Pectoral cross

By the Late Middle Ages, the pectoral cross came to be a special indicator of position worn by bishops.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the wearing of a pectoral cross remains restricted to popes, cardinals, bishops and abbots.

[citation needed] The widespread official use of a pectoral cross, however, did not begin in the Western church until around the 14th century.

[citation needed] In the Roman Catholic Church, a pectoral cross is one of the pontificals used by the pope, cardinals, archbishops and bishops.

A pectoral cross is worn with both clerical suits or religious habits, and when attending both liturgical or civil functions.

In choir dress—that is, when the bishop wears a cassock, rochet and mozzetta—the pectoral cross is usually suspended by a cord of silk.

When celebrating Mass, bishops wear the pectoral cross suspended by the cord over the alb but under the chasuble, where it is not visible.

The prelate should kiss the cross before putting it on his neck, and while putting it on say the prayer Munire me digneris (the origin of which dates back to the Middle Ages), in which he petitions God for protection against his enemies, and begs to bear in mind continually the Passion of Jesus, and the triumphs of the confessors of the Catholic faith.

The custom, however, of wearing a cross on the breast either with or without holy relics, dates back to ancient time and was observed not only by bishops, but also by priests and lay people.

Anglo-Catholic bishops may follow more of the Roman Catholic model.Other Anglican clergy occasionally wear crosses around their necks, but their appearance and form are generally more modest so as not to confuse them with bishops (who also generally wear purple, palatinate, or amaranth magenta shirts).

At their meeting in The Vatican on 21 November 2009 to resolve tensions over an offer for disaffected Anglicans to convert to Rome, the Pope gave the Archbishop of Canterbury a pectoral Cross.

In the Church of Sweden, pectoral crosses were reintroduced for bishops in 1805 by king Gustav IV Adolf.

However, the Orthodox crucifix differs from the Western type by the fact that the soma (body of Christ) is not in full three-dimensional form, but in no more than three-quarter relief.

It also bears the inscription INBI (the titulus that Pontius Pilate placed above the head of Jesus at the crucifixion) and the letters IC XC NIKA around the four arms of the cross.

In Russian practice, the back of a priest's cross is usually inscribed with St. Paul's words to St. Timothy: "Be an example to the believers in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Tim.