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Art In The Early Church: The Empty Cross And Images Of Christ, Catherine Combier-Donovan

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The cross or the crucifix -which is older? Convinced that the representation and veneration of the cross itself is an older, more authentic and venerable tradition than that of the crucifix, my goal was to trace the evolution of the image of the cross in the context of early Christian art: the first examples of the cross, the early images of Christ, and the first depictions of Christ on the cross, This essay considers the historical, social, and theological contexts for such images, and several theories to explain why the cross was for so long represented without Christ upon it …