Antique 18th Century Russian Orthodox Pectoral Cross – Golgotha & Passion of Christ

- Listing by Walter Jr

 There is something especially moving about a Christian object which has survived for centuries. 

This wonderful old Russian Orthodox pectoral cross dates approximately to the 18th century, and has a beautifully distinctive form, with broad outward-flaring arms, an elongated lower section and its original suspension loop still remaining at the top.

At the center is the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, raised prominently from the surface and forming the heart of the entire design.

The surrounding decoration has been softened tremendously by age and wear, but traces of the original religious imagery and markings can still be seen across the arms and body of the cross.

This was a pectoral cross — a cross intended to be worn upon the body. It was not made simply as decoration. It was a personal expression of Christian faith, carried close to the person who owned it and centered upon the greatest sign of our salvation: the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ.

The extraordinary wear upon its surface tells us that this was not an object which spent its life untouched.

Someone carried it.

Someone wore it through ordinary days and difficult ones, through work, prayer and all the unseen moments of a life now long forgotten. We may never know the name of the Christian to whom it belonged, but the softened surface remains a quiet testimony to the years it spent in use.

The cross retains a wonderfully ancient appearance, with extensive surface wear, patination, deposits and areas of loss consistent with considerable age. Its irregularities and worn details are part of its history.

A remarkable little survivor from the Orthodox Christian world of 18th-century Russia, and a beautiful reminder of generations of believers who carried their faith quite literally close to their hearts.

At its center, after all these years, remains the same image around which the Christian faith has always been centered:

the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.