Before going into details about the cross, which is the sacred symbol of the Christian religion, let us remind you that the stories we are going to tell belong to Christian theology. You may encounter different stories than those told in the religion of Islam. The symbol of the cross is considered one of the holiest symbols of Christianity today, but when we look at the historical process, Hz. We encounter the cross in many civilizations before Christ.
Neither the crucifixion nor the veneration of the symbol of the cross was unique to Christianity. When we look at the historical process, Christianity was not seen as a heresy, and only after the 3rd century did the cross begin to be considered sacred. In other words, the stories told to people today actually point to a great confusion when we look at the past. Let’s go step by step and take a closer look at the meaning of the cross and see how it became a religious symbol in the historical process.
Pre-Christian cross:
Prophet of Christianity. If you think that the symbol of the cross is sacred because of the crucifixion of Jesus, you are wrong. Hz. Even hundreds of years before Christ, we encounter the sign of the cross in the ruins of civilizations in Syria, Egypt, Greek, Latin, India, Mexico, Persia and Africa.
In modern Christianity, Hz. It is possible to encounter many reliefs resembling the depictions of the Virgin Mary hundreds of years ago. The cross was also used as a religious symbol in ancient times and it appears in many different forms. Of course, the most well-known are the ‘Tau cross’, the ‘Fylfot cross’ and the ‘Svastika’.
All the cross symbols that we encounter in the historical ruins of the old period belong to the pagan belief. Depictions of God and the cross are often used together. The penalty of crucifixion is as common as the cross. In fact, according to some narrations, Hz. While Jesus was crucified, two thieves were crucified for the same crime. Of course, these two criminals are hardly mentioned in modern Christianity.
Hz. The crucifixion of Jesus and the value given to the symbol of the cross:
Christian belief is based on the ‘Trinity’, that is, the holy trinity; father, son and holy spirit. God the Father, Jesus the son, and the holy spirit are the divine touch that completes this trinity. According to Christian theology, God loved the world very much, Hz. By blowing his own soul into Mary, Hz. He brought Jesus into the world, and with his death, he took all the sins of humanity on himself.
Hz. It was the Jewish Romans who killed Jesus by crucifixion as a result of long tortures. Hz. The crucifixion of Jesus was a common method of execution at that time. However, according to Christian theology, Hz. Jesus did not die and came back three days later. During this period, people were baptized and believed in him.
Even though it became widespread after hundreds of years, the first value given to the symbol of the cross comes from here. Jesus took responsibility for the sins of the believers by being crucified, and came back three days later to challenge death. That is, the sign of the cross is both Hz. It symbolizes the suffering of Jesus for people as well as his holiness.
How did the cross become a religious symbol?
When you hear this story, don’t think that people immediately believe that Hz. They believed in Jesus. For hundreds of years the Christian faith was despised and called heresy. In fact, in a Roman work from the first period of the 3rd century, the crucified Hz. By portraying Jesus as a donkey, he and those who believed in him were humiliated.
Christianity was adopted during the reign of Constantine I, who was first known as Constantine the Great. According to rumors, Constantine’s mother Helena, Hz. He found pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified and saw that these pieces had a miraculous cure for every disease. Such is the story of the Feast of the Holy Cross, which is celebrated even today.
The concept of Crusaders emerges:
After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, Christianity spread rapidly and crosses, which were considered holy, began to be made in churches that were built at the same speed. In the first period, Hz. Jesus had a calm expression. Over time, this figure changed and began to be depicted as tortured in blood.
The symbol of the cross also became a distinctive symbol of the conflict between Christians and Muslims. Christians, who were in a secret struggle to take the holy lands from the hands of the Muslims, started to draw a cross on their clothes. We know that this group called ‘Crusaders’, that is, the Crusaders, grew later and carried out the massacres we call the Crusades today.
The Cross also became the symbol of the racists:
The first meaning attributed to the sign of the Cross was blessing the Son of God who sacrificed himself on behalf of the people. However, over time, it became a symbol of the struggle of Christians against Jews and Muslims, namely the war. The racist Ku Klux Klan organization, which carried out the biggest massacres in recent history against black people in the United States, revealed themselves with the crosses they set on fire together with white hoods.
Of course, when it comes to racism, it is impossible not to mention Adolf Hitler. Although in the form of the swastika, Hitler chose the symbol of the cross as a sign of his ideology based on the supremacy of the white race and Christianity. Even today, we see swastikas and crosses in many racist symbols that defend the supremacy of the white race and Christianity.
The symbol of the cross in popular culture:
Today, it is possible to encounter a cross wherever we turn our eyes. In popular culture, the symbol of the cross has become more common than ever before. So much so that although we live in a predominantly Muslim country and region, we can encounter the sign of the cross in many places. Of course, not everything that uses a cross has a racist connotation.
The major countries that control the world economy today are Christian. Christian theology is the basis of many unions established under the name of defending world peace. On top of that, since these powers are the number one producer of popular culture, it is possible to encounter crosses on necklaces, t-shirts, movies, games and anything else you can’t think of.
We talked about the meaning of the cross, which is accepted as the holiest symbol of the Christian religion, and the meaning it has gained today within the framework of its historical journey. Let us remind you once again that every faith has its own sacred things and that these sacred things should be respected as long as they do not harm others.
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