Altar cross

[1] Early Christians were wary of publicly exposing the cross or crucifix for fear of subjecting it to the insults of pagans, or scandalizing the weak.

By the start of the 13th century, treatises by Pope Innocent III expected there to be a cross between two candles on the altar during the Mass.

Roman Catholic liturgical norms require a crucifix (with the corpus or body of Jesus) near or on the altar whenever Mass is celebrated.

Lutheran churches retained both altar and crucifix (with the body of Jesus displayed) after the Reformation, and is the norm in Europe.

The influence of the Reformed tradition, which comprises the Protestant majority in North America, many Lutheran churches there prefer a plain altar cross rather than a crucifix.

An altar cross in the center of an altar table of a Methodist chapel in Kent, Ohio , United States. The center of the altar cross contains the christogram " IHS ".
Altar with crucifix in the Imperial Mausoleum in the Cathedral of Petrópolis , Brazil. In the foreground, a tomb with effigies of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and his wife Teresa Cristina .
Altar with cross in the Armenian cathedral in Echmiatsin .