Coptic cross
The Coptic cross is any of a number of Christian cross variants associated in some way with Coptic Christians.
Typical form
The typical form of the "Coptic cross" used in the Coptic Church is made up of two bold lines of equal length that intersect at the middle at right angles. Each line terminates in three points, representing the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Altogether, the cross has 12 points symbolizing the Apostles, whose mission was to spread the Gospel message throughout the world. The cross most commonly used in Coptic churches is the Trefoil Cross, which was a developed locally from the short Greek cross. The Coptic crosses often have a circle at the center representing God's eternal and everlasting love, demonstrated through the crucifixion of Christ, Christ's halo, and resurrection.Bertran de la Farge dates it to the 4th century and cites it as a predecessor of the Occitan cross.
In 1984, a modern variant of the Coptic cross composed of three bars intersecting at right angles in three dimensions was given as a gift by the Coptic Orthodox Church and mounted on the top of the All Africa Conference of Churches building since the Coptic Church is considered to be the mother church in Africa.