Abstract
At present, the high interest of the peoples of the world in religion, new religious trends, including religious rites, traditions and symbols, has prompted the authors to explore the cross, which is the main symbol of Christian religion. The article is devoted to the study of the cross as a symbol and phenomenon of religion. In the research, it is characterized by the historical significance and methodology of the cross as an expression and symbol of culture and human activity, as a form of orientation in human beings in the world, the society and the private psychology. The article deals with a wide range of problems: from the origin of the cross in different cultures to its polysemantics, manifested in the process of historical development. In the study, it is considered as a polysemantic, multifunctional object, manifested in various forms already at the earliest stages of human history. The article presents the evolution of the symbol of the cross in some cultures of the pre-Christian period; reveals the meaning and meanings of the symbol of the cross in Christian and non-Christian cultures; it is shown how many peoples throughout the history of humanity have adjusted the meaning of the symbol.