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The Eastern Orthodox cross (also known as Crux Orthodoxa, the Byzantine cross, the Eastern cross, and the Russian cross) can be considered a modified version of the Patriarchal cross. This cross always has a slanted crossbar near the bottom and the top bar is noticeably smaller and thinner. The most likely explanation of the slanted crossbar would suggest the Cross Saltire, as tradition holds that the Apostle St. Andrew introduced Christianity to lands north of the Black Sea: today's Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. |