Serbian cross

Serbian cross

Serbian tetragrammic cross
Heraldic tradition	Byzantine
Jurisdiction	Serbia
Governing body	Serbian Heraldry Society

The Serbian cross (Serbian: Cрпски крст, romanized: Srpski krst), also known as the Firesteels (Serbian: Оцила, romanized: Ocila), is one of the national symbols of Serbia. It is present on the coat of arms and flag of Serbia. The cross is based on a tetragrammic cross emblem of the Palaiologos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, with the difference in Serbian use being that the cross is usually white on a carmine red background, rather than gold on a red background (though it can be depicted in gold as well). The Serbian cross was adopted from the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine cross in the 10th century.

It is composed of a cross symbol with four "fire striker" shapes, originally four Greek letters beta (Β). Serbian tradition attributes the letters to Saint Sava, the 13th-century Archbishop of the Serbs, and interprets the four "fire striker" shapes as four Cyrillic letters "С", for the motto Only Unity Saves the Serbs (Serbian: Cамо слога Србина спасава, romanized: Samo sloga Srbina spasava). The Serbian cross has been frequently used in Serbian heraldry, and along with the Serbian eagle, is the main heraldic symbol which represent the national identity of the Serbian people.^[1][2]