Pope's cross (heraldry)
The papal cross (also Pontifikalkreuz or Papal Cross ) is a cross with three to parallel upwardly tapering cross arms. In the basic version, all cross arms are the same width. A certain symbolism is assigned to the cross. The arms of the cross reflect the three papal powers. These are the powers of priests, pastors and teaching.
The triple cross has only been known as an extension of the patriarchal cross (double cross) since the 15th century . It is not used in the heraldry of the Pope's coat of arms .
As a special sign that the Dominicans and later the Jesuits are directly responsible to the Pope and only to the Pope, the pedum rectum adorns the respective church buildings (example: Jesuits in Kalksburg near Vienna).
See also
- Consecration cross , also known as the papal cross until the Reformation .
literature
- Gert Oswald : Lexicon of Heraldry. Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig 1984.
Web links
Commons : Pope's coat of arms in heraldry - collection of images, videos and audio files
