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WordNet
stations of the Cross
  1. n. a representation of the 14 stages in Christ's journey to Calvary

  2. (Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of 14 prayers before the 14 stations of the cross (referring to Jesus' suffering and crucifixion) [syn: Stations]

Wikipedia
Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to the be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in most Western Catholic as well as in a number of Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist parishes.

Commonly, a series of 14 images will be arranged in numbered order along a path and the faithful travel from image to image, in order, stopping at each "station to say the selected prayers and reflections. This will be done individually or in a procession most commonly during Lent, especially on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his passion.

The style, form, and placement of the stations vary widely. The typical stations are small plaques with reliefs or paintings placed around a church nave. Modern minimalist stations can be simple crosses with a numeral in the centre. Occasionally the faithful might say the stations of the cross without there being any image, such as when the pope leads the stations of the cross around the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday. The older stations can be an outdoor series of chapels in a landscape, known as a Calvary, and are sites of pilgrimage in their own right. Examples include Sacro Monte Calvario in Italy, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in Poland, Žemaičių Kalvarija in Lithuania.

Stations of the Cross (album)

Stations of the Cross is a Johnny Thunders album recorded over two sets at The Mudd Club in New York on September 30, 1982. Film director Lech Kowalski had originally planned to record a live Johnny Thunders performance for his movie, Stations of the Cross. The spoken dialogue was recorded at the Carlton Arms Hotel, New York City, in Room 29, on August 25, 1982.

Stations of the Cross (film)

Stations of the Cross is a 2014 German drama film directed by Dietrich Brüggemann. The film had its premiere in the competition section of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for Best Script.

Stations of the Cross (disambiguation)

Stations of the Cross is a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion. It can also refer to:

  • Stations of the Cross (album), an album by Johnny Thunders
  • Stations of the Cross (film), a 2014 German film
  • The Station of the Cross, a radio network

Usage examples of "stations of the cross".

Figures in a plastic tunnel represented the Stations of the Cross.

The vaulted ceiling, the stained glass windows, the Spanish design around the stations of the cross remained as they had been.

Above him, light from within the church cast a glow through stained-glass windows depicting the Stations of the Cross.

My hands, under my smock, were still quietly folded over my drum, as we, my drum and I, made our way over the flags, past the stations of the Cross in the left aisle of the nave.

Last five stations of the cross are contained within the church itself.

Indeed, by the time the massive crowd followed Potentate Carpathia's pageant through the Via Dolorosa and half of what is known as the Stations of the Cross from the now defunct Christian religion, the loyalty mark application site was already clogged with Peacekeepers and Morale Monitors.