Eastern Christian Symbols Every Westerner Should Know

As a Byzantine Rite Catholic, I never miss a chance to help my Western brethren learn about the 23 sui juris Eastern Catholic Churches!

From Aleteia

By Daniel Esparza

Learning these symbols is not only aesthetic education — it is a way of reconnecting with the shared Christian heritage that once shaped the entire Mediterranean world, and beyond.

Eastern Christianity carries a visual language that shaped the first millennium of the Church — yet many Western Christians only know bits and pieces of it. These symbols are far from being decorative; they arose from prayer, theology, and the shared memory of the early Christian communities stretching from Antioch to Constantinople. Here are five essential symbols that open a window into that world.

1. The Patriarchal Cross

The patriarchal cross looks familiar at first glance — two horizontal bars atop a single vertical beam — but the upper, shorter bar carries rich meaning. Appearing widely in Byzantine and Slavic Christianity, it represents the inscription placed above Christ’s head during the Crucifixion. The longer bar signifies Christ’s outstretched arms. In Eastern iconography, it often appears with the slanted footrest of the three-bar cross, pointing upward on Christ’s right (toward salvation) and downward on his left (toward judgment). Its geometry captures both the historical Cross and the cosmic drama the Eastern liturgy proclaims.

As a bonus, the Maronite cross, which was widely seen during the Pope's trip to Lebanon, is similar in that it also has three bars, but all three are at the top of the vertical beam, and arranged in increasing length.

The three bars first off represent the trinity. They also allude to the Maronite Church's union with Rome, with the three bars symbolizing the patriarchs, bishops, and pope. Finally, in the land of the Cedars, the three bars are often depicted with a "bud" at each end, showing that the bars are part of the Tree of Life, and the buds at the end are the salvation that flow from it to us.

2. The Chi-Rho (ΧΡ)

While widely known in the West, the Chi-Rho occupies a special place in Eastern art, often tucked discreetly into the corner of icons or carved into ancient marble lintels. Formed from the first two Greek letters of “Christos,” it is one of Christianity’s oldest monograms. In the Eastern tradition, its circular framing sometimes evokes eternity — Christ at the center of time, creation, and worship. Early baptized Christians would inscribe it on homes and graves, a quiet confession of faith that survived persecutions, migrations, and empires.

3. The Six-Winged Seraph

Eastern Christians visualize the heavenly liturgy with a vividness that the West sometimes encounters only in fragments. The six-winged seraph, drawn from Isaiah and the Hebrew Bible’s descriptions of the throne room, appears frequently in dome mosaics and festal icons. Its wings veil its face and feet — an image of awe and holiness that shaped the developing theology of angels. In some Byzantine churches, the seraph is painted at the meeting point of arches, signaling that the earthly assembly stands on the threshold of heaven during the Eucharist.

4. The Iconostasis

More than a screen or barrier, the iconostasis is a symbolic architecture of salvation. Rising between the nave and the sanctuary, it carries ordered tiers of icons: Christ, the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the church, and scenes from the major feasts. The iconostasis does not hide the altar; it reveals it through images that proclaim the Incarnation. Eastern theologians describe it as the meeting place of heaven and earth, a reminder that in every Divine Liturgy, the faithful participate in what the Catechism calls the “liturgy of heaven”.

5. The Baptismal Cross

Distinct from the crucifix, the baptismal cross used in Eastern rites highlights Christ’s victory rather than His suffering. Often brightly decorated, it appears in immersion baptisms, sometimes dipped into the water three times. Its prominence underlines a central conviction shared by East and West: baptism is not symbolic but ontological, making a person a new creation in Christ. The ornate design signals joy — an image of the “new birth” so central to early Christian identity. Baptised Eastern Christians often carry their baptismal cross with them, as Western Christians carry crucifixes or medals.

Eastern Christianity expresses theology with color, line, and form. Learning these symbols is not only an aesthetic education — it is a way of reconnecting with the shared Christian heritage that once shaped the entire Mediterranean world, and beyond.