Jerusalem is a favorite place of believers around the world. Every year, millions of pilgrims visit the Holy Land to worship the holy places, pray for the health of their loved ones, pray for sins and just go where Jesus Christ was two millennia ago. In Jerusalem, there are a lot of iconic places and shrines that gather people around them from all over the world. They all hope to beg forgiveness for their mistakes and receive the blessing of the Lord.
The main place of worship is the Wailing Wall, on the site of which was once the Temple of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is rich in holy places, but this is the main one. The church was built by King Solomon, but its history is rather tragic. She suffered from conquerors, then from fires. The First Temple was destroyed to the ground, but soon the Second Temple was built in its place. The erected building was much inferior in beauty to the original building, but nevertheless was revered by all believers. The rebuilt shrine was burned to the ground during the Judean War. All that remains to this day is a wall to which believers converge to ask the Lord for help.
Having been in the Holy Land, you cannot return home empty-handed. Here, at every step, a huge number of souvenirs are offered: icons, crosses, bracelets, key rings, beads, red threads, Hanukkah and much more. But tourists are most interested in the Jerusalem cross. You can buy a cross made of gold or other metal. It will become a real amulet and a talisman protecting its owner from troubles.
The Jerusalem cross consists of one large cross and four small ones. There are several of its notation. According to one of them, it symbolizes Jesus Christ and his four apostles, who wrote the four Gospels. There is speculation that this symbol denotes Jesus himself and the four wounds he received during the crucifixion. There is also a third version, according to which the Jerusalem cross is a symbol of the crucifixion and four nails found in the Holy Land.
Very often this symbol is confused with the crusader cross, but they are completely different. The crusader symbol looks like a red equilateral cross on a white background. It was worn during all the
crusades. It is believed that the Jerusalem cross is a sign of the
knightly order of the tomb of Jesus. This order exists in our time. He collaborates with the Catholic Church, remains faithful to the Pope, contributes to the spread and strengthening of the Catholic faith.
The Jerusalem cross is used not only as a decoration. It can often be seen on the bedspreads on the altar. He is also depicted on the flag of Georgia. Although this symbol is single, there are several modifications of it, which are symbols of various spiritual and military monastic orders, including the Order of the Holy Sepulcher and the Order of the Templars (Temple of Solomon).
This cross is considered to be a symbol of the first Christians, so it contributes to the unification of all Christian churches. Maybe that’s why he is depicted as a mosaic on the tombstones of the leader of the Civil Defense group, Yegor Letov. He venerated this symbol, calling it the
pectoral cross. It is believed that the Jerusalem cross protects from adversity, grants peace. And many more European award orders have this form. Perhaps this tradition has come down to us since the time of the Crusades, when the knights returned from the East with such distinctive signs.