2 of 2

No

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I went to ONE website and found over 50 individual crosses, the Jerusalem and Crusaders crosses were just two of them. They obviously have a connected history as do many symbols. The most ancient cross symbol is the Solar Cross' a circle divided by two equal bars crossing in the center and it was meant to symbolize the Sun, and the cyclic nature of the seasons. The Solar Cross' appears to be the oldest symbol and therefore the one that later symbols came from. So, in answer to the question No, the Jerusalem Cross does not have significance for other religions any more then other crosses have significance to the Jerusalem Cross. There is a common meaning shared between cross symbols but the original meaning goes back to the Solar Cross which can be found in Asian, American, European and Indian art from the dawn of history. The Solar Cross also has different names, Sunwheel, and Odin's cross. In Native American culture it represented the great Medicine Wheel of Life.

The Jerusalem cross, is also known as the Crusaders' cross. Its base is a simple cross, two bars dividing the area into four quarters, with a smaller cross in each of the four quadrants. Each of the four smaller crosses represents either the four books of the Gospel, or the four directions the word of Christ spread from Jerusalem. However all five crosses symbolize the five wounds of Christ during the passion.

The Jerusalem cross was later used as a base for the Crusaders, The Knights Templar, the Order of the Holy Sepulcher, Teutonic Cross, Julian's Cross, Cross Crosslet, Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and The Kairos retreat, each of these groups came later and were either given or adopted a form of the Jerusalem cross as their own. The Jerusalem cross is also referred to as a Cross Cantonese" (being a division), or the New Jerusalem Cross.

I enjoy symbols and finding where they originate when possible. Often what we use a symbol for now does not reflect it original meaning at all. As in this case, the Jerusalem cross has crossed into use in the Heraldry system which is not religious based but reflects the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms or as use in Coats of Arms and Family Crests.

Whatever position you take on this subject the end result is the cross symbol has an ancient past that came long before the Jerusalem cross and to say it is the original base for later use is possible but not necessarily true.

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