Reform Unitarian Symbols – The Chalice

During this Lenten season leading up to Garden Thursday, let’s discuss one of our key symbols in Unitarian Reform: the chalice. Now, the flaming chalice is known as a symbolism of post-Christian “Unitarianism” (absent the Unitarian meaning) with origins in the oil-burning lamps in Greek and Roman ritual. For AUR, however, the chalice is the [...]

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Ash Wednesday, Lent, and the Cross

Typically, Reform Unitarianism avoids the veneration of the cross, so it may seem strange for RU’s to join the rest of Christianity in the Ash Wednesday ritual. Still, the cross does have meaning for Unitarian Reform, in that spiritual commitment must accept the suffering of material existence.  From dust we come and to dust we [...]

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Why the Cross is Okay on Ash Wednesday

Typically, Reform Unitarianism avoids the use of the cross.  One reason is that the cross did not become an important symbol in Christianity until well into the 4th Century, after conflationist corruptions had begun to undermine Christian theology.  The cross simply does not represent original Christianity. More importantly, however, veneration of the cross puts salvific power in [...]

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