Cross of St. Peter: Encyclopedia - Cross of St. Peter

Cross of St. Peter

A St. Peter's Cross is an inverted Latin cross often associated with Satanism. According to popular belief, the cross is a symbol of inverted grace, or falling away from Christ's grace. However, the origin of this symbol comes from the fact that St Peter was crucified upside down, as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Christ died (upright). It is often used with two keys, symbolizing the keys of heaven.

An Alexandrian scholar Origen is the first to report that St. Peter 'was crucified head downward, for he had asked that he might suffer in this way'. Some Catholics use this cross as a symbol of humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ.

During the late Pope John Paul II's visit to Israel, a picture of him with a backdrop of St Peter's cross was widely circulated on the Internet and this has propagated the belief of the Catholic Church's association with Satanism.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cross of St. Peter", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki