What is the symbolism / significance of the three bar cross ?
The significance of the three-bar cross is a simple one. The short bar on the top represents the sign that was placed on the cross which read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (in Latin the initials are “INRI”). The middle bar — the longest — is the bar upon which Our Lord’s arms were stretched and nailed. The bottom bar is the footrest which supported Our Lord’s body. While many people popularly refer to this cross as a “Russian” cross, it actually predates the Christianization of Russia in 988 AD, although generally, in earlier depictions of the Crucifixion, the bottom bar is horizontal rather than angled. Very early depictions of the crucifixion, even those originating in Egypt, generally portray the triple bar cross. In certain parts of Central and Eastern Europe, the triple bar cross with a slanted footrest indicates that a given church is an Orthodox one, while a triple bar cross with a horizontal footrest indicates that a given church is a Byzantine Rite, or Greek Catholi
