Crucifixes- Poll

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thistle said:
It is NOT. A Crucifix has the crucified Christ on it. It is NOT a crucifix with the Risen Christ on it.
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Yes it is…to deny the resurrected Christ is not the unification of the spirit and the body is to deny the crucifixion and the power of the resurrection.
 
Hereiam said:
Yes it is…to deny the resurrected Christ is not the unification of the spirit and the body is to deny the crucifixion and the power of the resurrection.
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You don’t know what you are talking about.

A Crucifix by definition has the crucified Christ on it.
A cross with the Risen Christ on it is just a cross, not a crucifix!!
 
Modern Catholic Dictionary:

CRUCIFIX. A cross bearing the image of Christ. It must be placed on or over an altar where Mass is offered. Due reverence is always given to it. It is sometimes carried as a procession cross leading a line of clergy. Depicting the dead or suffering Christ, the crucifix did not come into general use until after the Reformation. The earlier ones represented Our Lord as the High Priest crowned, robed, and alive. Some men and women religious wear the crucifix as part of their habit. A crucifix is attached to the Rosary beads, and many liturgical blessings are to be given with it. A blessed crucifix is a sacramental and is commonly displayed in Catholic hospitals, homes, and institutions. (Etym. Latin crucifixus, the crucified.)
 
thistle said:
You don’t know what you are talking about.

A Crucifix by definition has the crucified Christ on it.

A cross with the Risen Christ on it is just a cross, not a crucifix!!
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Whoaaa…

A couple of points:
  1. Because I disagree is not reason for such uncharitable remarks that I “don’t know what I am talking about”.
  2. A cross has no corpus…a crucifix does…the Risen Christ is a physical body, so a depiction of the Risen Christ hanging on a cross is a crucifix.
I can’t make it any more clear…accept it or don’t…but know, if you don’t I will not make uncharitable charges against your theological knowledge as you have done to me…you might want to consider deleting or editing that post.

Pax et bonum!
 
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thistle said:
Modern Catholic Dictionary:

CRUCIFIX. A cross bearing the image of Christ. It must be placed on or over an altar where Mass is offered. Due reverence is always given to it. It is sometimes carried as a procession cross leading a line of clergy. Depicting the dead or suffering Christ, the crucifix did not come into general use until after the Reformation. The earlier ones represented Our Lord as the High Priest crowned, robed, and alive. Some men and women religious wear the crucifix as part of their habit. A crucifix is attached to the Rosary beads, and many liturgical blessings are to be given with it. A blessed crucifix is a sacramental and is commonly displayed in Catholic hospitals, homes, and institutions. (Etym. Latin crucifixus, the crucified.)
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or, perhaps it is more

 
Let me repeat what I said so there is no misunderstanding.

A Crucifix bears the image of the crucified Christ.

A cross bearing the image of the Risen Christ is NOT a crucifix.

Anyone who thinks the latter is a crucifix is mistaken. A cross with bearing the image of the Risen Christ cannot be used on or near the altar at Mass because it is not a crucifix.
 
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I’ve never seriously considered it before. On my crucifix (which is beautiful), Jesus’ head is bowed, so I take this to be Him just after giving up His spirit.
 
If the head is bowed and/or side is pierced, I think of him as dead.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
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thistle said:
Let me repeat what I said so there is no misunderstanding.

A Crucifix bears the image of the crucified Christ.

A cross bearing the image of the Risen Christ is NOT a crucifix.

Anyone who thinks the latter is a crucifix is mistaken. A cross with bearing the image of the Risen Christ cannot be used on or near the altar at Mass because it is not a crucifix.
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in our previous church, we had the risen Christ above the altar. i was a new Catholic so i did not know it could not be used near the altar.

i agree a crucifix is an image of a dead or suffering Christ.

our current church has the San Damiano cross over the altar as the church is named
after St. Francis.
 
The Catholic Liturgical Library
Crucifix, Requirement to Use

Question Is a crucifix with the figure of the crucified Lord required at all Masses? Can it be replaced by a crucifix with the risen Lord on it?

Question Can a plain cross be used in place of a crucifix on Good Friday?

Answer According to the Book of Blessings, n. 1235 “The image of the cross should preferably be a crucifix, that is, have the corpus attached, especially in the case of a cross that is erected in a place of honor inside a church.”

According to the General Instruction, n. 79 “There is also to be a cross on or near the altar. The candles and cross may be carried in the entrance procession.” The Ceremonial of Bishops comments that the image on the cross is to face forward. (n. 128) In the Latin version, which is the authoritative version, “cross” is “crux” meaning a crucifix. This has always meant a crucifix. The same word is used in documents before and after the Second Vatican Council. Had a new interpretation of this word been intended, mention would have been made somewhere. A risen Christ crucifix is an oxymoron and does not fulfill the requirement for a crucifix since a risen Christ is not a crucified Christ. There is nothing wrong with having an image of a risen Christ or a plain cross elsewhere in the Church or even behind the altar as long as during Mass a crucifix is “on or near the altar.”

On Good Friday, the primary focus of the entire Church is on the crucifixion. On this day, more than any other, the practice of venerating the crucifix should be encouraged. I can think of no logical argument to use a plain cross instead of a crucifix. This matter was discussed with Mr. Dennis McManus, Associate Director of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and he could not think of any rational to replace the crucifix with a risen Christ.
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You miss one point. A crucifix depicts crucifixion. A risen Christ is not being crucified therefore it is not a crucifix.

I always think of Christ suffering.
 
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hope said:
You miss one point. A crucifix depicts crucifixion. A risen Christ is not being crucified therefore it is not a crucifix.
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I understand your opinion that you always think of Christ suffering, but:

A depiction of crucifixion, that makes a cross different from a crucifix is the corpus…that corpus, whether a living or glorified body is not relevant.

His glorified body, as clearly described in the gospels when he appeared after the resurrection included nail and lance wounds…He had to die to be resurrected and to gain glorified body…do you think his death did not involve suffering…while he is not suffering in his glorified body, to dismiss the fact that he did suffer is to deny the hypostatic union, and the fact that from the incarnation Christ had both human and divine nature, and that with his death he no longer was both divine and human.
 
Hereiam said:
I understand your opinion that you always think of Christ suffering, but:

A depiction of crucifixion, that makes a cross different from a crucifix is the corpus…that corpus, whether a living or glorified body is not relevant.

His glorified body, as clearly described in the gospels when he appeared after the resurrection included nail and lance wounds…He had to die to be resurrected and to gain glorified body…do you think his death did not involve suffering…while he is not suffering in his glorified body, to dismiss the fact that he did suffer is to deny the hypostatic union, and the fact that from the incarnation Christ had both human and divine nature, and that with his death he no longer was both divine and human.
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How many people have to tell you? A cross bearing the Risen Christ is NOT a crucifix.
The crucifix depicts the suffering and dead Christ, not his glorified body after rising from the tomb (not the Cross).
 
I see him as alive. No theological explanations for this I just do.
 
thistle said:
How many people have to tell you?
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Just one…one with indisputable proof of their claims, and not just opinion and speculation…and that person has not stepped forward yet.

I find full comfort in the firm knowledge that it is the presence of the body of Christ on the a cross that makes it a crucifix, not the state of the body depicted.
 
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If it has the side pierced, he’s dead. If not, then he’s suffering
 
I once had a “Bible thumper”…(literally)…confront me about wearing a crucifix…he went on to inform me Christ has risen… he is not on the cross…I went on to inform him that I wear it because it reminds me of the suffering and death that Christ endured for the sins of the whole world…and that by his suffering and death he reconciled us all…including you and me…to God…he looked at me for a while and said…“hmmm…yes…you’re right”…and walked away.
 
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