Crucifix

Crucifix (Lat. crucifigere), a cross bearing the figure of Christ crucified. Its use appears to have been introduced about the 9th century, and no instance of it has been found in the catacombs, nor is it alluded to by any writer of the first four centuries. The crucifix is in use in most Christian churches, though many of the Reformers and their followers have abandoned its use except in sculpture. Some crucifixes had a figure clothed and with eyes open as alive, but in most cases the body, clothed only with a girdle about the. loins, has the appearance of death. The figure on the Jansenist crucifix has the arms hanging down instead of extended upon the transverse limbs of the cross.