Editing Crucifix (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Chancel of Trinity Lutheran Church on Holy Saturday.jpg|thumb|A crucifix in the [[chancel]] of a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] church]]
The standard, four-pointed Latin crucifix (used in the Catholic and Lutheran traditions) consists of an upright post or {{lang|la|stipes}} and a single crosspiece to which the sufferer's arms were nailed. There may also be a short projecting [[Titulus (inscription)|nameplate]], showing the letters [[INRI]] (Greek: INBI). The [[Russian Orthodox]] crucifix usually has an additional third crossbar, to which the feet are nailed, and which is angled upward toward the penitent thief [[Saint Dismas]] (to the viewer's left) and downward toward the impenitent thief [[Gestas]] (to the viewer's right). The corpus of Eastern crucifixes is normally a two-dimensional or [[low relief]] [[icon]] that shows Jesus as already dead, his face peaceful and somber. They are rarely three-dimensional figures as in the Western tradition, although these may be found where Western influences are strong, but are more typically icons painted on a piece of [[wood]] shaped to include the double-barred cross and perhaps the edge of Christ's hips and [[halo (religious iconography)|halo]], and no background. More sculptural small crucifixes in metal [[relief]] are also used in Orthodoxy (see gallery examples), including as [[pectoral cross]]es and [[blessing cross]]es.

[[File:Hanging Crucifix in the Church of St Mary-le-Bow.jpg|thumb|The [[Anglican Communion]] also uses the crucifix; this one is in the church of [[St Mary-le-Bow]] in London]]
Western crucifixes may show Christ dead or alive, the presence of the spear wound in his ribs traditionally indicating that he is dead. In either case his face very often shows his suffering. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition he has normally been shown as dead since around the end of the period of [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]].<ref>[[Gertrud Schiller|Schiller, Gertrud]], ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II'', 1972 (English trans from German) Lund Humphries, London, {{ISBN|0-85331-324-5}}</ref> Eastern crucifixes have Jesus' two feet nailed side by side, rather than crossed one above the other, as Western crucifixes have shown them since around the 13th century. The [[crown of thorns]] is also generally absent in Eastern crucifixes, since the emphasis is not on Christ's suffering, but on his triumph over sin and death. The S-shaped position of Jesus' body on the cross is a [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] innovation of the late 10th century,<ref>Schiller, 98-99</ref> though also found in the German [[Gero Cross]] of the same date. Probably more from Byzantine influence, it spread elsewhere in the West, especially to [[Italy]], by the [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] period, though it was more usual in painting than sculpted crucifixes. It was in Italy that the emphasis was put on Jesus' suffering and realistic details, during a process of general humanization of Christ favored by the [[Franciscan|Franciscan order]]. During the 13th century the suffering Italian model ({{lang|la|Christus patiens}}) triumphed over the traditional Byzantine one ({{lang|la|Christus gloriosus}}) anywhere in Europe also due to the works of artists such as [[Giunta Pisano]] and [[Cimabue]]. Since the Renaissance the "S"-shape is generally much less pronounced. Eastern Christian blessing crosses will often have the Crucifixion depicted on one side, and the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] on the other, illustrating [[Eastern Orthodox theology]]'s understanding of the Crucifixion and Resurrection as two intimately related aspects of the same act of salvation.

Another, symbolic, depiction shows a triumphant Christ ({{langx|la|Christus triumphans}}), clothed in robes, rather than stripped as for his execution, with arms raised, appearing to rise up from the cross, sometimes accompanied by "rays of light", or an [[Halo (religious iconography)|aureole]] encircling his body. He may be robed as a [[prophet]], [[crown (headgear)|crown]]ed as a [[king]], and vested in a [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] as [[Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament#High Priest .7C Chief Priest|Great High Priest]].

On some crucifixes a skull and crossbones are shown below the corpus, referring to Golgotha ([[Calvary]]), the site at which Jesus was crucified, which the Gospels say means in Hebrew "the place of the skull."{{efn|In fact this is clearly [[Aramaic]] rather than Hebrew. {{transliteration|arc|Gûlgaltâ}} is the Aramaic for 'skull'. The name appears in all of the gospels except Luke, which calls the place simply Kranion, 'the Skull', with no Aramaic. See [[Aramaic of Jesus]]}} Medieval tradition held that it was the burial-place of [[Adam]] and [[Eve]], and that the cross of Christ was raised directly over Adam's skull, so many crucifixes manufactured in Catholic countries still show the skull and crossbones below the corpus.

Very large crucifixes have been built, the largest being the [[Cross in the Woods]] in Michigan, with a {{convert|31|ft|m}} high statue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Welcome to the Worlds Largest Crucifixion|url=http://www.fishweb.com/maps/cheboygan/indianriver/shrine/index.html|work=Michigan Interactive|access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>