The Story of the Cross of Antioch
The basic cross motif is known as an Eastern or Greek Cross reminding us that the earliest
origins of Christianity stem from the East. The Eastern type of cross stands in sharp contrast to the sharp, square,
and rigid lines of the Roman Cross, a symbol of legal restraint, punishment, torture, and suffering. The four arms
of the Greek Cross terminating in threefold endings convey the idea of the fullness of life, the gracious beauty of being,
and the expanding growth of Christianity thrust into never ending extenisons of a living faith.
The Red Rose
This high spiritual idealism is given concrete expression in the human heart and mind by the
symbol of the red rose at its center and the four branches reaching out in the four directions of the compass. Thus,
there is proclaimed to the world the fact of a saving grace that shall be to all people.
The Twelve Leaves of the Rose
Humanity everywhere is reminded of the twelve apostles by the twelve leaves of the growing
rose. Their ministry constituted the origins of the church. The numer twelve also remindes us of the many allusions
to that number in biblical lore such as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
The Triangle
The symble of the triangle unites us with the heart of the Divine Being whose wisdom we encounter
in the Trinitarian faith of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, that we are made in the image and likeness of
God and that the threefold expression of our whole nature is seen in this entral fact of our spiritual anatomy.
The Ten Hebrew Letters
The ten Hebrew letters, the Yods, within the triangle, convey a rich and mind gripping story.
The ten Yods are also know as the Tetractys or Pythagoras. If rightly undrstood they hold the key to every mystery and
the answer to every question. One who is in possession of the key has found the last word of which the ancients
speak. The meaning of the key cannot be grasped or conveyed by the human mind. It is given by God to every earnest,
sincere, and dedicated devotee of the Mysteries.
The ten yods within the triangle fix and firm the fact that the Kabalah is the soul of the
soul of the law of God, our ultimate source of scripture, and the repositiory of the wisdom contained in the Ten Sephiroth
of the Tree of Life. Since all the Ten Sephiroth are representations of the emanation of God and reveal God in his various
forms of manifestations from Kether, the highest, to Malkuth, the lowest, we are bidden to seek and find God on every plane
of Being even in the depths of ourselves and our fellow human beings.
The Golden Orb
The fact that the Tetractys are superimposed on the cross denotes the universality of our
faith. By the Tetractys, a later revelation which is seen in the cross of earlier days, we recognize that our faith
is more than what is perceived in the static antiquities of an apostolic edict. It is a growing force, ever enlarging
in scope, always ready to receive that new light which forever bursts forth from the golden orb behind the cross and penetrating
all of life with its transforming glory and warmth.
The circle representing the Sun behind the cross denotes that ours is a faith orented
to the future. As it looks forward into all the tomorrows so also it rests on a spiritual tradition that reaches into
the antiquities of the Gnostics, Essenes, and the Therapeutae of Egypt. Sun/Son worshipers were they all as are we.
Him, whom we call the Son of God whether he be Christ or Lord Jesus is in the measure of his own fullness the Son
of God and as such is fully accountable to the light.
Five Pointed Star Of Bethlehem
The Star of Bethlehem is the Star of Initiation, the way by which we find entrance to that
vast and glorious mystery within us all. Through that long journey which is nearing its completion all have sojourned
the various points of the star. Now as we are nearing the end of this journey we are preparing to leave the kingdom
of humanity and make ready for our entracne into the kingdom of God.
Conclusion
So what is the Cross of Antioch all about? It is about this. Never release your
hold on the sublime metaphysical affirmation that the rays of the Son of God reach into every human life. They are now
manifest in your life. They transform each and every discordant note into a chorus of praise and glory in the name of
God. You have been touched by God and will never be the same again.
