A Latin cross or is a type of Christian cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the , giving the cross four arms. Typically the two horizontal and upper vertical arm are the same length, although sometimes the vertical is shorter, however the lower vertical arm is always much longer than any other arm.
When displayed it is called St. Peter's Cross, because according to Catholic tradition he was executed on a cross of this type. When displayed sideways, it is called St. Philip's cross for an analogous reason.
Many churches of different time periods are designed using the Latin cross plan. When looked at from above, it takes the shape of a Latin cross. A Latin cross plan primarily contains a nave, transept, apse, and narthex.
The Latin cross is present in archeological findings predating Christianity by several millennia. In pagan Rome it was represented in military standards of Roman legions.
Nowadays the Latin cross is mostly used to represent all of Christianity and Christendom, given that it teaches that Jesus sacrificed himself for humanity upon it, atoning for the sins of the world. It is especially used among the denominations of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic tradition and several Protestant traditions, such as Lutheranism, Moravianism, Anglicanism, Methodism, and Reformed Christianity, as well as by Anabaptists, Baptists, and Pentecostals. In certain periods, such as during the 16th century English Reformation of the Anglican Church, the Latin cross was disfavored by a minority of theologians such as Nicholas Ridley, though in the overall history of the Western Christian Churches, this was short-lived.
A Latin cross plan is a floor plan found in many Christian churches and cathedrals. When looked at from above or in plan view it takes the shape of a Latin cross (). Such cruciform churches were very common in the West during the Romanesque period. The ideal church plan tended to be symmetrical around a central point during the Renaissance. The longer arm of the Latin cross plan is the nave, which runs on an eastâÂÂwest axis and traditionally contains aisles or chapels. The transept crosses the nave, running northâÂÂsouth, and can be the same width as the nave, or extend further on both sides to create a more pronounced cross shape. The east end is the apse, which traditionally contains the choir, chancel, or presbytery. Many also have a narthex at the entry.
The glyph has a unicode code point: