Cross of St. Peter

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A Cross of St. Peter is an inverted Latin cross

"Peter cross" redirects here. For other uses see Peter Cross (disambiguation)

The Cross of St. Peter (officially known as the Petrine Cross or colloquially Peter's Cross) is an inverted Latin cross. The origin of this symbol comes from the Catholic tradition that St. Peter was crucified upside down, as he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner that Christ died (upright). It is often used with two keys, symbolizing the keys of heaven.

The Alexandrian scholar Origen is the first to report that St. Peter was crucified head downward, for he had asked that he might suffer in this way. Some Catholics use this cross as a symbol of humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ.

It is also often associated with Satanism and anti-religious attitudes as it is seen to represent the opposite of Christianity by inverting its primary symbol- the Latin Cross. As a result, this symbol has become very popular within Satanic Groups and among heavy metal, death metal and black metal musicians.

During the late Pope John Paul II's visit to Israel, a picture of him with a backdrop of St. Peter's cross was widely circulated on the Internet, propagating the belief of some that the Catholic Church is associated with Satanism. In fact the photograph is related to the Catholic tradition that St. Peter was martyred in Rome (and as Catholic tradition views the Pope as the successor of Peter, it is a logical symbol for the Roman Pontiff). The inverted cross is also one of the traditional symbols used by Petrine Orthodox Sebomenoi.