Cross of Saint Peter

Short description: Religious symbol

"Peter's cross" redirects here. For the people of that name, see Peter Cross. Not to be confused with Papal cross.

A Cross of Peter is an inverted Latin cross.

Template:Saint Peter The Cross of Saint Peter,[1] also known as the Petrine Cross,[2] is an inverted Latin cross traditionally used as a Christian symbol, associated with the martyrdom of Saint Peter. In recent times, it has also been used as an anti-Christian and Satanic symbol. The symbol originates from the Catholic tradition that when sentenced to death, Peter requested that his cross be upside down.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Use in heraldry
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## History

File:Crucifixion of Saint Peter-Caravaggio (c.1600).jpgCrucifixion of Saint Peter on an upside down cross by Caravaggio (c.1600)  Peter's Cross on Veitsiluoto church, a Lutheran church in Kemi, Finland

The origin of the symbol comes from the tradition that Saint Peter was crucified upside down.[3] This narrative first appears in the Martyrdom of Peter, a text found in, but possibly predating, the Acts of Peter, an apocryphal work which was originally composed during the second half of the 2nd century.[4] In the Acts of Peter, the author writes that Peter's request to be crucified upside-down was to make a point: That the values of those crucifying him were upside down, and that we need to look beyond the inverted values of this world and adopt the values of Jesus if we wish to enter the Kingdom of heaven.[5]

Sometime in the middle of the 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria popularized the tradition that Peter requested to be crucified upside-down.[6] At the end of the 4th century, Jerome wrote in his De Viris Illustribus ("On Illustrious Men") that the reason for this request was that Peter felt he was unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.[7][8]

The 19th-century French mystic Eugène Vintras (1807-1875), founder of the Work of Mercy movement, led a mystical Christian sect sometimes referred to as neo-Catholic.[9] His teachings emphasized Marian visions, apocalyptic prophecy, and Eucharistic miracles, positioning his movement within a heterodox Christian framework. According to scholar Ruben van Luijk, Vintras incorporated the Petrine Cross into his vestments, particularly on his stole, as part of his movement's esoteric Christian symbolism.[9] He was accused of heresy by the Catholic Church and the movement was formally condemned by Pope Gregory XVI in 1851.[9] Joris-Karl Huysmans' novel Là-bas (1891), which describes a Black Mass where participants wear vestments with inverted crosses, fictionalized Vintras' use of the inverted cross in an anti-Christian context.[10]

## Use in heraldry

The Cross of Saint Peter appears in ecclesiastical heraldry as a reference to the apostle’s martyrdom. According to Saints, Signs, and Symbols by Hilarie and James Cornwell, Saint Peter's coat of arms features an inverted cross with crossed keys, symbolizing both his crucifixion upside down and his role as the keeper of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (Unsolved:Matthew 16:19). This composition is prominently used in heraldic designs associated with Saint Peter and the Papacy, particularly in the arms of the Holy See and Vatican City, where it represents papal authority and apostolic succession.[11]

## See also

* Christian cross variants
* Cross of Lorraine
* Saint Andrew's Cross

## References

1. ↑ Sauerländer, W.; Rubens, P. P. (2014). The Catholic Rubens: Saints and Martyrs. Getty Research Institute. p. 224. ISBN 978-1606062685.
2. ↑ Vile, J. R. (2024). The Christian Cross in American Public Life: An Encyclopedia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-1527572188.
3. ↑ Rest, Friedrich (1954). Our Christian Symbols. Christian Education Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8298-0099-9.
4. ↑ James, Montague Rhodes (1924). "Acts of Peter". The Apocryphal New Testament (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 300–36. ISBN 0198261217. https://archive.org/details/JAMESApocryphalNewTestament1924/page/n325/mode/2up.
5. ↑ Pick, Bernhard (1909). "Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Peter". The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Co.. pp. 106–122. ISBN 978-0837019123. https://books.google.com/books?id=yRRhTxUMFIsC&q="left+as+the+right". "Unless ye make the right as the left, and the top as the bottom and the front as the backward, ye shall not know the Kingdom (of heaven)."
6. ↑ Barnes, Arthur Staplyton (1900). St. Peter in Rome and His Tomb on the Vatican Hill. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Company. pp. 101. https://archive.org/details/stpeterinromehis00barn/page/100/mode/2up?view=theater.
7. ↑ Eusebius Sophronius, Hieronymus (1473). "Capitulum primum: Simon Petrus" (in Latin). De Viris Illustribus. Utrecht: Nicolaus Ketelaer and Gerardus de Leempt. p. 5. https://archive.org/details/ned-kbn-all-00001809-001/page/n15/mode/1up. "A quo et affixus cruci, martyrio coronatus est, capite ad terram verso, et in sublime pedibus elevatis: asserens se indignum qui sic crucifigeretur ut Dominus suus."
8. ↑ De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men). New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm. Retrieved June 27, 2021. "At his hands he received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord."
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Van Luijk, R. (2016). Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism. Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0190275112.
10. ↑ Chisholm, A. R. (1979). Towards Hérodiade: A Literary Genealogy. AMS Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0404163105.
11. ↑ Cornwell, H.; Cornwell, J. (2009). Saints, Signs, and Symbols: The Symbolic Language of Christian Art (3rd ed.). Church Publishing Incorporated. p. 63. ISBN 978-0819223456.

## External links

* Saint Peter \- Catholic Encyclopedia

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Christian cross variants

modern
use|

* Anchored/Saint Clement's Cross
* Anuradhapura cross
* Cross of the Archangels
* Archiepiscopal cross
* Armenian Cross
* Arrow/Barby Cross
* Bolnisi cross
* Cross bottony
* Branch cross
* Bulgarian cross
* Byzantine cross
* File:Calvary cross.svg Calvary cross
* Canterbury cross
* Catherine wheel
* Caucasian Albanian Cross
* Celtic cross
* Cercelée
* Cross of Saint Chad
* Coptic cross
* Cross crosslet
* Cross crosslet fitchy
* Crucifix
* Cruciform halo
* Double cross
* Eastern Syriac cross
* Cross of the Evangelists
* Cross fitchy
* Cross fleury
* Cross fleury fitchy
* Saint Florian Cross
* Forked cross
* Cross fourchy
* Fylfot
* Saint George's Cross
* Globus cruciger
* Gnostic cross
* Grapevine/Saint Nino's Cross
* Greek cross
* Greek Orthodox cross
* Huguenot cross
* Saint James/Santiago Cross
* Cross of Jeremiah
* Jerusalem/Crusaders' cross
* Jerusalem cross (variant)
* Kingdom of Jerusalem cross
* File:Coa Illustration Cross of St. John.svg Cross of Saint John
* Latin (Roman) cross
* Macedonian Cross
* Maltese cross
* Marian Cross
* Maronite cross
* Cross moline
* Nordic Cross
* Cross of Novgorod
* Occitan cross
* Papal cross
* Cross patonce
* Saint Patrick's Saltire
* Cross pattée
* Cross pattée fitchée
* Patriarchal cross
* Cross of Saint Peter
* Cross of Saint Philip
* Pommy cross
* Portate cross/Cross of Saint Gilbert
* Cross potent
* Cross quadrate
* Ringed cross
* Russian cross
* Russian (Orthodox) cross
* Cross of Salem
* Saltire/Saint Andrew's Cross
* Serbian cross
* Serbian Orthodox cross
* Saint Thomas Cross
* Tau Cross/Saint Anthony's Cross
* Western Syriac cross

Historical|

* Avellane cross
* Aviz cross
* Brigid's cross
* Carolingian cross
* Consecration crosses
* Coptic cross
* Cross and Crown
* Cuthbert's pectoral cross
* Early Coptic cross
* Engrailed cross
* Cross erminée
* Gammadion
* Crux gemmata
* Saint Julian's cross
* Katanga Cross
* Lazarus' cross
* Lorraine cross
* Cross of Neith
* Nestorian cross
* Cross of Peñalba
* Pierced cross
* Pierced cross quarterly
* Knights Templar cross
* Teutonic Order cross
* Two-barred cross
* Victory Cross
* Voided cross

function|

* Altar cross
* Blessing cross
* Conciliation cross
* Crosses in heraldry
* Nordic
* Pisan
* High cross
* Market cross
* Mercat cross
* Memorial cross
* Mission cross
* Monumental cross
* Necklace
* Pectoral cross
* Plague cross
* Processional cross
* Rood/Triumphal cross
* Summit cross
* Wayside cross

Christograms,
Chrismons|

* Chi Rho
* Christogram
* IX monogram
* Labarum
* Signum manus
* Staurogram/Monogrammatic cross/Tau Rho

See also|

* Ankh
* Armenian eternity sign
* Balkenkreuz
* Ichthys
* Irminsul
* Kolovrat
* Mjölnir
* Rose Cross
* Rota
* Solomon's knot
* File:Indian Swastika.svg Sauwastika
* Scientology cross
* Shamrock
* Shield of the Trinity
* Sunwheel swastika
* Sun cross
* Swastika
* Triskelion/Triskele
* Descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross

*   *   * Media related to Category:Christian crosses at Wikimedia Commons

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