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When did the sign of the cross appear among Christians? History of the Sign of the Cross

Along with church prayer, the Orthodox Christian is given the sign of the cross to help. Performed with sincere faith and heartfelt prayer, it can truly work miracles, of which there is much documented evidence. Unfortunately, many people, especially at the beginning of their churching, perform the sign of the cross incorrectly and do not understand its meaning at all. So how should Orthodox believers be baptized correctly?

Symbolism of the banner of the cross

In Orthodoxy, all actions are filled with deep meaning and always have a symbolic meaning. And, of course, the sign of the cross in particular. Orthodox Christians, along with representatives of some other Christian denominations, believe that by making the sign of the cross, they drive away all unclean spirits and protect themselves from evil.

How to be baptized correctly

In order to cross yourself, you need to fold three fingers of your right hand into a pinch, and press the remaining two fingers to the inside of your palm. This position of the fingers is not accidental - it tells us about the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, by his free will, suffered for the salvation of every person. Three fingers folded together are the trinity of God in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit). The Trinity is one, but at the same time has three separate hypostases. Two fingers pressed to the hand testify to the dual origin of Christ - he is both God and man.

In order to cross yourself correctly, a person first raises his hand to his forehead and says “In the name of the Father”, then the hand falls on his stomach with the words “And the Son”, then the right shoulder “And the Holy” and the left shoulder “Spirit”. At the end, a bow is made and the word “Amen” is said.

This formulation, again, reveals the nature of God. All three hypostases of the Holy Trinity are mentioned, and the word “Amen” at the end affirms the truth of the Divine trinity.

In itself, placing the sign of the cross on a person symbolizes the Cross of the Lord on which he was crucified. By His crucifixion, death and resurrection from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ made the instrument of shameful execution an instrument for the salvation of human souls. That is why Orthodox Christians have long used this gesture as a symbol of participation in the death of the Lord, and then His resurrection.

About the Lord Jesus Christ:

Historical reference

The banner of the cross has been used by Christians from the very beginning of the faith. After the Resurrection of Christ, the first confessors of the faith placed on themselves the symbol of the instrument of his execution with one finger, as if wanting to show their readiness to also be crucified for the Lord.

Later, at various periods of time, there were customs to make the sign of the cross with several fingers, as well as with the entire palm. At the same time, they touched the eyes, lips, forehead - the main human sensory organs - in order to sanctify them.

Important! With the spread of the Orthodox faith among Christians, it became customary to cross with two fingers of the right hand, overshadowing the forehead, stomach and shoulders.

Around the 16th century, the practice of shading the chest instead of the abdomen spread, since the chest is where the heart is located. A century later, the rule of making the sign of the cross with three fingers of the right hand, placing them again on the stomach instead of the chest, was formed and consolidated. This is the method used by the Orthodox to this day.

Interesting! Adherents of the old rite of church worship (Old Believers) still practice the application of two fingers.

Where and how to correctly use the sign of the cross

Anyone who considers himself a believing Christian should treat the sign of the cross with great reverence. In addition to being a great help, it also carries a deep spiritual meaning. By making the sign of the cross, a person shows his will to be involved in our Lord Jesus Christ in his death, and then in the Resurrection.

Sign of the Cross

Based on this, one must always be baptized carefully and prayerfully. If this happens during a church service, all prayers and significant parts of the service begin and end with the sign of the cross. It is also customary to be baptized at the mention of the names of the Lord God, the Most Holy Theotokos, and saints.

Even a little enlightened person knows that Old Believers are baptized differently than Christians of other faiths. This sign of the cross is called " double-fingered”, because it contains not one, not three, not four or five fingers, but only two.

Why are Christians baptized?

The sign of the cross is made by Christians as a sign that we confess the Lord crucified on the cross. By making the sign of the cross at the beginning of every task, we testify that everything we do happens for the glory of the Crucified Christ.

The sign of the cross, i.e. The custom of drawing a cross on the body by placing fingers on the forehead, chest and shoulder (shoulders) is an ancient custom that appeared along with Christianity. The custom of Christians is to make the sign of the cross in the prayer of St. Basil the Great refers to the number of those that we have received from the apostolic tradition by succession.

How to fold your fingers during the sign of the cross?

To make the sign of the cross, we fold the fingers of our right hand like this: “great and two small.” This signifies, according to the teachings of the Greater Catechism, the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, not three gods, but One God in the Trinity, divided by names and persons, but the Divinity is one. The Father is not begotten, and the Son is begotten and not created; The Holy Spirit is neither begotten nor created, but originated (Great Cat.). Having joined together two fingers (index and great-middle), we have them outstretched and slightly inclined - this forms the two natures of Christ: Divinity and humanity; With one (index) finger we signify the Divine, with the other (middle), slightly bent, we signify humanity; the inclination of the fingers is interpreted by the holy fathers as an image of the incarnation of the Son of God, Who “bow down the heavens and come down to our earth for the sake of salvation”.

Having folded the fingers of the right hand in this way, we place two fingers on our forehead, i.e. forehead. By this we mean that " God the Father is the beginning of all Divinity, from Him before the ages the Son was born and in the last times bowed the heavens, came down to earth and became man" When we place our fingers on the stomach, we signify that in the womb of the Most Holy Theotokos, through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, there was a seedless conception of the Son of God; from her he was born and lived on earth with mankind, suffered in the flesh for our sins, was buried and on the third day was resurrected and raised from hell the righteous souls who were there. When we place our fingers on the right shoulder, it is interpreted as follows: first, that Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father; second, that on the day of judgment the Lord will place the righteous at His right hand (right hand), and sinners at His left hand (left hand). The standing of sinners on the left hand also means the position of the hand when making the sign of the cross on the left shoulder (Great Catech., Chapter 2, sheets 5, 6).

Where did double fingers come from?

The custom of folding fingers in this manner was adopted by us from the Greeks and was preserved by them unchanged from the time of the apostles. Scientists, prof. Kapterev and Golubinsky collected a whole series of evidence that in the 11th-12th centuries the Church knew only the double-finger formation. We also find double fingers in all ancient icon images (mosaics and frescoes of the 11th-14th centuries).

Information about double fingers is also found in ancient Russian literature, including the works of St. Maxim the Greek and the famous book “Domostroy”.

Why not three fingers?

Usually believers of other faiths, for example, New Believers, ask why Old Believers do not cross themselves with three fingers, like members of other Eastern churches.

On the left is the three-fingered sign; this sign of the cross was adopted by the New Believer tradition. On the right is two fingers, the Old Believers sign themselves with this sign of the cross

The following can be answered:

Double-fingering was commanded to us by the apostles and fathers of the ancient Church, for which there is a lot of historical evidence. The three-fingered ritual is a newly invented ritual, the use of which has no historical justification;
The keeping of two fingers is protected by a church oath, which is contained in the ancient rite of acceptance from heretics by Jacobite and the decrees of the Council of the Hundred Heads of 1551: “If anyone does not bless with two fingers as Christ did, or does not imagine the sign of the cross, let him be damned”;
Two-fingered displays the true dogma of the Christian Creed - the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, as well as the two natures in Christ - human and Divine. Other types of the sign of the cross do not have such dogmatic content, but the three-fingered sign distorts this content, showing that the Trinity was crucified on the cross. And although the New Believers do not contain the doctrine of the crucifixion of the Trinity, St. the fathers categorically prohibited the use of signs and symbols that have heretical and non-Orthodox meaning.
Thus, polemicizing with Catholics, the holy fathers also pointed out that the mere change in the creation of a species, the use of customs similar to heretical ones, is in itself a heresy. Ep. Nikola Mefonsky wrote, in particular, about unleavened bread: “ The one who consumes unleavened bread is already suspected of communicating with these heresies because of some similarity" The truth of the dogmatics of two fingers is recognized today, although not publicly, by various New Believer hierarchs and theologians. So oh. Andrey Kuraev in his book “Why the Orthodox are like this” points out: “ I consider two fingers to be a more accurate dogmatic symbol than three fingers. After all, it was not the Trinity that was crucified, but “one of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God» ».

It would seem that what could be simpler than crossing yourself? We put our fingers together and... So. How, exactly, should you fold your fingers correctly?
And why exactly? Is it possible to fold your fingers differently? And what does all this mean?

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Making the sign of oneself or other people with a man-made cross is called the “sign of the cross.” The word "sign" means "sign". That is, the sign of the cross is the sign of the cross, its image. Christians make the sign of the cross (baptize themselves), asking for help from God to confess or testify to their faith in Jesus Christ, His death on the Cross and His resurrection. By the way a person is baptized, one can determine what religion he is.

Nowadays, in most Orthodox churches it is customary to perform the sign of the cross in the following sequence. The fingers of the right hand are folded like this: the thumb, index and middle fingers are together, and the ring and little fingers (also folded together) are pressed against the palm. The first three fingers folded together symbolize the unity of the Holy Trinity, our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The other two fingers point to the two natures of Jesus Christ - Divine and human, united in Christ invariably, inseparably, inseparably.

Fingers folded in this way are first placed on the forehead (sanctification of the mind), then on the stomach (and not on the chest at all!) - this is sanctification of the senses, then on the right and left shoulders. This is the sanctification of bodily powers.

When making the sign of the cross, it is customary to say to yourself: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen” (if no other prayers are said). You should cross yourself, avoiding too fast, sharp, jerky or circular movements. The sign of the cross suggests slowness and feeling. The bow or bow to the ground is performed after the sign of the cross, and not simultaneously with it. First we depict the Cross of the Lord on ourselves, and then we worship it.
If strangers are baptized differently (for example, from left to right), you should not rush to reprimand them: it is possible that they were raised in a different liturgical culture. Old Believers, believers of the Armenian-Gregorian confession, Catholics are baptized differently (they are baptized with an open palm and in a different sequence: from the left shoulder to the right) and those Protestants who, in principle, do not deny the sign of the cross.

In Slavic, fingers are called “fingers,” so folding the fingers in a certain way to make the sign of the cross is called finger-folding. The method of folding the fingers accepted in the Orthodox Church is called tripartite.
Until the 17th century, the Russian Church used two fingers: the index and middle fingers were folded together, and the thumb, ring and little fingers, folded, were pressed to the palm, symbolizing faith in the Holy Trinity. Nowadays, Old Believers are baptized this way. Three-fingered and two-fingered are different ways of making the sign of the cross, so one of them cannot be considered the only possible one or, on the contrary, wrong.

However, you can often see an erroneous version of the sign of the cross, which is found in many old textbooks: instead of the stomach, the fingers are placed on the chest. Even in V. Artemov’s recently published book “Orthodox Worship” it says: the forehead, chest, right and left shoulders are crossed.” This method is distorted because if the cross, built by mentally connecting points on the forehead, chest and shoulders, turns out upside down: its lower end is shorter than the upper.
Christians began to sign themselves with the sign of the cross already in the 1st century - this was passed down from the apostles. Until the 5th century, the sign of the cross was generally performed with one finger, most likely the index finger. The imposition of the full (forehead - belly - shoulders) sign of the cross is first mentioned in Georgian sources - in the "Life of St. Nina, Equal to the Apostles." The sign of the cross in the form of two fingers began to be used after the 5th century in connection with the fight against the heresy of Monophysitism. This method of the sign of the cross was adopted in order to confirm the unity of the Divine and human nature of Christ. Later, triplicate appeared.

A sign for life
According to Orthodox teaching, the power of the sign of the cross, like prayer, calls on God's help and protects from the influence of demonic forces. In addition, from the biographies of saints it is known that sometimes the sign of the cross was enough to dispel demonic spells and perform a miracle. The Church uses the mark of the cross in all services and sacraments. In Byzantium, in especially important documents, three crosses were placed instead of the name, believing that it was more responsible to guarantee by the power of the cross than by the name. The Cross of Christ sanctifies a wide variety of actions and objects, therefore the sign of the cross accompanies a believer throughout his life.

When is it necessary to be baptized? This is usually done at the beginning and end of prayer. When approaching one or another shrine. When entering and leaving the temple, the sign of the cross in this case is performed three times. Before kissing the cross or icon. At one point or another during the service. In particular, during the litany: after singing “Lord, have mercy,” “Give, Lord,” “To you, Lord,” they are baptized once. They are baptized once and with a small doxology: “Glory to the Father and the Son...”.

The sign of the cross is performed once with the exclamations “Take, eat...”, “Drink from it all...”, “Thine from Thine...”, and also “Glory to Thee, Christ God...”. One should be baptized once while reading or singing “Most Honorable Cherub...”. The sign of the cross is made three times during the reading or singing of “Hallelujah”, the Trisagion, “Come, let us worship...”, as well as with the exclamation “Glory to Thee, Christ our God...”. With each announcement of the words “let us bow,” “worship,” “let us fall,” the sign of the cross is performed once. The sign of the cross is performed once when invoking the Lord, the Mother of God and the saints during the canon at Matins. At the end of the reading or singing of each prayer or hymn the sign of the cross is also performed. In all these cases, the sign of the cross is performed with a bow from the waist.

The triple sign of the cross with prostration is performed during fasting when entering or leaving the temple. In addition, there are many more cases when it is necessary to make the sign of the cross in church. Knowledge of this comes to believers with experience. There are certain rules that do not allow the sign of the cross in one case or another.

It is not necessary to be baptized while singing psalms. Prostrations to the ground are not allowed on the days of the Nativity of Christ until Epiphany, from Easter to the Day of the Holy Trinity, on the days of the Transfiguration and Exaltation. True, in the latter case, three prostrations are given to the Cross.

When people in a church are blessed with the Cross, the Gospel, an icon or a Chalice, everyone should be baptized, bowing their heads, and when people are blessed with candles, a hand, or incense, there is no need to be baptized, but only bow.

Of course, this list is not limited to everything. It is permissible to be baptized in all significant cases of life: in danger and trial, in joy, in sorrow, in work.
The sign of the cross is used not only in relation to oneself, but also towards others. The priest blesses the believers with the sign of the cross. Only he overshadows the bowed head of the believer with a cross from left to right, and not from right to left, like a person overshadowing himself. A mother makes the sign of the cross over her child, spouses sign each other, one loved one makes the sign of the cross over another (for example, when a loved one sets off on a journey). This sign of the cross is called a blessing.
It is customary to sign the sign of the cross on food before eating it, and in some cases on other personal or household items (for example, a bed before going to bed).

The cross is my protection
The sign of the cross has several meanings. Religious, sanctifying, and, finally, protective. The sign of the cross, applied with faith, gives strength to defeat evil and do good, to overcome temptation and passion. True, it is necessary to discard superstitious ideas that the sign of the cross or wearing a cross in itself is “protection from evil forces.” The sign itself is worthless without inner spiritual participation and sincere faith in the power of the Cross.

History knows many examples when the Lord, through the faith of people through the sign of the cross, worked miracles. The Apostle John the Theologian, as his disciple Saint Prochorus relates, with the sign of the Cross healed a sick man lying along the way. And the pious Ir, according to the instructions of the Apostle Philip, drew with his hand the image of the Cross of Christ on the damaged parts of the body of the ailing Aristarchus - and immediately the withered hand became stronger, the eye received sight, the hearing opened and the sick man became healthy. The Monk Macrina, sister of St. Basil the Great, suffered from chest illness, asked her mother to cover the sore spot with the Cross and immediately received healing.

The miraculous Cross of Christ not only healed illnesses, but also raised the dead and made the human body unharmed. Thus, the First Martyr Thekla crossed the wood and brushwood collected for her burning with the Cross, and the fire did not dare to touch her body. The martyr Vasilisa of Nicomedia protected herself with the sign of the Cross, and in the middle of the flames in the kindled furnace she stood for a long time in the fire without any harm. The martyrs Avdon, Sinnis, the Great Martyr Panteleimon and many other martyrs, doomed to be torn to pieces by beasts, made the sign of the cross, and the fierce beasts, like gentle lambs, kissed the feet of God’s people. With the almighty power of the Cross of Christ, even deadly poisons turned out to be harmless, as can be seen from the lives of St. Juvenal and St. Benedict.

Nowadays it is often said that miracles no longer happen. They say miracles happened only in ancient times. But just recently one of these miracles happened in Russia, in which the life-giving and saving power of the sign of the cross was clearly manifested.
One of the priests moved into a small hotel where several people were already living. They were all offered lunch. And when they gathered at the table, the priest, as the shepherd of the Church, suggested: “Brothers, first of all, let’s pray. Let’s pray before eating.” Everyone stood up, the priest read the Lord's Prayer "Our Father" and, ending it, turning to the table, overshadowed everything with a cruciform pastoral blessing.

And at that very second, a large decanter of kvass, standing on the table, for no apparent reason and without any blow from the side, shattered into pieces. The kvass spilled and everyone gasped. The hotel owner grabbed her head and rushed into the next room, where her scream came from. She immediately ran back, threw herself at the priest’s feet and admitted that she had put this decanter on the table by mistake. It contained poisoned kvass prepared to kill her husband. She wanted to put another decanter with good kvass on the table, but she mixed it up, since both decanters were exactly the same. And if it were not for the Lord’s Prayer, if the shepherd had not blessed the table for the meal, then many people would have died.

There are many similar stories happening these days. The cross strengthens and saves a sincere believer. Even when dying, at the last moment, a Christian makes the sign of the cross with a cold hand, protecting and sanctifying himself on his final path. And they put a cross on the grave of a Christian so that everyone knows that a believer rests under this cross.

Purification, enlightenment and transformation
It is so natural to move from a story about the sign of the cross to a conversation about the cross itself. In our case - about the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. We all know that this type of death penalty existed in the Roman Empire, but hardly anyone other than theologians and professional historians imagines the full horror of the crucifixion.
The cross was a method of execution in the Roman Empire, intended for slaves and for those cases where the death penalty wanted to be enhanced by dishonor. Crucifixion was considered by the Romans to be the most terrible death penalty. As Cicero said, “the very name of the cross is disgusting to the Roman ear, sight and hearing.”

First, the cross was placed upright, then the condemned person was attached to it, nailing his hands to the tree. The legs were often also nailed, but sometimes they were only tied with ropes. To the foot, at the height of the legs, for their support, a horizontal plank was nailed or a crossbar was placed in the middle (hence the expression “sitting on the cross,” which is found in many descriptions of the execution of the cross). All this was done so that the hands would not be torn by nails and the body would not fall down.

F. Ferrar in the book “The Life of Jesus Christ” writes: “Death on the cross contained everything that is terrible and outrageous in torture and death: dizziness, convulsions, loss of strength, insomnia, feverish state due to wounds, tetanus, publicity of shame , the duration of suffering, Antonov's fire in open wounds - all this, taken together and to the highest degree, but without deprivation of feelings, which alone could become some relief for the sufferer. The unnatural position made any movement painful, inflamed and constantly renewed wounds. gangrene was corroding near the nails; the arteries - especially in the head and stomach - were swollen and tense from the rush of blood. To all these varied and constantly increasing torments, unbearable heat and painful thirst were added. The combination of all these torments at the same time produced such an unbearable melancholy that the very sight of death. , this terrible unknown enemy, at the approach of which every person trembles, made it pleasant, the dream of it - delightful."

“The cruel feature of the death penalty was that in this terrible state one could live in terrible agony for three or four days. Bleeding from wounds in the hands soon stopped and could not be fatal at all. The true cause of death was the unnatural position of the body, which caused terrible circulatory disorders, terrible headaches, pain in the heart and, finally, numbness of the limbs. Those crucified on the cross, if they had a strong constitution, could even sleep and died only from hunger. The main idea of this cruel execution was not the direct death of the condemned with the help of certain injuries. his body, and putting the pub with nailed hands, of which he had failed to make good use, to the pillory, where he was presented to rot,” wrote Renan.

The cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, according to legend, was discovered during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14 - 37 years old). At that time Saint James was the bishop of Jerusalem. Then this cross was lost for a long time and was found only by the wife of the holy Emperor Constantine, Saint Helena, in the 4th century.

The scope of the excavations she organized was great, and as a result, Saint Helena found three crosses, but did not know on which of them Jesus Christ suffered. In the end, she ordered the dead man's body to be brought and placed it on one of the crosses. The contact had no effect on the dead man. Elena ordered to place the body on the second cross, then on the third. Upon contact with the third cross, the dead man was immediately resurrected. This is how the cross on which Jesus was crucified was found. Elena sent part of this cross to Emperor Constantine, and he, in turn, sent it to the Pope. A fragment of the shrine is still kept in Rome in the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. Elena again buried most of the cross in the church built on the site of Golgotha.
A tablet was found next to the cross with the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” which was also sent to Rome. From this moment on, the cross becomes the highest symbol of Christianity. And in the first centuries, the attitude of Christians towards the cross was ambivalent. Since execution on the cross was considered shameful in the Roman Empire, at first Christians hated the cross. It took the efforts of the apostles to change the situation.

Even then, ideas about the saving worship of the cross were combined with the ideas of bearing the cross. Evangelist Mark writes about Christ: “And he called the people with his disciples, and said to them: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” The disciples of Christ taught not only the worship of the cross, but also the ascension to the cross. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans writes: “And so we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life... But if we died with Christ, we believe that we also live we will be with Him."

“The cross is the union of heavenly and earthly things and the trampling of the underworld,” wrote John Chrysostom. For Christians, the cross is purification, enlightenment, transformation, and the guarantee of the future century. St. Augustine wrote in the 5th century: “If you do not use the sign of the cross either on the forehead of believers, or with the anointing with which we were anointed, or over the holy sacrifice with which we feed, then everything is fruitless.”

The cross is also a symbol of Christ. The two "arms" of the horizontal axis signify two fundamental ideas of Christianity: forgiveness and redemption and God's punishment. The two intersecting axes that make up the cross represent the dual nature of the Savior: the horizontal axis is His earthly nature, the vertical axis is His Divine nature.
The cross is a manifestation of spirit and strength. The entire life path of a Christian is the knowledge of the Cross, and at the end of such a path a person can say: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Epistle to the Galatians, II, 19-20). “And the Church has its own trophy over death - this is the Cross of Christ, which it carries on itself,” says Hippolytus of Rome.

Demons run from him
Already the first Christians had their own prayer sign when turning to God. The theologian of the 2nd - 3rd centuries Tertullian wrote: “With every success and luck, with every entrance and exit, when dressing and putting on shoes, starting a meal, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down for some activity, we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross.” .
True, unlike modern Christians, in ancient times they crossed themselves with so-called small crosses, placing them on different parts of the body separately: on the forehead, on the chest, on the eyes, and so on. (By the way, even today some people, for example, when yawning, often cross their mouths as if protecting themselves from the penetration of evil spirits).
The origin of the Russian word "cross" is lost in the mists of time. Sometimes it is derived from the German Christ - Christ. In fact, the original meaning of the word “cross” has nothing to do with Christianity. The greatest expert on Russian antiquity, A. Afanasyev, in his book “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” proved that the word “cross” is associated with the concepts of “fire” and “solstice”. The Old Russian word "cross" itself means "revival", hence - to resurrect, that is, to come to life. But the words “peasant” and “peasant woman,” according to V. Dahl, mean “baptized person.” Both words appeared in the Russian language relatively late, after the baptism of Rus'. Obviously, the consonance of the words “cross” and Christ played an important role in their invention.

One of the twelve holidays is dedicated to the glorification of the Cross of the Lord. The first stichera of the service begins with the words: “The cross is lifted up, and the demons are driven away...”. And further this is said many times: “...today the Cross is erected, and demons are running, today all creation will be freed from aphids.” In the sanctuary at the end of the canon it says: “The Cross, guardian of all universes; the Cross, the beauty of the Church; the Cross of the faithful in affirmation; the Cross, the glory of angels and the plague of demons.”

The main feature of this holiday is the removal from the altar to the middle of the Church of the Holy Cross. The same thing happens during the Week of the Cross in Great Lent and on the Feast of the First Savior. There is a pious tradition when on Maundy Thursday a believer depicts the sign of the cross on the windows and doors of his home.

The author will risk ending this article with an excerpt from the oldest Russian written monument, “The Tale of Bygone Years” from 1068. Almost a thousand years ago, our ancestors wrote about the power of the Cross like this: “Behold, God has shown the power of the cross, since Izyaslav kissed the Cross, and I also; with the same God brought abomination, for this God delivered the honorable Cross on the day of the Exaltation, Vseslav sighed and said: O Honest Cross! By your faith, deliver me from this ditch! God has shown the power of the cross to the land of Russia, so that those who kissed the Honest Cross will not transgress; The power of the cross is still great: By the Cross, for the forces of demons can be overcome, The Cross will help the prince in God, in God, by the Cross of fellow citizens, people overcome the adversaries of the enemy. The Cross soon delivers from adversity those who call on it with faith; “If there are dreams from demons, those who mark their faces with the Cross are driven away.”

What can our contemporary add to such an ancient Russian hymn to the Cross? Probably only one thing: Amen!

Alexander Okonishnikov

"HONESTLY" , September 12, 2007

Someone or something. There are several phraseological units denoting the action of a person making the sign of the cross: "make the sign of the cross", "make the sign of the cross", "to impose the sign of the cross on oneself", "(re)baptize"(not to be confused with the meaning of “receive the sacrament of Baptism”), as well as “to mark (sya)”. The sign of the cross is used in many Christian denominations, differing in the variants of the folding of the fingers (usually in this context the Church Slavonic word “fingers” is used: “folding of fingers”, “finger folding”) and the direction of movement of the hand.

When performing double-fingering, two fingers of the right hand - the index and middle - are joined together, symbolizing the two natures of Christ, while the middle finger turns out to be slightly bent, which means Divine condescension and incarnation. The three remaining fingers are also joined together, symbolizing the Holy Trinity; Moreover, in modern practice, the end of the thumb rests on the pads of the other two, which cover it on top. After which, the tips of two fingers (and only them) touch the forehead, abdomen, right and left shoulders in succession. It is also emphasized that one cannot be baptized at the same time as bowing; a bow, if required, should be performed after the hand has been lowered (however, the same rule is followed in the new rite, although not so strictly).

Old Believers do not recognize triplicity, believing that the image of a cross with three fingers in honor of the Holy Trinity denotes the heresy according to which the entire Trinity, and not just the Son, suffered on the Cross. For the same reason, it is not customary to say “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” when making the sign of the cross; instead, they usually say the Jesus Prayer.

The priest, when blessing, does not use any special finger formation, but folds his hand into the same two-fingered one.

Iconography

In Orthodox iconography, a hand folded into the sign of the cross is a fairly common element. Usually clergy are depicted this way, with their hand raised for blessing, but sometimes the sign of the cross, as a symbol of confession of their faith, is also depicted on icons of saints without holy orders. Usually saints are depicted with two fingers or with a nominal finger, extremely rarely - with three fingers.

Catholicism

In the West, unlike the Orthodox Church, there have never been such conflicts regarding the folding of fingers during the sign of the cross, as in the Russian Church, and to this day there are various versions of it. Thus, Catholic prayer books, speaking about the sign of the cross, usually cite only the prayer pronounced at the same time ( In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti), without saying anything about the combination of fingers. Even traditionalist Catholics, who are usually quite strict about the ritual and its symbolism, admit the existence of various options here. In the Polish Catholic community, it is customary to make the sign of the cross with five fingers, with an open palm, in memory of the five wounds on the body of Christ.

When a Catholic makes the sign of the cross for the first time upon entering a church, he first dips his fingertips in a special bowl of holy water. This gesture, which appears to be an echo of the ancient custom of washing hands before celebrating the Eucharist, was later reinterpreted as a rite performed in memory of the sacrament of Baptism. Some Catholics perform this ritual at home, before starting home prayer.

Priest When blessing, he uses the same finger formation as with the sign of the cross, and leads his hand in the same way as an Orthodox priest, that is, from left to right.

In addition to the usual, large cross, the so-called cross was preserved in the Latin rite as a remnant of ancient practice. small cross. It is performed during Mass, before the reading of the Gospel, when the clergy and those praying with the thumb of their right hand depict three small crosses on the forehead, lips and heart.

Notes

Literature

Uspensky B.A. The sign of the cross and sacred space: Why do Orthodox Christians cross themselves from right to left, and Catholics from left to right? - M.: Languages of Slavic culture, 2004. - 160 p.
Novitsky I. A. Oath of Stoglav. - M.: Geronica, 2010. - 192 p.

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See what the “Sign of the Cross” is in other dictionaries: Sign of the Cross - SIGN OF THE CROSS. Outdated Sign of the cross, Christian prayer gesture. A blacksmith raised his hand to make the sign of the cross (Gogol. The Night Before Christmas). The Lord will keep him [Silver] from your hands! said Maxim, making the sign of the cross, and will not allow... ...

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“Every time you protect yourself with the sign of the cross, be filled with great boldness and offer your whole self as a pleasing sacrifice to God.” Saint John Chrysostom.

From early childhood until death, a Christian believer wears a cross on himself, on his chest, as a sign of Christ’s victory, protection and strength. Every day, during morning and evening prayers, during worship and before eating food, before the beginning of the teaching and at its end, we impose on ourselves the sign of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of Christ. A Christian begins the day with the sign of the cross, and with the sign of the cross he goes to sleep, ending the day.

What does the sign of the cross symbolize and under what circumstances did the image of the cross appear?

The sign of the cross is a small sacred act in which a Christian, depicting on himself the sign of the Cross of the Lord with the invocation of the Name of God, attracts the Divine Grace of the Holy Spirit.

The cross is the main symbol of Christianity, representing the instrument of execution of the God-man Jesus Christ, on which he was crucified to atone for the sins of the world. It seems to people far from the Church that Christians worship the cross - an instrument of execution. This is a superficial view, we worship the cross not as a symbol of death, but as a symbol of eternal life - the life-giving Cross - because Christ, subjected to painful execution on the cross, with his suffering redeemed us from ancient sin and gave us eternal life.

On the Cross we see the God-Man Crucified. But Life Itself mysteriously resides in the Crucifixion, just as many future ears of wheat are hidden in a grain of wheat. Therefore, the Cross of the Lord is revered by Christians as a “life-giving tree,” that is, a tree that gives life. Without the Crucifixion there would have been no Resurrection of Christ, and therefore the Cross from an instrument of execution turned into a shrine in which the Grace of God acts.

Thus, the sign of the cross is an image of human salvation, sanctified by Divine grace, elevating us to its Prototype - to the crucified God-Man, who accepted death on the cross for the sake of the redemption of the human race from the power of sin and death.

The history of the development of the sign of the cross dates back to Old Testament times. When Jerusalem and the Temple, built by Solomon, were burned to the ground by the soldiers of King Nebuchadnezzar, and most of the inhabitants of Judea were driven away to Babylonia, the Old Testament Church was shocked by the tragedy that befell it. Under the influence of the experience of tragedy in the Old Testament Church, a custom arose during prayer, at moments of greatest tension, to run a finger over one’s forehead, depicting the last letter of the alphabet ת (taf), which was the conventional outline of the name of God. This movement of the finger on the forehead is a manifestation of the prayer that the angel of the Lord will put a sign on the forehead of the person praying, in accordance with the prophecy of Ezekiel: “And the Lord said to him: go through the middle of the city, in the middle of Jerusalem, and on the foreheads of the mourning people, groaning over all abominations, those taking place among him, make a sign" (Ezek. 9:4)

When the Old Testament Church was introduced by the Lord God into the New Testament period, the custom, during prayer, at moments of greatest stress, of running a finger over one’s forehead, depicting the last letter of the alphabet ת (taf), did not disappear, because for Christians having the name of God inscribed on the forehead meant a sign of belonging to God's chosen ones. In Revelation, the Apostle John the Theologian writes: “And I looked, and, behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1)

What is the name of God and how can it be depicted on the forehead? According to ancient Jewish tradition, the name of God was symbolically imprinted by the first and last letters of the Jewish alphabet, which were “alef” and “tav.”

The meaning of this image is that a person depicting the name of God on his forehead - he outwardly shows his devotion to God. Over time, in order to simplify this symbolic action, the Jews began to depict only the letter “tav”. It is quite remarkable that the study of manuscripts of that era showed that in Jewish writing at the turn of the era, the capital “tav” had the shape of a small cross. This small cross meant the name of God. In fact, for a Christian of that era, the image of a cross on his forehead meant, as in Judaism, dedicating his entire life to God. Moreover, placing a cross on the forehead was no longer reminiscent of the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but rather the sacrifice of the Savior on the cross. When the Christian Church finally freed itself from Jewish influence, then the understanding of the sign of the cross as an image of the name of God through the letter “tav” was lost. The main semantic emphasis was placed on the display of the Cross of Christ. Having forgotten about the first meaning, Christians of later eras filled the sign of the Cross with new meaning and content. The sign of the cross is an outward confession of one’s faith in Christ Crucified (1 Cor. 2:2; 2 Tim. 1:8). It should be noted that for the persecutors of Christians in the first centuries, the sign of the cross served as the main distinguishing feature by which they recognized a familiar person as a Christian. In one of the acts of martyrdom, a pagan of the first centuries said: “I know that they are Christians because every minute they make the sign of the cross on their foreheads.”

At the end of the third century, the famous Carthaginian church teacher Tertullian wrote: “At every coming and going, at dressing and putting on shoes, at baths, at tables, at lamps, on beds and seats, and at every work, we draw the sign of the cross on our foreheads.” A century after Tertullian, St. John Chrysostom wrote the following: “Never leave home without crossing yourself.”

As we see, the sign of the cross has come to us from time immemorial, and without it our daily worship of God is unthinkable. In the history of the Christian Church, there were three forms of fingers: one-fingered, two-fingered and three-fingered.

Around the 4th century, Christians began to cross their entire body, i.e. the “wide cross” we know appeared. However, the imposition of the sign of the cross at this time still remained single-finger. In the 9th century, single-fingered fingers gradually began to be replaced by double-fingered fingers, which was due to the widespread spread of the heresy of Monophysitism in the Middle East and Egypt. When the heresy of the Monophysites (who rejected human nature in Jesus Christ) appeared, it took advantage of the hitherto used form of finger formation - single-finger to propagate its teachings, since it saw in single-finger a symbolic expression of its teaching about the one nature in Christ. Then the Orthodox, contrary to the Monophysites, began to use two fingers in the sign of the cross, as a symbolic expression of the Orthodox teaching about two natures in Christ. It so happened that the one-fingered sign of the cross began to serve as an external, visual sign of Monophysitism, and the two-fingered sign of Orthodoxy. Thus, the Church again inserted deep doctrinal truths into the external forms of worship.

Around the 12th century, in the Greek-speaking Local Orthodox Churches (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Cyprus), two-fingered was replaced by three-fingered. The reason for this was seen as follows. Since by the 12th century the struggle with the Monophysites had already ended, double-fingering lost its demonstrative and polemical character. However, double-fingering made Orthodox Christians related to the Nestorians, who also used double-fingering. Wanting to make a change in the external form of their worship of God, the Orthodox Greeks began to sign themselves with the three-fingered sign of the cross, thereby emphasizing their veneration of the Most Holy Trinity. In Rus', as already noted, triplicate was introduced in the 17th century during the reforms of Patriarch Nikon.

Every Christian believer, making the sign of the cross, must know the true meaning of three fingers. 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 the two natures of Jesus Christ: Divine and human, because The Son of God, upon His incarnation, being God, became at the same time man. Making the sign of the cross, we touch our forehead with three fingers folded together - to sanctify our mind, to our stomach - to sanctify our inner feelings (heart), then to the right, then left shoulders - to sanctify our bodily strength.

About those who signify themselves with all five, or bow without having yet finished the cross, or wave their hand in the air or across their chest, St. John Chrysostom 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 calls on Divine grace. By the ineffable goodness of the Savior, we have been given, in the power of the sign of the cross, a powerful weapon against all our enemies, visible and invisible. Based on centuries of experience in the manifestation of this miraculous power of the Cross of the Lord, Orthodox Christians have always expressed and express their faith in the power of the life-giving Cross by crowning their churches with it, marking their homes, blessing their children, wearing it on their chests and constantly using the sign of the cross in prayer. Unfortunately, many Orthodox Christians do not know the meaning of the sign of the cross, use it carelessly and incorrectly, and some very often leave its use in necessary cases. Our pious ancestors, according to the tradition of the Church, used the sign of the cross in all cases of their lives, when entering the house and when leaving, at the beginning and end of a task, when they sat down for a meal and when they got up from it, when they went to bed and when they woke up, also with unexpected joy or sudden misfortune; They never passed by holy icons and churches of God without crossing themselves.

If you delve into the meaning of the sign of the cross, it will become clear that this is not an outward ritual that can be arbitrarily violated or changed. No, the sign of the cross is a sacred symbol of our faith, and in it, according to the explanation of the holy fathers, all of Christianity is briefly depicted. Why do we mark ourselves with a cross when we pray? Why don't we limit ourselves to other signs of prayer, such as raising our eyes to heaven, raising our hands, beating ourselves on the chest? The use of the sign of the cross has a special meaning. By the sign of the cross we express faith in the redemptive merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Divine Intercessor and Mediator, without Whom our prayer could never ascend to the throne of God.

By combining our prayer with the sign of the cross, we do not rely on ourselves, we do not ask God for the sake of our merits, but for the sake of the merits of Christ the Savior on the cross and for His name. The Lord undoubtedly accepts such a prayer, as the Savior Himself said: “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23), unless our sign of the cross is not just an outward movement of the hand, but an expression of inner heartfelt faith in the Divine intercession of Jesus Christ. The sign of the cross is not just part of a religious ritual. First of all, it is a great weapon. The Patericon and the lives of saints contain many examples that testify to the real spiritual power that the image of the Cross possesses.

The 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.”

Thus, the sign of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord is a special sign for us, through which the Lord sends down to us His Divine blessing and grace, therefore this sign requires from us a deep, thoughtful and reverent attitude.

The Ecumenical Teacher of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, exhorts us to think about this with the following words: “The cross is a symbol of the Divine gift, a sign of spiritual nobility, a treasure that cannot be stolen, a gift that cannot be taken away, this is the foundation of holiness.”

Cross! This short word pierces and shakes the soul of a Christian to its innermost depths. To look at the Cross of Christ with the spiritual eyes of faith means to look at the mysterious Altar, where the Divine Lamb was slain as a Sacrifice for the sins of the world, Who with His Most Pure Blood reconciled us, who were once alienated and enemies (Col. 1:21). Christ conquered the world of sin, the world of spiritual darkness. We have in our hands a great and powerful weapon given by Christ - His Cross - a sign of our faith, the ultimate and complete victory of good over evil, light over darkness. This is the true beauty of the Church, this is the weapon of the world, an invincible victory!

Priest Vladimir Kashlyuk

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