Please tell us about the history of the sign of the cross in the early stages of Christianity. As I understand it, neither Christ nor the apostles made the sign of the cross. When did this tradition begin? When and why did the difference appear in the direction of the cross: from the right shoulder to the left and from the left to the right. Which sign of the cross is the oldest?
We do not have liturgical texts of Christians of the apostolic age. Therefore, we cannot unambiguously resolve the issue of the use of the sign of the cross in the primal Church. Ignorance does not give us reason to deny the possibility of the appearance of the sign of the cross in the earliest Christian communities. Some researchers speak about this quite definitely: “The custom of making cr. I know originates from the times of the apostles" (Complete Orthodox Theological Theological Encyclopedia, St. Petersburg. Published by P.P. Soykin, b.g., p. 1485). During Tertullian's time, the sign of the cross had already deeply entered the lives of Christians of his day. In the treatise “On the Warrior’s Crown” (about 211), he writes that we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross in all circumstances of life: entering and leaving the house, dressing, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down for any activity .
The sign of the cross is not just part of a religious ritual. First of all, it is a great weapon. The Patericon, Patericon and Lives of Saints contain many examples that testify to the real spiritual power that the image of the cross possesses. Did the divinely enlightened apostles really not know about this? We find interesting evidence in the “Spiritual Meadow” of Blessed. John Mosch. When the presbyter of the monastery of Pentukla Konon left the monastery, he was met by St. John the Baptist, who meekly told him: “Return to the monastery, and I will deliver you from the battle.” Avva Konon refused. Then St. John sat him on one of the hills and, opening his clothes, made the sign of the cross over him three times” (chapter 3). The Great Forerunner John is a celestial being. How could he have learned to make the sign of the cross from people? The above story indirectly indicates that the image of the cross has been used since the beginning of Christianity. Let me give you one more idea. St. John of Damascus writes about the Cross: “It was given to us as a sign on our foreheads, like circumcision to Israel” (An exact statement of the Orthodox faith, book 4, chapter XI). Given by whom? By God. Just as the Lord gave circumcision through Abraham (Gen. 17:10), so, apparently, He gave the sign of the cross through the apostles.
How and when did two different traditions in performing the sign of the cross arise? Due to the lack of historical data, it is impossible to answer. Orthodox Christians, making the sign of the blessing, move their hand from the right shoulder to the left. If an Orthodox person overshadows another person or space in front of him, then the hand moves from left to right. Catholics perform the signum crucis from left to right, and the space in front of them from right to left. There is no dogmatic teaching behind these features. Perhaps, during the formation of these traditions, differences in ideological orientations emerged. In the consciousness and life of a Western person, the individual-personal principle is more clearly manifested than in an Eastern person. The worldview of a Western person is anthropocentric, while that of an Orthodox person is theocentric. In the Orthodox tradition, when making the sign of the cross, the idea is expressed that the person praying does not overshadow himself, but receives this spiritual seal from God (from the outside). The Western Christian overshadows himself by calling on the name of God.
Which hand is the correct one to cross yourself and how to cross yourself correctly - from left to right or from right to left? How to fold your fingers correctly? Why do you need to be baptized and is it necessary to do this before entering the temple?
The sign of the cross for a believer combines several essences: religious, spiritual-mystical and psychological.
Religious essence consists in the fact that, by crossing himself with the sign of the cross, a person shows that he is a Christian and lives with Christ; that he is part of the Christian community, appreciates its traditions and values them. That he remembers and keeps in his heart the entire earthly life of Christ - from His first to his last day - and tries to the best of his ability to correspond to it. That he honors and tries to live according to the commandments that were given by Christ.
Spiritual and mystical essence is that the sign of the cross itself has life-giving power - protecting the one who is baptized and sanctifying him. The cross is a spiritual image that a person puts on himself, “overshadows” himself with it - making himself, according to the degree of his faith, similar to Christ. Therefore, Christians have a reverent attitude toward the sign of the cross and they try to be baptized not hastily, “fusily,” but with accountability.
Moreover, when it is said that the sign of the cross has a certain “mystical” essence, it does not mean that the cross is a “mathematical” formula - such as the Indian mantra, or the rituals of magicians - which begins to “act” from a simple repetition of a set of actions or words. In a way inexplicable to human understanding, the cross sanctifies everyone who is baptized, but at the same time, everyone is “rewarded according to his faith”...
The sign of the cross is a prayer and the attitude towards it should be appropriate.
Emotional and psychological essence The sign of the cross is that a believer unconsciously begins to be baptized when he is “used to it” (at certain moments of the service), or at those moments when he wants to collect himself internally (before an important matter, before a secret step), or simply when he experiences psychological fear of something. Or vice versa - we are filled with joy and gratitude to God. Then the hand “begins to be baptized itself.”
In the Orthodox tradition, you need to be baptized with your right hand - regardless of whether you are right-handed or left-handed.
The order is as follows: forehead - stomach - right - then left shoulder.
You can “shrink” the sign of the cross (not the stomach, but the chest) - for example, in situations when there are non-believers around you, you want to cross yourself, but you try to do it “invisibly.”
The main thing is not to trivialize the cross “within yourself”, to always remember its greatness, importance and strength.
The Orthodox tradition says that the fingers should be folded like this: the thumb, middle and index fingers are brought together - this symbolizes the Holy Trinity - and the ring finger and little finger are pressed against the palm.
Is it possible to cross yourself in some other way or, for example, with two fingers or from left to right? No - in the Orthodox Church it is customary to cross yourself with three fingers from right to left, and you need to do it this way - without reasoning. Even if we assume that the number of fingers is a convention and an earthly institution (referring to the fact that Old Believers still cross themselves with two, as all Orthodox Christians in Russia once did), the very violation of tradition brings more spiritual harm to a person than good.
A page from the pre-revolutionary book “The Law of God,” which tells about how to correctly fold your fingers when making the sign of the cross, and what all this symbolizes.
When entering the temple it is customary to cross yourself. For a person who is just getting acquainted with religion, this may seem like an artificial rule (sort of like a “must”), but over time it becomes natural and even a need - to “gather” internally, to overshadow oneself with Christ’s symbol and power, to pay tribute to the temple in which the sacraments are performed.
As for the situation when you just see a temple and pass by it, then a person must rely on his feelings and there are no rules. There are people who overshadow themselves with a sign every time they see the domes of the temple. There are those who do not do this, but at the same time in life they will be no less an example of a Christian.
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when we are baptized, that is, sign ourselves with the sign of the cross, we receive great power capable of driving away any evil and saving us from demonism. After all, touching our forehead with our right hand (illumination of the mind), stomach (illumination of internal feelings), right and left shoulders (illumination of our bodily powers), we depict a cross on ourselves. And he, as you know, is a symbol of Christ’s victory over sin and death.
we are called Christians because we believe in God as the Son of God Himself, our Lord, taught us to believe Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ not only taught us to correctly believe in God, but also saved us from the power of sin and eternal death.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, out of love for us sinners, came down from heaven and, like a simple man, suffered in our place for our sins, was crucified, died on the cross and on the third day resurrected.
So sinless Son of God by His cross(that is, by suffering and death on the cross for the sins of all people, the whole world) he defeated not only sin, but also death itself - rose from the dead, and made the cross the instrument of His victory over sin and death.
As the conqueror of death - resurrected on the third day - He saved us from eternal death. He will resurrect all of us who have died when the last day of the world comes, He will resurrect us for a joyful, eternal life with God.
Cross There is weapon or banner of Christ's victory over sin and death.
That is why, in order to express our faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, we wear a cross on our bodies, and during prayer we depict the sign of the cross with our right hand, or sign ourselves with the sign of the cross (we cross ourselves).
To make the sign of the cross, we fold the fingers of our right hand like this: we fold the first three fingers (thumb, index and middle) together with their ends straight, and bend the last two (ring and little fingers) to the palm.
The first three fingers folded together express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as the Consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, and the two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God, upon His descent to earth, being God, became man , that is, they mean His two natures - Divine and human.
The sign of the cross gives us great power to drive away and defeat evil and do good, but only we must remember that the cross must be placed Right And slowly, otherwise there will not be an image of a cross, but a simple waving of the hand, which only demons rejoice at. By carelessly performing the sign of the cross we show our disrespect for God - we sin, this sin is called blasphemy.
You need to sign yourself with the sign of the cross, or be baptized: at the beginning of prayer, during prayer and at the end of prayer, as well as when approaching everything holy: when we enter a church, when we venerate a cross, an icon, etc. We need to be baptized and in all important cases of our life: in danger, in grief, in joy, etc.
When we are baptized not during prayer, then mentally, to ourselves, we say: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen,” thereby expressing our faith in the Most Holy Trinity and our desire to live and work for the glory of God.
The word "amen" means: truly, truly, so be it.
Orthodox Christians make the sign of the cross before prayer, upon entering a church, during worship, before and after eating food, before and after finishing work. The sign of the cross testifies to our faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity, as well as our submission to the Lord's will.
By bowing our heads and bowing during prayer, we express our humility and obedience to God towards Him.
Sign of the Cross:
1. In the name of the Father - forehead
2. and Son - belly
3. and Saint - right shoulder
4. Dukha - left shoulder
Amen - when pronouncing this word, what does it mean - so be it! - lower your hand
and bow our heads.
This is how we fold our fingers for the sign of the cross - they should be folded together, according to the picture.
Three fingers symbolize the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit.
The two fingers symbolize the two natures in Jesus Christ: Divine and human.
Sign of the Cross- cruciform overshadowing of oneself or someone else. In the Orthodox Church, when making the sign of the cross, it is customary to place the thumb, index and middle fingers together, and press the ring and little fingers against the palm. The sign of the cross is made by touching the forehead, stomach, right and left shoulders in sequence with folded fingers.
The doctrine of the liturgical use of the cross and the meaning of the sign of the cross refers to traditions “received in secret.” By virtue of an unwritten apostolic institution, the sign of the cross formed the basis of the liturgical life of all the sacraments performed. St. Augustine wrote: “If we do not use the sign of the cross either on the forehead of believers, or over the water by which we are reborn, or with the anointing with which we were anointed, or over the holy sacrifice with which we feed, then everything is fruitless.” The sign of the cross opens the gates through which the grace of the Holy Spirit is poured out on believers, transforming earthly things into heavenly things in their souls, overthrowing sin, defeating death and crushing barriers invisible to the sensory eye that separate us from the knowledge of God. The cross would never have had such liturgical significance if it served only as a reminder of Calvary, and did not express the actual participation of the powers of the Holy Cross in the full power of its revelation. In many Orthodox prayers, the connection between the Holy Spirit, the Mother of God and the Holy Cross is clearly visible. The world is sanctified by the Holy Spirit through the sign of the Cross. The cross is the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “From the time of the Cross, the Comforter Spirit came and moved into Christians” (Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 8).
The sign of the cross is made with the right hand. To do this, we connect the first three fingers together, and bend the other two - the ring and little fingers - to the palm. With three joined fingers we touch the brow, the belly, the right, and then the left shoulder, depicting the Cross on ourselves, and, lowering our hand, we bow. The connection of three fingers means our faith in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; two bent fingers mean our faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ: that He has two natures - God and Man, and for the sake of our salvation He came down from heaven to earth. We place the sign of the cross on the forehead to sanctify our mind and thoughts, on the belly to sanctify the heart and feelings, on the shoulders to sanctify bodily strength and invoke blessing on the works of our hands. The sign of the cross symbolizes the invocation of the name of God and the glorification of God, therefore it is usually performed with the words “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” or at any other beginning of prayer, and the words “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Just as it is not proper to call on the name of God in vain, that is, unnecessarily and irreverently, so the sign of the cross should not be done often and hastily, much less carelessly, turning it into a meaningless movement of the hand. When the priest blesses, saying “Peace to all,” one must bow without making the sign of the cross; When making the sign of the cross, we place the sign of the cross on ourselves.
The meaning of the Sacraments is deification, therefore the cross is the basis of all cultic actions. The clergy themselves receive the power and strength to perform the Sacraments from the moment of ordination, when the bishop calls on the Holy Trinity with the threefold sign of the Cross so that there will be “the most abundant descent of the grace of the Holy Spirit on the initiate” (New Tablet). A newly built church turns into a temple of God only after its throne and walls are anointed with chrism in a cross shape. The priest makes the sign of the cross with the Holy Lamb. This is one of the most mysterious moments
Elena Terekhova
Sign of the Cross expresses the essence of Christian dogmas, confession of faith in the Trinity and Jesus Christ, who took human form in order to save the world from hell. The sign also protects us from fallen spirits. In order to make the sign of the cross, you need to put the first, index and third fingers together, and press the ring and little fingers to the palm. The first three fingers folded signify faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are the indivisible Trinity. The last two fingers pressed to the palm mean the dual essence of God - human and divine.
The sign of the cross must be applied to yourself without haste. First on the forehead, then on the stomach, then on the right shoulder, on the left, and make a bow from the waist. We put our fingers to our forehead in order to sanctify our mind, to our stomach - to sanctify our inner feelings and heart, to our right and left shoulders we bring our folded fingers to sanctify our bodily powers.
It happens that some believers cross their fingers, bow not low to the waist, and place their fingers not to their stomach, but higher. The Holy Fathers speak of such actions as waving, which delights demons. At the time when we are baptized carefully, reverently, we receive mercy from God.
The sign of the cross does not mean only part of the ritual; first of all, it is a weapon against evil spirits. By the power of the sign of the cross, the apostles performed miracles. St. Anthony the Great warned us not to be deceived when angels come to us at night. In such a situation, you need to cross yourself and look at the reaction of the vision.
If these are really messengers of God, it will become clear to you, but if they are evil, transformed demons, then they will be afraid of the sign and disappear. One day Saint Dorotheos drank water from a well in which a serpent lived. Dorotheus's disciple was upset and said that now death would befall them. In response, the abba only smiled modestly and said that the sign of the cross cannot pose a danger to the life of a Christian.
The first Christians imposed sign of the cross with one finger, showing thereby his faith in one God. In 325, after the Council of Nicea, it was decided to be baptized with two fingers, thereby emphasizing the dual nature of Jesus Christ. In the 11th century, in contrast to the heresies that arose that denied the Holy Trinity, it was customary to cross with three fingers, which meant faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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You can often hear: prayer works miracles. In fact, it is the Lord God who sees our good intentions and hears our requests. A piece of text alone cannot heal people or solve problems. Prayer becomes miraculous only when a person turns to faith.
Theological-liturgical dictionarySign of the Cross- overshadowing with a sign, externally expressed in such a movement of the hand that it reproduces the symbolic outline of the Cross on which the Lord was crucified; at the same time, the overshadowing one expresses the inner; in Christ as the Son of God made man, the Redeemer of men; love and gratitude towards, hope for His protection from the action of fallen spirits, hope for.
For the sign of the cross, we fold the fingers of our right hand like this: we put the first three fingers (thumb, index and middle) together with their ends straight, and bend the last two (ring and little fingers) to the palm...
The first three fingers folded together express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as the consubstantial and inseparable Trinity, and the two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God upon His incarnation, being God, became man, that is, they mean His two natures are Divine and human.
You should make the sign of the cross slowly: place it on your forehead (1), on your stomach (2), on your right shoulder (3) and then on your left (4). By lowering your right hand, you can make a bow or bow to the ground.
Making the sign of the cross, we touch our fingers with three fingers folded together. forehead- to sanctify our mind, to stomach– to sanctify our inner feelings (), then to the right, then to the left shoulders- to sanctify our bodily powers.
About those who mark themselves with all five, or bow without having yet finished the cross, or wave their hand in the air or across their chest, the saint said: “The demons rejoice at that frantic waving.” On the contrary, the sign of the cross, performed correctly and slowly, with faith and reverence, frightens demons, calms sinful passions and attracts Divine grace.
Realizing our sinfulness and unworthiness before God, we, as a sign of our humility, accompany our prayer with bows. They are waist, when we bend down to the waist, and earthly, when, bowing and kneeling, we touch the ground with our heads.
“The custom of making the sign of the cross dates back to the times of the apostles” (Complete Orthodox Theological Theological Encyclopedia Dictionary, St. Petersburg. Published by P.P. Soykin, B.G., p. 1485). During this time, the sign of the cross had already deeply entered the lives of contemporary Christians. In the treatise “On the Warrior’s Crown” (about 211), he writes that we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross in all circumstances of life: entering and leaving the house, dressing, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down for any activity .
The sign of the cross is not just part of a religious ritual. First of all, it is a great weapon. The Patericon, Patericon and Lives of Saints contain many examples that testify to the real spiritual power that the image possesses.
Already the holy apostles, by the power of the sign of the cross, performed miracles. One day, the Apostle John the Theologian found a sick man lying by the road, suffering greatly from a fever, and healed him with the sign of the cross (St. Life of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. September 26).
The monk speaks about the power of the sign of the cross against demons: “Therefore, when demons come to you at night, want to announce the future, or say: “We are angels,” do not listen to them - because they lie. If they praise your asceticism and please you, do not listen to them and do not get close to them at all; it is better to seal yourself and your house with a cross and pray. Then you will see that they will become invisible, because they are fearful and especially fear the sign of the cross of the Lord. For, having taken away their strength with the cross, the Savior put them to shame” (The Life of our Venerable Father Anthony, described by Saint Athanasius in his letter to monks staying in foreign countries. 35).
It tells how, having made the sign of the cross, he drank water taken from a well, at the bottom of which there was an asp: “One day, Abba Dorotheos sent me, Palladius, at about nine o’clock to his well to fill a tub from which everyone took water. It was already lunch time. Arriving at the well, I saw an asp at the bottom of it, and in fear, without drawing water, I ran screaming: “We are lost, Abba, I saw an asp at the bottom of the well.” He smiled modestly, because he was very attentive to me, and, shaking his head, said: “If the devil decided to throw asps or other poisonous reptiles into all the wells and springs, would you not drink at all?” Then, coming from his cell, he himself filled the tub and, having made the sign of the cross over it, was the first to immediately drink the water and said: “Where the cross is, there the malice of Satan can do nothing.”
Venerable Benedict of Nursia (480–543), for his strict life, was elected in 510 as abbot of the cave monastery of Vicovaro. Saint Benedict ruled the monastery with zeal. Strictly observing the rules of fasting life, he did not allow anyone to live according to their own will, so the monks began to repent that they had chosen an abbot for themselves who did not at all suit their corrupt morals. Some decided to poison him. They mixed poison with wine and gave it to the abbot to drink during lunch. The saint made the sign of the cross over the cup, and the vessel, by the power of the holy cross, immediately broke, as if struck by a stone. Then the man of God knew that the cup was deadly, for it could not withstand the life-giving cross" ( , saint. The Life of our Venerable Father Benedict. March 14th).
Archpriest Vasily Shustin (1886–1968) recalls the elder: “Father tells me: “First shake out the samovar, then pour in water, but often they forget to pour water and start lighting the samovar, and as a result, the samovar is ruined and they are left without tea. The water is standing there, in the corner, in a copper jug; take it and pour it.” I went up to the jug, and it was very large, two buckets deep, and massive in itself. I tried to move it, but no, I didn’t have the strength, then I wanted to bring the samovar to it and pour water. Father noticed my intention and repeated to me again: “Take a jug and pour water into the samovar.” - “But, father, it’s too heavy for me, I can’t move it.” Then the priest approached the jug, crossed it and said: “Take it,” and I picked it up and looked at the priest in surprise: the jug felt completely light to me, as if it weighed nothing. I poured water into the samovar and put the jug back with an expression of surprise on my face. And the priest asks me: “Well, is it a heavy jug?” - “No, father. I’m surprised: it’s very light.” - “So take this lesson, that any obedience that seems difficult to us, when performed, is very easy, because it is done as obedience.” But I was directly amazed: how he destroyed the force of gravity with one sign of the cross!” (Cm.: Shustin Vasily, archpriest. Record about
