THE BUILDER DECEMBER 1917

CROSSES
BY BRO. CHARLES W. MANN, New York

MAN'S inhumanity to man has made countless thousands mourn in the
ages that have passed and will continue so to do until the time
shall come when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares and spears
into pruning blades.

As we are about to consider the crosses, let us trace the origin of
some of them. To endeavor to set before you the circumstances which
brought out the large variety of crosses that have appeared since
our Saviour suffered upon one of them would take too much time. I
have, therefore, selected seven primary and six secondary, which I
shall place before you, and I hope that the interest that centers
around them will prove as increasingly absorbing to you as the
study of them has been to me.

Crosses have been used in various forms by all the nations and
tribes of the East as a means of punishment for enemies of
criminals--excepting by the Jews. The Jewish method of putting
malefactors to death was by stoning or burning, according to the
Mosaic Law. From numerous writings upon the subject by La Croze,
Jabolinski, Zoega, Viscomte and others, we gather that the symbol
of the cross appears to have been most various in its
signification. Justyn Martyr says the sign of the cross is
impressed upon the whole of nature. Man himself forms a cross when
his arms are extended from his shoulders. Leigh mentions forty-six
different kinds; Sylvanus Morgan, twenty-six; and Upton, thirty.

The cross is believed to have been evolved from that more ancient
instrument of execution, the pale, as discovered by Gretser in
Crecia Christy, Vol. I, Chap. 50, as follows: For impaling
(infixio), a long and sharpened piece of wood was employed, on
which the victim was put as on a spit.

Seneca describes this kind of execution. Some drove a stake through
the body and set the stake up in the ground; others were suspended
on crosses with their heads turned towards the earth. This cruel
mode of punishment is still in vogue in some parts of Russia,
China, Turkey and some of the more remote countries of the East.

A CROSS

The cross (La Crux) a gibbet formed of two pieces of wood placed
crosswise, metaphorically, the punishment of the cross, as well as
the pain it inflicts, and in a general sense, any mental pain;
suffering or heavy trial--in its simplest form consisting of two
pieces of wood, one standing erect, the other placed on top,
crossing at right angles. Its use as an instrument of punishment
was probably suggested by the shape so often taken by branches of
trees. According to Cicero, it was certainly customary to hang
criminals on trees (Arbor Infelix). Seneca names the cross, infelix
lignum, the accursed tree.

EGYPTIAN CROSS
La Crux Ausata

The Egyptian cross, the oldest cross, will first claim our
attention. This is the cross often seen held in the hand of the
gods of Egypt. It is a pale with a cross-beam on top with a ring
over its center. From this ring the culprit was suspended until
death ended his sufferings. This cross without the ring appears
often among Indian and Egyptian relics. It sometimes appears in the
form of two pales crossing each other in the center. These crosses
are understood to be symbolical ideas of Divinity or life eternal.
A cross was to be seen in the temple of Serapis as the Egyptian
emblem of the future life. From Rufinius we get the following: In
an obelisk recently discovered in Nineveh there is a representation
of a king within an arched frame, having the Assyrian symbols over
the head and a cross like that of Malta on the breast.

PASSION CROSS, OR THE CROSS OF CHRIST

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

The cross on which our Saviour suffered was, according to Sozomen,
discovered by the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great,
in the year of our Lord 326. When seventy-nine years of age she was
induced by the warmth of her piety to visit the place which the
Saviour had rendered sacred by his presence and suffering. The
hatred of the heathens had led them to obliterate as much as
possible all traces of the memorable events which the life and
death of our Saviour had hallowed and to cover Mount Calvary with
earth and stone and raise thereon a temple to the Goddess Venus. A
Jew, however, had treasured up what traditions he would gather and
was thus enabled to point out to Helena the spot where our Lord had
been buried. On excavation, it is said, three crosses were found,
and the title which that of Jesus bore was also found lying by
itself. That the crosses were wood all declare, but no one states
the peculiar kind of wood, nor is there any mention made to
substantiate the tradition that the true cross consisted of three
kinds, cypress, pine, and cedar, or of four kinds, cedar, cypress,
palm, and olive. Lipsius declares that the cross was made of oak,
as this wood was the most abundant in Judea. The relics are said to
resemble oak. All the Scriptural writers seem to agree that only on
the cross of Jesus was placed a title. The wooden title is said to
be still preserved in Rome, not entire, for only diminutive
fragments remain of the Hebrew letters, so that no one can
positively identify the characters. The Greek and Latin, except the
letter Zetta, are written after the eastern manner, from right to
left Nicetus holds that it is not all the work of one hand; the
Roman letters are firmly and distinctly cut, the Greek very badly.
The history of the discovery of this title is worthy of notice.


When sent by Constantine to Rome it was deposited in a leaden chest
above the vaulted roof of the ancient church in Coma, in a little
window, and then bricked into the wall, its position being recorded
in a Mosaic inscription without. Time almost destroyed this
inscription, making it illegible, and a window, owing to the
carelessless of workmen repairing the church. was broken open and
the holy relic discovered. This discovery and the genuineness of
the title were authenticated by Pope Alexander III.

THE CROSS OF CONSTANTINE

This is the miraculous cross said to have appeared in the heavens
and to have been observed by the Emperor about sixteen years before
the visit of his mother, the Empress Helena, to Jerusalem. This
cross is shaped very much like the one on which our Saviour was
supposed to have been crucified.

Constantine Caius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Claudius, surnamed the
Great (Roman Emperor A.D. 306 to 337), born A. D. 274 at Naissus,
in Upper Moesae; died at Constantinople in 337. It is unnecessary
to recite the biography of Constantine at length, but simply state
that he seems to have been the first great potentate to embrace the
Christian religion and to have given to the cross, that up to this
time had been looked upon only as an ignominious instrument of
death, the hallowed reverence and the inspiring influence it
afterward attained. History speaks of Constantine as a youth of
fine physical appearance, endowed with great strength and courage.
His first service was under Diocletian, the Emperor, and by his
various efforts he rapidly rose to a place of great distinction.
His successes in Egypt and Persia gained him the title of Tribune.
Upon the death of his father in 306, he was made Emperor of the
West, and Emperor of Rome in 310 after a decisive victory over
Maxentius, at which time his victorious legions entered the
imperial city. There he was greeted as the Emperor of the Roman
Empire, Maxentius having been accidentally drowned. It was during
this campaign that Constantine, while in camp near Mentz, is said
to have seen in the sky a flaming cross, bearing the inscription in
Greek "with this you will conquer." From that time the symbol of
Christianity appeared on the shields of the soldiers and the
banners of the Roman army. The life of Constantine the Great as
given by different historians is full of contradictions. That he
was cruel in some cases there can be no doubt, but justice governed
oftener than a baser sentiment; and that he was one of the greatest
princes none can deny. Tried by a standard of morality he might be
found lacking. His character scarcely warrants the belief that he
was ever troubled by compunctions of conscience or remorse; but as
a statesman and politician, Constantine favored and protected
Christianity, though he was not baptized until just before his
death. It is certainly wonderful the change that came by the advent
and acceptance of the Christian religion by Constantine. The
Christians had suffered all manner of persecution and torture at
the hands of the pagans of Rome. Constantine changed all this by
convening and attending the general Council at Nice, in 325 A. D.
Constantine openly declared the Christian to be the official church
of the Empire. Sunday was set apart for religious services instead
of games, and every attempt to restrain the liberty of Christians
was severely punished.

THE EXACT CROSS

This cross is composed of five squares, four squares on the sides
of a central square, or two pieces crossed in the center forming
four right angles. As this figure is exact in every line, it was
chosen to represent truth. It first appears as an Egyptian mark on
obelisks and objects of art. The cross of St. George was modeled
after this cross. Writers differ greatly about the identity of St.
George, although the identity of this cross is fully established.
Spencer selects St. George as the Red Cross Knight, the hero and
champion of truth, who engages in a terrible combat with a great
dragon which he conquers and destroys, rescuing Una, the pure and
beautiful Goddess of Truth, from his awful folds. On examination of
different authors on this subject our belief is the St. George who
fought so valiantly under Diocletion is the real St. George, who
with many other Christian Knights, after defending himself against
seven Saracens and overcoming them, was finally captured by a
greater force and suffered martyrdom, dying in defense of the
cross. There are two other writers who declare that St. George was
none other than the Bishop of Alexandria, and give him the title of
the regular Calendar Saint. If this is true, the canonizing of this
St. George was very strange, as his personal history reads very
much like some things we read about in the public press of today.
The story of this St. George is as follows:

George of Capadocia, or St. George, the Patron Saint of England,
was born about the beginning of the fourth century at Epiphania in
Celicia. His father was a fuller, and the future Saint himself had
a long struggle against the disadvantages of a poor and humble
birth. According to Gregory of Nacianzene, George distinguished
himself in his early career as a parasite of so mean a type that he
would sell himself for a cake. He became an army contractor, but it
is said that he fulfilled his contracts on bacon so badly that he
narrowly escaped death at the hands of the indignant soldiers.
After this episode he fled to Alexandria, where he became a devout
churchman, engaged in public business and finally became bishop of
the city. It is said further that George owed his episcopate to the
pliancy of his conscience and the readiness with which he lent
himself to further the political views of the court. When George
took possession of the See he found a fierce persecution going on
against the Trinitarians. Instead of mitigating this evil he
favored the persecution to such an extent that he raised a
rebellion against himself, and fled for his life; but being soon
after reinstated by the court he returned to Alexandria and
signalized himself by redoubling his cruelty, as might have been
expected. His conduct raised up enemies against him, even among his
own followers. His downfall could not be long delayed. A tyrannical
act which he perpetrated toward the pagans in his diocese irritated
the people so keenly that they rose up en masse, dragged him out of
the fortress to which he had retired for safety, paraded him
through the streets on the back of a mule, and, after tearing him
to pieces, burnt his remains. Papebroche and Heylyn deny altogether
that this Bishop of Alexandria is the patron saint of England and
give versions of St. George's history which explain the reason why
he is held in such high honor. Among the Greeks St. George was held
in the highest veneration as a soldier and defendant of the Greek
Church, the Christian religion, and the cross; and his cross was
adopted by them as a sign of victory. In England his renown through
song and story had increased to such an extent that by the time of
Edward the Third he had become the Patron Saint of the Kingdom of
England. The cross of St. George is a red cross in a field argent.
This cross is also known as the Red Cross. It was worn by the nine
companions in arms who had charge of the Holy Sepulchre, by
permission of King Baldwin. It was placed upon the sleeves of their
coats and to distinguish them for their zeal in the defense of the
Christian religion, and to remind them that they must shed the last
drop of their blood in the noble and glorious purpose for which
they were enlisted. The principles to which they subscribed were
piety, charity, truth, fidelity to Heaven and the fair.

THE CROSS OF ST. ANDREW

The next form of the cross to which I would call your attention is
the form of the cross on which St. Andrew, the first disciple of
Jesus Christ and brother of Simon Peter, was crucified.

This form of cross seems to have been built especially to try the
faith and fortitude of the martyr, who with arms and legs extended
and tied to this form of cross, with no support to the body, was
left to linger for days before death relieved his sufferings. This
was to give him time to confess or recant. It may be said here,
that St. Andrew, pinioned to this cross, living for four days and
recanting not, set forth the power of his faith.

The story of St. Andrew is short but pathetic. He was born at
Bethsada in Galilee, and was the brother (as has been said before)
of Simon Peter, and was the first of the disciples to become
acquainted with Jesus, and introduced his brother Simon Peter to
Him. On the day they met they continued in His company and went
with Him to a wedding in Cana, and then returned to their ordinary
occupations.

Some months after, Jesus coming upon them while they were fishing,
called them to Him and promised to make them fishers of men. They
immediately left their nets to follow and be with Him; and never
afterwards separated from Him.

Tradition assigns Scythia, Greece, and Thrace as the scenes of St.
Andrew's ministry. His crucifixion took place at Patrae in Achaia.

This cross (crux decussata) was adopted by that celebrated body of
Knights known as the Knights of St. Andrew and the Scotch Order of
the Thistle. On the banners of the Ancient Scotch kings may be seen
this cross. It was ever borne by them as well as by the Knights of
St. Andrew in many a sanguinary battle as a reminder of their faith
that all followers of this standard must die for it, must never see
it lowered; and it is a singular fact that it never has been
lowered; for, combined with the Cross of St. George, on an area of
red, it becomes the Standard of the Empire of England, and the sun
never sets upon it. It is the greatest standard except one other
floating under the canopy of Heaven today.

THE CROSS OF THE MILITARY KNIGHTS OF PRUSSIA

This cross is called the Teutonic Cross. As each of these crosses
represent some important epoch in the history of church and state,
none, perhaps, is of more importance than this which was adopted to
be worn upon the standard of the Teutonic Knights. This celebrated
order arose out of the misery which reigned among the besiegers at
the celebrated siege of St. Jean D'Acre at the close of the twelfth
century. The privations and sufferings of the Christian soldiers
excited the compassion of certain German merchants who had been
informed of their condition, and who went to the place of siege and
erected hospitals made of tents and rendered other services of such
value to the unhappy warriors that the German princes enrolled
these princely merchants in this order of knighthood. Their title
was Teutonic Knights of St. Mary of Jerusalem, and it had the
special patronage of Pope Celestine III. None could be admitted
besides these merchants, who had become ennobled, but those of
noble birth. Their equestrian garment was a white mantle with a
black cross; and this with bread and water constituted all the
reward sought for by men who vowed to remain pure in body and mind,
poor in purse, and to give succor to Christians where it was most
needed. This vow, however, was strangely construed in later years.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century this Order was powerful
and rich, and carried forward a bloody war in defense of the infant
church of Prussia. So great was the hatred of the pagan
proprietors, who then inhabited Lithuania, that when they captured
a Teutonic Knight they immolated him in a most barbaric manner. One
of these valiant knights, after making a most desperate stand
against the force of these cruel foes, fell bleeding from a score
of wounds and was captured. He was placed upon his horse, securely
bound, and the knight and the horse burned alive. Thus perished
Margarand Van Reschaun and many other followers of the Black Cross
of the Teutonic Knights.

THE CROSS OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM
The Eight-Pointed Cross

This cross was dedicated to St. John the Almoner, a Greek patriarch
of Alexandria. The order bearing the above title was organized in
the year of our Lord 1058, and existed for nearly seven hundred
years, until extinguished by Napoleon in 1798, when he seized the
Island of Malta while on his way to Egypt. They were called
Hospitallers on account of their vow, in which they promised to
devote their lives to charity, obedience, and poverty.

Their dress was a plain black robe, having an eight-pointed white
cross on the left breast.

Of all the orders that have flourished in the past, the Knights of
St. John of Jerusalem must hold the highest place upon the walls of
fame. This order had its beginning in a small chapel and two
hospitals, near the Holy Sepulchre.

A number of sojourning pilgrims entered these hospitals and devoted
themselves to this service. At the time of the first Crusade, Peter
Gerard was rector of the hospital. After the conquest of Palestine
the Hospitallers experienced high favor with the Crusaders, many of
whom, following that illustrious example of the illustrious Knight
Godfrey de Bullion, bestowed landed property in Europe upon them.
In 1113 Pope Pascal II sanctioned this order by a bull, conferring
special privileges upon it. Gerard, now First Superior, established
branch hospitals in different parts of Europe. Upon the death of
Gerard, in 1118, Raymond de Puy became his successor. He was a man
of strong martial instincts and tastes, and he proposed to his
brethren that while they should still maintain their vows
previously taken they should add to them that of bearing arms in
defense of religion. A proposition so strictly in accordance with
the spirit of the age was promptly acceded to, and the order became
a military fraternity and was organized as such by De Puy, who
became its first Grand Master and impressed his character upon it.

Passing rapidly to fame as a military fraternal body, and to
opulence from the gifts of pious persons, the followers of the
White Cross struck terror to the hearts of its enemies in the East.
Their deeds of conspicuous valor are recorded in history from their
earliest formation until the close of the eighteenth century. Their
campaign against the Saracens was one of signal brilliancy and one
of their most notable achievements on land.

About this time we find a new cross making its appearance: The
Union Cross of the Knights of St. John and St. Mary of Jerusalem,
Rhodes, and Malta, known as the Maltese Cross.

The history of this cross is so closely interwoven with the other
that its origin must be traced as a contingent of the other which
has just been described.

It is a compound cross, made by joining four triangles at their
apexes. When the fortress of Acre fell into the hands of the
Saracens, in 1291, the Hospitallers were established at Limmoesa in
Cypress, where they were recruited by drafts on all the
commanderies in Europe. In this Insular residence they became
sailors and navigators, and this was probably the time that they
assumed their naval character, as their vessels were continually in
service conveying pilgrims to the Holy Land. This led to sea fights
in which the brethren became as distinguished for skill and valor
as they had been on land. In 1309, the combined forces of Knights
of St. John, St. Mary, and the Templars seized the Island of
Rhodes, which had been the home and headquarters of Mohammedan
corsairs and pirates, and soon converted that island into so strong
a Christian fortress that it gave its name to the fraternity. They
held that island for more than two hundred years, though assailed
many times by the Mohammedans. They took Smyrna and retained
possession of that place until it was taken by Tamerlane. The first
siege of Rhodes took place in 1480 and was successfully defended by
the knights under the command of Sir Peter de Aubusson, their Grand
Master. A second siege took place in 1522, and the knights under
the then commanding Grand Master, Philip Villiers de Lislle Adam,
after holding the Turks at bay for six months, made an honorable
capitulation to the Sultan Solyman, the Magnificent.

The remnants of the order proceeded first to Candia, then to
Messina, and then to the mainland of Italy.

Charles the Fifth ceded to them the islands of Malta and Gozzo and
the City of Tripoli, March twentyfourth, 1530. Malta was then a
barren rock, but the knights made it one of the strongest
fortresses in the world; and they carried on the war with the
Turks, then the dread of Christendom, with so much energy that
their new abode furnished them with a new name, and a new triangle
was added to the triple triangle, forming the Cross of St. John,
St. Mary, Rhodes, and Malta.

For two and one-half centuries the Knights of Malta wielded a
powerful influence in European affairs. Piracy, that dread scourge
of the eastern seas, was destroyed by their valor; but in the later
years of their existence, forgetting their former vows, it seems
that a fitting climax ended their career when that wonderful
soldier and man of destiny, Napoleon, the Emperor of the French,
closed it in 1798.

The last cross which we shall consider will be the signal cross of
the Crusaders, or the rallying cross. Borne by the Crusaders it
appeared upon the banners of the military expeditions undertaken by
the Christians of Europe for the deliverance of the Holy Land from
the domination of Saracens and Turks.

About seventy years after the death of Christ, Jerusalem was taken
and destroyed by Titus; but sixty years afterward the city was
rebuilt by Hadrian, and the Christians were permitted to return.
Their occupancy only existed by precarious tolerance until
Constantine embraced the Christian religion and proclaimed it to be
the religion of the Empire.

For about two hundred years, until Jerusalem was taken by the
Saracens in 637, the Christians held sway in the Holy City; but all
toleration ceased when the Turks took the city in 1063. That wild
fanatical horde, though superior in force and military power, were
immeasurably inferior to the people whom they had expelled; and as
they made no scruple to plunder, insult, and kill the Christians,
pilgrims to Jerusalem began to bring back serious reports
concerning their suffering in the Holy Land.

This state of things continued until Peter the Hermit took up the
mission and began to preach the redemption of the City of Jerusalem
and the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the infidels. The fame of
this mighty and pious design now became universally diffused. The
greatest prelates, nobles, and princes attended upon the preachings
of Peter and became so infused and inspired at one of his
discourses that they arose and exclaimed as with one voice: "God
willeth it! God willeth it!"

The first Crusade occurred in the year of our Lord 1096. We quote
from the Princess Commena, who expressed herself thus:

"The whole of Europe seems shaken from its foundation and ready to
precipitate itself in one united body upon Asia."

All orders of men now deemed the Crusade the only road to Heaven
and became impatient to open the way with their swords to the Holy
City. Nobles sold their castles and belongings at any price. The
infirm and aged contributed to the expedition by giving money and
valuables, and many of them not satisfied with this attended in
person, being determined to reach and behold with their dying eyes,
if possible, the city where Jesus Christ had died for the human
race.

The hosts of the Crusaders increased so fast that their leaders
became apprehensive lest the very size of the great host should
prove the cause of the failure of the enterprise. For this reason
they permitted an undisciplined multitude, computed at more than
three hundred thousand, to go on before them under the command of
Peter the Hermit and Walter Gaultier. These took the road through
Hungary and Bulgaria towards Constantinople, and so sublime was
their faith that they trusted that Heaven would supply their
necessities and made no provision for their march. The more
disciplined moved under their leaders, and having passed the
straits of Constantinople they landed and mustered on the plains of
Asia over seven hundred thousand men. Every one of these Crusaders
bore the emblem of the Cross. Their great desire was to once more
place in the ascendency in the Holy Land that precious symbol of
their faith. Even women concealed their sex by encasing themselves
in the steel armor of a knight and accompanied this vast host as a
part of it, in many cases their sex only becoming known after they
had been slain. That they were moved by the same impulse to do and
dare for the cross was amply proven by their zeal and valor in many
a fierce and personal encounter with the infidels. Barret in verse
says:

Not she with traitorous kiss the Saviour stung-- 
Not she denied Him with unholy tongue. 
She while apostles shrank could danger brave-- 
Last at His Cross and earliest at His Grave.

The second Crusade was preached by St. Bernard of the monastic
Order of Bernardines, of which he was the founder, and conducted in
1146. It was headed by the Emperor Conrad III and Louis VII of
France, with more than three hundred thousand men.

They were defeated by the Turks near Iconium, and with difficulty
escaped to Antioch. Louis' army suffered reverses to such an extent
that it was not strong enough to keep the peace in Asia for the
Christian principalities, and their destruction soon followed.

It was at this period that the great Soldam of Egypt appeared, and,
having crushed both Christian and Turk, entered the Holy City of
Jerusalem as a conqueror. He held the city for about forty years.

The third Crusade was undertaken in 1188 by the Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa and Frederick, Duke of Seabia, his second son. Frederick
defeated the Soldam of Egypt at Iconium, but his son Frederick
having joined forces with Guy of Lussignan, King of Jerusalem, in
vain endeavored to reduce St. Jean D'Acre.

At this time Richard Coeur D'Lion took command of the united forces
of England and France, laid siege to this important fortress and
captured it, defeating the mighty Saladin. His success was
productive of nothing but glory, for in the end he was obliged to
return to Europe without even a remnant of his army.

The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth Crusades were
undertaken between the years 1195 and 1270 under leaderships of
Henry the Sixth, Louis the Ninth, and other nobles, princes, and
knights, and were alike unsuccessful.

But let us now suppose that the Crusades had succeeded to the
fullest extent, what in that case would have been the effect?
Egypt, Syria, Greece, and even Turkey would have been under the
influence of the Cross and the Christian religion with all its
attendant elevating influences, and the dread of a mighty struggle
that must come at no distant date between the adherents of the
Crescent and the followers of the Cross would not cast its dark
shadow over the eastern hemisphere.

This glorious emblem, which we here have considered in its various
detailed forms, stands for the mighty uplifting of the human races.
Its significance is deep as the sea, broad as the earth, and high
as the heavens. And as we look upon it let us not forget that it is
the symbol of our religion, which is the religion of Jesus Christ
Our Lord.

