Antique Byzantine Russian Orthodox, "Old Believers'" large cross pendant. Handmade, bears marks from the coppersmith's file tools. Cast from bronze or similar, brass-like copper alloy. Overall good vintage/antique condition, lightly bent, scratched, and worn out likely due to devotional wearing by several generations of Christians. Could have been worn as a "bodily" (worn below all garments and underware), pectoral Baptism cross. Exact age unknown, could have be an artifact from late 1700s to 1800s.

The obverse of the cross pendant bears a Byzantine-like Subpedaneum cross, surrounded with the Instruments of the Passion of Christ, such as the Holy Lance (spear) and the Holy Sponge attached to the end of a cane, several inscriptions made with Cyrillic letters, and a tiny image of the skull, or the Adam's head buried below the cross. The Byzantine three-bar cross is used in the Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic churches. Such a cross has three horizontal crossbeams: the top one represents the "INRI" nameplate, and the bottom one, a footrest. The Holy Lance and the Holy Sponge are the subjects of adoration together with the Cross, and therefore, are always depicted on the Russian Old Believers' Baptism or body crosses, creating an image of Calvary (Golgotha) with the three-bar cross and Adam's head.

In such a cross' depiction, the "INRI" inscription made by Pontius Pilate, is considered blasphemous, and is never used as the nameplate. Instead, the top end of the cross pendant bears an abbreviation in Church Slavonic which means "KING OF GLORY". 

The left and right sides next to the ends of the horizontal crossbeam bear the Sacred Name of Jesus Christ, as the "IC XC" Greek Christogram. Just below the Christogram, there is the "NIKA" inscription made with the Cyrillic letters (Greek: "VICTORY"). This is an ancient Byzantine symbol of the Christ's victory over the corruption of sin and death.  

An image of the skull, or Adam's head, below the image of the Subpedaneum cross refers to Golgotha (Calvary), the elevated site where Jesus was crucified, which the Bible says means "the place of the skull" in Hebrew. An ancient tradition of Catholic and Orthodox Churches held that it was also the burial place of Adam, thus also symbolizing the ultimate victory of Christ over sin and death.

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