Latin cross

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A Latin cross or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam,<ref>Herbert Norris, Church Vestments: Their Origin and Development (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002), p. 128</ref> giving the cross four arms. Typically the two horizontal and upper vertical arm are the same length, although sometimes the vertical is shorter, however the lower vertical arm is always much longer than any other arm.<ref name=Curl>Template:Cite book</ref>

When displayed upside down it is called St. Peter's Cross, because he was executed on this type of cross.<ref name=Mori32>Joyce Mori, Crosses of Many Cultures (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1998), p. 32</ref> When displayed sideways it is called St. Philip's cross for the same reason.<ref name=Mori32/>

Many churches of different time periods are designed using the Latin cross plan. When looked at from above, it takes the shape of a Latin cross. A Latin cross plan primarily contains a nave, transept, apse, and narthex.

HistoryEdit

File:Roman Standards.jpg

pagan era Roman standards with latin crosses

Latin cross is present in archeological findings predating Christianity by several millennia. In pagan Rome it was representing Military Standards of Roman legions.

File:PK Karachi asv2020-02 img61 Gora Cemetery.jpg

Wayside cross in Karachi, Pakistan.

Nowadays the Latin cross is mostly used to represent all of Christianity and Christendom, given that it teaches that Jesus sacrificed himself for humanity upon it, atoning for the sins of the world.<ref name="Johns2013">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Apostolos-Cappadona2020">Template:Cite book</ref> It is especially used among the denominations of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic tradition and several Protestant traditions, such as Lutheranism, Moravianism, Anglicanism, Methodism, and Reformed Christianity, as well as by Anabaptists, Baptists, and Pentecostals.<ref name="HryniukKorvemaker2014">Template:Cite book</ref> In certain periods, such as during the 16th century English Reformation of the Anglican Church, the Latin cross was disfavored by a minority of theologians such as Nicholas Ridley, though in the overall history of the Western Christian Churches, this was short-lived.<ref>Nicholas Ridley, A Treatise on the Worship of Images, written before 1555.</ref>

Cruciform churchesEdit

File:Cathedral schematic plan en vectorial.svg

Color coded Latin cross floor plan

A Latin cross plan is a floor plan found in many Christian churches and cathedrals.<ref>St. Peter's in the Vatican, ed. William Tronzo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 275</ref> When looked at from above or in plan view it takes the shape of a Latin cross ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref name=Zirpolo314>Lilian H. Zirpolo, Historical Dictionary of Baroque Art and Architecture (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010), p. 314</ref> Such cruciform churches were very common in the West during the Romanesque period.<ref name=Curl/> The ideal church plan tended to be symmetrical around a central point during the Renaissance.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The longer arm of the Latin cross plan is the nave, which runs on an east–west axis and traditionally contains aisles or chapels.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The transept crosses the nave, running north–south, and can be the same width as the nave, or extend further on both sides to create a more pronounced cross shape. The east end is the apse, which traditionally contains the choir, chancel, or presbytery.<ref name=":1" /> Many also have a narthex at the entry.<ref name="Zirpolo314" />

Examples of cathedrals with a Latin cross planEdit

Old St. Peter's Basilica is a cathedral in Rome, Italy, that was consecrated in 326 AD<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Chartres Cathedral is a cathedral in Chartres, France, that was constructed between 1194 and 1220
Siena Cathedral is a cathedral in Siena, Italy, that was completed between 1215 and 1263
Cologne Cathedral is a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, that began construction in 1248, but was halted in 1590, unfinished until 1880
Notre-Dame is a cathedral in Paris, France, that was largely completed by 1260
Florence Cathedral is a cathedral in Florence, Italy, that was structurally completed in 1436