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Cross necklace

Apparel bearing a symbol of Christianity

Summary

Apparel bearing a symbol of Christianity

NOTOC

A cross necklace featuring an Orthodox cross, with three horizontal bars, the bottom bar at an angle

A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix as its pendant.

Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and confirmation. Communicants of the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches are expected to wear their baptismal cross necklaces at all times.

Some Christians believe that the wearing of a cross offers protection from evil, while others, Christian and non-Christian, wear cross necklaces as a fashion accessory.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art book Metropolitan Jewelry by Sophie McConnell and Alvin Grossman states: "In the first centuries of the Christian era, the cross was a clandestine symbol used by the persecuted adherents of the new religion." Many Christian bishops of various denominations, such as the Orthodox Church, wear a pectoral cross as a sign of their order.

Most adherents of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church will wear a cross attached to either a chain or a matäb, a silk cord. The matäb is tied about the neck at the time of baptism, and the recipient is expected to wear the matäb at all times. Women will often affix a cross or other pendant to the matäb, but this is not considered essential.

In some nations, such as the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, an atheist state, the wearing of cross necklaces was historically banned.

In two highly publicised British cases, nurse Shirley Chaplin and British Airways flight attendant Nadia Eweida were disciplined for wearing cross necklaces at work, in breach of their employment terms. Both took their cases to the European Court of Human Rights; Chaplin's case was dismissed, while Eweida was awarded damages on the grounds that the UK government had failed to weigh her right to religious expression heavily enough. In light of such cases, in 2012 the former archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Communion, Lord Carey of Clifton, and then head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, have urged all Christians to wear cross necklaces regularly. In 2025, the United States Office of Personnel Management issued a memorandum to federal agencies for the protection of religious expression, such as the wearing of cross necklaces in the workplace.

Gallery

File:Preservation (HDR) (2871769974).jpg|A rosary hanging from the rear-view mirror of a car File:Mariner's cross.jpg|An anchored cross necklace File:Krest yuri fedorov.jpg|A man with three different cross necklaces File:Poland Cross pendant with double-headed eagle.jpg|A cross pendant with double-headed eagle, made in Poland in the late 17th century File:Jens Filbrich bei der Olympia-Einkleidung Erding 2014 (Martin Rulsch) 02.jpg|Jens Filbrich wearing a cross necklace File:Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.JPG|A cross necklace of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul religious order File:Celina Jaitly, 2007.jpg|Celina Jaitley wearing a cross necklace File:Wooden Orthodox Cross Necklace.jpg|Eastern Orthodox Christian cross necklace made of wood File:Lena-Meyer-Landrut1 cropped.jpg|Lena Meyer-Landrut wearing a cross necklace of the ecumenical Christian Taizé Community File:Miriam Shaded Sejm 2016.JPG|Miriam Shaded wearing a cross necklace File:Vladimir Putin fishing topless.jpg|Vladimir Putin wearing a cross necklace File:Pedro I of Brazil dead 1834.jpg|Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (also King of Portugal as Pedro IV) wearing a crucifix cross necklace on his deathbed File:Princesa Leopoldina de Bragança, filha de Pedro II do Brasil (AI-enhanced).jpg|Princess Leopoldina of Brazil wearing a large cross necklace

References

John Renard. (1 August 2001). "The Handy Religion Answer Book". Visible Ink Press.
Liz James. (30 April 2008). "Supernaturalism in Christianity: Its Growth and Cure". Mercer University Press.
William E. Phipps. (4 May 2010). "A Companion to Byzantium". John Wiley & Sons.
Mark U. Edwards. (17 September 2006). "Religion on Our Campuses". [[Palgrave Macmillan]].
(5 April 2000). "Christianity". Nelson Thornes.
(2012). "On Wearing the Cross". [[Greek Orthodox Church]].
(25 August 2010). "Who wears the Cross and when?". [[Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii]].
(18 September 2017). "All Orthodox Christians are Given a Cross Following Their Baptism to Wear for Life". St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church.
Liz James. (30 April 2008). "Supernaturalism in Christianity: Its Growth and Cure". Mercer University Press.
Michael Symmons Roberts. (2011-09-12). "The Cross". British Broadcasting Corporation ([[BBC]]).
(7 May 2009). "Entering the New Theological Space". Ashgate Publishing.
(1 January 1991). "Metropolitan Jewelry". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (2003). "The Sacramental: The cross and the crucifix". Ethiopian Orthodox mission.
Siegbert Uhlig. (2007). "Encyclopædia Aethiopica: He-N". Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
Tomko, Jozef. (28 February 2007). "On Missionary Roads". [[Ignatius Press]].
(7 April 2012). "Cardinal Keith O'Brien urges Christians to 'proudly' wear cross". British Broadcasting Corporation ([[BBC]]).
(2013-01-15). "Cross case nurse Shirley Chaplin plans to appeal ruling".
(6 April 2012). "Christians urged to wear cross after moves to 'sideline' faith". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
(28 July 2025). "Trump admin issues new guidance to protect religious expression across federal workforce". [[Fox News]].
(2 September 2025). "Taking Faith to Work". Faith Radio.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

christian-religious-objects pendant-crosses lucky-symbols amulets fashion-accessories

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