23 THE CROSS (1)

Celtic Cross, Île Saint Cado, Brittany, France

The general use of the cross/crucifix as the main symbol of Christianity became ratified at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680: it was decreed that “the figure of a man fastened to a cross be now adopted”. The word “cross” is nowhere to be found in the original Greek version of the New Testament. It is a ‘wanted’ mistranslation of the Greek word ‘stauros’, meaning ‘upright stake’ or ‘pole’. It never meant two pieces of wood joining at an angle or cross-shaped. In fact, the cross as a symbol greatly antedates Christianity, in both East and West. It was ‘borrowed’ by the church from Paganism, so to speak. The Roman emperor Constantine (272-337 AD), who was an adept of the Sol Invictus (invincible sun) religion, had the major share in uniting Sun-worship and the Cross. The Roman Church later ‘adopted’ the cross mainly because of Constantine, who converted to Christianity and ended the persecution of the Christians.

Babylonia, 1350 BC 

Prehistoric and early Celtic crosses clearly suggest that the cross evolved from a solar symbol (Sun disk). A cross inside a circle marks the four seasons, the transition of nature ruled by the sun, the four Celtic fire festivals, and also the four directions. Not very religious at first glance. It’s rather an image of the ‘organization’ of nature, the sun working through the four seasons, which was very important in an agricultural society. Scholars see it as an image of the Sun-deity, and it certainly evolved as such. But it’s remarkable that most prehistoric finds are interpreted as something religious without a second thought, while symbols have different levels, from purely practical to purely metaphysical.

Prehistoric Crosses, Tara, Ireland

Pre-Christian crosses

When one faces the rising Sun, the North is at the left, the South at the right, the East in front and the West behind. It’s the former position of the priest at the altar. The Sun, while progressing through the ecliptic, never reaches farther than 23 degrees and 28 minutes north of the Equator. That’s why the North (and the left hand) is associated with darkness and evil. In Waldbillig, Mullerthal, Luxembourg, the following weird image can be found, carved on the rocks, facing the rising sun. A remaining of ancient sun worship. The same image decorates the Templar church of Roth, also in Luxembourg.

Mullerthal, Luxembourg

Waldbillig, Luxembourg