St. Gilbert's Cross

or Portate Cross

The Portate Cross reminds us of the cross carried by Jesus prior to his Crucifixion.

Any cross we bear in his name will be nothing compared to his suffering.

The Portate Cross relates to an event over 2,000 years ago.

But first, let's dismiss the double-barred slanting line show on the right.

It is, of course, a mathematical symbol for "not equal", and not a Christian cross at all.

It's also a symbol sometimes used by white supremacists who want to distinguish other races as not equal to themselves.

And we couldn't agree more. The vast majority of "other races", and the vast majority of those in the same race, are not equal and passionately would hate to have any connection at all to white supremacists...

...most of whom are ignorant of even basic mathematics, not to mention basic biology. For them, malevolence is much easier.

So let's forget that "not equal" symbol and go back to the year 1083 when Gilbert was born in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England.

From the day he was born, Gilbert suffered from a deformed spine and in later life this prevented him from following the family of bearing arms and becoming a knight.

Rather than live a helpless life, Gilbert made full use of his other abilities by becoming a scholar, teacher, and then at the age of 40, a priest.

Breaking from the tradition of living in a relatively luxurious monastery, he followed St. Benedict's example and established a simple monastery that recognised poverty as a virtue.

Gilbert laboured for the rest of his long life (reportedly to have lived 106 years) looking after the poor and needy. He couldn't stand erect but that didn't prevent him from doing the Lord's work.

Portate Cross


CME


CCDC

'Portate' is from the Latin portare 'to carry'. From this word we get words like 'portable' and 'porter'. In heraldry, this cross may be referred to as Angled (Fr: Anglée) but this term is not as descriptive as 'portate'.

There are many other diagonal crosses; for example in the logo of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) and the more generic St. Andrew's Cross, as seen in the logo of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (CCDC).

A cross is usually shown erect, as it would be when used for crucifixion. The Portate Cross differs in that it is borne diagonally, as it would be when the victim bears the cross-bar over his shoulder as he drags it along the ground to the crucifixion site.

The Portate Cross reminds us of the cross carried by Jesus prior to his Crucifixion and that any cross we bear in his name will be nothing compared to his suffering. (See also Agnus Dei).

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