
Aug 17
From Shame to Sanctity: The Evolution of the Cross in Christian Iconography
The evolution of the cross in Christian iconography is a journey from an object of ultimate shame to the preeminent symbol of a global faith. For nearly three hundred years, it was a sign so scandalous that it was hidden in coded symbols like the fish and the anchor. The imperial patronage of Constantine dramatically reversed its meaning, transforming it into an emblem of victory and divine authority, visually expressed in the glorious crux gemmata and the impassive Christus Triumphans. A subsequent shift in piety during the Middle Ages brought forth the suffering Christ, the Christus Patiens, while the Reformation created the enduring visual divide between the Catholic crucifix and the Protestant empty cross, a symbol that today is at once ubiquitous and contested.