The current church dates from the 13th century, but gravestones were discovered nearby showing that it is on the site of an older ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. centre. In the churchyard is the highly-decorated c.700 Bewcastle Cross, one of the most important pieces of monumental sculpture in the north of England. Its decoration shows figures of Christ, St JohnJohn, St Evangelist, Apostle. Son of Zebedee and brother of St James the Great. One of the three disciples closest to Christ. Tradition states that he wrote the Fourth Gospel, the three Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. In medieval iconography often stands with the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross. Symbol an eagle the EvangelistEvangelist 1. Used of the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.2. Someone who proclaims the the Christian message or Gospel (evangel).3. A character in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress., and St John the BaptistJohn the Baptist, St (d. c.30) Son of Zachariah and Elizabeth (cousin of the Virgin Mary), and the 'forerunner' whose ministry of preaching and baptism prepared the way for the message of Jesus. Appeared c. 27 by the banks of the Jordan preaching repentance. He baptised Jesus in the Jordan and hailed him as the 'Lamb of God'. Later beheaded by Herod Antipas at the instigation of Salome due to his criticism of Herod's incestuous marriage to Herodias (Matthew 14:1-12), along with vine-like carving and runic inscriptions. The church is in the corner of a former Roman fortress which was also a temple to the local paganPagan Derived from Latin paganus, the Roman term for a rural dweller, this word came to be applied to those who were not Christian, particularly the followers of the classical religion of Greece and Rome and those who followed the pre-Christian religions of Europe god Cocidius. The crossCross Instrument of torture and execution used in the Roman Empire. The means by which Christ was put to death and therefore the primary symbol of the Christian faith, representing the means by which he is believed to have won forgiveness for humankind. The Cross may be represented as Tau-shaped (like a capital T); with a shorter cross-bar or with a circle enclosing the upper intersection (Celtic). In medieval art a cross made of living branches signifies the Tree of Life. St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, is said to have discovered the True Cross (i.e. the Cross in Jerusalem on which Christ died) in 326. could have been deliberately placed to show the triumph of Christianity over paganism.