The Coptic cross is any of a number of Christian cross variants associated in some way with Coptic Christians.

Typical form

The typical form of the "Coptic cross" used in the Coptic Church is made up of two bold lines of equal length that intersect at the middle at right angles. Each line terminates in three points, representing the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Altogether, the cross has 12 points symbolizing the Apostles, whose mission was to spread the Gospel message throughout the world. This form of Coptic cross is widely used in the Coptic church and the

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

and Eritrean churches, and so this form of the cross may also be called the "

cross" or "

Axum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...

cross". Bertran de la Farge dates it to the 4th century and cites it as a predecessor of the Occitan cross.

History and variation

Old Coptic crosses often incorporate a circle, as in the form called a "Coptic cross" by Rudolf Koch in his ''The Book of Signs'' (1933). Sometimes the arms of the cross extend through the circle (dividing it into four quadrants), as in the "

Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

". In 1984, a modern variant of the Coptic cross composed of three bars intersecting at right angles in three dimensions was given as a gift by the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

and mounted on the top of the All Africa Conference of Churches building since the Coptic Church is considered to be the mother church in Africa.

Popular culture

Many

Copts Copts (; ) are a Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptians, Egyptian population, des ...

have the cross tattooed as a sign of faith on the inside of their right arm at the wrist. One of the forms of the Coptic cross, which is referred to as the Ethiopian Coptic cross, was worn by

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

. Keith Richards also wears an Ethiopian Coptic cross.

Gallery

References

External links