stations of the cross

or Stations of the Cross

plural noun

, Ecclesiastical.

1. a series of 14 representations of successive incidents from the Passion of Christ, each with a wooden cross, or a series of wooden crosses alone, set up in a church, or sometimes outdoors, and visited in sequence, for prayer and meditation.

Stations of the Cross

plural noun

1. a series of 14 crosses, often accompanied by 14 pictures or carvings, arranged in order around the walls of a church, to commemorate 14 supposed stages in Christ's journey to Calvary
2. a devotion consisting of 14 prayers relating to each of these stages

Word History and Origins

Origin of stations of the cross¹

First recorded in 1885–90