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| The Jerusalem Cross (cross potent
and four Green Crosses). This cross represents Jerusalem as the center
of the world, the crossing of the four winds, the places whence the four
Gospels spread. The major cross has four equal arms like a Greek cross
but at the ends of the arms are bars: this cross means Christ and the other
four depict early Christians spreading to the four corners of the world
to: 1) preach; 2) teach; 3) heal; and 4) baptize as commanded by Christ.
The Crusader's Cross or Cross Fitchee is typical of the type of cross the crusaders carried on their persons. At devotion times, they would thrust the cross into the ground before them, kneel and pray. |
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NORTH WINDOW |
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| Ankh Cross is not purely Christian. It is thought to have originated at the time of Ikhnaton, the monotheistic Pharoah. His one god was the sun, the center of all life. The sun is the loop at the top; present life is the horizontal bar and after life is the vertical bar. It is called the cross of life. Below is the Cross Saltire on which Peter's brother Andrew was martyred. |  |
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CENTRAL DOOR |
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| The upside-down Cross and Rooster
represent St. Peter. Peter was crucified upside down because he felt he
was not worthy to die the same way his master did. The Rooster is a very
human symbol reminding us that each of us, like Christ's chief apostle,
may deny Christ and be received back again.
The Celtic Cross is a variation of the Latin Cross of purely ornamental origin. The circle behind the cross represents eternal life through Jesus' death and as a halo shows the sacredness of the cross. The designs usually carved on these crosses are adaptations of pagan Celtic art also typified in the Book of Kells. The Celtic Cross has been adopted by the Presbyterian as symbolic of a church which was never really under complete control of Rome even from the time of St. Patrick and St. Columba. |
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SOUTH WINDOW |
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| The Cross Fleurie is the decorative cross. It is basically a Greek cross with fleur-de-lis at the ends. The fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the Trinity. The fleur-de-lis is a symbol for France and reminds us of the Huguenots. The Maltese Cross resembles four spear heads, points touching. It has eight points representing the Beatitudes and the number of regeneration (from St. Peter - "Eight were saved by the water.") |  |
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SOUTH DOOR |
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| The Cross with the two horizontal bars is the Patriarchal Cross. It is used as a symbol of St. Peter, St. Philip, and St. Helena among others. The upper bar represents the inscription put on the cross when Christ was crucified. The Eastern Orthodox Cross is an adaptation of the Patriarchal Cross, the lowest bar slanted to represent the foot rest upon which Christ's feet were nailed. It represents the spread of the church from Greece and Turkey north and east. |  |