Glendalouch Celtic Crosses
Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries uses Dr. Wilson'swatercolor painting of a Celtic crossas a logo. The cross reminds him of his Scottish forbears, the Picts, who were won to Christ by missionaries in the sixth and seventh centuries. The origins of the Celtic cross are fascinating.
Scholars speculate that the Celtic Cross developed from thesun cross, solar cross, sun wheel, etc., a pre-Christian symbol found in northwest Europe and Scandinavia — a cross inside a circle, or a four-spoked wheel. When Christianity came to Ireland and Scotland, Christians extended the bottom spoke of this familiar symbol to remind them of the cross on which their new Savior was crucified.
An early sunwheel cross, theSagranus stone, can be found at St. Dogmael's Abbey, Deyfed, west Wales.
Christ Pantocrator, dome mosaic (1090-1100 AD) from the Church of Daphne in Athens, shows Christ with sun-cross halo.
TheRuthwell Crossis early -- 650 to 850 AD. The Cross is seventeen feet four inches tall and must sit in a well four feet deep to serve as the high cross for the church. Cassidy remarks, "With the comparable cross atBewcastleit is undoubtedly the most important sculptural survival from Anglo-Saxon Britain and arguably from early medieval Europe" (Cassidy 3).
Wayside crosses are found at stopping places of missionaries, where they preached and prayed. Some of these were later marked as sacred places with crosses. Many ancient stone crosses are found inCornwall, such as:
A number of ancient stone crosses and cross slabs have been found on theIsle of Manat Kirk Andreas, Kirk Ballaugh, Kirk Braddan, Kirk Lezayre, Kirk Lonan, Kirk Maughold, Kirk Michael, and Kirch Onchan. Note a couple of these:
Scotland has some beautiful stone crosses, such as:
Ireland has many stone crosses. Here are just a few:
A number of examples of early stone crosses are found in England, several atSt. Kentigern's Church, Aspatria, Cumbria, England. Other examples among many are:
Peace Cross(1898) is an impressive cross at St. Albans Preparatory School, Washington DC.
Nigel Pennick,The Celtic Cross: An Illustrated History and Celebration(London: Blandford, 1997)
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