LOTUS CROSS

THE LOTUS CROSS

WHEN THE APOSTLES

WERE ASSIGNING MISSION FIELDS

THEY GAVE THOMAS

INDIA

THERE WERE JEWISH COMMUNITIES THERE

COURTESY OF THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

HE WAS SUCCESSFUL

THEY WERE KNOWN AS ST THOMAS CHRISTIANS

IT EXISTS STILL TODAY

IT HAS GONE THROUGH CHANGES

FROM APOSTOLIC

NESTORIAN

CATHOLIC

ORTHODOX

SPLIT OVER IOTAS

BUT ALL ALONG

PREACHING GOD’S WORD

DOING GOD’S WORK

HIS NAME BE PRAISED

IN THE EAST THE LOTUS FLOWER IS IMPORTANT

TO ITS MAJOR RELIGIONS

IT STANDS AS A SYMBOL

THAT MAN CAN TRIUMPH

IT STARTS IN MUD

IN MUDDY WATER

GROWS

TILL IT STANDS ABOVE THE WATER

THEN BLOOMS

DISPLAYING A BUDDHIST SAYING

RISE

ABOVE THE MURK

TO ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT.

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SO STRONG IS THE ATTACHMENT IN THE EAST

THEY USED IT IN THEIR CHRISTIAN LOGO

THE LOTUS CROSS

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
Lacking the effigy of Jesus, the St. Thomas Cross presages the discovery of the empty tomb, glorifying the Resurrection of Jesus

  The four edges of the cross are floral in shape, symbolizing fruition and life.

  The lotus flower beneath the cross is a symbol of Buddhism and India. A cultural adaptation of local imagery, the lotus is the national flower of India and the cross fixed on the lotus would symbolize Christianity in India in the first century. The lotus is also a Puranic holy flower, an offering to God in the Hindu tradition; anything offered on the leaves of lotus is considered to be auspicious.

  The three steps below the Cross represent Golgotha, symbolically referring to the death of Jesus

  Finally, the dove above the cross represents the Holy Spirit, the third aspect of the Holy Trinity according to the Christian tradition. It is this spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and bestows gifts upon the Church's faithful.

THE CHURCH WAS SUSTAINED BY THE SILK ROAD

A TRADE ROUTE KNOWN TO THE ANCIENTS

RUNNING FROM CHINA TO ROME

IT HELPED SPREAD CHRISTIANITY

ALONG ITS ROUTE

CHRISTIANITY OF ALL FLAVORS

WHY DO THEY TREAT THESE PEOPLE AS ENEMIES

WHEN THEY WERE DOING GOD’S WORK

THOMAS THE DOUBTER

REASONABLY

COULD ASK

WHY

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