Crucifix

A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus (Latin for "body"), as distinct from a cross with no body.

The crucifix is a principal symbol for many groups of Christians, and one of the most common forms of the Crucifixion in the arts. It is especially important in the Latin Church, but is also used in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as in Anglican, Methodist, and Lutheran churches (though less often in other Protestant churches) and it emphasizes Jesus' sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Western crucifixes usually have a three-dimensional corpus, but in Eastern Orthodoxy Jesus's body is normally painted on the cross, or in low relief. Strictly speaking, to be a crucifix the cross must be three-dimensional, but this distinction is not always observed. A painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus including a landscape background and other figures is not a crucifix either.

Large crucifixes high across the central axis of a church are known by the Old English term rood. By the late Middle Ages these were a near-universal feature of Western churches, but are now very rare. Modern Roman Catholic churches often have a crucifix above the altar on the wall; for the celebration of Mass, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church requires that, "on or close to the altar there is to be a cross with a figure of Christ crucified".