An Armenian cross is a symbol that combines a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

with a floral postament or elements. In the Armenian Christianity it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses ( khachkar) – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated.

Pre-Christian connections

The Armenologist James R. Russell notes that the Armenian Cross incorporates influences from Armenia's Zoroastrian past. As

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

traditions were very much integrated into Armenian spirital and material culture, they survived the zealotry of the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

priest

Kartir Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...

() and his successors, and were ultimately incorporated into Armenian Christianity. Russell adds: "The Armenian Cross itself is supported on tongues of flame and has at its center not the body of Christ, but a sunburst".

Gallery

File:Haghpat Amenaprkich.jpg, The ''Holy Savior'' khachkar in

Haghpat Haghpat ( hy, Հաղպատ) is a village in the Lori Province of Armenia, located near the city of Alaverdi and the state border with Georgia. It is notable for Haghpat Monastery, a religious complex founded in the 10th century and included in t ...

(1273) File:Khachqar10.jpg, An ''Amenaprkich'' khachkhar in

Etchmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

File:Amenaprgich khatchkar at Sourp Nshan church in Beirut.JPG, ''Amenaprkich'' khatchkar with two others at the ''Sourp Nshan Church'' in downtown

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

(2001) File:Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia - khatchkar.jpg, A khackhar at the

Armenian Catholicossate of Cilicia The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia ( hy, Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ) is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilic ...

in Antelias, Lebanon File:Sanahin - Detail.jpg, A khachkar in

Sanahin Sanahin () is a village in the northern province of Lori in Armenia, now considered part of the city of Alaverdi (a cable car connects it with Alaverdi). The village is notable for its Sanahin Monastery complex, founded in the 10th century an ...

File:Khachkar in Novi Sad, 2007.jpg, A modern, Amenaprkich-type, khachkar in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

(1993) File:Khachkar-Gandzasar1.jpg, A large 13th-century khachkar at Gandzasar Monastery in Artsakh File:Dadivank-khachkars2.jpg, The famous double khachkars of the Memorial Bell-Tower of the

Dadivank Monastery Dadivank ( hy, Դադիվանք) or Khutavank ( hy, Խութավանք, translation=monastery on the hillЖеан-Паул Лабурдетьте, Доминикуе Аузиас, Армения, Petit Futé, 2007 – p. 203) is an Armenian Apo ...

in Artsakh File:Khachkar Armenian Church in Watertown 1999.jpg, Modern khachkar (1999), St. James Armenian Church in Watertown, MA, USA File:Katchkar.jpg, File:USVA_headstone_emblem_Armenian_Cross.svg,

USVA USVA may refer to: Geography * Usva, an urban locality in Perm Krai, Russia * Usva (river), a river in Perm Krai, Russia * Virginia, a state in the United States (US) with the initials VA Other uses * United States Department of Veterans Aff ...

Headstone Emblem 42

References

Bibliography

External links

Khatchkar collection at Armenica.org

Old Jugha page on Armeniapedia

* ttp://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Khachkar Khachkar page on Armeniapedia (many photos)
Photos at Armenia Photos.info

Khachkar.am :: Everything about khachkars

Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum

Photos of Exceptional Samples of Armenian Cross-Stones (Khachkars)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenian Cross Christian art Armenian art Christian crosses Crosses by culture High crosses National symbols of Armenia

Pre-Christian connections

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

External links