The Tau Cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol, named after the Greek letter it resembles. It is also variously St. Anthony's Cross, Old Testament Cross, Anticipatory Cross, Cross Commissee, Egyptian Cross, Advent Cross, Croce taumata, Saint Francis's Cross, Crux Commissa.
The shape of the letter tau or T was interpreted as representing a crucifix from antiquity. The staurogram, from Greek ΣΤΑΥΡΟΣ "cross", was a tau-rho ligature used to abbreviate the Greek word for cross in very early New Testament manuscripts such as P66, P45 and P75. The tau was also considered a symbol of salvation due to the identification of the tau with the sign which in was marked on the forehead of the saved ones (וְהִתְוִיתָ תָּו עַל־מִצְחֹות הָאֲנָשִׁים "set a mark (tav; after the Phoenician cross-shape ...
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