Significance of the Russian Orthodox Three Barred Cross

I was going to post this in the thread on "...Church History....", but felt it deserved its own thread due to its significance and importance.

The Russian Orthodox three barred Cross is unique even in Orthodox Christianity. Each part has its own specific meaning or meanings.

The short bar on the top portion of the Cross symbolizes the sign the Romans tacked up on the top of the Cross which read: INRI - the abbreviation for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum/Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

The long middle bar of the Cross simply symbolizes where Christ's arms were nailed.

The bar on the very bottom of the Cross points upward to the right and downward to the left. The thief who was crucified to the right of Christ asked for forgiveness and the crucified thief on the left mocked Jesus. The repentant thief went up to Heaven and the other one went down to hell.

Saint Andrew, the First Called, is the beloved patron saint of Russia. He was martyred by crucifixion in the form of an "X" and Russian Orthodox tradition also says that the bottom bar symbolizes Saint Andrew's martyrdom.

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As I previously posted, a number of Russian Orthodox churches added a crescent beneath the three barred Cross on their cupolas to symbolize the victory over the Muslims in the Battle of Kazan. 150,000 Russian troops and Cossack calvary defeated the Muslim Tatars for the final victory of the Russian Orthodox Cross over Islam's crescent.

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Significance of the Russian Orthodox Three Barred Cross