The shape of the cross

I want to thank both Bernard Vassallo and Francis Sammut (April 20). It is a joy to see that there are still persons interested in such topics as the cross that Jesus carried. I still differ from the interpretation given by Sammut. It is not just a question of interpreting the Gospels but comparing these with historical writings from the first century.

The Greek and Latin words corresponding to ‘crucifixion’ applied to many different forms of painful execution, from impaling on a stake, to affixing to a tree, to an upright pole (what some call a crux simplex) or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum). If a crossbeam was used, the condemned man or woman was forced to carry it on his or her shoulders to the place of execution.

The crossbeam on its own would weigh only 75-125 pounds (35-60 kilograms), but a whole cross would weigh well over 300 pounds (135 kilograms). This explains why those carrying the whole cross would require some help, as was the case with Jesus when Simon of Cyrene was ordered to carry the cross on his behalf. There are no historical references that any help was ever provided to those carrying the crossbeam only, apart from the fact that the condemned would already have been nailed to it. To receive help, the accused would have to be completely released from the beam he was carrying.

The noted historian Josephus, a Judean who defected to the Roman side during the Jewish uprising of AD66-72, describes multiple tortures and positions of crucifixion, and Seneca the Younger recounts:

“I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet.”

Frequently there was a crosspiece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T (crux commissa) or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism (crux immissa). Other forms were in the shape of the letters X and Y. The earliest writings that speak specifically of the shape of the cross on which Jesus died describe it as shaped like the letter T (the Greek letter tau).

These are historical references and it is wrong to imagine that only the crossbeam was ever carried by the accused. Jesus was subjected to the worse and harshest execution in that He had to carry the full cross.

This will be my last contribution on this topic as there is no scope in dealing with prejudice.

Nevertheless, I repeat my offer to send a detailed study to those who apply to: saidfransh@yahoo.co.uk