Nine, forty, crescent/cross

[Jack Kollmann]

         Re:  the type of cross with a quarter-moon at the bottom.  As a
shape, it is similar to the ancient Roman sailors' anchor cross, although I
know of no particular source or circumstances in which Russians encountered
same.  I doubt anyone in Russia made that association.  Explanations
abound, as Hugh Olmsted has noted.
         In fact, given that crosses -- like manuscripts and icons --
tended to be copied faithfully ("copy holy models, changing nothing"), one
should be wary of assuming that the maker of a given cross knew the
symbolism(s) of the quarter-moon at the bottom of the cross, or that he
knew what authorities either then or now say is the "correct" explanation
for the inclusion of a quarter-moon at the base of a cross.  The Russian
Orthodox Church never decreed that the cross should be represented
exclusively in one single way, thus the variances one sees atop churches,
in icons, in altar crosses, etc.  For example, if one counts the ends of
the upright and crossbars as "points," one sees crosses with 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 8 points.  (Anyone want to hear the several explanations as to why the
bottom crossbar is sometimes slanted, a topic briefly touched on by Hugh?)
         I don't recall seeing the quarter-moon cross other than atop a
church, although maybe one could find a "picture" of a church in an icon
with that form of the cross.  My own preferred interpretation is betrayed
by my choice of language:  "quarter-moon."
         Here's a recent excerpted comment on the subject, from Viktor
Vlasov, compiler, "Bol'shoi entsiklopedicheskii slovar' izobrasitel'nogo
iskusstva," tom 3, Izd. "LITA," Sankt-Peterburg, 2000, p. 835, under "krest":
         "The appearance on the domes of old Russian churches of crosses
with a half-moon at the base is known from the pre-Mongol period (11th-12th
cc.) and is explained by reference to the Revelation of John
(Apocolypse):  'And there appeared in the sky (or heaven) a great sign (or
portent):  a woman clad in the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of 12 stars' (Revelation 12:1).  According to extended
exegeses, the moon symbolizes the font in which the Church performs baptism
in the name of Christ.  The half-moon can also be compared with Christ's
cradle in Bethlehem, with the cup of the Eucharist, with the ship of the
Church, with the anchor of hope, and with the serpent (or dragon or Devil)
trampled by the Holy Cross.
         "This symbol acquired a new sense after the victory of Russia in
the wars with Turkey in 1735-1739, 1768-1774, and 1787-1791, an Islamic
country, the emblem of which is a half-moon."
         The latter statement I think is correct.  I don't recall any
references in sources before the 18th c. to the "triumph over Islam"
interpretation of the quarter-moon form of the cross.
         Many thanks to Hugh for his reference to the recent book by
Sviatoslavskii (appropriate name) and Troshin, "Krest v russkoi kul'ture,"
which I discover is sitting in our library and which I will look at
forthwith.
         As for the inexactness in Russian Church matters, it comes with
the territory.  Look, e.g., at when and how and by whom various saints were
canonized in the Russian Church, and you'll find that the process lacked
precision and regularity.  Eastern Christianity, happy to preserve dogma as
established by the seven ecumenical councils and the canons of the early
Church Fathers, is characterized by a more metaphysical frame of
mind.  Western Christianity, in comparison, has always been more
juridically inclined.  God speaks to the Orthodox through holy images and
ritual, to Catholics through papal decrees.  (OK, OK, I'm exaggerating to
make a comparative point)

Jack Kollmann



At 12:10 PM 9/26/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Dear Seelangites,
>
>4.  The Orthodox cross is sometimes seen with its base at the bottom of a
>semi-circle (crescent?, grail?). I have been told that the semi-circle plus
>the cross represents Islamic Turkey and the Orthodox victory thereover; and
>also I have been told that that explanation is ridiculous, that the
>semi-circle is a grail "graal'" to collect blood at the base of the cross.
>Is either explanation at least in the ball park?
>Thanks,
>
>Genevra Gerhart

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