Cemetery Crosses In this issue, and in the next several issues, we will be presenting the wide variety of grave markers found at the Charles Baber Cemetery. The cemetery has no restriction on the size, shape, or type of grave markers used. It is a matter of ethnic, religious, or personal preference. One of the most common grave markers is the cross. The cross, used as a religious Christian symbol and its association with Christ, dates back to the second century. Charles Ba- ber Cemetery is filled with a variety of crosses.

The 3 crosses below are Celtic, Irish in design. They are one of the most ancient of cruciform and were used by the Celtic Christians in Great Britain and Ireland. They vary in ornateness with the far left having additional Christian symbols carved within the upper part, while the Celtic cross on the far right is plain.

The cross on the left is the Fleurie with the liliform end caps of this cross remind- ing us of the Trinity. The crosses on the right with their three pointed trefoil end caps also are symbolic of the Trinity. They bear the IHS letters, the most common Christogram derived from the first three letters of the Latin name of Jesus or if seen as IHC, it is the Greek name of Jesus.

IHS is sometimes inter- preted in Latin as mean- ing Iesus Hominum Sal- vator—”Jesus, Savior of men”. Interpretations known as backronyms, consider IHS as “ I Have Suffered” or “In His Ser- vice”.

Cemetery Crosses continued Some crosses known as a Graded Calvary cross have three steps leading up to the Latin cross which can represent the hill of Calvary or more often, faith, hope, and love. The cross as a grave marker is often repeated in the family plot, as seen in the one in the middle picture with the husband’s being larger and the wife’s being smaller, or the whole family may be the same height as the crosses on the right.

The Latin cross is the most common of all cruciforms reminding us of the supreme sacrifice offered by Jesus. The cross can be empty to remind us of the resurrection and the hope of eternal life. Or the cross can have the corpus, a symbol used by the Catholic Church in contrast to the Protestant denominations who often use the bare cross.

The cross can be chunky and 3 tiered signifying Calvary, or it can have markings like the en- graved flowers below etched into the base.

The bottom left cross serves as a background with a front panel bearing the person’s name and the Fleur-de-lis (the reminder of the Trinity). As seen in the bottom middle, the crosses can be reclining as their own marker, or as on the right, the cross can be offset to the background.