The Cross

Joni Miner

THE CROSS

Anglicans and Episcopalians usually call this the Anglican Cross, Episcopal Cross or Celtic Cross, whereas Catholics often refer to it as the Irish Cross. But just as the Protestant Christ is the same as the Catholic Christ is the same as the Lutheran Christ, all these crosses are one and the same.

Other names include St. Columba Cross, after the 6th century Irish missionary, Iona Cross, Ionic Cross, and sometimes mistakenly called an Iconic Cross, although no doubt many pilgrims have treated this cross as an icon.

Churches in Scotland and Ireland are often dedicated to St. John and therefore a Celtic Cross in those churches might be called St. John's Cross. Confusingly, during the First Crusade, there was an order of mediaeval monks known as the Order of St John of Jerusalem who used the Maltese Cross as their emblem. That emblem is also referred to as St. John's Cross.³

'Christ the King'
Photo by C M Diamond, Peterborough, Ontario

The Celtic Cross outside St. Peter's


'Christ the King' statue base
Photo by C M Diamond, Peterborough, Ontario

Another name is the St. Peter's Cross, although St. Peter is usually associated with an inverted cross. An example can be seen outside the Cathedral of St. Peter-in-Chains, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

On the lawn there is a bronze statue named "Christ the King", erected in 1926. The artist's name is unknown but it was purchased by Bishop O'Brien when visiting Rome circa 1925. The statue was his gift to the Diocese for their 100th anniversary of the first mass celebrated in Peterborough on June 5, 1826.

The white Canadian granite base is by a local monument maker, an Irishman, who formed an incuse image of a Celtic cross in the stone and then poured molten lead into the hollow. There are two such crosses on this monument. The arms are shaped like nails, representing the nails that were driven into Jesus on the cross. (See also Nails Cross)

Yet another saint associated with the Celtic Cross is St. Brendan. This cross is often adorned with a dolphin (see the story of St. Brendan.)

Celtic Lands

'Celtic' is an Indo-European language that pre-dates Christianity and was used extensively in western and central Europe. Crosses found in those lands retain elements of the pre-Christian culture and assume the name 'Celtic Cross'. Early examples are found in Ireland where, in the 8th century (or possibly earlier), missionaries erected these stone crosses to mark preaching stations and monasteries. (See also Wayside Cross.)

Celtic Crosses are also found in churchyards and market squares in lands such as Wales, the south-west of England and Scotland. The stone used for these crosses in western Britain is usually local sandstone - relatively soft and easy to carve intricate and beautiful designs. The basic construction is simply a Latin Cross with a ring. The meaning of the cross is well known, but what is the ring?

Meaning of the Celtic Cross

Because of its antiquity, the Celtic Cross is popular with neo-Druids, occultists, neo-Pagans and New Age followers, who see the ring representing the thunder god Taranis and refer to the cross as a Taranis Wheel. (See also Kabbalah Cross and the St. Brighid's Cross.) Another interpretation is that the cross might be an astrological navigation instrument.

The most common Christian interpretations of the ring include:

• a symbol of eternity that emphasizes the everlasting life in Heaven for those who accept Christ
• the world, for which Christ died and the everlasting love of God, as shown through Christ's crucifixion.
• The circle has been linked to the idea of the Eucharist. Early Crosses in Scotland depicted round millstones used for grinding wheat that were hung in the centre of large Crosses.
• a crown of thorns
• the resurrection of Christ
• a halo
• the story of St. Patrick, living with some new Christian converts (formerly Druids). Patrick took one of their standing stones etched with a circle that symbolised their moon goddess, and scratched a Latin cross mark over the circle. This was to show that Christianity had replaced their pagan beliefs.
• and perhaps the most compelling symbolism; as a Celtic version of the Chi Rho. We are told by Dr. Alexander Roman about archaeological sites of Celtic Christian monastic dwellings where the Chi Rho and Celtic Crosses are traced in stone one above the other. The circle in the Celtic Cross is therefore the 'P' of the Chi Rho.

The original St. John's Cross at Iona Abbey.
Click photo to enlarge.
(Photo by Dennis Turner, reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license)

There is one further, albeit unlikely, suggestion about the circle; that it might be simply a structural support for the horizontal arms.

8th century St. Martin's Cross at Iona Abbey

One of the best-preserved Celtic crosses is the 8th century St. Martin's Cross, which stands in front of Iona Abbey. This is a replica of the earlier St John's Cross, which has an enormous arm span for a stone cross; over two metres.

Without the circle to support the weight of the arms, it is unlikely the cross would have stood for such a long time. However, we discount that suggestion in favour of a religious connection for the circle. If ancillary supports were necessary then straight braces at 45 degrees would be more effective.

Use of the Celtic Cross

CCCB Cross

Logo of the
Church in Wales


Flag of the Church in Wales (yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) See also St. David's Cross

The design is used by several Christian organisations, such as the 'Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' (CCCB), whose logo (shown on the left) is a Voided Latin Cross with a circular arrangement of letters to form a Celtic Cross.

The Church in Wales similarly uses a Celtic Cross in their logo.

Why do Christians use the Celtic Cross

Whilst the circle might have originally represented a moon god, the Sun god, a cosmic wheel, or a phallic symbol plus an association with everlasting life; when the stone crosses were carved by Christians, they were doing so with their Christian God in mind.

Church buildings, hymns, vestments and many other trappings used by the early Church in Europe were influenced by existing pagan customs and culture in their art and design. There was no reason to invent anything new to worship the Christian God⁴

The Church has moved, and continues to move, with the times. Perhaps not fast enough for some people, and too fast for others.

See also The Cross and Eternity by Rev. David Linde.