Ancient crosses. Old Russian native crosses
"Take your own cross, and follow me"
(MK. 8, 34)
That the cross in the life of everyone orthodox man It plays a big role known to all. This also applies to the cross as the symbol of criticism orthodox Christianwhich he must be transferred with humility and relief to the will of God and the cross as the fact of confession of Christianity and great Powercapable of protecting a person from the enemy attacks. It is worth noting that many miracles were made by the procession. It is enough to say that one of the great sacraments is made by a cross - the sacrament of the Eucharist. Maria Egypt, having mastered the water with a congestion, crossed through Jordan, Spiridon Trimifuntsky turned the snake in gold, the godpanition healed patients and the undesteen. But, perhaps, the most important thing is a miracle: the criticism imposed with a deep faith, protects us from the power of Satanian.
The cross himself like a terrible gun shameful executionChosen by Satan Meaning of deadlyness caused an insurmountable fear and horror, but thanks to the Winner Christ, he became welcome trophy, causing joyful feelings. Therefore, the Holy Ippolit Roman - the husband of the apostolic - exclaimed: "And the church has its trophy over death - this is the cross of Christ, which she is on Himself," and St. Paul - the Apostle languages \u200b\u200b- wrote in his message: "I wish to boast (.. .) Only the Cross of the Lord of our Jesus Christ "(Gal. 6:14).
The cross accompanies the Orthodox man throughout life. "Tannik", so called a native cross in Russia, assigned to the baby in the sacrament of the Baptism in pursuance of the words of Lord Jesus Christ: "Who wants to go for me, reject himself, and take your cross, and follow me" (MK. 8, 34 ).
It is not enough just to put on the cross and consider yourself a Christian. The cross must express what is in the heart of a person. In some cases it is deep christian faith, in others - formal, external affiliation christian church. This desire is often not the fault of our fellow citizens, but only a consequence of their lack of enlightement, the years of Soviet anti-religious propaganda, apostasy from God. But the cross is the greatest christian shrine, visible testimony of our redemption.
A lot of different misunderstandings and even superstitions, myths are associated with a quantine. Let's try to figure it out together in this difficult question.
The native cross is because it is called that it is worn under the clothes, never putting a deposit (outside the cross is only priests). This does not mean that the native cross must be hidden and hidden under any circumstances, but still it is not accepted deliberately to exhibit it. The church charter was established to kiss his native cross at the end evening prayer. Per minute danger or when the soul is anxious, not too much to kiss your cross and read the words "save and save" on his turnover
The godfather should be worked out with all attention, with fear, with trepidation and with extreme reverence. Believing three big fingers on the man, you need to say: "In the name of the Father," then, lowering his hand in the same form on the chest "and son", shifting his hand on right shoulderthen on the left: "and the Holy Spirit." Making it on the holy sign of the cross, enter into the word "amine". You can also during the imposition of a cross to pronounce prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy with me, sinful. Amen".
Canonical approved by the shape of the form of a native cross does not exist. By expressing the PRP Theodore Studit - "Cross every form is a true cross." Saint Dimitri Rostovsky back in the 18th century wrote: "The cross is not in terms of number, not by the number of ends, the Cross of Christ is worshiped by us, but by Christ himself, the Blood, which he was having. Showing miraculous strength, any cross does not act by itself, but by the power of the crucified Christ and the calling of the Most Holy Name. " Orthodox tradition knows the infinite variety of crosses: four-, six-, eight-pointed; With half-spring downstairs, petals, drop-shaped, cringe and others.
Each line of the cross has a deep symbolic meaning. On the back of the cross most often the inscription "Save and Save", sometimes there are prayer inscriptions "God will resurrect" and others.
Among the roadside figures most often found stone crosses, here we have a statue of Our Lady of Worship. Since the stone bricklayers were Greek Catholics, they cut their talismans on icons. This special holy icon of the Great Power was the Mother of Divine Worship, which is depicted in a standing position with an elongated hands.
This entry was published by. When we sit down on asphalt, we climb up the hill and looking for a green path, which turns into a forest. A few hundred meters on the road passes the cross. The inscription is incomplete, the name is killed. The words at the end of the cross "he put this cross" is a reconstruction based on inscriptions, and this is a probable inscription. Interestingly, there is an inscription in front and rear. On the side we can find several letters that do not say a lot: icy. The cross itself has a very interesting shape that can be found in several other places.
Cross eight-spinning
The classic eight-pointed cross is the most common in Russia. The form of this cross most of all corresponds to the cross, on which Christ was crucified. Therefore, such a cross is not only a sign, but also the image of the Cross of Christ.
Above the long midnight crossbar of such a cross is a direct short crossbar - a sign with the inscription "Jesus Nazi Tsar Judaisky", nailed by order of Pilate above the head of the crucified Savior. The lower slanting of the crossbar, the upper end of which turned to the north, and the lower - south - symbolizes the foot, designed to serve to increase the torment of the crucified, as the deceptive feeling of some support under the legs encourages the execution of unwittingly trying to alleviate her weight, leaning on it than just extended torment.
The dogmatically eight ends of the cross mean eight main periods in the history of mankind, where the eighth is the life of the future century, the kingdom of heaven, because one of the ends of such a cross points up into the sky. It also means that the path to the heavenly kingdom is open by Christ through his redemption, according to his word: "I am a way and truth and life" (John 14, 6).
The skeleton of the Savior was britched, thus, means that in the earth's life of people with the coming of Christ, who went on the ground with a sermon, turned out to be disturbed by the balance of everyone without exception under the rule of sin. When the crucified Lord Jesus Christ is depicted on the eight-poin cross, the cross in general becomes full way Crucifixes of the Savior and therefore contains all the completeness of the force concluded in the criticism of the Lord, the mysterious presence of Christ Crupling.
There are two main types of crucified Savior. The ancient view of the crucifixion depicts Christ with sweeping hands wide and right along the transverse central crossbar: the body does not preserve, and it rests freely on the cross. The second, later appearance, depicts the body of Christ to the chest, hands raised upwards and sides. The second form is a look for the image of the suffering of Christ for our salvation; Here the human body of the Savior can be seen here. This image is more characteristic of the Catholic crucifix. But such an image does not pass through the entire dogmatic meaning of these criticism. This sense is concluded in the words of Christ himself, who said to the disciples and the people: "When I will be ascended from the ground, I will attract everyone" (John 12, 32).
Before the war there were intersections of the fields located above the village. The village called pear was located a few hundred meters below in the valley. Maybe there was a border between the fields of the owners of the Smen and Grushka in the area? It was, of course, the field cross, which served as residents during spring processes during the gloor days, through the fields. Each village or village must have at least one cross or chapel so that the procession stops, and the service can be offered. Fields are celebrated with the purpose of exile evil forces And leaving the field of ghosts.
Widespread among Orthodox believers, especially during times Ancient Russia, I had six-pin cross . It also has inclined crossbind, but the meaning is embedded somewhat different: the lower end symbolizes an unknown sin, and the upper is released by repentance.
Cross "Four-Neck"
The discussion about the "right" cross arose today. The dispute about what Cross is the right, eight-spin or four-ring, the Orthodox and Old Believers, and the latter called the simple four-spin cross "Printing Antichrist". In defense of the four-spin cross, Saint John Kronstadt, who dedicated to this topic a PhD dissertation "On the Cross of Christ, in the glory of imaginary old goods".
St. John Kronstadt explains: "Byzantine" four-pin cross in fact there is a cross "Russian", since, according to church legend, Holy equalizable prince Vladimir brought out of Corsun, where he was baptized, it was such a cross and first installed him on the shore of the Dnieper in Kiev. A similar four-pin cross was preserved in the Kiev Sofia Cathedral, carved on the marble board of the Tomb of Prince Yaroslav Wise, Son of St. Vladimir. " But, protecting the four-spin cross, St. John makes the conclusion that it is necessary to read the same and the other, since the principal difference itself of the cross for believers does not have.
They prayed to bless land and harvest. Today, this custom is already disappearing, or it has another form. When the fields left will end, and there will be a forest wall ahead, we go further along the left field and a forest near a kilometer. We look at the distance from the Hunter's Department with old lips on the other side of the field. There, in these Lily, we find this cross.
In the village you can find information that this cross, as well as standing in the forest to the west of Novin, was put up in memory of the resignation of hunger in the village. You can imagine a period in the village when it was a fertility catastrophe. Such disasters were considered a find. When the earth gave a rich harvest, one of the owners, or, perhaps, some of them financed the stone cross.
Encolpion - this is a cross-selecting
Power plates, or Encolpions (Greek), came to Russia from Byzantium and were intended for storage of particles of relics and other shrines. Sometimes Encolpion was used to preserve the holy gifts, which the first Christians in the era of persecutions received for communion in their homes and had. The most common were the rates made in the form of a cross and decorated with icons, as they combined the power of several sacred items that a person could wear on his chest.
The cross-keyboard consists of two halves with deepening on the inside, which form the cavity where shrines are placed. As a rule, in such crosses there is a piece of fabric, wax, incense, or just a beam of hair. Being filled, such crosses acquire a great protective and healing force.
So apiary is in the news. He enters him at the crossroads, where we have a turn to the village, we have a straight forest from the mountain stroke and to the left of an interesting road. The symbol in my understanding should differ from the sign. For example, the old custom to sacrifice the land of land when selling land can be described as vulgar as "symbolic", but its essence is purely semiotic. The winged wheel in the form of the coach is not a symbol railway, and a sign that distinguishes the staff of this railway.
Any representation explaining the symbolic expression as an analogy or short description famous factIs Semitic. On the other hand, the symbolic interpretation of the symbolic expression is the best wording relatively unknown factwhich, of course, cannot be presented more clearly or more accurately. The explanation of the cross as the "Symbol of Divine Love" is a semiotic, because the term "Divine Love" describes the fact that it must be expressed more clearly and much better than a cross that can have many other values.
Cross Skimnic, or "Calvary"
Inscriptions and cryptograms on Russian crosses have always been much more diverse than in Greek. From the XI century under the bottom braid crossbar eight-pointed cross A symbolic image of Adam's head appears, and the bones of the hands lying before the head are depicted: right on the left, as in burial or communion. According to Adam's legend, he was buried on Calvary (Heb. - "Frontal place"), where Christ was crucified. These words are clarified by the prevailing in Russia XVI century Tradition to produce near the image "Calvary" The following notation:
"M.L.R.B." - Lob's place crucified, "G.G." - Golgotha \u200b\u200bMountain, "G.A." - Head of Adamov.
The letters "K" and "T" mean a copy of the warrior and a cane with a sponge depicted along the cross.
Absorption is placed above the middle crossbar:
"IC" "xs" is the name of Jesus Christ;
And under it: "Nika" - winner;
on a title or near her inscription: "SN" BZHI "- Son of God,
But more often "I.nts.i" - Jesus Nazi Tsar Judaian;
The inspection of the title: "CPC" "" means the king of glory.
But this symbolically speaks when we consider the cross as an expression of an unknown, but the incomprehensible fact of mystical and transcendent - and, therefore, a psychological one, which is most adequately represented by the cross. While the symbol is alive, it expresses a fact that cannot be described better in any other way. The symbol is alive until it makes sense. We can still talk about it as a symbol, but only with a silent assumption that we mean his condition from the moment of his revelation about his best meaning.
Such crosses are put on to embroider on the closures of the monks who adopted Schima - the vow to comply with particularly strict ascetic rules of conduct. The Cross "Calvary" is also depicted on the burial Savane, which marks the preservation of vows, data during baptism, like the white Savan of the newcomers, meaning the cleansing from sin. With the consecration of temples and houses, the image of the Cross "Calvary" is also used on the walls of the building in four sides of the world.
A dead symbol no longer allows us to hug a consciousness and unconscious in one experience, so the mind can still "believe" in the value of the symbol, and the unconsciousness of your own, other path. Catholic inquisitors "believed in the divinity of Christ as the highest revelation of divine love and at the same time burned on a hero as a heretic, the one who did not share this faith why Christ himself would not be surprised." Religious persecution of all species is an excellent example of the death of a symbol in the pursuer's psyche in combination with the destruction of his own doubts that are persecuted.
How to distinguish orthodox cross From Catholic?
Catholic Church Uses only one image of the cross - a simple, quadrangular with the elongation of the bottom. But if the shape of the cross most often does not matter for believers and servants to the Lord, the position of the body of Jesus is a fundamental disagreement of these two religions. IN catholic crucifixion The image of Christ has naturalistic features. It manifests all human suffering, flour, which had to experience Jesus. His hands are kept under the severity of the body, in the face and from the Russian Academy of Sciences in his hands and feet. Blood flows. The image of Christ on the Catholic Cross is believable, but it image of dead man, while there is no hint at the celebration of victory over death. The Orthodox tradition depicts the Savior symbolically, the appearance of it is not a cross flour, but the triumph of the resurrection. The palm of Jesus is open, as if he wants to hug all mankind, giving them his love and opening the way to eternal life. He is God, and his whole image speaks about it.
Another principal position is the position of the legs on the crucifixion. The fact is that among orthodox shrines There are four nails, which are presumably and was begged by Jesus Christ to a cross. So, hands and legs were nailed separately. The Catholic Church does not agree with this statement and keeps its three nails, which was fixed on the Cross Jesus. In the Catholic crucifix, the legs of Christ are folded together and nailed by one nail. Therefore, when you bring a cross to the temple for consecration, it will be carefully considered for the amount of nails.
The inscription on the plate attached above the head of Jesus, where it was to be a description of his offense. But since Pontius did not find Pilate, how to describe the guilt of Christ, the words "Jesus Nazi Tsar Jewish" appeared on the table on three languages: Greek, Latin and Arama. Accordingly, on catholic crosses You will see the inscription on Latin I.N.R.I., and on Russian Orthodox - I.N.TS.I. (also found by I.N.TS.I.)
This is something symbolic, first of all depends on the relationship of the mind observed for him, the relationship that the thing considers not only as such, but also as an expression of something unknown. Therefore, a person is able to create something that has nothing symbolic for his way of thinking, but it can be deeply symbolic for another person. It is also possible to change the situation. However, there are work, the symbolic character of which depends not only on the attentive relationship of the mind, but also manifests itself in the most spontaneous way in the symbolic effect, which it has on the observer.
Another very much important question - this is consecration of a native cross
. If the cross is purchased in the temple shop, then it is usually consecrated. If the cross is purchased elsewhere or has unknown origin, it should be attributed to the church, ask for someone from the servants of the temple or a worker behind the candle box to convey the cross in the altar. After inspecting the cross and, according to its Orthodox canons, the priest serves the quinuse in this case. Usually the priest sanctifies the crosses during the morning water jets. If a we are talking About the baptismal cross for the baby, it is possible to sanctify and during the very sacrament of baptism.
When consecrated by the cross, the priest reads two special prayers in which he asks the Lord God so that he will be in a cross, heavenly power and that this cross kept not only the soul, but also the body from all enemies, sorcerers and from all sorts of evil forces. That is why on many native crosses there is an inscription "Save and Save!".
Such works are built in such a way that they will inevitably be deprived of any meaning if they were not symbolic. The eye in the triangle is so meaningless that the observer cannot recognize this image as just a joke. Symbols that do not work as described, or dead, i.e. They are replaced by the best wording, or are creatures whose symbolic nature ultimately depends on the relationship of the observing mind. The relation that considers the thing as a symbol can be briefly called: "Symbolic relationship".
In conclusion, I would like to note, the cross must be read by its right, Orthodox towards him. This is not just a symbol, the attribute of faith, but also the effective protection of a Christian from the Satanic forces. The cross needs to be read and the actions, and their humility, and sat down as possible for limited person, imitating the feat of the Savior. In the chinoslarm of the monastic post, he said that the monk should always have before the eyes of the suffering of Christ - nothing forces the person to gather, nothing so clearly shows the need for humility, as a saving memory. Not bad and we would strive for this. It was then that in us through the image of the procession in fact, the grace of God will actually act. If we are committing it with faith, you will really feel the power of God and know God's wisdom.
A lively symbol is a wording of something essentially unconscious, and the more universal, the more universal is the action of the symbol, since it affects the string in each of us. Because, on the one hand, the symbol is the best image, found by the epoch for what is not yet known, so it should come from the most diverse and complex layer of a modern spiritual atmosphere. But since, on the other hand, a lively symbol to have the right effect must contain what has a relationship with a large human group, so it will inevitably cover everything that may be common to this group.
Material prepared Ignatova Natalia