| For hundreds of years,
the cross has been known as the holy symbol of
Christianity. Though its origins lie in the midst of
antiquity, the cross was already an important and
influential religious symbol in the pre-Christian
period. However, the cross did not gain significance as
a Christian symbol until three hundred years after the
death of Christ, perhaps because early Christians strove
to keep the faith secret to avoid perse-cution by
idolatrous Roman rulers.
The Christian father
Eusebius relates that before the battle against
Maxentius in 312, Constantine had a vision of the
Christogram (a graphic depiction of the first two
letters of Christ, "Christos" in Greek) and hear the
voice calling: "With this sign you will be victorious."
Setting out to battle with military banners and
soldier's helmets decorated with the Christogram, he was
victorious. Thus the Christogram, known as the Labarum
cross*, become a symbol of victory in battle and,
eventually, the ultimate symbol of Christianity and most
popular symbol of the late Roman iconography.
Toward the end of the
reign of Constantine, the Labarum cross as a symbol of
victory appeared in a subordinate position on bronze
coins (with images from the Roman pantheon dominating).
The cross appears quite frequently on coins struck by
subsequent Roman emperors. In the Byzantine period, the
cross became a major symbol on coins and was portrayed
at the top of a staircase. By the Crusader period, the
cross had become a dominant type on coins... *LABARUM
CROSS - A graphic description of the first two letters
(XP) of the name "Christos" (XPICTOC, or Messiah in
Greek)
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