Crucifix Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Usage == In the [[early Church]], many Christians hung a [[Christian cross|cross]] on the eastern wall of their house in order to indicate the [[direction of prayer|eastward direction of prayer]].<ref name="Storey2004">{{cite book |last1=Storey |first1=William G. |title=A Prayer Book of Catholic Devotions: Praying the Seasons and Feasts of the Church Year |date=2004 |publisher=Loyola Press |isbn=978-0-8294-2030-2 |language=en |quote=Long before Christians built churches for public prayer, they worshipped daily in their homes. In order to orient their prayer (to ''orient'' means literally "to turn toward the east"), they painted or hung a cross on the east wall of their main room. This practice was in keeping with ancient Jewish tradition ("Look toward the east, O Jerusalem," Baruch 4:36); Christians turned in that direction when they prayed morning and evening and at other times. This expression of their undying belief in the coming again of Jesus was united to their conviction that the cross, "the sign of the Son of Man," would appear in the eastern heavens on his return (see Matthew 24:30). Building on that ancient custom, devout Catholics often have a home altar, shrine, or prayer corner containing a crucifix, religious pictures (icons), a Bible, holy water, lights, and flowers as a part of the essential furniture of a Christian home.}}</ref><ref name="Johnson2016">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Maxwell E. |title=Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year |date=2016 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-6282-3 |language=en |quote=Because Christ was expected to come from the east, Christians at a very early date prayed facing that direction in order to show themselves ready for his appearing, and actually looking forward to the great event which would consummate the union with him already experienced in prayer. For the same reason the sign of the cross was frequently traced on the eastern wall of places of prayer, thereby indicating the direction of prayer, but also rendering the Lord's coming a present reality in the sign which heralds it. In other words, through the cross the anticipated eschatological appearance becomes ''parousia'': presence. The joining of prayer with the eschatological presence of Christ, unseen to the eye but revealed in the cross, obviously underlies the widely attested practice of prostrating before the sacred wood while praying to him who hung upon it.}}</ref> Prayer in front of a crucifix, which is seen as a [[Sacramentals|sacramental]], is often part of devotion for Christians, especially those worshipping in a church, also privately. The person may sit, stand, or kneel in front of the crucifix, sometimes looking at it in contemplation, or merely in front of it with head bowed or eyes closed. During the Middle Ages small crucifixes, generally hung on a wall, became normal in the personal cells or living quarters first of monks, then all clergy, followed by the homes of the [[laity]], spreading down from the top of society as these became cheap enough for the average person to afford. Most towns had a large crucifix erected as a monument, or some other shrine at the crossroads of the town. Building on the ancient custom, many Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans hang a crucifix inside their homes and also use the crucifix as a focal point of a [[home altar]].<ref name="Storey2004"/><ref name="White2016">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Jon |title=DIY Tabernacling: Holy Objects & Holy Space, at home |url=https://www.episcopalcafe.com/diy-tabernacling-holy-objects-holy-space-at-home/ |publisher=Episcopal Cafe |access-date=1 October 2020 |language=en |date=20 March 2016}}</ref> The wealthy erected [[proprietary chapel]]s as they could afford to do this. [[File:Marques de parana 1856.jpg|thumb|The [[Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná|Marquis of Paraná]], [[Prime Minister of Brazil]] lying in repose in 1856. In the background, candles and a metal crucifix.]] [[Catholic]] (both [[Eastern Catholicism| Eastern]] and [[Latin Church| Western]]), [[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Oriental Orthodox]], [[Anglican]] and [[Lutheran]] Christians generally use the crucifix in public religious services. They believe use of the crucifix is in keeping with the statement by [[Paul the Apostle]] in [[1 Corinthians]]: "we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God".<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|1:23–24|ESV}}</ref> In the West, [[altar cross]]es and [[processional cross]]es began to be crucifixes in the 11th century, which became general around the 14th century, as they became cheaper. The [[Roman Rite]] requires that "either on the altar or near it, there is to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, a cross clearly visible to the assembled people. It is desirable that such a cross should remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations, so as to call to mind for the faithful the saving [[Passion of Jesus|Passion]] of the Lord."<ref>General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 308</ref> The requirement of the altar cross was also mentioned in pre-1970 editions of the [[Roman Missal]],<ref>''Rubricae generales Missalis'', XX</ref> though not in the original 1570 Roman Missal of [[Pope Pius V]].<ref>Manlio Sodi, Achille Maria Triacca, ''Missale Romanum: Editio Princeps (1570)'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1998 {{ISBN|88-209-2547-8}})</ref> The Rite of Funerals says that the Gospel Book, the Bible, or a cross (which will generally be in crucifix form) may be placed on the coffin for a [[Requiem Mass]], but a second standing cross is not to be placed near the coffin if the altar cross can be easily seen from the body of the church.<ref>Rite of Funerals, 38</ref> Eastern Christian liturgical processions called [[crucession]]s {{citation needed|date=March 2016}} include a cross or crucifix at their head. In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the crucifix is often placed above the [[iconostasis]] in the church. In the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] a large crucifix ("[[Golgotha]]") is placed behind the [[Holy Table]] (altar). During [[Matins]] of [[Good Friday]], a large crucifix is taken in procession to the center of the church, where it is venerated by the faithful. Sometimes the ''soma'' ({{lang|la|corpus}}) is removable and is taken off the crucifix at [[Vespers]] that evening during the [[Gospel]] lesson describing the [[Descent from the Cross]]. The empty cross may then remain in the centre of the church until the [[Paschal vigil]] (local practices vary). The [[blessing cross]] which the [[priest]] uses to bless the faithful at the [[benediction|dismissal]] will often have the crucifix on one side and an [[icon]] of the [[Resurrection of Jesus]] on the other, the side with the Resurrection being used on Sundays and during [[Paschaltide]], and the crucifix on other days. [[Exorcist]] [[Gabriele Amorth]] has stated that the crucifix is one of the most effective means of averting or opposing [[demons]]. In folklore, it is believed to ward off [[vampires]], [[incubi]], [[succubi]], and other evils. Modern [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christians]] have used an inverted (upside-down) crucifix when showing disdain for [[Jesus Christ]] or the [[Catholic Church]] which believes in [[Divinity of Jesus|his divinity]].<ref>Lucifer Rising: A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock n' Roll (Nemesis, 1994)</ref> According to [[Christian tradition]], [[Saint Peter]] was [[martyr]]ed by being [[Cross of St. Peter|crucified upside-down]].<ref>Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator - 1928), ''The Malleus Maleficarum''</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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