"The cross became a Christian symbol only in the fourth century when the emperor Constantine abolished the penalty of crucifixion. It took a further two centuries, however, for Christians to place a figure on the cross, and it was only in the eleventh century that a suffering Christ was depicted," writes Murphy-O'Connor, O.P. The author looks the impact of Jesus' death by crucifixion on the early Church and its significance today. "We must accept the cross. We must exhibit the self-sacrificing, empowering love that Christ showed in his crucifixion. We must bear in our bodies the dying of Jesus in order that the life of Jesus may be manifested to the world. The cross is what makes a Christian," concludes Murphy-O'Connor.