The Cross Playing Cards ⚜️ KQJ Diamonds

The Court Cards of the Cross Playing Cards might surprise some people. Will it be the twelve apostles? The early church fathers? Saints? In fact, it was not an easy choice, because on the one hand I wanted to take into account the history of the cross, and on the other hand I wanted that the main christian denominations (whether Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant) could find themselves in this deck. Even if we disagree with other denominations on many things, we cannot deny the sacrifices people have made for Christ. On the contrary, they are a great example for us!

When I saw the gallery of the ten modern martyrs of Westminster Abbey I knew it was fitting. All the court cards depict well-known and lesser-known martyrs of the last century. I wanted to emphasize the relevance that the Gospel has until today. They are people who took up the cross. They died because they believed in Christ.

For now here you can see the King, Queen and Jack of Diamonds and a few write-ups on all of them.

Paul Schneider 1897-1939 (Jack of Diamonds) – a German pastor of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union who was the first Protestant minister to be martyred by the Nazis. He was murdered with a strophanthin injection at the concentration camp of Buchenwald. He is one of two persons on the court cards that is not featured in the Modern Martyrs Gallery of Westminster Abbey.

Edith Stein 1891-1942 (Queen of Diamonds) – was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz concentration camp. She is one of two persons on the court cards that is not featured in the Modern Martyrs Gallery of Westminster Abbey.

St. Oscar Romero 1917-1980 (King of Diamonds) – was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. As archbishop, Romero spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War. In 1980, Romero was shot by an assassin while celebrating Mass.