Who wears the Tau Cross?

[Kevin_Walker]

tmore35:

Hello,

The Tau Cross is the official habit, or identifying symbol of the Secualr Franciscan Order. The usual Tau worn by SFO is made of wood suspended from a knotted cord. (three knots).

Hi tmore35,

What kind of knots are used on the cord to wear the Tau Cross, and where on the lanyard cord are they tied?

Are they the same type of knot as found on the Friar’s rope belt?

Are the three knots on the lanyard for the same three vows (Chastity, poverty, and obedience)?

As a former Navy diver and rigger, we called those knots on a Friar’s belt a heaving line knot, or when found on a cat-o-nine-tails, a blood knot.

iland.net/~jbritton/heavinglineknot.htm

Thanks for any information.

 

[Kevin_Walker]

As I was attempting to reply all week …

I just purchased a really cool and beautiful wooden Tau Cross today for $19.95.

It is small, about 3/4" x 3/4", made of light sand colored wood with a bit of staining, and suspended by brown cord with the three Franciscan knots tied in one side.

O.K., I might be mistaken for a bonafide member of the Secular Francisan Order, but I don’t care. I want to proudly wear something that is very Franciscan, and this is it!

I have only had it on for the past twelve hours yet I have receive one complement and one inquiry and a bunch of inquisitive stares. Yeah, its working! The Bees Knees baby!!!

The litmus test will be this weekend at the Boston Common when all the people wear their Episcopalean (sp?) wooden Crucifixes, and I want to take mental notes how many ask about my wooden Tau Cruicifix!

Franciscans rule!!!

 

[Michael_C]

I wear a tau cross sometimes. The funny thing is I never wear it to my Franciscan meetings, I always forget.

 

[Matt16_18]

Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture "Crosses"The tau cross, made from the Greek letter “T”, is the simplest of all crosses. It is often used as the cross of prophecy, or Old Testament cross, because it is the traditional sign that Israelites made with lamb’s blood on their doorposts in Egypt on the night of Passover. A tau cross is often pictured as the pole on which Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness.

 

[ktrong]

Hi,
I realize that this question is nearly 5 years old, so I’m not sure if anyone will still see this. I just found it when I was searching for information about the Tau cross. I wear one, it’s fairly small and wooden and attached to my scapular.
I saw that you were from Boston and I am going to be visiting my sister there in a little over a week. I would love to visit the brothers that you hang out with and was wondering where it was. She lives in Brookline, so I’m not sure if it’s plausible or not.

Just another tidbit of info about the Tau cross though, as do most things in Christianity they come from pagan symbols so that it was easier for people to convert. The Tau cross is also the symbol of I think it’s a solar god, that was also killed and resurrected, and celebrated in the spring, and his name began with a T, thus Tau.