The Tau Cross

Those who are soldiers of the temple are of God.

The Tau Cross

According to the Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the cross is thought to have originated in ancient Chaldea as a symbol of the god Tammuz, as it is shaped like the Greek letter tau, the first letter of his name.

Chaldea was a small country in present-day Babylonia. It existed between the end of the 10th or the beginning of the 9th and the middle of the 6th century BC,

"Historical map of the Middle East around 1450 BC showing Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Hittite Empire, Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer, including important cities and regions."
"Historical map of the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, with Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Nile, the Mediterranean Sea and the first cities such as Çatalhöyük and Jericho."
Google Maps overview map of the Middle East and North Africa with visible countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.

The Tau cross, named after the Greek letter tau, is a Christian symbol.

The Tau cross is so named because of its shape, which resembles the Greek letter tau. The symbol is also known as Anthony’s Cross, Egyptian Cross, St. Francis Cross or Crux Commissa.

Crucifixion
The cross shape symbolizes the means by which the Romans executed rebellious slaves, criminals and enemies of the state. Only those who were not Roman citizens could be condemned to death on the cross. The instrument of torture could take various forms: a pole (crux simplex; I), two diagonals (crux decussata, later called Andrew’s cross; X), a post with a short crossbar (crux immissa, Latin cross; †), and a post with a crossbar on top (crux commissa, Τ). The latter is called Tau cross.

Old Testament
The Tau cross was associated by Christians not only with Christ’s death on the cross, but also with the sign spoken of in Ezekiel 9,3,4 and with the outstretched hands of Moses in Exodus 17,11:

The LORD called out to the man clothed in linen, with the inkwell at his waist, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a sign [the Vulgate translates this as thau] on the foreheads of the men who wail and complain of all the abominations that are committed there. (Ezek. 9,3.4)

Joshua did as Moses told him. He fought Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Chur ascended the top of the hill. And as long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites were winning. But if he lowered his arms, Amalek won. Finally, Moses’ arms grew tired. So they got a stone for him to sit on. Aaron and Hur supported his arms, each on one side. So his arms remained high until sunset. And Joshua slew Amalek and his army with the sword. (Ex 10,13)

Saint Anthony Abbot
The fact that the Tau cross is also called St. Anthony’s Cross is because Saint Anthony Abbot, the Egyptian desert father from the 4th century, wore the sign on his habit.

Antonians
In 1095, the community of Canons Regular of Saint Anthony was founded. This order of hospital brothers, also called Antonites, had as their logo the Tau cross with which Antonius Abbot was associated.

Saint Francis
Pope Innocent III, at the opening of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, introduced the Tau Cross as a symbol of the Church Reformation he desired. This prompted Saint Francis of Assisi to use this sign as well. For him, the Tau cross symbolized conversion, penance and redemption. He may have already found the Tau cross among the Antonites in Rome. These hospital brothers made a great impression on him because they received and cared for lepers in their hospital. The Antonites wore a staff in the shape of a Tau and wore the sign on their habit, just like Saint Anthony Abbot.

Franciscan logo
Francis applied the Tau sign to houses, walls and trees. Famous is the red Tau that he painted in a niche of the hermitage of Fonte Colombo in the Rietidal. Francis blessed with this sign and signed it under his letters.

For the Franciscan Movement (Friars Minor, Poor Clares, Franciscan Sisters and Tertiaries), the Tau Cross is a sign of blessing and peace. Often, members of the Franciscan Movement wear a Tau on their chest.

Oriental crosier
In the Eastern rites, the top of a crosier is shaped like a Tau (in the Latin rite, it is a curl). What is special is that the ends of both cross arms represent snakes or dragons. The exact origin of this is not known exactly. The symbolism is sometimes linked to the story of Moses who put a bronze serpent on a pole to ward off calamity (Numbers 21,4-9). It is probably also related to the caduceus of Hermes or the staff of Asclepius (aesculapian). There is also a theory that the Eastern crosier would be a derivative of the lituus, the staff of the Roman auguri (bird diviners).

Table of Greek letters and Christian symbols (I, X, Θ, Y, Σ) with their Greek names, English translation and meaning, including Jesus, Christ, God, Son and Savior.

For example, this one about the cross and tabernacle. The way the attributes were arranged in the tabernacle forms a cross from a certain point of view. Seen from the service of the high priest, on his way to the ark, he saw first the altar (east) and then the laver. Then he went into the tent of meeting. There was the incense altar. To the left of it was the candlestick (south). And in the north the table of showbread. Finally, the ark, behind the veil.

Didactic black-and-white drawing entitled 'The Stations of the Cross', in which a large Christian cross is depicted next to religious symbols such as the menorah, the altar and sacrificial utensils, as a visual explanation of the way to God."