The original Copt

Copt

The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....

ic cross

Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...

 may have been influenced from the Coptic ankh

Coptic ankh

The Coptic ankh cross, also known as the Gnostic cross, has its origin in the Egyptian Ankh and is the pre Coptic cross of the early Christian gnostic movement.-References:*...

 symbol and was adopted by early Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 Gnostics

Gnosticism

Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...

, most notably Valentinus

Valentinus (Gnostic)

Valentinus was the best known and for a time most successful early Christian gnostic theologian. He founded his school in Rome...

 of Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. Today's cross has many different forms. The circle represents the eternal and everlasting love of God. Christ's halo was commonly depicted with cross-based halo in the early and especially the eastern parts of Christianity. The full cross symbolizes Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Development

Old Coptic crosses often incorporate a circle; sometimes large, sometimes small. The circle was inherited from the Ankh

Ankh

The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...

, where it originally depicted the sun god. For the Coptic Church, the circle represents the eternal and everlasting love of God, as shown through Christ's crucifixion. It also symbolises Christ's halo

Halo (religious iconography)

A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...

 and resurrection.

Influence

When Bertran de la Farge (in La Croix occitane) located the original Occitan cross

Occitan cross

The Occitan cross — also cross of Occitania, cross of Languedoc, cross of Forcalquier and Toulouse cross — is the symbol of Occitania...

 somewhere in the marquisate of Provence, probably Venasque. He argued it could be a mixture of the Constantinople cross and the Coptic cross, which was brought to Provence by monks and maybe also through Saint Maurice

Saint Maurice

Saint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms...

.

Another form was called a "Coptic" cross by Rudolf Koch in his The Book of Signs (Dover); not be prominent in Coptic Christian symbolism in this form. Apparently sometimes the arms of the cross extend through the circle (dividing it into four quadrants).

Modern Form

The form used in the Coptic Church and defined as the Coptic cross is made up of two bold lines of equal length that intersect at the middle at right angles. At each angle are three points, representing the Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All together, the cross has 12 points symbolizing the Apostles whose mission it was to spread the Gospel message throughout the world.

Use

The Coptic cross is widely used in the Coptic church and the Ethiopian and Eretrian

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 churches. Many Copt

Copt

The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....

s have the cross tattooed on the inside of their right arm. The Coptic cross in its modern and ancient forms is considered a sign of faith and pride to the Copts The Ethiopians Christians wear it as a symbol of faith.

In 1984, a Coptic Cross was given as a gift by the Coptic Orthodox Church and mounted on the top of the All Africa Conference of Churches

All Africa Conference of Churches

All Africa Conference of Churches is an ecumenical fellowship that represents more than 120 million African Christians in 169 national churches and regional Christian councils....

 building, since the Coptic Church is considered to be the mother church in Africa

One of the forms of the Coptic cross, which is referred to as the Ethiopian Coptic cross was worn by Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...

External links

• http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscross.htm
• http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/um/stele01.jpg
• http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/IMAGES/ankh_sarcophagus.jpg