{{Short description|Type of cross and symbol of Christianity}} {{Redirect|✝|the similar typographical symbol|Dagger (mark)}} thumb|A {{Lang|la|crux immissa}} or Latin cross
A '''Latin cross''' or '''{{Lang|la|crux immissa}}''' is a type of Christian 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>{{cite book |author=Curl, James Stevens |author-link=James Stevens Curl | title = "Cross: Latin" in Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2015 |page= 213 |isbn= 978-0-19-860678-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jIWr0IO9dYIC&pg=PA213 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>
When displayed upside down it is called St. Peter's Cross, because according to Catholic tradition he was executed on a cross of this type.<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 an analogous 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.
==History== {{see also|Crucifixion}} [[File:PK Karachi asv2020-02 img61 Gora Cemetery.jpg|thumb|207x207px|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">{{cite book |last1=Johns |first1=Catherine |title=The Jewellery Of Roman Britain: Celtic and Classical Traditions |date=1 February 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-85111-8 |page=66 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Apostolos-Cappadona2020">{{cite book |last1=Apostolos-Cappadona |first1=Diane |title=A Guide to Christian Art |date=14 May 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-68514-8 |page=231 |language=English}}</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">{{cite book |last1=Hryniuk |first1=Margaret |last2=Korvemaker |first2=Frank |title=Legacy of Worship: Sacred Places in Rural Saskatchewan |date=1 October 2014 |publisher=Coteau Books |isbn=978-1-55050-598-6 |page=5 |language=English |quote=Latin cross and is most often found on Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. The more elaborate Eastern cross includes a small horizontal bar near the top and a slanted bar near the base. It is most often seen on Orthodox churches.}}</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, ''[http://anglicanhistory.org/reformation/ps/ridley/images.pdf A Treatise on the Worship of Images]'', written before 1555.</ref>
==Cruciform churches== thumb|403x403px|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 ({{Lang|la|crux immissa}}).<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">{{Cite web |title=Western architecture - Early Renaissance, Italy, 1401-95 {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-architecture/Early-Renaissance-in-Italy-1401-95 |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</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">{{Cite web |title=Architecture of Gothic Medieval Cathedrals |url=https://people.wou.edu/~ckaser10/myweb/plan.html |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=people.wou.edu}}</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 plan ===
* Old St. Peter's Basilica is a cathedral in Rome, Italy, that was consecrated in 326 AD<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roma: Caput Mundi |url=https://mediakron.bc.edu/rome/st-peters/faldamap |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=mediakron.bc.edu}}</ref> * 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
==In computer systems== {{hatnote|For information on how to enter these symbols on your computer, see Unicode input}} The glyph has a unicode code point: {{unichar|271D|Latin cross|html= }}
===Similar marks=== * {{unichar|2628|Cross of Lorraine| nlink= }} * {{unichar|2020|dagger|nlink=Dagger (mark)}} * {{unichar|2021|double dagger|nlink=Dagger (mark)}}
== See also == * Christian symbolism * Christian cross * Greek cross
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Latin Church footer}} {{Christian crosses}}
Category:Christian crosses Category:Latin Church Category:Hinduism