KRZYŻ I JEGO MIEJSCE W ŻYCIU ORAZ PRZESTRZENI LITURGICZNEJ CHRZEŚCIJAN
THE CROSS AND ITS PLACE IN THE LIFE AND LITURGICAL SPACE OF CHRISTIANS

Summary/Abstract: This article shows the symbolism of the Crossfrom the perspective of the liturgy. First, we willrefer to the cross as a symbol, presenting its typesand the history of its use in the Liturgy. In order toproperly understand the meaning of the presenceof the cross in the liturgy, it seems strongly justi-fied to first present the sign of the cross itself, itsrole in the Church of the first Christians and itsorigin, as well as the multitude of images and sym-bols that have been created on the basis of the crossin the course of history. Historically, the Cross be-gan to be used in the liturgy as a procession at theend of the 5th century, while its placement on thealtar dates back to the 11th century. The first men-tion of a cross placed directly on the altar table canbe dated to the mid-5th century, but this concernsthe East Syrian Church and there is no evidence ofa similar custom in the Roman Church at that time.this custom will appear in the West later. The crosswith the image of the martyred Christ, recallingthe Passion of the Lord in the space of the pres-bytery, both on the altar and near it, is a clear andnecessary sign for every believer.

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