The one symbol used in perhaps every tradition of worship is the cross. This article presents advice on appropriate ways that a cross may be displayed in the worship space.
It is desirable that there be only one cross visible in the chancel during the celebration of the liturgy. Depending on the architecture of the building and its furnishings, such a cross may be simple and unadorned, or elaborately decorated.
In a church with a free-standing altar, a fixed cross may appropriately be placed on the wall behind it, or it may be suspended over it. While it should be large enough to be seen, it should not be so large that it appears to lessen the importance of the altar itself.
When there is a cross above or behind the altar, the processional cross should be placed out of sight, or at least in a place where it is not facing the congregation, during the course of the liturgy.
An attractive alternative is to use the processional cross itself as the cross to be visible during the service, a practice that is very ancient. After being carried in the Entrance procession, it is placed in a stand in a convenient place in the chancel, such as behind or beside the presidential chair; at the end of the service, the cross is carried in the procession out. Such usage also makes possible some seasonal variety where that may be desired, an elaborate cross for days of special festivity and a simpler one at other times.
At services at which the cross is not carried, it is put in place before the rite begins. It may also be left in its stand outside of service time as a focus for private devotion.
The bearer of a processional cross holds the staff perfectly upright (not tilted forward), with one hand just below the cross and the other further down the staff, with the palms of both hands facing the bearer.
The custom of veiling the altar cross on Good Friday serves a practical purpose. By being concealed from view, it does not “compete” with the wooden cross brought in and placed in the sight of the people after the solemn collects (Book of Common Prayer, 281). The practice of extending the veiling to the whole of Holy Week can be defended on devotional grounds; the congregation looks forward to seeing the cross unveiled. But the value of extending it back another week, which became the Roman practice (now merely allowed and not enjoined), or to the whole of Lent (which became the custom in northern Europe) is not apparent, and especially when it involves veiling crucifixes during the season in which they are most appropriate. The practice of extending the veiling is not recommended here.