Short answer: The upside-down cross is known as the Cross of St. Peter, and Christian tradition says it recalls the apostle Peter, who asked to be crucified head downward because he felt unworthy to die as Jesus did. The Bible itself does not record this detail. In modern culture the symbol is also used by occult groups and others to mock Christianity, so its meaning depends heavily on who is using it and why.
In This Article
You can find the inverted cross on a metal band's album, in a horror film and on the pendant of a person who may or may not know what it means. It can also be found in old church art. A symbol that appears in places that contradict each other produces a real question: is it holy or hostile?
The answer is that it has two histories, a Christian one and a later one that borrows the shape. This article sets out what the Bible says, what church tradition adds, how the symbol came to be used against the faith, and what a Christian should think about wearing one.
What Is The Biblical Background Of The Upside-Down Cross?
It begins with Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples. In Peter's last conversation with the risen Jesus, recorded in John's Gospel, Jesus told him how his life would end.
when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.
John 21:18 (NIV)
The next verse explains that Jesus said this to show the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God (John 21:19). The picture of stretching out one's hands is widely understood to point to crucifixion. That is as far as the Bible goes. The New Testament does not describe the manner of Peter's death, or whether his cross was upright or inverted.
Why Is It Called The Cross Of St. Peter?
The detail about the inverted cross comes from early church tradition. Writings from the early centuries, including the apocryphal Acts of Peter and a statement by the early Christian teacher Origen preserved by the historian Eusebius, say that Peter was crucified head downward in Rome, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. The story is that Peter asked for this himself, because he did not think himself worthy to die in the same way as his Lord.
Historians cannot confirm the details, and I would not state them with more confidence than the evidence allows. The general account that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero is long-standing and widely accepted. The upside-down detail is a tradition that Christians have held for a very long time. It has appeared in Christian art and has been linked to the papacy, since Catholics understand the pope as Peter's successor, an idea based on Jesus' words to Peter about the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). That is Catholic teaching, and Protestants read those verses differently. What both sides can agree on is that the symbol, in its Christian use, honors Peter's humility.
What Does The Symbol Teach About Humility?
If the tradition is true, it is a moving one. Peter had denied Jesus three times, and he knew it. A man who had learned how weak he was did not want to claim equal honor with Christ even in death. His attitude matches what Jesus taught his disciples about greatness.
Jesus told them that whoever wants to be great must become a servant, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28). Used that way, the Cross of St. Peter is a picture of a believer who knows that Christ's cross is his alone, and who takes up his own cross in a lesser way.
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23 (NIV)
You might say the whole of Christian life turns the world's values upside down, and Paul says as much when he tells us not to conform to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). The first become last, the proud are humbled and the servant is the greatest. I count it a fair reading of the symbol, as long as we remember that it is a reading and not a teaching of Scripture. See also Is Pride A Sin?
What Is A Satan's Cross, And Why Do Some Use The Inverted Cross Against Christianity?
In recent generations the inverted cross has taken on another meaning. It appears in some occult and satanic imagery, in the artwork of certain heavy metal bands, in horror films and on clothing, tattoos and jewelry meant to express rejection of Christianity. Some groups use it deliberately as an act of mockery against the cross. Satanic groups more often use an inverted pentagram, but the inverted cross turns up in those circles as well.
The common term "Satan's cross" is therefore not a Christian name for the symbol. Satan has no cross, since the cross belongs to Christ. What happened is that a shape Christians once used for humility was taken and turned into a statement of defiance. The Bible's pattern is that evil twists good things rather than creating its own (2 Corinthians 11:14).
The cross itself has always provoked opposition. Paul wrote that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Mocking it is nothing new, and it does not change what Christ did there. Those who use the inverted cross to scorn Jesus are missing the one thing that could save them. I pray for them rather than fear them.
Is It Disrespectful To Wear A Cross Upside Down?
The honest answer is: it depends on the intent and on how it will be read. Someone wearing the Cross of St. Peter to honor the apostle, or a Catholic who treats it as a symbol of Peter's office, is not being disrespectful in any sense they intend. But symbols speak to the people who see them, not only to the people who wear them. In much of the culture today the inverted cross is read as an attack on the faith. A person wearing it may be sending a message they do not mean.
For most Christians, I think the simple course is the better one: wear the upright cross, which unmistakably points to Jesus. Paul said he would boast in nothing but the cross of the Lord.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14 (NIV)
And if you are one of the people who has used the inverted cross to say that you have rejected God, I would say that the real cross of Jesus is still open to you. Turn to him. See How To Repent and Does God Forgive All Sins? Questions about tattoos and body marks are covered in Are Tattoos A Sin?
Key Bible Verses About The Cross And Humility
- John 21:18-19: Jesus foretells the kind of death Peter would die.
- Matthew 16:18-19: Jesus speaks to Peter about the keys of the kingdom.
- Matthew 20:26-28: greatness comes through serving.
- Luke 9:23: take up your cross daily and follow Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18: the cross is foolishness to some and God's power to others.
- Galatians 6:14: boast only in the cross of Christ.
- Romans 12:2: be transformed, not conformed to the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it disrespectful to wear a cross upside down?
It depends on the intent and on how others will read it. Worn as the Cross of St. Peter by someone honoring the apostle, it is not disrespectful. But in much of today's culture it signals opposition to Christianity, and most people will read it that way. I would counsel Christians to consider what message they are sending.
What is a Satan's cross?
The inverted cross is sometimes used by occult groups, metal bands and in horror films as a mark of rebellion against Christianity. That use turns the symbol against what it was first understood to mean. Satan has no cross of his own, since the cross belongs to Christ. Anyone using it that way is borrowing and twisting.
Did Peter really ask to be crucified upside down?
The Bible does not record how Peter died, though Jesus hinted that he would die by crucifixion (John 21:18-19). The upside-down detail comes from early Christian tradition, and it is not part of Scripture. Many Christians accept it, but it cannot be proved from the Bible alone.
What does the cross itself mean in the Bible?
The cross is the place where Jesus died for sin, bearing the penalty that we deserved. It became the central symbol of Christianity because of what happened there. See What Does God Made Him Who Had No Sin To Be Sin Mean?
Is the upside-down cross a symbol of the Pope?
In Catholic tradition, the pope is understood as Peter's successor, and the Cross of St. Peter is associated with Peter and so with the papacy. That belief is held by Catholics and is not shared by most Protestants. It is a matter of church tradition, not something Scripture states.
