Pectoral cross of the Old Believers
The cross, which turned after the execution of Jesus Christ from a means of murder into a banner of the triumph of good over evil, is one of the central symbols of Christianity.
According to the customs of the Old Believers, every Christian from the moment of Holy Baptism until death is obliged to wear a pectoral cross on his chest, hidden under his clothes, personifying a person’s faith in the crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.
The Old Believers, who did not support the church innovations of the 17th century, recognize Orthodoxy only in its original form, and therefore for them the only correct form of the vest is the one that is an eight-pointed cross, which can be inscribed inside a four-pointed one.
Old Believers reject the four-pointed and six-pointed crosses that have become established in the official Russian Church, in addition to the eight-pointed ones, considering them unfinished or inferior. As an argument, they refer to the legend that tells that Queen Helen, Equal to the Apostles, during her search for the relic of the Passion of Christ on Mount Golgotha, discovered precisely the eight-pointed Life-Giving Symbol of Faith.
This cross consists of one vertical and three transverse crossbars, of which the lowest is located diagonally. The Old Believers call it the measure of righteousness and have such a slope that the left edge is higher than the right. This arrangement refers to the moment of Christ’s execution, and indicates two criminals who died with him.
The one who was to the left of the Savior, repenting of his sins and believing in God, went after death to paradise, that is, up to heaven. A different fate awaited the criminal crucified to the right of Christ, who, having doubted God’s grace, ended up in hell.
A Piece of God's Grace
A visual representation of the place of Jesus’ execution, which is the Calvary Cross, the underbelly, the breastplate and the antimension, and which have become the most popular and revered attributes of the Orthodox religion. In our time, such an image is considered not only a symbol of monastic life, but also a relic carefully preserved by righteous believers. Almost all people, and in some cases even those who do not consider themselves believers, observe Christian customs in one way or another and wear the attributes of Orthodoxy around their necks, in most cases represented by the Calvary Cross. And it doesn’t matter what material it is made of: Silver, gold or other substances. Blessed in the temple of Jesus, such a cross always possesses a particle of the Lord's Grace, which is so necessary in the life of every believer.
This is what started the tradition in the Orthodox faith of showing Jesus Christ in the image of the Living Bearer of the Cross, who holds and calls the entire earthly world under his protection and bears the New Testament symbol of the altar of the Cross.
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"King of Glory"
On the topmost, short crossbar, on which the Romans hung a sign describing the crime for which a person was executed by crucifixion, on the Old Believer pectoral cross there are the inscriptions “TSR SLVY” (“King of Glory”), “SN BZHIY” (“Son of God” ) or "Nika" ("Winner"). Adherents of pre-reform Orthodoxy sharply protest against the inscription on it of the abbreviations accepted in Orthodoxy “INRI” or “INCI”, meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”
According to the explanation of the Archdeacon of the Solovetsky Monastery Ignatius, who is a symbolic figure for the Old Believers, true Christians cannot worship the cross, on which there is a mocking inscription invented by the murderer of Jesus, Pontius Pilate.
In addition, on the Old Believer pectoral cross you can find symbolic inscriptions called Constantine’s monograms. “ІС” and “ХС” meaning the name of Christ, which are placed on both sides of the central crossbar.
On the reverse side of the Old Believer eight-pointed cross the following prayer words are engraved: “May God rise again, and let His enemies be scattered” or “We bow to Your Cross, O Lord, and glorify Your holy Resurrection.”
Cross without crucifix
Another distinctive feature of the Old Believer vest is that there is no image of the Savior on it. This tradition existed in Rus' until the 17th century, but after the schism, new rules penetrated Orthodoxy, allowing the placement of an image of the Son of God on the cross.
According to the views of the Old Believers, the presence of the image of Jesus on the cross in fact means his re-crucifixion.
In addition, according to the explanation of Abbot Serapion (Mitko), the pectoral cross with the crucified Christ becomes like an icon, which in turn is intended for prayer and contemplation, and not for wearing.
Since the icon cannot be hidden from view, and the vest is customary to be worn under clothing, there is an inconsistency that turns the pectoral cross with a crucifix into a pagan amulet.
Archbishop Basil the Great of Caesarea of Cappadocia wrote about this in the 4th century: “Anyone who wears any icon as an amulet should be excommunicated from communion for three years.”
The cross protecting and admonishing us
– The Feast of the Carrying of the Honorable Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, or the “first Savior,” as the pious Russian people called it, turns our minds and hearts to the saving Tree of the Cross, which is a symbol of the Savior’s Suffering and His Resurrection. This is the source of Divine power - grace that overshadows, preserves, purifies and sanctifies every disciple of Christ.
It is known that in the Second Rome - the city of Constantinople - at the end of summer, epidemics and “pestilences” very often arose... The invariably Honest Tree of Golgotha, kept in Hagia Sophia, the main temple of the Eastern Roman Empire, was “worn out” from the altar and carried around the walls of the city, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They didn’t just carry the shrine, but they heartily prayed to the Lord so that His grace, flowing from the Tree of the Cross, would cleanse the city of viruses (as we would say today), and human souls from sinful filth, which is ultimately the cause of all troubles and misfortunes... Illnesses, strife, wars, deaths... Each time the sacred procession completed the procession in the Temple of Sophia, and each time after this religious procession the illnesses weakened or completely retreated.
The coronavirus epidemic that has visited us has stirred the minds and hearts of faithful Christians
In memory of the wonderful event described, the Mother Church still performs “the removal of the Trees of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord,” and the Divine Liturgy on this day includes a special thanksgiving prayer singing...
We must admit that the ill-fated coronavirus epidemic that visited us in the spring and summer stirred up the minds and hearts of faithful Christians. Those who closely follow the destinies of world Orthodoxy also know about some revelations given to the Church in our days. One of them is associated with the name of St. Nikephoros the Leper, a revered saint in Bulgaria, whose prayers preserve this once pious Orthodox country. The saint of God, calling on the people to fearlessly partake of the Holy Mysteries and diligently read the 90th Psalm, overshadowed in a vision all of Bulgaria with a cross from the Heavenly World. Another revelation of our days is the appearance of the Mother of God in one of the ancient Syrian monasteries.
The Most Holy Theotokos reassured Christians by commanding everyone to prayerfully remember the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross. The Most Pure Virgin commanded Christians to sanctify their homes with the inscription of the Cross of Christ, as the holy prophet Moses was once commanded to have his fellow tribesmen anoint the lintels of their houses in a cross pattern with the blood of a lamb. I know that modern clergy have reacted differently to the Syrian testimony. However, criticism of revelation, in my opinion, is incompatible with piety, because “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). With faith, the sign of the cross applied to ourselves or the mark of the cross in our homes is not some kind of superstition, but a living manifestation of faith and love for the Crucified and Risen Christ, evidence of our reverence for the power of the Cross, which tramples all the machinations of the devil.
On the topic of conversation, today I would like to recall the story of one parishioner of the Church of All Saints of the Alekseevsky Monastery, where I serve. Originally an Ossetian, he participated in the defense of his city of Tskhinvali, which was recently treacherously invaded by neighbors from Georgia. The peaceful city was then subjected to barbaric shelling. The defenders' forces were negligible. Somehow the armed townspeople split into several groups of 10 people. We are talking about those terrible days before Russia had yet to stand up for the Ossetians. So, an eyewitness told me that a tank division, coming from Georgia under the leadership of “instructors” from Israel, the USA and other countries, suddenly stopped in front of a certain hill in a park in the city of Tskhinvali. On this elevation stood a large cross. To this day, the city’s defenders cannot explain to themselves or others why the tanks suddenly stopped. The armed formations never crossed the line of the cross...
The armed formations never crossed the line of the cross
And finally, the last story. As a very young priest, back in Soviet times, I met a criminal investigator. Baptized in childhood, he, like most Soviet citizens, knew little about the Church, heard practically nothing about Christ, and did not read the Gospel. However, being an intellectually developed person, little by little, with his characteristic professional meticulousness, he collected bits and pieces of information about Christianity, using atheistic publications. The investigator became interested in faith, which he had to hide even from his own but non-believing wife. Under his service uniform he already wore a pectoral cross. Not a single living soul knew about this...
It so happened that he was conducting an investigation into one criminal, who even looked like a maniac, so clearly he was zombified by the suggestions of demonic forces. The investigator had to conduct an inquiry. One of the interrogations was attended by a forensic doctor, who was supposed to draw up a report on the sanity of the defendant. Imagine that, in front of the astonished investigator, this criminal element suddenly grabbed a jar of liquid glue (at that time documents were still glued to the case with casein glue) and, slowly moving his hand back, poured the contents of the jar directly onto the face and civilian suit of the doctor, who at that time , without taking his eyes off the sheet of paper, he scribbled down a conclusion on the sanity of the criminal type... It was the eve of March 8, and the doctor had already dressed up, apparently planning to immediately go somewhere to the theater or to a restaurant... The doctor’s suit was luxurious: in a hurry, probably , already anticipating the joys of the festive evening, he didn’t even bother to put on a white robe...
I won’t describe for a long time how my interlocutor saved his defendant from an angry, dapper doctor. Later, having isolated the hooligan, the investigator scolded him:
- How dare you ruin this good man’s holiday?! He didn't do anything bad to you! Why did you ruin his suit? Your ugly actions only aggravate the matter...
“I was told,” the accused exhaled doomedly, looking into nothing with his dull gaze.
- Who told you to? - He was kept in solitary confinement.
- Those who control me.
- Hm... Well, okay. The doctor was all dressed up. He would have poured it on me, at least I was in my official uniform.
- Comrade investigator, we can’t charge you.
- So it’s a cross for you...
This confession made the investigator a truly religious person. He then realized that the demonic force that controlled the unfortunate man knew that the investigator’s chest was protected by the shrine of the cross. None of the people knew this. But, like fire, the demons, scorched by the power of the Cross, knew and feared...
The demonic force that controlled the unfortunate man knew that the investigator’s chest was protected by the shrine of the cross
This is the kind of dominance a Christian has over the hordes of demons just because even a small pectoral cross is hidden under his clothes!
At the end of the conversation, let’s ask ourselves the question: what is the symbol of the instrument of glorious victory over sin, the devil and death? I draw your attention to the fact that the lower part of the Cross of Christ goes deep into Mount Golgotha. This, as I see it, is an image of humility. The foundation of the Cross undoubtedly points out to every Christian the need for a humble judgment of his own personality: we must consider ourselves as little things, as insignificance, as dust, humbled in mind and heart before the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Glory, Crucified for the human race on the Tree. And the upper part of the Cross goes into Heaven... Perhaps this is a sign that the thoughts and feelings of a Christian should always rush to the Heavenly Father in prayer, attentive, heartfelt and contrite... As for the horizontal crossbar, along which the arms of our Savior are stretched out, embracing the Universe, - this is an image of mercy, love, a reminder that the second commandment of the law calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and moreover, as Christ loved us.
Thus, looking at the Cross, we must always remember humility as the foundation of a pious life; to know that the true manifestation of ardent faith is prayer directed to the Heavenly Father; and faith is nourished by active love for one’s neighbor, similar to that unparalleled Divine love that was revealed to people by the Lord Jesus Christ in His atoning Sacrifice on Mount Calvary...
He who repents wins. The cross of confession has always saved Russians , and through our victories it saves the whole world
Archpriest Dimitry Medvedev , rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kapotnya, Moscow:
– One of the most famous ancient holy martyrs, Cyprian of Carthage, said that we Christians are crusaders. We are talking about the Cross, which is imprinted in the heart of each of us - this is the Cross that the Savior carried when going to Golgotha... He, the Sinless One, suffered for us, and we always have something to suffer for and from our sins. The only main thing is to dedicate it to Christ: to bear your cross not grumbling, but with gratitude, as a means of purification sent by God, connecting us with the Son of God, adopting the human race of the Mother of God precisely by the Crucifixion of Christ and in memory of this Sacrifice. This is the essence of suffering on the cross - to love those who crucify, to love those who crucify the Son... Love for enemies, which is, as the holy fathers say, the true measure of Christianity.
Cyprian of Carthage said that we Christians are crusaders
With the memory of the Cross of Christ, no trials are scary.
The Feast of the Removal of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of Our Lord is celebrated in memory and out of faith in deliverance from any misfortunes, including pestilences, which humanity has suffered many during its history. All these temptations only strengthen faith when, unfortunately, we are somewhat cooling in it. Our churches were empty even before this Covid epidemic. This is how the Lord made us feel that at any moment we could lose what we did not value. This was already the case at the beginning of the last, 20th century...
But no matter how much the Bolsheviks, through physical extermination, knocked the faith out of the Russian people then, it was a wasted effort. When they were already celebrating triumph, thinking that millions had renounced God, the Lord allowed the war to sober us up. So it became clear that all this refusal was vain, not from the heart. So, emotions will rage... The narrow-minded people, those who disgrace their nation, will mock. But people’s life always truly flows at that depth where it is impossible not to believe. “The seed of the wicked will be consumed” (Ps. 36:28), it is said. All these wicked people will, at one stage or another, fall like a leaf from the tree of the nation. And to the righteous there will be a blessing forever and ever. “Lord, your name endures forever, and your memory endures forever” (Ps. 134:13).
And it is known: as soon as something significant in life is touched, everyone is baptized. This is not so much a question of faith as of fidelity. And it’s somehow stupid to live without God. Why did the communists die when the flywheel of extermination of their own people, launched by them, began to suck them into its millstones and threshers in the same 1930s? The believers knew that they were going to Calvary for the Lord, and their sacrifice only revives others to eternal life - both those who surrounded them there in dungeons, and their repentant descendants today. And so it is in everything. A Christian knows: a hair will not fall from his head without the will of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 10:29). But an unbeliever, unless he is completely possessed, remains so only for the time being. And then it’s not so much a question of faith as of fidelity. Behold, you have received help, see that you do not sin in the future. And unbelief is also a sin. Refusal of the cross, which has been saving for each of us since the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross - into eternal life.
So, during the Great Patriotic War, our people were able to mobilize very quickly. Why? Yes, because the souls turned out to be not dead. There was sacrifice among the people. Meekness. The ability to suffer for the truth. This is despite the fact that outwardly contradictions were simply monstrously tearing the country apart. But internally, people remembered God. And they went to the front with the word of the Gospel: “Take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
It is on Golgotha that all wars are overcome. War, it is also not just tolerated. The Apocalypse says more than once: “it is given to take peace from the earth, and for them to kill each other” (Rev. 6:3-4). All this discord, no matter how local it may be, in the personal relationships of people with each other, or total, on the scale of countries and the planet, only at the Cross of Calvary subsides. Otherwise, the enemy is only trying to inflate it. That's all he needs. And whoever repents, there is victory. Otherwise, this sting of death cannot be broken.
This also applies to epidemics.
And our people are constantly leading somewhere to the edge of the abyss. And only when he looks into it, he is horrified, and then he firmly remembers Christ. Modern military strategists in Germany analyzed in detail everything that was present on June 22, 1941 in Germany and the USSR: the political, moral, ideological atmosphere in both societies, weapons, the development of technology and science, including military affairs. Due to external factors, we were doomed. The people were already drained of blood by the repressions. But no researchers can look into our soul, and they cannot survey our faith. This is what makes us win. Even after chatting, we suddenly remember about her, and then - enemy, hold on! The Nazis, remember, reached the Volga, Stalingrad had already practically been destroyed - not a single house was left intact, they took St. Petersburg into the blockade ring, reached the borders of Moscow... And our people began to repent, churches were opened again... It’s the same as recognizing the Sacrifice of Christ, to The crucifix is already coming close. Come to your senses! Only at this depth of human repentance and appeal to the Victorious One do troubles all recede. The demonic surge is losing its power. This means that all external troubles weaken, somehow dissipate, and become overcome...
The enemy has risen and will rise, but we are saved only by God
Many countries, of course, have encroached and are encroaching on Russian territory. This is also our cross. And he is inescapable. This is not pride, but humility is needed. The enemy has risen and will continue to rise, but we are saved only by God. Everything is transitory in this world: all these attacks from enemies, viruses, someone else or something... We don’t know, maybe this epidemic is preparing us for something more serious, so that we can shake ourselves up a little. They sobered up and repented. And with the Lord, nothing is scary anymore.
Strength and military strength are also, of course, important. We are defending Syria - a Christian country, so many great saints, shrines, revelations have been revealed there, including in our days. The Monk Paisius the Svyatogorets flew over Syria in an airplane and said that he felt: this is a bright space, prayed for, holy. This is also our cross - to be with those who need help. Show me another country on Earth that can be a guarantor of God's truth? As in Heaven and on earth - as we pray to the Heavenly Father. Our confession of faith now with the Orthodox martyr's blood of the new martyrs of the Russian Church of the 20th century has been paid for. And today we are free to tell the world what we see fit. This is what it means to take up your cross and carry it. Do not disgrace the exploits of our heroic great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers...
But then an epidemic broke out, and this is no longer a matter of the military. They will say: in doctors, scientists, - in general, in the consciousness of each of us, serving in our own way to the family and society. There is something that is deeper and unites us all - morality, humanity, patriotism, and at the very root - it’s all the same: the cross of confessing our faith, which is the only one in all trials - our salvation.
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Calvary cross
The whole story is encrypted in the so-called Calvary Cross, also used and recognized in the Old Believers.
This version of the Creed is an eight-pointed cross, erected on a hill or pyramid with a cave, inside of which is depicted a skull with the Christograms “G” and “A”, meaning “Head of Adam”, since according to legend it was in the bowels of Mount Golgotha that the first found his last refuge man on Earth is Adam.
The skull of Adam, which was washed in the blood of the crucified Jesus, represents the sins of mankind, atoned for by the Son of God at the cost of his own life.
Above the grotto are the letters “G” and “G”, “ML” and “RB”, which stand for “Mountain”, “Calvary”, “Place of Execution” and “Paradise to Be”.
From Mount Golgotha, on both sides of the cross, stick out a spear and a cane with a sponge, marked with the letters “K” and “T”. These instruments, used during the execution of Christ, symbolize the torture and torment that Christ endured in the name of cleansing the sins of mankind.
Under the central crossbar of the Calvary cross there is the inscription “NIKA”, reminiscent of the resurrection of Christ and his victory over death.
Above it, at different ends of the horizontal, are the monograms “IC” and “XC” - “Jesus Christ”.
On the upper, short lintel there is depicted the vile title “INCI”, which in this case is taken for granted by the Old Believers, since the Calvary cross tells the story of the last hours of Christ’s life. This cross is crowned with a monogram in the Old Slavonic language “SNЪ BZHIY”, that is, “Son of God”.
Shine in the Roman sky
The main element of the image is the Cross. According to historical facts, the outline of a cross as a magical sign and, among other things, as a symbol of God, existed among believers of the most ancient religions. It was only during the Roman Empire that the cross became a symbol of a humiliating and cruel death, to which slaves and cruel attackers were most often sentenced. The outline of a cross began to appear on the catacombs, where the first Orthodox believers held clandestine services in the second and third centuries. Such images of the cross were depicted in the form of an olive branch, a whip and an abbreviated version of the name of the Almighty. In the traditional, “obvious form”, the Cross began to be depicted at the beginning of the fourth century, it was at this time that Orthodoxy in the Roman Empire was recognized as an official religion. As the Holy Scriptures say, Jesus Christ came to the ruler Constantine in a dream and told him to put the outline of the Cross on the flag under which his army was preparing to go out against the enemy. At sunrise, a vision in the form of a cross appeared in the Roman sky, dispersing the imperial hesitation. Having carried out the Savior's order, Constantine soon won the battle.
Women's Old Believer vests
From time immemorial, among the Old Believers, women's and men's vests had external differences. Women's pectoral crosses did not have sharp corners, and on them an eight-pointed crucifix was placed on a plate shaped like a flower petal.
Floral ornaments, most often vines, were usually depicted around the ladies' version of the cross. According to Archpriest Vadim Korovin, a member of the Canonical Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, the modern form of male Old Believer crosses goes back to the “Karachev crosses” of the 15th-16th centuries. In turn, women's vests were formed in the second half of the 17th century and were nurtured from the so-called “Solvychegodsk cross”.
