The Upside Down Cross: Satanic or Symbolic?
Over the years I have had my fair share of encounters with anti-Catholics. Their arguments against the faith are pretty predictable – one of the most popular being that the Pope is the Antichrist. One of the typical “gotcha” proofs of this claim is the Papal symbol of the upside down or inverted cross, which the anti-Catholic confidently asserts as being satanic. Because of this, they reason, the Pope is himself in league with Satan.
The truth of the matter is that the upside down cross is an ancient symbol of St. Peter’s crucifixion. Tradition tells us that when St. Peter was martyred, he insisted that he be crucified upside down as he did not believe himself worth to be crucified in the manner of his Lord.
We see an allusion to this in the Gospel of John, when our Lord speaks of the kind of death that Peter would suffer:
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, “Follow me” (Jn 21:18-19).
“You will stretch out your hands.” In the ancient world — particularly in the Christian tradition — “to stretch out one’s hands” was a common reference to crucifixion. The words ‘Follow me’ bespeak imitation of Christ’s example of obedience ‘unto death, even death on a cross’ (Phil 2:8). The chief shepherd would follow the Good Shepherd even in the manner of his death. By the time of the writing of John’s Gospel, Peter’s martyrdom had already occurred, the manner of which was arguably well attested to by his readers.
We can trace back the testimony of Peter’s martyrdom to the earliest Christian writers, including Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus, and Tertullian.
In De Præscriptione 36 (c. A.D. 200), Tertullian writes:
If thou art near Italy, thou hast Rome where authority is ever within reach. How fortunate is this Church for which the Apostles have poured out their whole teaching with their blood,where Peter has emulated the Passion of the Lord, where Paul was crowned with the death of John.
In Scorpiace 15 (c. A.D. 204), he again writes of Peter’s crucifixion:
And if a heretic wishes his confidence to rest upon a public record, the archives of the empire will speak, as would the stones of Jerusalem. We read the lives of the Cæsars: At Rome Nero was the first who stained with blood the rising faith.Then is Peter girt by another, when he is made fast to the cross. Then does Paul obtain a birth suited to Roman citizenship, when in Rome he springs to life again ennobled by martyrdom.
In his Ecclesiastical History (c. A.D. 325), Eusebius of Caesarea writes:
Peter appears to have preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards; for he had requested that he might suffer in this way…. These facts are related by Origen in the third volume of his Commentary on Genesis (III.1).
Thus publicly announcing himself as the first among God’s chief enemies, [Nero] was led on to the slaughter of the apostles. It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day (II.25.5).
As a result of the manner in which he was crucified, the Church has used the upside down cross (without a corpus, so not a crucifix) to designate Peter, not Christ. The Pope, being the successor of Peter, employs the symbol of the upside down cross as a symbolic reminder of St. Peter’s humility and heroic martyrdom. Unlike an upside down crucifix, which seeks to invert and subvert it’s meaning, there is nothing satanic about an upside down cross.
Painting: Crucifixion of St. Peter by Ventura di Arcangelo Salimbeni
By Hector Molina
I think that whoever disagrees with catholic faith disagrees with christisnity. Nothing is done under the Catholic faith and is outside the bibble. The intended misinterpretation and thus misunderstanding of the bibble is the main cause and origine of the so called pentecostal churches which tend to spread the propaganda of relating some simbols used in catholic faith to Satan.
This says a awful lot about the sad ignorance of many Catholics – their poor education – and misuse of the symbol of St Peter. Every church and institution under the patronage of St Peter has this symbol emblazoned somewhere on its building, books, vestments – whatever. I am staggered that this question is even being raised – but maybe it’s time for some serious education.
This are all rituals, never required by our LORD JESUS. Reading the Bible, none of the Apostles ever asked for follows of Christ to worship them, all the Apostles would be in horror if they know what the Catholic Church request from believers. Jesus went on the Cross for our sins, a GOD who never done anything wrong, sinless.
The rosary, crucifix, (Jesus is risen, off the cross ), upside down cross, Apostles worship etc is not from God and not from the Holy Spirit, as well not a command from Jesus. This is plain Catholic rituals. I wonder if you guys ever read the Bible? And if yes, actually understand? As this hocus pocus, doesn’t make sense to the Christian who do read the Bible.
Sorry, but none of what you have said is true. We do not worship the Apostles. The Rosary is definitely in the Bible. And yes, we do read the Bible. Christ’s Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension are re-presented at every Mass. There could have been no Salvation without the Sacrifice, the Passion and Death of our Lord. There could have been no Resurrection without Christ’s Sacrifice of Himself. We are called at every Mass to unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Read the Bible? The Catholic Church defined the canon of the Bible over 1600 years ago. It is a Catholic book. You would not have a Bible if it weren’t for the Catholic Church. So, yeah, we read the Bible.
Unfortunately, it really does no good to debunk your silly notions of what Catholics believe. I could, as could any Catholic, with ease. But that won’t make a difference unless you have a desire for the truth. If you had that, you would have known the errors of your statement before you even typed it. So, what you really need to do is ask yourself if you desire the truth, or if your heart is hardened by a failure to want the truth. As soon as you want the truth, you will find it. EVERY piece of anti-Catholic propaganda is motivated by a hatred of the truth. This applies to errant theology as well as made-up history. But as soon as you make up your mind to become a servant to the truth, these anti-Catholic lies will become sand and be blown away.