Inverted Cross/Cross of St. Peter

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I was recently looking through a book of symbols at the library, when I came upon the image of an upside down cross. I expected it to say it was the symbol for the occult or satanism. It identified it as the cross of St. Peter, since the Apostle was crucified upside down.

What can you tell me about this?
 
Chris LaRock:
I was recently looking through a book of symbols at the library, when I came upon the image of an upside down cross. I expected it to say it was the symbol for the occult or satanism. It identified it as the cross of St. Peter, since the Apostle was crucified upside down.

What can you tell me about this?
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That is how the late second-century “Martyrdom of Peter” has him dying. And there is nothing implausible about it - executioners could do pretty much what they liked to those they were crucifying.​

Since the Bishop of Rome is Peter’s successor [note: Peter’s; not Christ’s] it makes sense for him to sit on a chair designed with a segment cut out that is shaped like an inverted cross. As JP2 did, on at least one occasion.

That’s all I know 😦 ##
 
But, don’t satanic cults use it too? Who used it first? How can I tell which one I’m looking at?
 
Peace be with you!

It first was used (literally) as St. Peter’s crucifix. He was burned alive while being crucified along with around 50 other Christian martyrs in Rome on the orders of the Emperor Nero. I’m sure you know this already, but Peter chose to be crucified upside down because he didn’t believe he was worthy to die in the same way as Christ, after having denied him three times.
I don’t know when Satanic cults started using the inverted cross as a symbol, but I doubt it was any time soon after that because I don’t think they even existed until much, much later. To know which one you’re looking at, I guess you would have to know who was using it or made/drew it.

In Christ,
Rand
 
Rand Al'Thor:
I don’t know when Satanic cults started using the inverted cross as a symbol…
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It is a shame when evil people come along and subvert a perfectly good symbol. The swastika, for example, is an ancient religious symbol (in several different religious traditions), but the Nazis went and ruined it…
 
St. Peter’s Cross is a symbol of humility and beauty, and is used as ignorant Satanists to mock the Faith. IMO it’s a shame that they’ve so tarnished an image that otherwise stands as a symbol of the ideal Papal humility; even when dying as our Lord died, Peter refused to die in the exact same manner. What’s even more notable is that his executioners obliged.

Even more sinister than Satanists abusing St. Peter’s Cross is Protestants calling Catholics Satanists for it. Sometimes I wonder if the abuse of St. Peter’s Cross didn’t begin with Protestant Christians, as a mockery of the Papacy, rather than with Satanists who mock Christ.

Peace and God bless!
 
A Lutheran Pastor’s website says: Some people involved in the occult [today] use an upside-down cross as a sign that they are against the Son of God who died on the cross. It’s a visual shorthand for their total rejection of Christianity. Yet at the same time, the inverted cross is an ancient symbol for Saint Peter.

A Satanist-friendly website says:

The inverted cross was not invented or first used by Satanists. It is the cross that St Peter was crucified on because he didn’t feel himself worthy to be crucified on the same form of cross as his “messiah”, Jesus Christ, was.

It was a symbol for unworthiness and deep respect of ones superiors: representing folly, hardship, failure and reverence for Christ. That’s what it used to mean. Since the advent of the B-Movie and limited public intelligence the inverted cross became a reversed Christian symbol - a symbol of Anti-Christian sentiment.
 
Note that the mamertine prison (which tradition say where saints peter and paul where imprisoned) has on it’s altar an inverted cross. it is said that saint peter wanted to be crucified downward, feeling he is not worthy do die like our Lord.

i’ve noted that one church father (i forgot the name) said that Saint Peter died in the manner of Our Lord (crucifixion) and Saint Paul died in the manner of Saint John the Baptist (decapitation).

It was just probably when satanists came in the scene that inverted crosses where used as a symbol of evil.

The same with freemasons, the All-seeing eye was once a symbol of God, (you can see it in some old churches), then they used it as a symbol of their Grand Architect.

It’s sad that some people abuse and misuse some christian symbols. 😦
 
Although unintentional…satanists give witness to the truth for they know the cross is so important.
st julie
 
Nothing much to contribute, simply to recommend Eireann’s link and to post one of my favorite paintings:


God Bless,
RyanL
 
Not that I enjoy sharing my ugly past, but I used to be “on the dark side”, and I didn’t, nor did anyone I knew ever use an inverted cross. I’m not saying it or any other things we tend to associate with the occult doesn’t happen, but when I was like that we were often offended by the “Ozzy Osbourne” idea of what we were like. I DO NOT mean to talk about myself or anyone else I knew “way back then” like they were good people, but we preferred a pentagram (I hope I’m naming this right- it HAS been a long time)- an inverted star and we didn’t hurt animals. Actually, they liked animals more than people. And when I look back now the part that scares me is that all these people were not like what probably a lot of people might think they are like- they were very smart, well educated, seemingly responsible people- doctors, nurses, attornies, etc. Another thing that I think was very sad is that they thought the Catholic church was “the enemy”, while they just made fun of other denominations. It was shown in their actions- they would laugh at the baptist church around the corner, but I could tell that they some felt real power in doing something disrespectful and hurtful to what we as Catholics hold sacred (that said, I never did, nor to my knowledge did anyone ever do anything to a consecrated host, but they did go the catholic supply store and purchase communion wafers and do things to it as if it were Jesus. Even at that dark time in my life whenever someone said bad things about Jesus it upset me, even if I didn’t know why then). The first time I ever saw a picture with the pope sitting with the inverted cross behind him didn’t give me any ideas that he was evil or satanic or anything like that. Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was Peter being crucified upside down.
 
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TamaraS:
Not that I enjoy sharing my ugly past, but I used to be “on the dark side”, and I didn’t, nor did anyone I knew ever use an inverted cross. I’m not saying it or any other things we tend to associate with the occult doesn’t happen, but when I was like that we were often offended by the “Ozzy Osbourne” idea of what we were like. I DO NOT mean to talk about myself or anyone else I knew “way back then” like they were good people, but we preferred a pentagram (I hope I’m naming this right- it HAS been a long time)- an inverted star and we didn’t hurt animals. Actually, they liked animals more than people. And when I look back now the part that scares me is that all these people were not like what probably a lot of people might think they are like- they were very smart, well educated, seemingly responsible people- doctors, nurses, attornies, etc. Another thing that I think was very sad is that they thought the Catholic church was “the enemy”, while they just made fun of other denominations. It was shown in their actions- they would laugh at the baptist church around the corner, but I could tell that they some felt real power in doing something disrespectful and hurtful to what we as Catholics hold sacred (that said, I never did, nor to my knowledge did anyone ever do anything to a consecrated host, but they did go the catholic supply store and purchase communion wafers and do things to it as if it were Jesus. Even at that dark time in my life whenever someone said bad things about Jesus it upset me, even if I didn’t know why then). The first time I ever saw a picture with the pope sitting with the inverted cross behind him didn’t give me any ideas that he was evil or satanic or anything like that. Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was Peter being crucified upside down.
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very brave of you to give this testimony… thank you…

🙂
 
I always associated the inverted cross with satanism, since they invert most christian things. They have black mass, and recite the Lord’s prayer in reverse after all.
 
The same with freemasons, the All-seeing eye was once a symbol of God, (you can see it in some old churches), then they used it as a symbol of their Grand Architect.
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That’s funny that you bring that up because I have an illustrated copy of “The Great Controversy” (the Seventh Day Adventist’s anti-Catholic manifesto) that has a few pictures of the “all seeing eye” in old Catholic churches and of course they go into a Hislopian explanation of how this symbol was the symbol of some ancient mystery religion and now Catholics are the modern manifestation of it, blah, blah, blah ad naseum.

The Catholic Church is the anti-Christ! :eek: :eek: :eek:

(to paraphrase redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy)…here’s yer sign… :rolleyes:
 
My Son’s girlfriend gave him an inverted cross. When I asked him about it he told me that they wear it to remind them that even St Peter did not feel worthy to be crucified as Christ was. It is a reminder of humility to our Lord. I wouldn’t expect that my son or his girlfriend would wear it as a satanic symbol as they are both very involved in their faiths.
 
johnshelby-

Thank YOU for for your kind reply. I’ve never really thought of myself as a brave person. Ater mentioning the part about the people abusing unconcecrated hosts, it scared me to think of what they would have done to one that was concecrated. I also find it interesting for myself that now out of all of the many beautiful gifts we have as Catholics, I love Eucharistic adoration maybe the most. I’ve have been visiting Jesus a lot lately (my mother died recently after being very ill for a long time), and I find so much comfort there. For others it appears as a simple piece of bread, but for us that know the truth, we can sit in his glorious presence when we aren’t recieving him into our bodies at mass. What a gift- sorry, didn’t mean to go off in another directionfrom the original post!
 
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TamaraS:
johnshelby-

Thank YOU for for your kind reply. I’ve never really thought of myself as a brave person. Ater mentioning the part about the people abusing unconcecrated hosts, it scared me to think of what they would have done to one that was concecrated. I also find it interesting for myself that now out of all of the many beautiful gifts we have as Catholics, I love Eucharistic adoration maybe the most. I’ve have been visiting Jesus a lot lately (my mother died recently after being very ill for a long time), and I find so much comfort there. For others it appears as a simple piece of bread, but for us that know the truth, we can sit in his glorious presence when we aren’t recieving him into our bodies at mass. What a gift- sorry, didn’t mean to go off in another directionfrom the original post!
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it made me feel… uneasy… also… so, i understand…

🙂

course, i’m not the op… lol
 
Didn’t Leonardo Da Vinci or Michelangelo paint an inverted Cross for Saint Peter’s Basilica?

Yep… Michelangelo did. here we go:

 
One way to know if it’s a st. peter’s cross is if there is an old person (saint peter is usually represented as such) crucified in it. 🙂

of course, probabvly satanists wanted to blaspheme the cross but seem to have unwittingly made it into Saint peter’s cross.
why they didn’t just got some goat head or a star or something? 😃
 
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