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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. The symbol originates from the Catholic tradition that when sentenced to death, Peter requested that his cross be upside down.
History
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]
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.[6] 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.[6] He was accused of heresy by the Catholic Church and the movement was formally condemned by Pope Gregory XVI in 1851.[6] 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.[7]
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 (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.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Sauerländer, W.; Rubens, P. P. (2014). The Catholic Rubens: Saints and Martyrs. Getty Research Institute. p. 224. ISBN 978-1606062685.
- ^ Vile, J. R. (2024). The Christian Cross in American Public Life: An Encyclopedia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-1527572188.
- ^ Rest, Friedrich (1954). Our Christian Symbols. Christian Education Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8298-0099-9.
- ^ James, Montague Rhodes (1924). "Acts of Peter". The Apocryphal New Testament (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 300–36. ISBN 0198261217.
- ^ 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.
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).
- ^ a b c Van Luijk, R. (2016). Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism. Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0190275112.
- ^ Chisholm, A. R. (1979). Towards Hérodiade: A Literary Genealogy. AMS Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0404163105.
- ^ 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.
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