The Mystery of Saint Andrew's Cross

St. Andrew 's cross comes in many forms and most of them are a mystery. It is mostly guesswork as to the exact meaning of each of the crosses but one thing is true about all of them. The St. Andrew cross represents the sacrifice of martyrdom that Saint Andrew offered up to Jesus. There is no doubt that St. Andrew was martyred on a crucifix. The type of crucifix is in question. Some historians say that St. Andrew asked to be crucified on an X shaped cross because he did not feel he was worthy enough to be crucifies as Jesus was. Other historians say that St. Andrew was crucified on a St. Peter cross which is an upside down version of Jesus' cross. In either case, St. Andrew is an example to all Christians to offer their whole being up to the way of Jesus, no matter what the sacrifice.

Types of St. Andrew's Cross

† Saltire - an X shaped cross that it is said St. Andrew was crucified on. The letter Chi in Greek means Christ and this is an X shaped letter. This cross can be seen on the Flag of Scotland.

† The Slavic Cross - This is a three beamed cross with the bottom beam slanted. It is said that when St. Andrew was preaching in Russia, he tilted the bottom beam as a lesson to his listeners. The tilted beam symbolized those Christians on the right of Jesus would find salvation in Heaven, and those on the left would suffer for eternity in Hell.

Both of these styles of crosses are known as the St. Andrew's cross. Many Christians, especially the Russian and Greek Orthodox buy the St. Andrew Cross pendant to wear during their day. A Saint Andrew 's cross is a traditional religious crucifix to wear around the neck at all times. Wearing the cross reminds Christians to pray for the grace of Jesus to follow His path in all that they do.