Kamień crucifix - cross

The cross is the supreme symbol of the Christian religion, which directly relates to Jesus Christ and the history of Salvation. Representations related to the martyrdom of Jesus widely adopted the cross of the Latin type, symbolically linking to the main tenets of Christian doctrine. The vertical, longer beam marks the direction between heaven and earth. It is the ideological axis of the world, connecting the divine with the human in the person of Christ, who, as the Son of God, became a human to redeem sins by his death and offer people eternal life. The horizontal beam of the cross marks the east-west horizontal direction, pointing to the idea of the universal and all-embracing nature of the Salvation accomplished on the cross. The almost five-metre high cross of the Kamień Crucifix bears traces of many interferences and repairs. The elements which build it evoke additional meanings connected with the symbolism of Christian culture. The trillium set at the ends of the arms - the upper and the side ones, probably secondarily, is a form commonly used in all fields of Gothic art. Three is the divine number denoting completeness, connected with the fundamental doctrine of the triune nature of God; it is a symbol of the Holy Trinity, and after three days, Christ defeated death and rose from the dead. Divine perfection is also symbolised by the circular medallion at the intersection of the beams. The four smaller circles inscribed within it form a four-leaf shape, are repeated on the lower plaque at the base of the cross in a more typical Gothic way. Four is an earthly number: four rivers flowed out of Eden to the four corners of the world (Genesis 2:10-14), there are four seasons and four Evangelists. The lower plaque contains a carved image of a half-figure holding a banner. Crosses with such ending arms are characteristic of 13th-century Scandinavian art. The plaques usually contained depictions of evangelist symbols; therefore, the figure may be interpreted as John the Evangelist or the Old Testament prophet announcing the coming of Christ.

Kinga Krasnodębska