Christian cross

The Christian Cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus, is the best-known symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a usually three-dimensional representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols.

The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross (✝) and the Greek cross, with numerous variants used heraldry and in various confessional contexts.

History of use

Pre-Christian

The cross-shaped sign, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly predates, in both East and West, the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization. It is supposed to have been used not just for its ornamental value, but also with religious significance. It may have represented the apparatus used in kindling fire, and thus as the symbol of sacred fire or as a symbol of the sun, denoting its daily rotation. It has also been interpreted as the mystic representation of lightning or of the god of the tempest, or the emblem of the Aryan pantheon and the primitive Aryan civilization.

Canons Regular

Canons Regular are priests living in community under the Rule of St. Augustine ("regula" in Latin), and sharing their property in common. Distinct from monks, who live a cloistered, contemplative life and sometimes engage in ministry to those from outside the monastery, the purpose of the life of a canon is to engage in public ministry of liturgy and sacraments for those who visit their churches (historically the monastic life was by its nature lay, whereas canonical life was essentially clerical). Distinct from Clerks Regular (Regular Clerics)an example of which is the Society of Jesusthey are members of a particular community of a particular place, and are bound to the public praying of the Liturgy of the Hours in choir. Secular canons, by contrast, belong to a community of priests attached to a church but do not take vows or live in common under a Rule. Canons Regular are sometimes called Black or White Canons, depending on the color of the religious habit worn by the congregation to which they belong.

Holy Cross

Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to:

  • Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity
  • True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified
  • Feast of the Cross, a commemoration most often celebrated on September 14
  • Holy Cross may also refer to:

    Educational institutions

  • Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy
  • College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
  • Holy Cross Crusaders, the athletic teams representing the College
  • Holy Cross School (disambiguation)
  • Holy Cross College (disambiguation)
  • Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
  • Churches

  • Holy Cross Church (disambiguation)
  • Communities by the name of Order of the Holy Cross

    Order of the Holy Cross refers to several institutions by that name:

  • Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (OSC), alias the Crosiers, a Catholic religious order founded in 1211 at Clairlieu near Huy, Belgium
  • Holy Cross dispute

    The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, Ardoyne had become segregated – Ulster Protestants lived in one area and Irish Catholics in another. This left Holy Cross, a Catholic primary school for girls, in the middle of a Protestant area. In June 2001, Protestant loyalists began picketing the school, claiming that Catholics were regularly attacking their homes and denying them access to facilities. For weeks, hundreds of protesters tried to stop the schoolchildren and their parents from walking to school through their area. Some protesters shouted sectarian abuse and threw stones, bricks, fireworks, blast bombs and urine-filled balloons at the schoolchildren and their parents. Hundreds of riot police, backed up by British soldiers, escorted the children and their parents through the protest each day. The "scenes of frightened Catholic schoolgirls running a gauntlet of abuse from loyalist protesters as they walked to school captured world headlines". Death threats were made against the parents and school staff by the Red Hand Defenders, a loyalist paramilitary group. The protest was condemned by both Catholics and Protestants, including politicians. Some likened the protest to child abuse and compared the protesters to American white supremacists in 1950s Alabama.

    Order of the Holy Cross

    The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict.

    History

    The order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The order moved to Maryland briefly before settling in West Park, New York, in 1902. Today the Order operates four houses: Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, New York; Mt. Calvary Retreat House and Monastery, Santa Barbara, California; Holy Cross Priory, Toronto, Ontario; and Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery,Grahamstown, South Africa. Mount Calvary House burned to the ground in a wildfire on the morning of November 14, 2008.

    Ministries

    The monks of the order engage in various ministries, the chief being that of prayer (including the Divine Office and daily Mass), as well as hosting guests for individual and group retreats. The order estimates that more than 5,000 guests stay at Holy Cross Monastery, one of the largest monastic retreat centers in the Episcopal Church, each year. Holy Cross Monastery also makes and sells incense and religious literature. Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery operates a retreat house and is actively involved in the education of rural farm children through its scholarship programme. Holy Cross Priory in Toronto is an urban expression of the Benedictine life where, besides the offices and Eucharist, monks are actively involved in the work of the local church. Some members of the order engage in occupations such as being therapists or parish priests. Mt. Calvary is primarily a retreat house. All monasteries of the order offer spiritual direction and counsel.

    Canons Regular of the Holy Cross

    Canons Regular of the Holy Cross can refer to one of two Catholic orders:

  • Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, which originated in Belgium
  • Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra, which originated in Portugal
  • Order of the Holy Cross (disambiguation)

    Order of the Holy Cross refers to several institutions by that name:

  • Order of the Holy Cross (Anglican) (OHC) an Anglican Benedictine community based in New York state.
  • Canons Regular of the Holy Cross (ORC), a Catholic religious order founded in Portugal in 1131 and refounded in 1977.
  • Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (OSC), alias the Crosiers, a Catholic religious order founded in 1211 at Clairlieu near Huy, Belgium.
  • Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, a knightly order conferred by the Melkite Catholic Church.
  • See also

  • Holy Cross (disambiguation)
  • Podcasts:

    developed with YouTube
    PLAYLIST TIME:

    The Cross

    by: Within Temptation

    Nothing's ever changed, you still turn away
    You've washed your hands, you've made that all too clear
    You just keep on living this lie
    You refuse to see, you're denying me
    The cross I bear but you don't seem to care
    Even Judas knew he had lied
    I keep wondering why
    I'm still calling your name through my tears
    Why have you waited to embrace me, my dear?
    Cold is your silence, denying what is real
    I'm still wondering why
    I'm still calling your name, my dear
    I'm sorry if you can't stand the naked truth
    All you see is how you want it to be
    So you keep on living your life
    Release me from this cross after all these years
    Oh, call my name and help me with this weight
    Even though it comes far too late
    I keep wondering why
    I'm still calling your name through my tears
    Why have you waited to embrace me, my dear?
    Cold is your silence, denying what is real
    I'm still wondering why I'm still calling your name
    And I wonder, oh I wonder
    In my heart I still hope you will open the door
    You can purify it all, answer my call
    Why? Why?
    Why have you waited to embrace me, my dear?
    Cold is your silence, denying what is real
    I'm still wondering why I'm still calling your name
    And I wonder, oh I wonder
    In my heart, I still hope you will open the door




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