The historical use of the cross as a symbol was condemned by at least one church father of the 3rd century CE because of its Pagan origins. The first appearance of a cross in Christian art is on a Vatican sarcophagus from the mid-5th Century. 11 It was a Greek cross with equal-length arms. Jesus' body was not shown. The first crucifixion scenes didn't appear in Christian art until the 7th century CE. The original cross symbol was in the form of a Tau Cross. It was so named because it looked like the letter "tau", or our letter "T". One author speculates that the Church may have copied the symbol from the Pagan Druids who made crosses in this form to represent the Thau (god). 7 They joined two limbs from oak trees. The Tau cross became associated with St. Philip who was allegedly crucified on such a cross in Phrygia. May Day, a major Druidic seasonal day of celebration, became St. Philip's Day. Later in Christian history, the Tau Cross became the Roman Cross that we are familiar with today.
The shape of the original crucifixion device is a matter for speculation. Sometimes, the Romans executed people on a Tau cross, sometimes on a Roman cross and sometimes on a simple stake. The gospels, which were originally written in Greek, use the word "stauros" to refer to the execution structure. (see Mark 15:21, Mark 15:32, Matthew 27:32, Luke 23:26, John 19:17). This appears as the word "cross" in all but one of the English versions that we have examined.
Though the cross has always been an important symbol of Christianity, religious cross jewelry was not widely used by early Christians. Since early Christians were often persecuted for their faith, it was not safe to openly display religious cross jewelry. Early Christians instead wore other forms of Christian jewelry, such as the Ichthys and the anchor. The Ichthys, two intersecting arcs resembling the profile of a fish, was probably used in Christian jewelry as a reference to Christ as "the fisher of men". The anchor, or mariners cross, was used in early Christian jewelry as a symbol of hope based in the faith in Christ. By using these forms of Christian jewelry early Christians were able to avoid persecution.
Religious cross jewelry did not become openly used until around the 3rd century A.D., when the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Since then the cross has become the most significant of Christian symbols, and has been widely used in art and jewelry.
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