The history of Christian flags encompasses the establishment of

Christian state A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by ...

s, the

Crusader era The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...

, and the 20th century ecumenical movement.

National flags of predominantly Christian countries

Christian empires, such as the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

, which became a

in AD 337, adopted Christian symbolism in its flag. Likewise, the flags of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

often depicted "a bowl with a cross, symbol cof the Byzantine worldly domination for centuries and of the ecumenical mission to spread Christianity to all the world". Ethiopian imperial standard of Haile Selassie I (obverse)

Ethiopian imperial standard of Haile Selassie I (obverse)

Many officially Christian states and predominantly Christian countries have flags with

Christian symbol Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by ...

ism. Many flags used by modern nations have their roots in historical Christian flags used in historic Christian empires, such as the Byzantine Empire, or in crusader vexillology. All the flags based on the Dannebrog, including the

Flag of Finland The flag of Finland ( fi, Suomen lippu, sv, Finlands flagga), also called ' ("Blue Cross Flag"), dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The stat ...

Flag of the Faroe Islands The flag of the Faroe Islands (in faroese: ''Merkið'') is an offset cross, representing Christianity. It is similar in design to other Nordic flags – a tradition set by the '' Dannebrog'' of Denmark, of which the Faroe Islands are an auto ...

Flag of Iceland The flag of Iceland ( is, íslenski fáninn) was officially described in Law No. 34, set out on 17 June 1944, the day Iceland became a republic. The law is entitled "The Law of the National Flag of Icelanders and the State Arms" and describes ...

Flag of Norway The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style ...

and

Flag of Sweden The national flag of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges flagga) consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design ...

contain a Christian cross, representing

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, as well as its ancestral flags, "

ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It's located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The name ...

reference to three Christian patron saints: the patron saint of England, represented by the red cross of Saint George, the patron saint of Ireland, represented by the red

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

of Saint Patrick, and the patron saint of Scotland, represented by the saltire of Saint Andrew." In addition, the

Flag of Greece The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" ( el, Γαλανόλευκη, ) or the "sky blue and white" (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal stri ...

, as well as the

Flag of Switzerland The national flag of Switzerland (german: Schweizerfahne; french: drapeau de la Suisse; it, bandiera svizzera; rm, bandiera da la Svizra) displays a white cross in the centre of a square red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross ...

, contain a Christian cross to represent the faith. The "cross on the flag of Dominica represents Christianity while the three colours of which the cross consists stand for the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

" and the "coat of arms depicted on the

Flag of Slovakia The current form of the national flag of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vlajka Slovenskej republiky) was adopted by Slovakia's Constitution, which came into force on 3 September 1992. The flag, like many other flags of Slavic nations, uses Pan-Slavic ...

shows a double cross". The

Flag of the Dominican Republic The flag of the Dominican Republic represents the Dominican Republic and, together with the coat of arms and the national anthem, has the status of a national symbol. The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the ...

also depicts a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

and a cross. The

Flag of Georgia Flag of Georgia may refer to: *Flag of Georgia (country) The flag of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სახელმწიფო დროშა, tr), also known as the five-cross flag ( ka, ხუთჯვრიანი � ...

Flag of Tonga The flag of Tonga consists of a red field with a white canton charged with a red couped cross. Adopted in 1875 after being officially enshrined into the nation's constitution, it has been the flag of the Kingdom of Tonga since that year. The ...

Flag of Moldova The national flag of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Drapelul Moldovei) is a vertical triband of blue, yellow, and red, charged with the coat of arms of Moldova (an eagle holding a shield charged with an aurochs) on the centre bar. The reverse i ...

and

Flag of Serbia The flag of Serbia ( sr, Застава Србије, Zastava Srbije), also known as the Tricolour ( sr, тробојка, ''trobojka''), is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white o ...

all display a cross representing Christianity. The Flag of Portugal also has Christian symbolism, bearing the

five wounds of Christ In Catholic tradition, the Five Holy Wounds, also known as the Five Sacred Wounds or the Five Precious Wounds, are the five piercing wounds that Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixion. The wounds have been the focus of particular devotions, ...

. The Flag of Vatican City features the keys of St. Peter, which were given to him by

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, one ''or'' (

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

) and one ''

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

'' (

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

), which represent heavenly and

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

ly power respectively. The flag also features a Christian cross, which surmounts the Papal Tiara. Kartli_-_drosha_jvari

File:Flag of Armenia.svg,

Flag of Armenia , Image = Flag of Armenia.svg , Use = 111000 , Symbol = , Proportion = 1:2 , Adoption = 28 May 1918 (re-adopted on 24 August 1990) , Design = A horizontal tricolour of red, blue, and apricot , Design ...

File:Flag of Denmark.svg, Flag of Denmark File:Flag of Sweden.svg,

File:Flag of Norway.svg,

File:Flag of Iceland.svg,

File:Flag of Finland.svg,

File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg,

File:Flag of England.svg,

Flag of England The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...

File:Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1936; 1941-1974).svg, Flag of the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that histori ...

File:Flag of Switzerland.svg,

File:Flag of Greece.svg,

File:Flag of Dominica.svg, Flag of Dominica File:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg,

File:Flag of Slovakia.svg,

File:Flag of Georgia.svg,

File:Flag of Moldova.svg,

File:Flag of Serbia.svg,

File:Flag of Portugal.svg, Flag of Portugal File:Flag of Tonga.svg,

File:Flag of the Vatican City.svg,

Flag of Vatican City The flag of Vatican City was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican City flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the ...

File:Flag of Malta.svg,

Flag of Malta The flag of Malta ( mt, Bandiera ta' Malta) is a bicolour, with white in the hoist and red in the fly. A representation of the George Cross, awarded to Malta by George VI in 1942, is carried, edged with red, in the canton of the white stripe. T ...

File:Flag of Montenegro.svg,

Flag of Montenegro The flag of Montenegro ( cnr, Застава Црне Горе, Zastava Crne Gore) has a red field with gold border and the coat of arms of Montenegro in its center. It was officially adopted on 13 July 2004, when the then Republic of Monteneg ...

File:Flag of Liechtenstein.svg,

Flag of Liechtenstein The national flag of the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: Flagge Liechtensteins) consists of two horizontal bands, one blue and one red, charged with a gold crown in the canton. In use since 1764 and officially enshrined into the natio ...

File:Flag of San Marino.svg,

Flag of San Marino The state and war flag of San Marino is formed by two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks) with a c ...

File:Flag of Spain.svg, Flag of Spain File:Flag of Guernsey.svg,

Flag of Guernsey The flag of Guernsey was adopted in 1985 and consists of the red Saint George's Cross with an additional gold Norman cross within it. The creation was prompted by confusion at international sporting events over competitors from Guernsey and E ...

Crusader era

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Christian flags bore various types of Christian crosses. Military orders of Christian knights used these crosses in their flags. For example, the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

(Knights of Malta) used and continue to use a Maltese cross in their flags. File:Vexillum Francorum.svg, Flag of the French crusaders File:Vexillum Anglorum.svg, Flag of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

crusaders File:Vexillum Italorum.svg, Flag of the Italian crusaders File:Vexillum Flamingorum.svg, Flag of the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

crusaders File:Banniel Breizh 1.0.svg, Flag of the

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

crusaders File:Gascogne drapeau.svg, Flag of the Gascon crusaders File:War flag of the Holy Roman Empire (1200-1350).svg, Flag of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

crusaders, then used as the war flag of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

File:State Banner of Denmark (14th Century).svg, Flag of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

crusaders, then introduced as the state flag of the Kingdom of Denmark File:Flag of the army of György Dózsa.svg, Flag of the crusader army of György Dózsa of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

File:Flag of the Order of St. John (various).svg, Flag of the

(

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

) File:Bandiera_del_Sovrano_Militare_Ordine_di_Malta.svg, Variant flag of the

(

) File:Bandeira Templária.svg, Flag of the Knights Templar File:Flag of the State of the Teutonic Order.svg, Flag of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

File:Flag of the Order of Saint Lazarus.svg, Flag of the

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care beca ...

File:Drapeau du Saint-Sépulcre.svg, Flag of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

File:Vexillum Regni Hierosolymae.svg, Flag of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

File:Flag of Marseille.svg, Flag of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

also has its origins in the Crusader era

Flags of Christian denominations

Many Christian denominations have their own denominational flag and display it alongside the ecumenical Christian Flag or independent from it.

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

es in communion with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

often display the

Vatican flag The flag of Vatican City was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The Vatican City flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the ...

along with their respective national flag, typically on opposite sides of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, near the front door, or hoisted on flagstaffs outside. Individual dioceses may also fly flags based on the diocesan coat of arms. The

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

tradition, particularly jurisdictions of the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

under the direct authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch, often displays this flag. It is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

double-headed eagle on a yellow (Or) field. Parishes in the Episcopal Church frequently fly the Episcopal flag, a

Cross of St. George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...

with the upper-left canton containing a Cross of St. Andrew formed by nine cross-crosslets (representing the nine original

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

s) on a blue background. The Salvation Army has a flag with a blue border (symbolizing the purity of God the Father), a red field (symbolizing the blood of Jesus Christ), and a gold eight-pointed star (symbolizing the fire of the Holy Spirit). The star bears the Salvation army's motto, "Blood and Fire". The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

has a blue flag with a

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cru ...

in the centre surrounded with a gold band with the wording, "The Truth shall make you free." in

New Testament Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

on it. From the band sprout the points of a compass (symbolising the spread worldwide of Anglicanism). On the "North" of the compass is a

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

(a symbol of apostolic order essential to all Churches and Provinces constituting the Anglican Communion). The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

uses the

flag with the coat of arms of the individual diocese in the upper-left canton. The

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

uses a

Flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland ( gd, bratach na h-Alba; sco, Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the ...

depicting the

Burning Bush The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb. According to the ...

(or Unburnt Bush, in some traditions). The

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

uses a blue Cross defaced with a gold Celtic Cross. The

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

uses the St Patrick's Saltire but also uses the Compass-rose Flag of the Anglican Communion equally. The

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...

, a federation of

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Reformed and

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Protestant churches, has a flag with a violet Latin cross. Additionally, many Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches maintain the use of the Labarum, a historical symbol of Christianity, which is rarely used as a flag at present. File:Flag of the Vatican City.svg, Flag of The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, also the flag of

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

and The

File:Flag of the Greek Orthodox Church.svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of Georgian Orthodox Church.svg, Flag of the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

File:Flag of the US Episcopal Church.svg, Flag of the Episcopal Church File:Flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church.svg, Flag of the Serbian Orthodox Church File:Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg,

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

flag File:Standard of the Salvation Army.svg, Standard of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

File:Compassrose Flag.svg, Flag of the Anglican Communion File:Kisha Ortodokse e Shqipërisë.svg, Flag of the Albanian Orthodox Church File:Church in Wales flag.svg,

Flag of the Church in Wales The Flag of the Church in Wales is the flag used to represent the Church in Wales. It consists of a blue cross on a white background with a gold celtic cross in the centre. It was adopted in 1954 by the Governing Body of the Church in Wales. His ...

File:Flag of the Church of Scotland.svg, Flag of the

File:Saint Patrick's Saltire.svg, Flag of the

File:Anglican Church of Australia.svg, Flag of

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...

File:Anglican Church of Canada Flag.svg, Flag of the Anglican Church of Canada File:Evang.svg, Flag of the

File:Kreuz prot.svg, Flag of the

(alternative version)

Christian Flag adopted by the Federal Council of Churches

In the beginnings of ecumenical movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Christian Flag was first conceived on 26 September 1897, at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The superintendent of a Sunday school, Charles C. Overton, gave a lecture to the gathered students and asked the students what an ecumenical flag representing all of Christianity would look like. In 1907, Overton and Ralph Diffendorfer, secretary of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Young People's Missionary Movement, designed and began promoting the flag. The Christian Flag intentionally has no patent, as the designer dedicated the flag to all of

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...

. With regard to the Christian symbolism of the Christian Flag: The ecumenical organization,

Federal Council of Churches The Federal Council of Churches, officially the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, was an ecumenical association of Christian denominations in the United States in the early twentieth century. It represented the Anglican, Baptist, Ea ...

, now succeeded by the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...

and Christian Churches Together, adopted the flag on 23 January 1942. Since then, the Christian Flag is used by many congregations of various Christian traditions, including the Anglican,

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, Congregationalist,

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...

, Moravian,

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, Quaker, and Reformed, among others. The famous

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

writer, Fanny J. Crosby, devoted a hymn titled “The Christian Flag”, with music by R. Huntington Woodman, in its honour; like the flag, the hymn is also free use. On the Sunday nearest 26 September 1997, the Christian Flag celebrated its one hundredth anniversary.

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