Anywhere you go in the world, if you see a cross you will immediately identify it with a church or Christianity. Orthodox clergy wear one as part of their attire. Many Christians wear a necklace with a cross because they either want the world to know about their faith or they believe it will bring them protection.

While the cross is accepted as the most popular symbol of Christianity, it wasn’t so in the Early Church. In fact, Biblical scholars say the earliest representation of the cross didn’t appear until the 5th century. 

It took 400 years for Jesus’ crucifixion to become an acceptable public image, suggesting it wasn’t a symbol of our Christian faith for a very long time.

I want to get into why Christians didn’t identify the cross with Jesus for so long and how it became the ultimate symbol for us. I also want to dive into a bit of controversy and ask… is the cross an icon, and if so, are some Christians being hypocritical?

The Symbol Of The Cross, Or Lack Of One, In The Early Church

There are several reasons the cross wasn’t used a symbol of Christianity in the Early Church.

One of the main reasons the cross wasn’t seen for so long was partially practical. The cross evoked strong emotions. It was an object of a shameful death for slaves or criminals. It was actually offensive to Romans, and they used it as an offensive slur.

In ancient Pompeii, archeologists discovered graffiti where someone told another they hoped they were “nailed to the cross!” Classical Roman text use the term “cross” along with curses. Others used it as slang similar to our term today of “go to hell.”

While the elites of the day saw a cross this way, they randomly if ever saw the practice of crucifixion. Yet, the slaves knew it all too well. It didn’t take much to get put on a cross for a simple mistake. In a play by Plautus (who lived from 254 BCE and 184 BCE), a slave comments that his death on the cross is inevitable: “I know that the cross will be my tomb; there my ancestors have been laid to rest, my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather.”

The Apostle Paul was most certainly counter-cultural. He spoke often about the cross in a world that didn’t want to hear about it. It got his audience’s attention. Second, it highlighted Jesus’ selflessness, humility, and love for His creation through his suffering on the cross.

Still, the Roman culture around Paul, and throughout the second century, knew about Christ and his shameful death on the cross. Yet, in the 3rd century, the earliest representation of Jesus on the cross appeared. Perhaps the earliest portrayal of the cross by Christians occurred in the iconography of papyrus manuscripts, specifically the Staurogram, or shape of the cross made by the overlapping of the Greek letters “Rho” and “Tau” ().

In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine adopted the cross at his conversion and he is largely responsible for making it the preeminent symbol of Christianity, which has carried throughout the remainder of history into the modern age.

So, this brings me to a question.

Is The Cross A Forbidden Icon?

Orthodox Christians are often lambasted for their use of icons by protestants. Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about icons more in-depth and the objections of them raised (I believe incorrectly) from Exodus 20. In understanding this topic, a proper interpretation and the context of the text is vital. In summary, God instructs people not to make carved images or any likeness of anything that would lead the people to worship false gods.

I’m going to share some fascinating archeological finds that demonstrate icons existed in Judaism in 300 BCE as well as Christianity in the 1st century.

In 1999, I had an opportunity to visit Turkey, which is the home to most of the New Testament writings. In St. Haggis Sophia (the site of the church Emperor Constantine built in Constantinople, modern Istanbul), there are icons all over this magnificent building.

Were the bishops, priests, and deacons of this ancient church practicing idolatry?

If so, the consequences are dire for the Early Church and it’s possible we were handed a different Gospel than that of those who came before them. (Again, I’ll get to this in the next article).

Let me ask it in a different way.

If the charge is true, today, are protestant churches committing idolatry by making the cross a unique icon? How is the cross, as a symbol, any different than the icons used for thousands of years that have told the story of the Gospels to the majority of the world who was and still is illiterate?

Does the cross point people to Christ?

Isn’t that what icons do in the Orthodox Church? 

If we want to take this further, are there some sophisticated 21st-century icons in protestant churches? Do these icons take our focus off of God or place it upon Him? 

How many churches celebrate their facilities over the Holy Spirit? 

How about human preachers who are elevated (albeit subtly or not so subtly) over the Holy Spirit? 

What about notoriety and popularity and images of these people on bedroom walls? 

What about entertainment or sports trophies?

Isn’t this a double standard, a picking and choosing, by those who find one icon acceptable and others not?

The point of an icon isn’t to worship the object. Orthodox Christians DO NOT worship images of saints or God. Their purpose is to tell the Gospel stories and those of the Saints — they all point us back to God. They don’t point us to other gods.

Again, I’ll write more about this tomorrow.

The point I’m making is that Christianity isn’t a static institution. We are learning more about ancient Judaism and Christianity every year. Discoveries are being made that change our notions of the ancient world and how they experienced their faith through Christ. 

I mean, who would have thought for a second the Early Church didn’t have the cross as a symbol and that it wouldn’t become a prominent one until 3 1/2 centuries after Christ’s crucifixion?

I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t make me nervous one bit if some of my presuppositions are proven wrong. The discoveries inform my faith and help me understand where I’ve come from. I am an Orthodox Christian because of the three branches of Christianity, it wasn’t born out of division. The Catholic Church divided itself from the Eastern Church (i.e. the Orthodox) due to false teachings leading up to 1054 AD. There was never Papal infallibility, purgatory, or indulgences (among others) before these doctrines cropped after 900 to 1000 AD.

The Reformation was a rebellion from the Catholic Church’s incorrect dogma, doctrines, and abuse of the people. Even still, today Protestantism is severely divided over theological, doctrinal, and cultural issues. 

The one church that has remained largely the same is the Orthodox Church. Its doctrines haven’t changed and its focus on Christ is resolute.

I’ll share more about that later as well.

Today, I hope I’ve helped you on your journey of faith in Christ as we wrestle together with the complexities of Christianity and seek to simply them.

Blessings to you,

Father Don