Wearing a cross

[Cappadocious]

I wear a prayer ring

What is a prayer ring?

 

[Episcoboi]

In my old denomination, everyone wore a cross, all the time. It was a tradition, and people felt naked without them.

In some denominations, crosses are viewed as images of death and aren't worn.

What do my fellow Anglicans do?

What type of cross do you have?

I wear a Celtic cross at all times, except to bed and shower. It reminds me of my faith in Christ and makes me feel closer to my Celtic heritage.

Personally, I don't wear a cross. It is not because I feel anything wrong with it, but mostly because I have this weird thing about jewelry. I don't even wear a watch.

I do think, though, that wearing a cross is definitely spiritually appropriate. As an incarnational church, Anglicanism sees the whole of God's life in Jesus, birth through death and resurrection, as of supreme importance. I can't speak for all Anglicans, but the cross, to me, is a sign of victorious life and not death. The cross was the sight where "death died."

I love what one singer said, "...Death died a long time ago. Swallowed in life so that life carries on..."

Thus, wearing a cross, for most of us, is deeply meaningful.

 

[mark46]

I would not leave the house without a wooden cross beneath my shirt.

 

[Scottish Monk]

I would not leave the house without a wooden cross beneath my shirt.

Why a "wooden" cross? What about a metal cross? Please tell us more.

...Scottish Monk

 

[mark46]

I was born into the Jewish tradition, and joined the Baptist church as an adult, and then the Catholic Church. I am a relatively recent Anglican (four years).
As a Jew, I had no jewelry, and never wanted any other than a wedding band.

As a Catholic, I understood the need for reminders and the great comfort of carrying a cross in my jacket pocket. These crosses were almost always a small wooden cross. We often called this "empty" cross a resurrection cross, since there was no body. The wood reminds us that Jesus died on a wooden cross.

When I started teaching youth, I decided to wear what we gave them, wooden crosses with a heart at the center, symbolizes both our hearts and the Sacred Heart. I have worn a similar one ever since. Occasionally, I have worn a much larger wooden cross, again with no body.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/ljnemitz_2209_40626259

I have no problem with the many kinds of crosses, including those with a crucifix. I have a couple, but rarely use them. For me, metal jewelry just doesn't work. There is a reminder of both metal idols and of the ornamentation of jewelry.

Why a "wooden" cross? What about a metal cross? Please tell us more.

...Scottish Monk

 

[Anna Scott]

I was born into the Jewish tradition, and joined the Baptist church as an adult, and then the Catholic Church. I am a relatively recent Anglican (four years).
As a Jew, I had no jewelry, and never wanted any other than a wedding band.

As a Catholic, I understood the need for reminders and the great comfort of carrying a cross in my jacket pocket. These crosses were almost always a small wooden cross. We often called this "empty" cross a resurrection cross, since there was no body. The wood reminds us that Jesus died on a wooden cross.

When I started teaching youth, I decided to wear what we gave them, wooden crosses with a heart at the center, symbolizes both our hearts and the Sacred Heart. I have worn a similar one ever since. Occasionally, I have worn a much larger wooden cross, again with no body.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/ljnemitz_2209_40626259

I have no problem with the many kinds of crosses, including those with a crucifix. I have a couple, but rarely use them. For me, metal jewelry just doesn't work. There is a reminder of both metal idols and of the ornamentation of jewelry.

Very interesting, Mark.

 

[Scottish Monk]

Mark...

Thank you for telling us more about your preference for wooden crosses.

Jewish-->Baptist-->Catholic-->Anglican
Now I know who to go to for ecumenical questions.


...Scottish Monk

 

[Catherineanne]

What is a prayer ring?

It is a ring with a prayer written on it. : )

This is like the one I have:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-O...ituality_EH&hash=item3f188036ae#ht_486wt_1170

 

[Catherineanne]

As a Catholic, I understood the need for reminders and the great comfort of carrying a cross in my jacket pocket. These crosses were almost always a small wooden cross. We often called this "empty" cross a resurrection cross, since there was no body. The wood reminds us that Jesus died on a wooden cross.

I read once that the empty cross is our own; the one we must carry. Before I read that I preferred the crucifix, but now I don't mind which it is; both have meaning.

 

[Cappadocious]

It is a ring with a prayer written on it. : )

This is like the one I have:

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX RING w/ JESUS PRAYER, BLUE ENAMEL. CHRISTIAN JEWELRY. | eBay

Ah, I see.

Never seen one like that before. Very interesting.

 

[Padre_Eddie]

I wear a Crucifix everyday, and my Pectoral Cross is Celtic.

 

[AspiringBenedictine]

I wear a small Russian Orthodox crucifix - it is either in or out of my shirt (depending on how I get dressed in the morning )
I just like the Eastern crosses, no particular reason but overall the cross reminds me of the price Christ paid for our humanity

 

[Cappadocious]

I wear a small Russian Orthodox crucifix - it is either in or out of my shirt (depending on how I get dressed in the morning )
I just like the Eastern crosses, no particular reason but overall the cross reminds me of the price Christ paid for our humanity

I've always wanted an Eastern cross that followed the iconographic use of the sun and moon at the Crucifixion. Here is a more modern Greek interpretation:

Seattle St. D's - Cruxifixion mosaic | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The incorporation of the natural world and its relation to the Crucifixion is great. Especially the "comet" style in the above mosaic.

 

[Crandaddy]

I wear a crucifix under my shirt and over my heart. I prefer crucifixes to crosses. In this day and age, when nobody is crucified anymore, it's easy to forget what the cross means.

 

[alexier]

Yeah I prefer the Crucifix to a cross..I don't wear one simply as they (well all neck adornments) irritate my skin...instead I have several crucufix's in my home (such as over my bed and in the study and front room...well pretty much most rooms lol) I also pray the Rosary so have them on hooks on my dressing table mirror and FINALLY I have one in the car hanging off the mirror...

 

[everbecoming2007]

I wear a silver crucifix. Sometimes I hide it. Not always, though I always expose it at church. Most members of my church - Episcopalian - wear a cross, though I see the occasional crucifix. Our deacon wears a Marian medal. The church itself has a wooden crucifix.

 

[Albion]

I find that the diff between a crucifix and a cross often depends upon the particular design of each one.

 

[everbecoming2007]

I like both. I had asked for a cross as a Christmas gift but was delighted with the crucifix. My Anglican Rosary has a cross and I like it very much too.

 

[Maid Marie]

I used to wear a cross when I was in high school and a young adult. But now, I rarely wear ANY jewelry at all. I am just too lazy to put jewelry on, even a watch.