blazoned as A paschal lamb, as drawn by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1871-1928)

A Paschal Lamb is a charge used in heraldry, for example as the crest of the Davie Baronets, and is blazoned: A paschal lamb[28] This charge is depicted as a lamb standing with body facing towards the dexter (viewer's left), with nimbus, and with head facing forwards (or turned looking backwards to sinister, termed reguardant) holding under its right foreleg a flagpole, tipped with a small cross, resting at a diagonal angle over its shoulder, flying a banner of the Cross of St George (except in Perth's coat of arms, where it flies a banner of the Cross of St Andrew).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paschal lamb in heraldry.

Catholic sacramental[edit]

In the Roman Catholic Church, an Agnus Dei is a disc of wax, stamped with an image of Jesus as a lamb bearing a cross, that is blessed by the Pope as a sacramental.[29] These were often set in jewellery, and might be worn round the neck on a chain, or as a brooch.

QMR In Christian art the holy spirit is often represented as a dove, or a dove with it's wings stretched out. A dove with its wings stretched out resembles a cross

QMRThe Wordless Book is a Christian evangelistic book. Evidence points to it being invented by the famous London Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in a message given on January 11, 1866[2] to several hundred orphans regarding Psalm 51:7 "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."[3] It is called a "book", as it is usually represented with pages, although it can be shown on a single page or banner.

The book consists of several blocks of pure color that, in sequence, represent a nonverbal catechism about basic Christian teachings for the instruction of children, the illiterate, or people of different cultures.[4] However, the presentation of the book is meant to be a verbal experience, providing the "reader" a visual cue to expound Christian doctrine extemporaneously or in impromptu situations.

Spurgeon’s concept contained only three colors: "first was black, the second was red, and the third was pure white".

black: representing the sinful state of humanity by nature. Usually referred to as the dark page.

red: representing the blood of Jesus.

white: representing the perfect righteousness which God has given to believers through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ his Son, usually referred to as the clean page.

By 1880 at least, the book was being widely used in evangelism among orphanages, Sunday schools, and in cross-cultural missions.

Different versions came about when Dwight Lyman Moody added another color: gold (after white) – representing Heaven – in 1875.[5] Hudson Taylor and missionaries of the China Inland Mission used the four color version in open-air preaching and individual evangelism. It has been used by missionaries and teachers such as Jennie Faulding Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Fanny Crosby (who was blind), and the modern-day Child Evangelism Fellowship which added a fifth color: green (after white, before gold) – representing one's need to grow in Christ after salvation. Some modern Baptists add a sixth color: blue (after white, before green) – representing baptism etc.

sin atonement righteousness baptism growth heaven

Spurgeon ✗ ✗ ✗

Moody ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

CEF ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

Baptist ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

QMRThe Christian cross symbol is often shown in different shapes and sizes, in many different styles. It may be used in personal jewelry, or used on top of church buildings. It is shown both empty and in crucifix form, that is, with a figure of Christ, often referred to as the corpus (Latin for "body"), affixed to it.

The Greek cross is the most common Christian forms, the cross with arms of equal length, in common use by the 4th century. The standard Latin cross (with an elongated descending arm) is encoded at U+271D ✝ latin cross.

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, as illustrated in the article 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.

Crosses are a prominent feature of Christian cemeteries, either carved on gravestones or as sculpted stelas. Because of this, planting small crosses is sometimes used in countries of Christian culture to mark the site of fatal accidents, or to protest alleged deaths.

In Catholic countries, crosses are often erected on the peaks of prominent mountains, such as the Zugspitze or Mount Royal, so as to be visible over the entire surrounding area.

Contents [hide]

1 List of variants

1.1 Basic forms

1.2 Association with saints

1.3 Confessional or regional variants

1.4 Modern innovations

2 Types of artifacts

3 See also

4 References

List of variants[edit]

Basic forms[edit]

Basic variants, or early variants widespread since antiquity.

Image Name Description

Greek cross.svg Greek cross With arms of equal length. One of the most common Christian forms, in common use by the 4th century.

Cross with a longer descending arm. Along with the Greek cross, it is the most common form. It represents the cross of Jesus' crucifixion.

Patriarchal or Archbishop Cross.svg Patriarchal cross (three-bar cross) Also called an archiepiscopal cross or a crux gemina. A double cross, with the two crossbars near the top. The upper one is shorter, representing the plaque nailed to Jesus' cross. Similar to the Cross of Lorraine, though in the original version of the latter, the bottom arm is lower. The Eastern Orthodox cross adds a slanted bar near the foot.

Heraldic Globus cruciger.svg Globus cruciger Globe cross. An orb surmounted by a cross; used in royal regalia.

Cross of the pope.svg Papal cross A cross with three bars near the top. The bar are of unequal length, each one shorter than the one below.

Coa Illustration Cross Staurogram.svg Monogrammatic Cross, or Staurogram or Tau-Rho Cross The earlier visual image of the cross, already present in New Testament manuscripts as P66, P45 and P75.[1]

Calvary cross.svg Stepped cross A cross resting on a base with three steps, also called a graded or a Calvary cross.

Jerusalem Cross Also known as the Crusader's Cross. A large cross with a smaller cross in each of its angles. It was used as a symbol of the kingdom of Jerusalem

Association with saints[edit]

Image Name Description

Peter's Cross.svg Cross of St. 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.

Te cross.svg Tau cross (Anthony's cross) A T-shaped cross. Also called the Saint Anthony's cross and crux commissa.

Saint Andrew's cross.svg 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.

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.

Ascension of the Cross bas-relief, Jvari Monastery.jpg Bolnisi cross Ancient Georgian cross and national symbol from the 5th century AD.

Caucasian Albanian Cross.svg Caucasian Albanian cross Ancient Caucasian Albanian cross and national symbol from the 4th century AD.

Croix copte égyptienne.svg 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 (Egyptian Christians). Also called a crux ansata, meaning "cross with a handle".

Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia - khatchkar.jpg Armenian cross-stone (Khachkar) A khachkar (cross-stone) is a popular symbol of Armenians.

Cantercross.svg 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 (three-cornered knot) pattern. There is a small square panel in the center of the cross. A symbol of the Anglican and Episcopal Churches.

Monasterboice 12.jpg Celtic Cross Essentially a Latin cross, with a circle enclosing the intersection of the upright and crossbar, as in the standing High crosses.

Coptic cross The original Coptic cross has its origin in the Coptic ankh.

Coptic cross.svg 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.

SaintNinoCross.jpg Grapevine cross Also known as the cross of Saint Nino of Cappadocia, who Christianised Georgia.

Original Coptic cross.svg Gnostic cross Cross used by the early Gnostic sects.

Cathar cross.svg Occitan cross Based on the counts of Toulouse's traditional coat of arms, it soon became the symbol of Occitania as a whole.

RosecrossPlexi.jpg Rose Cross A cross with a rose blooming at the center. The central symbol to all groups embracing the Esoteric Christian philosophy of the Rosicrucians.

Cross of the Russian Orthodox Church 01.svg Russian Orthodox cross (See Suppedaneum cross, below).

Serbian cross A Greek cross with 4 Cyrillic S's (C) in each of its angles, which represent the imperial motto of the Palaiologos dynasty when he resurrected the Byzantine Empire: King of Kings, Ruling Over Kings (βασιλεὺς βασιλέων, βασιλεύων βασιλευόντων - Basileus Basileōn, Basileuōn Basileuontōn). A national symbol of Serbia and symbol of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Cross of the Russian Orthodox Church 01.svg Suppedaneum cross Also known as Russian cross, Slavic or Slavonic cross. A three-barred cross in which the short top bar represents the inscription over Jesus' head, and the lowest (usually slanting) short bar, placed near the foot, represents his footrest (in Latin, suppedaneum). This cross existed in a slightly different form (with the bottom crossbeam pointing upwards) in Byzantium, and it was changed and adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church and especially popularized in the East Slavic countries.

Mar Thoma Sliva.jpg Saint Thomas Cross The ancient cross used by Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasrani) in Kerala, India.[2]

Macedonian cross.svg Macedonian cross, also known as Veljusa Cross (Вељушки крст). Macedonian Christian symbol, symbol of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

Anuradhapura Cross-Vector.svg Anuradhapura cross A symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka.

Modern innovations[edit]

Image Name Description

Marian Cross.svg 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.

Christian Universalist symbol.svg 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.[3]

Crucifix A cross with a representation of Jesus' body hanging from it. It is primarily used in Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches (where the figure is painted), and it emphasizes Christ's sacrifice— his death by crucifixion.

Echmiatsin altair.jpg Altar cross A cross on a flat base to rest upon the altar of a church. The earliest known representation of an altar cross appears in a miniature in a 9th-century manuscript. By the 10th century such crosses were in common use, but the earliest extant altar cross is a 12th-century one in the Great Lavra on Mt. Athos. Mass in the Roman Rite requires the presence of a cross (more exactly, a crucifix) "on or close to" the altar.[4] Accordingly, the required cross may rest on the reredos rather than on the altar, or it may be on the wall behind the altar or be suspended above the altar.

AbunaPaulos.jpg Blessing cross Used by priests of the Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches to bestow blessings upon the faithful.

Kirkkoliput.jpg Processional cross Used to lead religious processions; sometimes, after the procession it is placed behind the altar to serve as an altar cross.

Lotharkreuz, Kaiserseite, Aachener Dom, Juni 2008.jpg Crux gemmata A cross inlaid with gems. Denotes a glorification of the cross, this form was inspired by the cult of the cross that arose after Saint Helena's discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem in 327.

Thure Annerstedt.JPG Pectoral cross A large cross worn in front of the chest (in Latin, pectus) by some clergy.

Gotland-Stenkumla-Kirche 09.jpg Rood Large crucifix high in a church; most medieval Western churches had one, often with figures of the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist alongside, and often mounted on a rood screen

Nasrani Syrian Christian Minnu.jpg Nasrani Minnu Wedding pendant with cross made of 21 beads used by Saint Thomas Christians of India

QMRThe Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity. Similar to the familiar Latin cross, the Patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above the main one, so that both crossbars are near the top. Sometimes the patriarchal cross has a short, slanted crosspiece near its foot (Orthodox cross). This slanted, lower crosspiece often appears in Byzantine Greek and Eastern European iconography, as well as Eastern Orthodox churches.

The Byzant Christianization came to the Morava empire in the year 863, provided at the request of Prince Rastic sent Byzantine Emperor Michael III.[1] The symbol, often referred to as the patriarchal cross, appeared in the Byzantine Empire in large numbers in the 10th century. For a long time, it was thought to have been given to Saint Stephen by the pope as the symbol of the apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The two-barred cross is one of the main elements in the coats of arms of Hungary since 1190. It appeared during the reign of King Béla III, who was raised in the Byzantine court. Béla was the son of Russian princess Eufrosina Mstislavovna. The cross appears floating in the coat of arms and on the coins from this era. In medieval Kingdom of Hungary was extended Byzantine Cyril-Methodian and western Latin church was expanded later.[2]

The two-barred cross in the Hungarian coat of arms comes from the same source of Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire in the 12th century. Unlike the ordinary Christian cross, the symbolism and meaning of the double cross is not well understood.

The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity. Similar to the familiar Latin cross, the Patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above the main one, so that both crossbars are near the top. Sometimes the patriarchal cross has a short, slanted crosspiece near its foot (Orthodox cross). This slanted, lower crosspiece often appears in Byzantine Greek and Eastern European iconography, as well as Eastern Orthodox churches.

The Byzant Christianization came to the Morava empire in the year 863, provided at the request of Prince Rastic sent Byzantine Emperor Michael III.[1] The symbol, often referred to as the patriarchal cross, appeared in the Byzantine Empire in large numbers in the 10th century. For a long time, it was thought to have been given to Saint Stephen by the pope as the symbol of the apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The two-barred cross is one of the main elements in the coats of arms of Hungary since 1190. It appeared during the reign of King Béla III, who was raised in the Byzantine court. Béla was the son of Russian princess Eufrosina Mstislavovna. The cross appears floating in the coat of arms and on the coins from this era. In medieval Kingdom of Hungary was extended Byzantine Cyril-Methodian and western Latin church was expanded later.[2]

The two-barred cross in the Hungarian coat of arms comes from the same source of Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire in the 12th century. Unlike the ordinary Christian cross, the symbolism and meaning of the double cross is not well understood.

Imagery[edit]

The top beam represents the plaque bearing the inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (often abbreviated in the Latinate "INRI", and in the Greek as "INBI"). A popular view is that the slanted bottom beam is a foot rest, however there is no evidence of foot rests ever being used during crucifixion, and it has a deeper meaning. The bottom beam may represent a balance of justice. Some sources suggest that, as one of the thieves being crucified with Jesus repented of his sin and believed in Jesus as the Messiah and was thus with Christ in Paradise, the other thief rejected and mocked Jesus and therefore descended into Hades.

Many symbolic interpretations of the double cross have been put forth. One of them says that the first horizontal line symbolized the secular power and the other horizontal line the ecclesiastic power of Byzantine emperors.[citation needed] Also, that the first cross bar represents the death and the second cross the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Other variations[edit]

The Russian cross can be considered a modified version of the Patriarchal cross, having two smaller crossbeams, one at the top and one near the bottom, in addition to the longer crossbeam. One suggestion is the lower crossbeam represents the footrest (suppendaneum) to which the feet of Jesus were nailed. In some earlier representations (and still currently in the Greek Church) the crossbar near the bottom is straight, or slanted upwards. In later Slavic and other traditions, it came to be depicted as slanted, with the side to the viewer's left usually being higher. During 1577–1625 the Russian use of the cross was between the heads of the double-headed eagle in the coat of arms of Russia.

One tradition says that this comes from the idea that as Jesus Christ took his last breath, the bar to which his feet were nailed broke, thus slanting to the side. Another tradition holds that the slanted bar represents the repentant thief and the unrepentant thief that were crucified with Christ, the one to Jesus' right hand repenting and rising to be with God in Paradise, and one on his left falling to Hades and separation from God. In this manner it also reminds the viewer of the Last Judgment.

Still another explanation of the slanted crossbar would suggest the Cross Saltire, as tradition holds that the Apostle St. Andrew introduced Christianity to lands north and west of the Black Sea: today's Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Romania.

Another form of the cross was used by the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland. This cross now features on the coat of arms of Lithuania, where it appears on the shield of the knight. It is also the badge of the Lithuanian Air Force and forms the country's highest award for bravery, the Order of the Cross of Vytis.

The Patriarchal Cross appears on the Pahonia, used at various times as the coat of arms of Belarus.

QMROrder of the Cross of Vytis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Order of the Cross of Vytis

Cross of Vytis.jpg

Sash, badge, and star of the Order of the Cross of Vytis

Award of Lithuania

Type State Decoration

Awarded for Heroic defense of Lithuania's freedom and independence.

Established 15 January 1991

Precedence

Next (higher) Order of Vytautas the Great

Next (lower) Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas

Related Medal of the Order of the Cross of Vytis

Antanas Smetona decorated with the interwar Cross of Vytis, alongside other decorations

The Order of the Cross of Vytis (Lithuanian: Vyčio Kryžiaus ordinas) is a Lithuanian Presidential Award conferred on people who heroically defended Lithuania’s freedom and independence.

History[edit]

The Order of the Cross of Vytis was the first state decoration of the pre-war Lithuania reinstated on 15 January 1991. The first to receive the First Class Order of the Cross of Vytis in the re-established Independent State of Lithuania were the victims of the 1991 January Events in Vilnius and Medininkai.

The Order of the Cross of Vytis is conferred on persons for acts of bravery performed in defending the freedom and independence of the Republic of Lithuania. According to the Law of 3 July 1997 on the Legal Status of Persons Who Participated in the Resistance to Occupations of 1940-1990 and on the Recognition of the Ranks of Volunteer Militaries Equivalent to the Ranks of the Land and Air Force Servicemen, the renewed Order "is conferred on volunteer soldiers of the armed resistance and participants of non-violent resistance to occupations."

After the restoration of independence, the leaders and members of the Senior Committee for a Free Lithuania and other outstanding representatives of the world Lithuanian community were honoured with the Order of the Cross of Vytis for services to the cause of restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania. The Order of the Cross of Vytis was also awarded to the officers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces for contributing to the withdrawal of the foreign army from Lithuania, and on the Lithuanian policemen and prosecutors for distinction in the fight against organised crime.

November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. The cross of Vytis is basically of the shape of one of the varieties of the Cross of Lorraine, namely the Cross of Jagiellons.

The Order of the Cross of Vytis is awarded in five classes:[1]

LTU Order of the Cross of Vytis - Grand Cross BAR.svg Grand Cross

LTU Order of the Cross of Vytis - Commander's Grand Cross BAR.svg Grand Commander

LTU Order of the Cross of Vytis - Commander's Cross BAR.svg Commander

LTU Order of the Cross of Vytis - Officer's Cross BAR.svg Officer

LTU Order of the Cross of Vytis - Knight's Cross BAR.svg Knight

Order statutes[edit]

The statutes of the order are as follows:[1]

Article 27. Bestowal of the Order of the Cross of Vytis

1. The Order of the Cross of Vytis shall be:conferred on the persons who heroically defended Lithuania’s freedom and independence

1) for extraordinary fortitude, clever conspiracy and command, endurance and self-sacrifice during the fights of armed and unarmed resistance to the 1940–1990 occupation, for Lithuania’s freedom and resistance or during the imprisonment and other repressions;

2) for exceptional determination, self-sacrifice and loyalty to the duty during the restoration of the Statehood of Lithuania in 1988–1990;

3) removing the threat to the Statehood of Lithuania or its integrity after 11 March 1990.

2. This Order may also be conferred on the persons who suffered the death of a hero, as well as posthumously.

3. The Order of the Cross of Vytis shall also be conferred upon for:

1) extraordinary acts of bravery performed during the fights;

2) especially clever command of fighting operations carried out by national defence units;

3) exceptional courage and fortitude when defending the country’s territory, protecting the State border, important national, economic and other civil objects;

4) exceptional bravery during the prevention of ecological disasters, natural disasters, accidents and distinction during other extraordinary circumstances when human life is in danger;

5) extraordinary bravery and fortitude when preserving public order, peace and civil rights and freedoms;

6) valour and self-sacrifice when carrying out State tasks in difficult circumstances and in the event of a great danger;

7) scientific work especially significant for the national defence;

8) especially significant projects related to the organisation of the national defence.

Article 28. Structure of the Order of the Cross of Vytis

1. The Cross of Vytis shall be of five classes.

2. Badges of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall be as follows: the Grand Cross, the Grand Cross of Commander, the Cross of Commander, the Cross of Officer and the Cross of the Knight.

3. The Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall consist of:

1) the Cross – silver, double, 50 mm high and 30 mm wide, covered with black enamel, its edges – with white enamel. In the middle of the obverse – white Vytis on the red shield. The crossed golden swords shall be behind the shield. On the reverse – inscription “For bravery“ and the year when the Order of the Cross of Vytis was instituted - 1919;

2) the Star – silver, nine rays, 85 mm in diameter. In its centre – the reduced Order of the Cross of Vytis;

3) the sash – red moiré, 100 mm wide (for women – 65 mm wide), with four black stripes on the edges.

4. The Grand Cross of Commander of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall consist of:

1) the Cross – same as that of the Grand Cross;

2) the Star – same as that of the Grand Cross;

3) the ribbon – same as the sash of the Grand Cross, but 40 mm wide.

5. The Cross of Commander of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall consist of:

1) the Cross – same as that of the Grand Cross;

2) the ribbon – same as the sash of the Grand Cross, but 40 mm wide.

6. the Cross of Officer of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall consist of:

1) the Cross – same as that of the Grand Cross, but 42 mm high and 25 mm wide;

2) the breast ribbon – same as the sash of the Grand Cross, but 32 mm wide, with two silver oak twigs.

7. the Cross of the Knight of the Order of the Cross of Vytis shall consist of:

1) the Cross – same as that of the Grand Cross, but 42 mm high and 25 mm wide;

2) the breast ribbon – same as the sash of the Grand Cross, but 32 mm wide, with one silver oak twig.

QMRThe Orthodox, Byzantine[1][2][3][need quotation to verify] or Russian (Orthodox) Cross,[4][5] also known as the Suppedaneum cross,[6] is a variation of the Christian cross, commonly[quantify] found in Eastern Orthodox Churches, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite and the Society for Eastern Rite Anglicanism. The cross has three horizontal crossbeams—the top one represents the plate inscribed with INRI, and the bottom one, a footrest. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the lower beam is slanted: the side to Christ's right is usually higher. This is because the footrest slants upward toward the penitent thief St. Dismas, who was (according to tradition[citation needed]) crucified on Jesus' right, and downward toward impenitent thief Gestas. It is also a common perception that the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ’s right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ’s left. One of the Orthodox Church’s Friday prayers clearly explains the meaning: "In the midst, between two thieves, was Your Cross found as the balance-beam of righteousness; For while one was led down to hell by the burden of his blaspheming, the other was lightened of his sins unto the knowledge of things divine, O Christ God glory to You."[citation needed] The earliest version of a slanted footstool can be found in Jerusalem, but throughout the Eastern Christian world until the 17th century, the footstool is slanted the other way, pointing upwards rather than downwards, making the downward footstool a Russian innovation. In the Greek and most other Orthodox Churches, the footrest remains straight, as in earlier representations. Common variations include the "Cross over Crescent" and the "Calvary cross".

One variation of the Orthodox Cross is the 'Cross over Crescent', which is sometimes accompanied by "Gabriel perched on the top of the Cross blowing his trumpet."[7] Didier Chaudet, in the academic journal China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, writes that an "emblem of the Orthodox Church is a cross on top on a crescent. It is said that this symbol was devised by Ivan the Terrible, after the conquest of the city of Kazan, as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over Islam through his soldiers"; the Orthodox World Encyclopaedia concurs with this view.[8][9][10] However, B.A. Uspensky offers another view, stating that in pre-Christian times, the 'Cross over Crescent' symbolized the sun and the moon, and that in the Christian Era, the cross is a symbol of Christ and the moon is a symbol of the Virgin Mary.[11]

In Russia, the top crossbeam can be absent; however, in the Russian North it can be attached on top of the vertical beam.[12]

A variation is a monastic "Calvary Cross", in which the cross is situated atop the hill of Calvary, its slopes symbolized by steps. To the viewer's left is the Holy Lance, with which Jesus was wounded in his side, and to the right, a pole topped by a vinegared hyssop sponge. Under Calvary are Adam's skull and bones;[2] the right-arm bone is usually above the left one, and believers fold their arms across their chests in this way during Orthodox communion. Around the cross are abbreviations in Church Slavonic. This type of cross is usually embroidered on a schema-monk's robe.

Between 1577–1625, the Russian Orthodox Cross was depicted between the heads of a double-headed eagle in the coat of arms of Russia. It was drawn on military banners until the end of the 17th century.[13]

Gallery

QMRThe Holy Lance (German: Heilige Lanze), also known as the Holy Spear, the Spear of Destiny, or the Lance of Longinus, is the name given to the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross, according to the Gospel of John. Several churches across the world claim to possess this lance.

This was during Jesus crucifixion

QMRCross over Crescent variation of the Orthodox Cross at the Ss. Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Descent of Christ into hell, a mosaic from Hosios Loukas in Greece, the 11th century

Constantine and Helena in the Exaltation of the Cross, a mosaic from Hosios Loukas in Greece, the 11th century

The Crucifixion, a 13th-century mosaic from Constantinople

15th-century Russian depiction in which the traditional INRI plank is instead marked with "ЦР҃Ь СЛ҃ВЫ", standing for "King of Glory"

Coat of arms of Russia from the seal of Ivan IV (the Terrible), 1577

Coat of arms of Russia from the seal of Fyodor I, 1589

A rider with the banner from an icon Blessed Be the Host of the King of Heaven (Church Militant), 1550s

A 17th-century miniature of the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). A warrior bears a red banner with a cross

A copper cross typical for Old believers

A cross of a Russian Orthodox priest

A modern memorial to Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

Coat of arms of Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire, 1878

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, the resting place of many eminent Russian émigrés.

QMRTwo-barred cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A two-barred cross is like a Latin cross with an extra bar added. The lengths and placement of the bars (or "arms") vary, and most of the variations are interchangeably called either of cross of Lorraine, the patriarchal cross or the archiepiscopal cross.[1]

Contents [hide]

1 The two bars

2 Decorations

3 Heraldic use

4 In print

5 In medicine and botany

6 In chess

7 References

The two bars[edit]

The two bars can be placed tight together (condensed) or far apart. They can be symmetrically spaced either around the middle, or above or below the middle. One asymmetrical variation has one bar near the top and the other just below the middle. Finally the bars can be of equal length, or with one shorter than the other.

Decorations[edit]

The ends of the arms can be decorated according to different styles. A style with round or rounded ends is called treflée or botonée (from French bouton) in heraldic use. The same style is called budded, apostles' or cathedral cross in religious use.[2] A straight and pointy style called pattée also includes maltese cross variations,[3] and finally a pointed style called aiguisé.[4]

Heraldic use[edit]

The crosses appear in heraldic use in the second century A.D.[5] A balanced cross is used in the Coat of arms of Hungary as well as in several small shields within shields of Vytis. An outlined balanced cross (equal length outlined bars on equal distances) is used on coat of arms shields and order medals [6]

In Slovakia both the flag, their coat or arms and several municipal symbols include a double cross, where graded bars are more common than equally long bars, and balanced distances along the vertical line are more common.[7]

In print[edit]

In typography the double cross is called double dagger, double obelisk and diesis.[8]

In medicine and botany[edit]

The International Union Against TB and Lung Diseases is since 1902[9] using a red cross variation in its logotype. The two equally long bars are on the upper half of the cross and all six ends are aiguisé.[10]

In botany a balanced cross (equal length bars on equal distances) is used to mark very poisonous plants [11]

In chess[edit]

Used to symbolize checkmate [12]

QMRThe Cross of Lorraine (French: Croix de Lorraine) was originally a heraldic cross. The two-barred cross consists of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizontal bars are "graded" with the upper bar being the shorter, though variations with the bars of equal length are also seen. The Lorraine name has come to signify several cross variations, including the patriarchal cross with its bars near the top.

Design[edit]

The Cross of Lorraine consists of one vertical and two horizontal bars. It is a heraldic cross, used by the Dukes of Lorraine. Duke René, who reigned between 1431 and 1453, "was a major transmitter of the Hermetic tradition in Italy and had the cross of Lorraine as his personal sigil".[1] This cross is related to the Crusader's cross, and the six globes of the Medici family.

History[edit]

The Lorraine cross was carried to the Crusades by the original Knights Templar, granted to them for their use by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[2][3]

In the Catholic Church, an equal-armed Lorraine Cross denotes the office of archbishop.

Symbol in France[edit]

The flag of Free France is a regular flag of France that has been defaced with a Lorraine cross.

In France, the Cross of Lorraine was the symbol of Free France during World War II, the liberation of France from Nazi Germany, and Gaullism and includes several variations of a two barred cross.

The Cross of Lorraine is an emblem of Lorraine in eastern France. Between 1871 and 1918 (and again between 1940 and 1944), the northern third of Lorraine was annexed to Germany, along with Alsace. During that period the Cross served as a rallying point for French ambitions to recover its lost provinces. This historical significance lent it considerable weight as a symbol of French patriotism. During the War, Capitaine de corvette Thierry d'Argenlieu suggested the Cross of Lorraine as the symbol of the Free French Forces led by Charles de Gaulle as an answer to the Nazi swastika.

The Cross was displayed on the flags of Free French warships, and the fuselages of Free French aircraft. The medal of the Order of Liberation bears the Cross of Lorraine.

De Gaulle himself is memorialised by a 43-metre (141 ft) high Cross of Lorraine in his home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises. The Cross of Lorraine was later adopted by Gaullist political groups such as the Rally for the Republic.

The French frigate Aconit, named after the corvette Aconit of the Free French Navy, flies the Cross of Lorraine on her foremast.

The tampion of the Rubis features the Cross of Lorraine in honour of the Free French submarine Rubis.

The Free French naval jack and French naval honour jack.

New World[edit]

French Jesuit missionaries and settlers to the New World carried the Cross of Lorraine c. 1750–1810. The symbol was said to have helped the missionaries to convert the native peoples they encountered, because the two-armed cross resembled existing local imagery.[4]

European heraldry[edit]

The flag and the coat of arms of Slovakia both include the double cross. It was introduced to the territory of today's Slovakia by Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, who brought Christianity to Slavic empire of Great Moravia in the 9th century. In Slovakia, the double cross as a symbol of Lorraine is considered to have arisen when the Great Moravian king Svätopluk I "passed" it to Zwentibold of Lorraine, the godchild of Svätopluk and son of the emperor Arnulf of Carinthia.[citation needed]

The coat of arms of Hungary depicts a double cross, which is often attributed to Byzantine influence as King Béla III of Hungary was raised in the Byzantine Empire in the 12th century, and it was during his rule when the double cross became a symbol of Hungary. Also the 'dual cross' is the consonant 'gy' in ancient Hungarian runic writing which reads "egy" (one) when it stands alone mostly, if not always, with "God" meaning.

A golden double cross with equal bars, known as the Cross of Jagiellons, was used by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila since his conversion to Christianity in 1386, as a personal insignia and was introduced in the Coat of Arms of Lithuania. Initially, the lower bar of the cross was longer than the upper, since it originates from the Hungarian type of the double cross. It later became the symbol of Jagiellon dynasty and is one of the national symbols of Lithuania, featured in the Order of the Cross of Vytis and the badge of the Lithuanian Air Force.

The double-barred cross is one of the national symbols in Belarus, both as the Jagiellon Cross and as the Cross of St. Euphrosyne of Polatsk, an important religious artifact. The symbol is supposed to have Byzantine roots and is used by the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church as a symbol uniting Eastern-Byzantine and Western-Latin church traditions. The Belarusian Cross can be found on the traditional coat of arms of Belarus, the Pahonia.

Hungarian arms, depicting the cross on the sinister side.

Order of the Cross of Vytis, a Lithuanian presidential award

The Cross of Saint Euphrosyne

Miscellaneous uses[edit]

The cross is used as an emblem by the American Lung Association and related organizations through the world, and as such is familiar from their Christmas Seals program. Its use was suggested in 1902 by Paris physician Gilbert Sersiron as a symbol for the "crusade" against tuberculosis.[5][6]

For its defense of France in World War I, the American 79th Infantry Division was nicknamed the "Cross of Lorraine" Division; its insignia is the cross. The German 79th Infantry Division of World War II used the cross of Lorraine as its insignia because its first attack was in the Lorraine region. The insignia was redesignated effective December 1, 2009, for the 79th US Army Reserve Sustainment Support Command in Los Alamitos, California.[7]

In the television series Magnum, P.I., Thomas Magnum and his Vietnam War comrades were all shown to wear rings that bore the cross of Lorraine.

Ironically, the cross is also used as the symbol of the fascist Norsefire party in the film version of the graphic novel V for Vendetta.

The cross of Lorraine was previously used in the SABRE, Apollo, and Worldspan global distribution systems (GDS) as a delimiter in various input formats, however, the latest version of the Graphical User Interface for each system uses a different symbol: Apollo displays it as a plus sign, Worldspan as a number sign, and Sabre as a yen symbol.

The "Cross of Lorraine" symbol appears in Unicode as U+2628 ☨ cross of lorraine (HTML ☨). It is not to be confused with U+2021 ‡ double dagger (HTML ‡ · ‡).

The Cross of Lorraine was noted as a symbol of the Free French in the film Casablanca. A ring bearing the Cross was worn by Norwegian underground agent Berger and shown to one of the movies heroes (Victor Laszlo) as proof of loyalty.

It has also been used as a symbol for the city Roeselare (black cross) and Ypres (red cross) in Belgium.

282 (East Ham) Squadron, Air Training Corps have the "Cross of Lorraine" on their unit crest in honour of their previous Squadron President, Odette Hallowes who worked for an independent French section of the Special Operations Executive during World War II.

The Cross is also used as the symbol for the Celebritarian Corporation/art movement, created and led by musician/painter Marilyn Manson.

The Anglo-Canadian hardcore punk band Gallows use the cross as a symbol, as well as having named a song after it.

The Lorraine Cross is referenced in Sigma Phi Lambda Fraternity's brothers' song. The local fraternity was established in 1935 on the campus of LaSalle University, a Roman-Catholic university run by the De LaSalle Christian Brothers located in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Sigma Phi Lambda recently celebrated its 80th Anniversary.

QMRWriting in the Roman era, Clement of Alexandria gives some idea of the importance of astronomical observations to the sacred rites:

And after the Singer advances the Astrologer (ὡροσκόπος), with a horologium (ὡρολόγιον) in his hand, and a palm (φοίνιξ), the symbols of astrology. He must know by heart the Hermetic astrological books, which are four in number. Of these, one is about the arrangement of the fixed stars that are visible; one on the positions of the sun and moon and five planets; one on the conjunctions and phases of the sun and moon; and one concerns their risings.[31]

QMRThe thurible (Greek: Θυμιατο, Thymiato; Church Slavonic: Кадилница, kadilnitsa) used is often gold plated (combining in itself at the offering of incense the three gifts of the Biblical Magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The thurible consists of a metal bowl (usually with a base so it can stand upright) into which the charcoal and incense are placed, and a lid (often topped with a cross), pierced by holes to allow the fragrance from the incense to escape. The censer will usually have three outer chains (for the Holy Trinity) attached to the bowl, and a fourth inner chain (for the Oneness of God) attached to the lid. The three outer chains are gathered together and attached to a round conical plate attached to a ring; the inner chain passes through a hole in the conical plate and is attached to another ring to make it easier to lift the lid. In the Greek and some Russian practice twelve bells will be attached to the chains (their ringing symbolizes the teaching of the twelve Apostles).[1] Sometimes the bowl and lid of the thurible are decorated with crosses or icons in repousse, and may even be decorated with semi-precious stones. When not in use the thurible is usually hung from a hook in the sanctuary.

The fourth square is always different.

When censing, the priest or deacon holds the censer below the conical plate with only one hand (the right hand) allowing it to swing freely. He will make the Sign of the Cross with the censer by making two vertical swings and a third horizontal swing (the three swings together symbolizing the Holy Trinity).

QMRThe sign of the cross (Latin: signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with the right hand, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of the trinitarian formula.

Gold coin made under the rule of Emperor Justinian II. (Byzantium. 7th century.)

The motion is the tracing of the shape of a cross in the air or on one's own body, echoing the traditional shape of the cross of the Christian Crucifixion narrative. There are two principal forms: the one—three fingers, right to left—is exclusively used in the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church of the Byzantine and Chaldean Tradition; the other—left to right, other than three fingers—is the one used in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Methodism, Lutheranism and Oriental Orthodoxy (see below). The ritual is rare within other Christian traditions.

Many individuals use the expression "cross my heart and hope to die" as an oath, making the sign of the cross, in order to show "truthfulness and sincerity" in both personal and legal situations.[1

QMRThe flag of Vatican City was adopted on June 7, 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican flag is modeled on the flag of the earlier Papal States. The Vatican (and the Holy See) also refer to it, interchangeably, as "flag of the Holy See".[1]

Contents [hide]

1 The flag

2 Usage

3 History

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

The flag[edit]

The flag consists of two vertical bands, one of gold or yellow (hoist side) and one of white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white band. The crossed keys consist of a golden and a silver key, in which the silver key is placed in the dexter position. The flag is one of only two square country flags in the world, the other being the flag of Switzerland.

The crossed keys are a cross

QMRAn obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top. These were originally called "tekhenu" by the builders, the Ancient Egyptians. The Greeks who saw them used the Greek 'obeliskos' to describe them, and this word passed into Latin and then English.[92] The Romans commissioned obelisks in an ancient Egyptian style. Examples include:

Arles, France —the Arles Obelisk, in Place de la République, a 4th-century obelisk of Roman origin

Benevento, Italy — three Roman obelisks[93][94]

Munich — obelisk of Titus Sextius Africanus, Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, Kunstareal, 1st century AD, 5.80 m

Rome — there are five ancient Roman obelisks in Rome.

QMRFrom the 2nd century AD, many examples of the arcus quadrifrons – a square triumphal arch erected over a crossroads, with arched openings on all four sides – were built, especially in North Africa. Arch-building in Rome and Italy diminished after the time of Trajan (AD 98-117) but remained widespread in the provinces during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD; they were often erected to commemorate imperial visits.[101]

QMRFrom the 2nd century AD, many examples of the arcus quadrifrons – a square triumphal arch erected over a crossroads, with arched openings on all four sides – were built, especially in North Africa. Arch-building in Rome and Italy diminished after the time of Trajan (AD 98-117) but remained widespread in the provinces during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD; they were often erected to commemorate imperial visits.[101]

QMRThe Romans used a consolidated scheme for city planning, developed for military defense and civil convenience. The basic plan consisted of a central forum with city services, surrounded by a compact, rectilinear grid of streets, and wrapped in a wall for defense. To reduce travel times, two diagonal streets crossed the square grid, passing through the central square. A river usually flowed through the city, providing water, transport, and sewage disposal.[26] Hundreds of towns and cities were built by the Romans throughout their empire. Many European towns, such as Turin, preserve the remains of these schemes, which show the very logical way the Romans designed their cities. They would lay out the streets at right angles, in the form of a square grid. All roads were equal in width and length, except for two, which were slightly wider than the others. One of these ran east–west, the other, north–south, and they intersected in the middle to form the center of the grid. All roads were made of carefully fitted flag stones and filled in with smaller, hard-packed rocks and pebbles. Bridges were constructed where needed. Each square marked off by four roads was called an insula, the Roman equivalent of a modern city block.

QMRDemographic investigation[edit]

Demographic investigations of the Samaritan community were carried out in the 1960s. Detailed pedigrees of the last 13 generations show that the Samaritans comprise four lineages:

The Tsedakah lineage, claiming descent from the tribe of Manasseh

The Joshua-Marhiv lineage, claiming descent from the tribe of Ephraim

The Danfi lineage, claiming descent from the tribe of Ephraim

The priestly Cohen lineage from the tribe of Levi.

QMRPythagorean proof

The Pythagorean proof (click to view animation)

The Pythagorean Theorem was known long before Pythagoras, but he may well have been the first to prove it.[2] In any event, the proof attributed to him is very simple, and is called a proof by rearrangement.

The two large squares shown in the figure each contain four identical triangles, and the only difference between the two large squares is that the triangles are arranged differently. Therefore, the white space within each of the two large squares must have equal area. Equating the area of the white space yields the Pythagorean Theorem, Q.E.D.[8]

That Pythagoras originated this very simple proof is sometimes inferred from the writings of the later Greek philosopher and mathematician Proclus.[9] Several other proofs of this theorem are described below, but this is known as the Pythagorean one.

Pastoral staff[edit]

Main article: Papal ferula

The term "papal cross" may also refer to the ferula (from Latin ferula, "rod"), which is the pastoral staff or crosier used by the Pope. It is a rod with a knob on top surmounted by a single-barred cross. This is in contrast to other bishops, who use a crosier which is shaped like a shepherd's crook: bent or crooked at the top and pointed at the lower end.

Papal Cross (Dublin, Ireland)[edit]

The Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

See also: Phoenix Park

Various physical crosses have been called "papal crosses" because of their association with a pope. An example is the Papal Cross, a large white cross situated in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland. It was erected for the visit of Pope John Paul II on 29 September 1979. A congregation of over one million people attended an open-air mass at the cross during that visit. The white cross is 35 metres (115 ft) high and was built with steel girders

When he died on 2 April 2005, people gathered in tribute to Pope John Paul II at the Papal Cross, leaving flowers and other tokens of remembrance of him.

The Maltese cross, in Italy also known as the Amalfi cross, is the cross symbol associated with the Knights Hospitaller (the Knights of Malta) and by extension with the island of Malta. The cross is eight-pointed and has the form of four "V"-shaped elements, each joining the others at its vertex, leaving the other two tips spread outward symmetrically. Its design is based on crosses used since the First Crusade. It is also the modern symbol of Amalfi, a small Italian republic of the 11th century.

In the mid 16th century, when the Knights were at Malta, the familiar design now known as the "Maltese Cross" became associated with the island. The first evidence for Maltese Cross on Malta appears on the 2 Tarì and 4 Tarì Copper coins of the Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette (Grand Master 1557–1568). The 2 and 4 Tarì Copper coins are dated 1567. This provides a date for the introduction of the Maltese Cross.[1]

The Maltese cross was depicted on the two mils coin in the old Maltese currency and is now shown on the back of the one and two Euro coins, introduced in January 2008.[2]

QMrMariology has received the larger amount of formal attention in Roman Catholic Mariology based on four dogmas on Mary which are a part of Roman Catholic theology. The Second Vatican Council document Lumen gentium summarized the views on Roman Catholic Mariology, the focus being on the veneration of the Mother of God. Over time, Roman Catholic Mariology also received some input from Liberation Theology, which emphasized popular Marian piety, and more recently from feminist theology, which stressed both the dignity of women and gender differences.

QMrPillars retaining their animals[edit]

Main article: Lion Capital of Ashoka

The most celebrated capital (the four-lion one at Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)) erected by Emperor Ashoka circa 250 BC. also called the "Ashoka Column" . Four lions are seated back to back. At present the Column remains in the same place whereas the Lion Capital is at the Sarnath Museum. This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as the National Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base was placed onto the centre of the flag of India.

The lions probably originally supported a Dharma Chakra wheel with 24 spokes, such as is preserved in the 13th century replica erected at Wat Umong near Chiang Mai, Thailand by Thai king Mangrai.[13]

The pillar at Sanchi also has a similar but damaged four-lion capital. There are two pillars at Rampurva, one with a bull and the other with a lion as crowning animals. Sankissa has only a damaged elephant capital, which is mainly unpolished, though the abacus is at least partly so. No pillar shaft has been found, and perhaps this was never erected at the site.[14]

Front view of the single lion capital in Vaishali.

The Vaishali pillar has a single lion capital.[15] The location of this pillar is contiguous to the site where a Buddhist monastery and a sacred coronation tank stood. Excavations are still underway and several stupas suggesting a far flung campus for the monastery have been discovered. The lion faces north, the direction Buddha took on his last voyage.[16] Identification of the site for excavation in 1969 was aided by the fact that this pillar still jutted out of the soil. More such pillars exist in this greater area but they are all devoid of the capital.

QMRThe number 7 is a recurring numerical theme in the Hebrew scriptures. The menorah has seven lamps on four branches. The menorah is seen as one of the most holy symbols for the Jews. It is no coincidence it has four branches.

825–1025[edit]

The Tusi-couple is a mathematical device invented by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi in which a small circle rotates inside a larger circle twice the diameter of the smaller circle. Rotations of the circles cause a point on the circumference of the smaller circle to oscillate back and forth in linear motion along a diameter of the larger circle.

This period of vigorous investigation, in which the superiority of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy was accepted and significant contributions made to it. However, Dallal notes that the use of parameters, sources and calculation methods from different scientific traditions made the Ptolemaic tradition "receptive right from the beginning to the possibility of observational refinement and mathematical restructuring".[15] Astronomical research was greatly supported by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun through The House of Wisdom. Baghdad and Damascus became the centers of such activity. The caliphs not only supported this work financially, but endowed the work with formal prestige.

The first major Muslim work of astronomy was Zij al-Sindh by al-Khwarizmi in 830. The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. The work is significant as it introduced Ptolemaic concepts into Islamic sciences. This work also marks the turning point in Islamic astronomy. Hitherto, Muslim astronomers had adopted a primarily research approach to the field, translating works of others and learning already discovered knowledge. Al-Khwarizmi's work marked the beginning of nontraditional methods of study and calculations.[16]

In 850, al-Farghani wrote Kitab fi Jawani (meaning "A compendium of the science of stars"). The book primarily gave a summary of Ptolemic cosmography. However, it also corrected Ptolemy based on findings of earlier Arab astronomers. Al-Farghani gave revised values for the obliquity of the ecliptic, the precessional movement of the apogees of the sun and the moon, and the circumference of the earth. The book was widely circulated through the Muslim world, and even translated into Latin.[17]

Like

QMRQuadrants[edit]

Ibn al-Shatir's model for the appearances of Mercury, showing the multiplication of epicycles using the Tusi-couple, thus eliminating the Ptolemaic eccentrics and equant.

Several forms of quadrants were invented by Muslims. Among them was the sine quadrant used for astronomical calculations and various forms of the horary quadrant, used to determine time (especially the times of prayer) by observations of the Sun or stars. A center of the development of quadrants was ninth-century Baghdad.[37]

The squares of the map are quadrants

QMRThe Talisman of Charlemagne, also a reliquary, said to have been found on his body when his tomb was opened. It had a cross/quadrant on it

Views on the nature of evil tend to fall into one of four opposed camps:

Moral absolutism holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by a deity or deities, nature, morality, common sense, or some other source.

Amoralism claims that good and evil are meaningless, that there is no moral ingredient in nature.

Moral relativism holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local culture, custom, or prejudice.

Moral universalism is the attempt to find a compromise between the absolutist sense of morality, and the relativist view; universalism claims that morality is only flexible to a degree, and that what is truly good or evil can be determined by examining what is commonly considered to be evil amongst all humans.

QMRChoose Responsibility is a non-profit organization in the United States, that promotes public awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. The main goal is to lower the minimum legal drinking age by educating the public. It was founded and is directed by Dr. John McCardell, Jr., president emeritus of Middlebury College.

Responsibility is the third square of the first quadrant of the quadrant model

QMRFour-wheel drive, 4×4 ("four by four"), 4WD, and AWD is a form of drivetrain most commonly capable of providing power to all wheel ends of a two-axled vehicle simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and may be linked via a transfer case to provide multiple gear ranges.

A four-wheeled vehicle with power supplied to both axles may be described as "all-wheel drive". However, not all "four-wheel drive" vehicles are "all-wheel drive", as vehicles with more than two axles may also be described as "four-wheel drive" regardless of how many axles, so long as two axles (of two wheel ends apiece) are powered.[1]

QMRThe Four Evangelists (French: Les quatre évangélistes) is an oil on canvas painting by the Flemish Baroque artist Jacob Jordaens, completed in 1625. The painting is 133 by 118 centimeters.[1] and is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.[2]

Description[edit]

The Four Evangelists, authors of the Gospels, are represented together, engaged in study and discussion.[

Music chapter

QMRRing a Ring o' Roses" or "Ring Around the Rosie" is a nursery rhyme or folksong and playground singing game. It first appeared in print in 1881, but it is reported that a version was already being sung to the current tune in the 1790s and similar rhymes are known from across Europe. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7925. Urban legend says the song originally described the plague, specifically the Great Plague of London, but folklorists reject this idea.

is unknown what the earliest version of the rhyme was or when it began. Many incarnations of the game have a group of children form a ring and dance in a circle around a person and stoop or curtsy with the final line. The slowest child to do so would be faced with some penalty or become the "rosie" (literally: Rose tree) from the French rosier) and take their place in the center of the ring. Numerous variations, corruptions and even several vulgarized versions were noted to be in use long prior to the earliest printed publications. One such variation was dated to be in use in Connecticut in the 1840s.[2]

Common British versions include:

Ring-a-ring o' roses,

A pocket full of posies,

A-tishoo! A-tishoo!

We all fall down.[3]

Common American versions include:

Ring-a-round the rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down.[3]

It has four lines- four parts

The fourth part is death. The fourth square is death

QMR"Four Rusted Horses" is the fourth track from Marilyn Manson's 2009 release The High End of Low. Its title was revealed on March 10, 2009, in a MySpace blog entry by producer Sean Beavan.

QMRThe Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit, Michigan who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes.

Founded as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs, and groupmates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, having gone from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel.

The Four Tops were among a number of groups, including The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, and The Supremes, who established the Motown Sound around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most male/mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by a tenor.

QMRThe Four Freshmen is an American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires (Glenn Miller), The Pied Pipers (Tommy Dorsey), and The Mel-Tones (Artie Shaw), founded in the barbershop tradition. The Four Freshmen is considered a vocal band because the singers accompany themselves on guitar, horns, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations.

The last original member retired in 1993,[1] but the group still tours internationally and has recorded jazz harmonies since its late 1940s founding in the halls of the Jordan School of Music at Butler University (Indianapolis).[2

QMRFour Year Strong is an American pop punk/melodic hardcore band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco. They have released five studio albums, their recent self-titled album was released on June 2, 2015 through Pure Noise Records.

QMRFour Lions is a 2010 British black comedy film, directed by Chris Morris in his directorial debut, and written by Morris, Sam Bain, and Jesse Armstrong.[3] The film is a jihad satire following a group of homegrown terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

QMRDillinger Four is an American punk rock band formed in 1994 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have released four full-length studio albums. Since 1996,[1] the band's lineup has been Patrick Costello on bass guitar and vocals, Erik Funk and Bill Morrisette[2] on guitars and vocals, and Lane Pederson on drums.[3]

QMRThirumurai (Tamil: திரு முறை, meaning holy division) is a twelve volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century by various poets in South India.The entire Tirumurai is in viruttam meter or lines of four. The principal characteristics of the head-rhyming is influenced both by syllabic and moric prosody.[4]

Tirumandiram by Tirumular unfolds siddantha (attainment) as a fourfold path - virtuous and moral living, temple worship, internal worship and union with Siva.[18] Tirumular worked out an original philosophical system, and the southern school of Saiva siddantha draws its authority from Tirumandiram, a work of 3000 verses.[19] Tirumandiram represents another school of thought detailing agamic traditions, which run parallel to the bhakthi movement. It does not glorify temples or deities as in the case of other Tirumurais.

QMRCaitanya-caritamrta mentions that Mahaprabhu came to distribute the four spiritual sentiments of Vraja loka: dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, and sringara. Sringara is the relationship of the intimate love.

Dance chapter

According to this girl there are four methods to do the scorpion

method 1 is the Herkie method

method 2 is the hurdler

method 3

method 4

QMR Hopscotch is jumping in squares which can be seen as like little quadrants

QMRThe Four Hills Tournament (German: Vierschanzentournee) or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1952. With a few exceptions the ski jumping events are held chronologically at Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.

The Four Hills Tournament champion is the one who gets the most points over the four events. Unlike the World Cup ranking, however, the actual points scored during the competitions are the ones that are used to determine the winner. In 2005–06, Janne Ahonen and Jakub Janda shared the overall victory after finishing with exactly the same points total after the four competitions. 2001–02, the anniversary 50th edition, Sven Hannawald became the first to win all the four events in the same edition.

The four individual events themselves are part of the World Cup and award points toward the world cup in exactly the same manner as all other world cup events.

QMrFour Points by Sheraton is a Starwood Hotels & Resorts hotel brand, targeted towards business travelers and small conventions.

QMRRassophore (Church Slavonic: Ryassofor), lit. "Robe-bearer"—If the novice continues on to become a monk, he is clothed in the first degree of monasticism at a formal service known as the Tonsure. Although there are no formal vows made at this point, the candidate is normally required to affirm his commitment to persevere in the monastic life. The abbot will then perform the tonsure, cutting a small amount of hair from four spots on the head, forming a cross. He is then given the outer cassock (Greek: Rasson, Exorasson, or Mandorasson; Church Slavonic: Ryassa)—an outer robe with wide sleeves, something like the cowl used in the West, but without a hood—from which the name of Rassophore is derived. He is also given a brimless hat with a veil, known as a klobuk, and a leather belt is fastened around his waist. His habit is usually black, signifying that he is now dead to the world, and he receives a new name. Although the Rassophore does not make formal vows, he is still morally obligated to continue in the monastic estate for the rest of his life. Some will remain Rassophores permanently without going on to the higher degrees.QMRI Am Number Four is a young adult science fiction novel by Pittacus Lore (the pseudonym of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and the first book in the Lorien Legacies series. The book was published by HarperCollins on August 3, 2010, and spent seven successive weeks at #1 on the children's chapter of The New York Times bestseller list.[1][2]

DreamWorks Pictures bought the rights to the film in June 2009; it was released on February 18, 2011 and was the first DreamWorks movie to be distributed by Disney's Touchstone Pictures.

The novel is the first of a proposed seven-book series.[3]

John radoffs evolutionary game play quadrant matrix is

square 1: few players qualitative- immersion

square 2:few players quantitative- achievement

square 3: many players qualitative- cooperation

square 4: many players quantitate- competition

QMRThe four French playing cards suits used primarily in the English-speaking world: spades (), hearts (), diamonds () and clubs ()

QMRBridge[edit]

Four-color decks made for bridge or whist are often called no-revoke decks because they are perceived to reduce the risk of a player accidentally revoking (illegally playing a card of a suit other than that led). Dozens of card manufacturers have developed four-colored suit cards for bridge during the 1900s and continue into this century. S. R. Huntley created many bridge decks, which included his stylized four color pips of black spades, red hearts, orange diamonds and blue clubs. Some of his decks included "forcing" instructions printed on each card for play. In 1947, a deck of playing cards of bridge size, from Forcolar Inc., introduced a deck with black spades, red hearts, green clovers (three-leaved, not the French club shape), and orange diamonds. In 1948, the Avoid Playing Card Company introduced a deck of the same name with black spades, red hearts, orange diamonds and purple clubs.

Poker[edit]

A four-color deck for poker was developed and publicised by Mike Caro. It was introduced at his World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort Casino in 1992. His original design was not a success as the colors were a surprise to players.[2] However, four-color decks have become a somewhat popular option in Internet poker software interfaces since often each player may use their preferred design of playing cards without affecting others' experience, and since visibility is not as good on a small screen as in face-to-face play, especially as many online players play multiple tables simultaneously, with shorter time limits in which to make decisions. Having each suit represented by a different color can allow players to more easily recognize a flush. The US Playing Cards Company made a poker sized deck called “Multicolors”, hard to find except through online sources. Mike Caro's deck and the Multicolors both use the black spade pips, red heart pips, green clubs, and blue diamond pips. The World Poker Tour also shows the players' cards in four colors (with black spades, red hearts, blue diamonds and green clubs) for easy viewing on small television screens.

Skat[edit]

Skat tournament deck

In the German game of Skat the official tournament standard since the 1990s is to use a four-color deck known as a Turnierbild deck. In these decks, spades are green and diamonds are yellow, the clubs and hearts being respectively black and red as normal, which also reflects the suit order: clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds. This is intended as a compromise for players (typically from former East Germany) who prefer German suits over French; the green spades translate to leaves and the yellow diamonds to bells in the German suits.[1]

QMRThere are four different types of biblical hermeneutics, literal, moral, allegorical (spiritual) and anagogical.[according to whom?]

Literal[edit]

Encyclopædia Britannica states that literal analysis means “a biblical text is to be deciphered according to the ‘plain meaning’ expressed by its linguistic construction and historical context.” The intention of the authors is believed to correspond to the literal meaning. Literal hermeneutics is often associated with the verbal inspiration of the Bible.[19]

Moral[edit]

Moral interpretation searches for moral lessons which can be understood from writings within the Bible. Allegories are often placed in this category. This can be seen in the Epistle of Barnabas, which explains the dietary laws by stating which meats are forbidden but is interpreted as forbidding immorality with animals.[19]

Allegorical[edit]

Allegorical interpretation states that biblical narratives have a second level of reference that is more than the people, events and things that are explicitly mentioned. One type of allegorical interpretation is known as typological, where the key figures, events, and establishments of the Old Testament are viewed as “types”. In the New Testament this can also include foreshadowing of people, objects, and events. According to this theory readings like Noah’s Ark could be understood by using the Ark as a “type” of Christian church that God expected from the start.[19]

Anagogical[edit]

This type of interpretation is more often known as mystical interpretation. It purports to explain the events of the Bible and how they relate to or predict what the future holds. This is evident in the Jewish Kabbalah, which attempts to reveal the mystical significance of the numerical values of Hebrew words and letters.

In Judaism, anagogical interpretation is also evident in the medieval Zohar. In Christianity, it can be seen in Mariology

Literature chapter

QMRPublications[edit]

Cru publishes several books, booklets, and other materials for ministry. The Four Spiritual Laws booklet was authored by Bill Bright in 1952 and one hundred million copies have been distributed.[24]

QMRThe field of Marxist hermeneutics has been developed by the work of, primarily, Walter Benjamin and Fredric Jameson. Benjamin outlines his theory of the allegory in his monumental Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiel ("Trauerspiel" literally means "Mourning Play" but is often translated as "Tragic Drama").[8] Fredric Jameson draws on Biblical hermeneutics, and the work of Northrop Frye, to advance his theory of Marxist hermeneutics in his influential The Political Unconscious. Jameson's Marxist hermeneutics is outlined in the first chapter of the book, titled "On Interpretation"[9] Jameson re-interprets (and secularizes) the fourfold system (or four levels) of Biblical exegesis (literal; moral; allegorical; anagogical) to relate interpretation to the Mode of Production, and eventually, history.

QMRAlternatively, Benjamin Barber in his book “Jihad vs. McWorld” argues for a different “cultural division” of the world. In his book the McWorld represents a world of globalization and global connectivity and interdependence, looking to create a “commercially homogeneous global network”. This global network is divided into four imperatives; Market, Resource, Information-Technology and the Ecological imperative. On the other hand, “Jihad” represents traditionalism and maintaining ones identity. Whereas “Clash of Civilizations” portrays a world with five coalitions of nation-states, “Jihad vs. McWorld” shows a world where struggles take place on a sub-national level. Although most of the western nations are capitalist and can be seen as “McWorld” countries, societies within these nations might be considered “Jihad” and vice versa.[12]

Like

Akṣarachandas[edit]

Most of classical Sanskrit poetry is of the varṇavṛtta type, also called akṣarachandas. Stanzas are quatrains of four pādas (verses), with the metrical structure of each pāda completely specified. In some cases, pairs of pādas may be scanned together as the hemistichs of a couplet.[14] It is then normal for the pādas comprising a pair to have different structures, to complement each other aesthetically. Otherwise the four pādas of a stanza will have the same structure

QMRAbracadabra: A specific magical phrase, but also used generically, based on the first four letters of the alphabet.

QMRHocus Pocus or hocus-pocus is a generic term that may be derived from an ancient language and is currently used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It was once a common term for a magician, juggler, or other similar entertainer.

four syllables

QMRIn How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work, Kegan and Lahey progressively introduce each of the four columns of the immunity map in four chapters that show how to transform people's way of talking to themselves and others. In each case, the transformation in people's way of talking is a shift from a habitual and unreflective pattern to a more deliberate and self-reflective pattern. The four transformations, each of which corresponds to a column of the immunity map, are:

From the language of complaint to the language of commitment

From the language of blame to the language of personal responsibility

From the language of New Year's resolutions to the language of competing commitments

From the language of big assumptions that hold us to the language of assumptions we hold

QMRQuadriliteral roots[edit]

A quadriliteral is a consonantal root containing a sequence of four consonants (instead of three consonants, as is more often the case). A quadriliteral form is a word derived from such a four-consonant root. For example, the abstract quadriliteral root t-r-g-m / t-r-j-m gives rise to the verb forms תרגם tirgem in Hebrew and ترجم tarjama in Arabic, meaning "he translated". In some cases, a quadriliteral root is actually a reduplication of a two-consonant sequence. So in Hebrew דגדג digdeg means "he tickled", and in Arabic زلزال zilzāl means "earthquake".

Generally, only a subset of the verb derivations formed from triliteral roots are allowed with quadriliteral roots. For example, in Hebrew, the Pi``el, Pu``al, and Hitpa``el, and in Arabic, forms similar to the stem II and stem V forms of triliteral roots.

Another set of quadrilateral roots in modern Hebrew is the set of secondary roots. A secondary root is a root derived from word that was derived from another root. For example, the root מ-ס-פ-ר m-s-p-r is secondary to the root ס-פ-ר s-p-r. סָפַר saphar, from the root s-p-r, means "counted"; מִסְפָּר mispar, from the same root, means "number"; and מִסְפֶּר misper, from the secondary root מ-ס-פ-ר, means "numbered".

An irregular quadriliteral verb made from a loanword is:

נַשְׁפְּרִיץ[1] (/naʃˈprit͡s/) – "we will sprinkle", from English and Yiddish spritz

Quinqueliteral roots[edit]

Traditionally in the Semitic languages, forms with more than four basic consonants (i.e. consonants not introduced by morphological inflection or derivation) were occasionally found in nouns — mainly loanwords from other languages — but never in verbs.[3] However, in modern Israeli Hebrew, syllables are allowed to begin with a sequence of two consonants (a relaxation of the situation in early Semitic, where only one consonant was allowed), and this has opened the door for a very small set of loan words to manifest apparent five root-consonant forms, such as טלגרף tilgref "he telegraphed".[4] But, -lgr- always appears as an indivisible cluster in the derivation of this verb, so that these five root-consonant forms do not display any fundamentally different morphological patterns from four root-consonant forms (and the term "quinqueliteral" or "quinquiliteral" would be misleading if it implied otherwise).

Other examples are:

סִנְכְּרֵן[2] (/sinˈkren/ – "he synchronized"), via the English word from Greek

חִנְטְרֵשׁ[3] (/χinˈtreʃ/ – "he did stupid things")

הִתְפְלַרְטֵט[4] (/hitflarˈtet/ – "he had a flirt"), from the English or Yiddish past tense of the English word

In Amharic, there is a very small set of verbs which are conjugated as quinquiliteral roots. One example is wäšänäffärä 'rain fell with a strong wind'[5] The conjugation of this small class of verb roots is explained by Leslau.[6] Unlike the Hebrew examples, these roots conjugate in a manner more like regular verbs, producing no indivisible clusters.

Cinema chapter

QMRSorcerer is a 1977 American existential thriller film directed and produced by William Friedkin and starring Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou. The second adaptation of Georges Arnaud's 1950 French novel Le Salaire de la peur, it has been widely considered a remake of the first adaptation, the 1953 film The Wages of Fear.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Friedkin has disagreed with this notion.[12] The plot depicts four outcasts from varied backgrounds meeting in a South American village, where they are assigned to transport cargoes of nitroglycerin.[9]

The film opens with a prologue that consists of four segments described by critics as "vignettes".[26][27][28] They show the principal characters in different parts of the world and provide their backstories.

Part I: Prologue[edit]

Vignette #1: Veracruz, Mexico[edit]

Nilo, an elegantly dressed man, enters a flat in Veracruz. He immediately executes the unassuming tenant with a silenced pistol and proceeds to casually walk out onto the square.

Vignette #2: Jerusalem, Israel[edit]

A group of Arab terrorists disguised as Jews causes an explosion in Jerusalem and flees to their hideout, where the members equip weapons and plan their escape. After being surrounded by the military, they split up; two are killed and one apprehended. The only one who manages to escape is Kassem. The segment ends as he helplessly stares at his captured companion.

Vignette #3: Paris, France[edit]

While discussing a book his wife is editing, Victor Manzon discovers an anniversary gift from her: a watch with a special dedication. After meeting with the president of the Paris Stock Exchange, where he is accused of fraud, Victor is given 24 hours to make amends. Victor meets his business partner, Pascal, and they quarrel; Victor insists that Pascal contact his father for assistance. Victor dines with his wife and her friend in a glamorous restaurant; he later receives a message from a butler that Pascal is waiting for him outside. When he learns that Pascal's father has refused to help, Victor is adamant that they try again. He walks his partner to a car, but Pascal shocks Victor by committing suicide. Faced with impending doom, Victor leaves both his country and wife.

Vignette #4: Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA[edit]

An Irish gang robs a church with rival connections in Elizabeth that organizes bingo games, and they shoot one of the priests. Back in their car, the gang members have a violent argument that causes Jackie Scanlon, the driver, to lose concentration and collide with a truck. Everyone is killed but Scanlon, who is badly wounded. The wounded priest turns out to be the brother of Carlo Ricci, a mafia leader who also controlled the flow of money in the church and now wants to kill Scanlon at all costs. Jackie meets with his friend Vinnie, who reveals his fate to him and finds him a suitable place to escape. Jackie has no choice but to agree.

Part II: Life in Porvenir[edit]

Kassem, Victor, and Jackie all assume fake identities and end up in Porvenir, a remote village in Latin America. Its conditions provide a stark contrast to their previous lives. The village economy is heavily reliant on an American oil company. Kassem befriends a man called 'Marquez', presumably a Nazi veteran. They all live in extreme poverty and earn meager salaries. All want out, but their savings are inadequate for emigration. After some time, Nilo arrives in the village, raising suspicions. In the meantime, an oil well over 200 miles (320 km) away explodes, and the only way to extinguish the fire is to use dynamite. Since the only available dynamite has been improperly stored in a remote depot, the nitroglycerin contained inside has become highly unstable; the faintest vibration could cause an explosion. With all other means ruled out, the only way to transport it is to use trucks. The company seeks four drivers to man two of the vehicles. Kassem, Victor, Jackie and 'Marquez' are offered the job, but they have to assemble the trucks using scrap parts. Shortly before their departure, Nilo kills and replaces 'Marquez', which angers Kassem.

Part III: Journey[edit]

The four drivers embark upon a perilous journey of over 200 miles, facing many hazards and internal conflicts. Despite their differences, they are forced to co-operate. Eventually, only Jackie survives, and, towards the end, he struggles to keep sane, overwhelmed by hallucinations and flashbacks. When his truck's engine dies just two miles short of the destination, he is forced to carry the nitroglycerin on foot.

Epilogue[edit]

At the bar in Porvenir, Scanlon is given legal citizenship and payment for the job by the oil company, as well an offer of another job; before he leaves, he asks a scrub woman for a dance. As the two dance, Carlo Ricci's henchmen, along with his old friend Vinnie, emerge from a taxi outside. They walk into the bar, and, after a gravid pause, the screen cuts to the end credits.

QMRBy March 1956 the final design and coral-and-charcoal color scheme had been approved, and between the spring of 1956 and the fall of 1957, 1,558 honorees were selected by committees representing the four major branches of the entertainment industry at that time: motion pictures, television, audio recording, and radio. The committees met at the Brown Derby restaurant,[20] and included such prominent names as Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn, Jesse L. Lasky, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, Mack Sennett, and Walter Lantz.[13]

A requirement stipulated by the original audio recording committee (and later rescinded) specified minimum sales of one million records or 250,000 albums for all music category nominees. The committee soon realized that many important recording artists would be excluded from the Walk by that requirement. As a result, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was formed for the purpose of creating a separate award system for the music business. The first Grammy Awards were presented in Beverly Hills in 1959.[21]

Joanne Woodward's star, contrary to popular belief, was not the first.

Construction of the Walk began in 1958 but two lawsuits delayed completion. The first was filed by local property owners challenging the legality of the $1.25 million tax assessment levied upon them to pay for the Walk, along with new street lighting and trees. In October 1959 the assessment was ruled legal.[13] The second lawsuit, filed by Charles Chaplin, Jr., sought damages for the exclusion of his father, whose nomination had been withdrawn due to pressure from multiple quarters (see Controversial additions). Chaplin's suit was dismissed in 1960 paving the way for completion of the project.[13][22][23]

While Joanne Woodward is often singled out as the first to receive a star on the Walk of Fame,[24] in fact there was no "first" recipient; the original stars were installed as a continuous project, with no individual ceremonies. Woodward's name was one of eight drawn at random from the original 1,558 and inscribed on eight "display" stars that were built while litigation was still holding up permanent construction.[25][26][27] They were installed temporarily on the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in August 1958 to generate publicity and demonstrate how the Walk would eventually look.[13] The other seven names were Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, and Ernest Torrence.[13][28] Official groundbreaking took place on February 8, 1960.[16] On March 28, 1960, the first permanent star, director Stanley Kramer's, was completed on the easternmost end of the new Walk near the intersection of Hollywood and Gower.[13][29] The Joanne Woodward legend may have originated, according to one source, because she was the first to pose with her star for photographers.[24]

QMRSouth Park is an American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The show revolves around four boys—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—and their bizarre adventures in and around the titular Colorado town. Much like The Simpsons, South Park utilizes a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude language and dark, surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics.

Kenny died in every episode. The fourth square is death. Carmen is the bad third square.

QMRFour Brothers is a 2005 American action film directed by John Singleton. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund. The film was shot in Detroit, Michigan and Hamilton, Ontario.[2] The movie plot is loosely based on the classic Western The Sons of Katie Elder.