Serbian cross

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Serbian cross on the flag of the

The Serbian Cross (српски крст/srpski krst) is a Greek cross which has C-shapes on each of its four corners. It is the national and religious symbol of Serbs and Serbia.

It is most probable that the shapes actually represent four firesteels. However, the common interpretation is that they are four Cyrillic letters С (which looks like Latin letter C but reads like Latin letter S; this can create confusion and sometimes it is said that the cross is surrounded with four letters C or four letters S). A popular extension of this interpretation is that the four letters represent the slogan "Само Слога Србина Спасава" (Samo Sloga Srbina Spašava) which in English translates to "Only Unity Saves the Serbs".

Some sources state that the Serbian Cross is loosely based on a Byzantine cross that was once used by the Byzantine Empire. The Serbian Cross is commonly seen on the Serbian tricolor (red, blue, white) and on other Serbian flags, it is considered a very powerful symbol by many Serbs and has been used in graffiti. The symbol is also very popular among Serbian nationalist groups. A Serbian Cross is on the top of the Shrine of St. Sava, the largest Orthodox shrine in the world.

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See also: Serbian cross, Byzantine Empire, Cyrillic, English language, Es (Cyrillic), Graffiti, Greek cross, Interpretation, Latin alphabet