Who established the rite of the sign of the cross? How to be baptized correctly for Orthodox Christians? How to make the Sign of the Cross correctly

The history of the sign of the cross begins from the moment when the Lord accomplished our Salvation by stretching out his hands on the cross. From this time on, thinking about the Cross of Christ and a desire appears, which was especially clearly expressed by the Apostle Paul: “We always carry the Lord Jesus in the body of the dead” (2 Cor 4.10). Saint John tells us about the seal “on the foreheads of the servants of our God” (Rev 7.3, 9.4, 14.1).

Mark on the forehead

The Latin fathers called the gesture of the sign of the cross on the forehead "signum, signaculum, tropaeum", and the Greeks - συμβολον y σφραγις (this term is used by St. John). The first Christians fell in love with this sign, which is why Tertullian already in 211 instructs: “At every success and good fortune, at every entrance and exit, when dressing and putting on shoes, starting a meal, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down for any activity, we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross (signaculo frontem terimus)” (“On the Warrior’s Crown,” 3). Such a detailed description suggests that this sign has been used previously. This is evidenced by the writings of the Gnostics - the acts of St. John, Thomas and Peter, who already in the 2nd century turn to the Lord, saying: “Jesus Christ! In Thy Name I speak, overshadowed by Thy holy sign" ( Actus Petricum Simone 5. 6 51). From these texts it becomes clear that the sign was made on the forehead; this is confirmed by other Western and Eastern authors, for example, Hippolytus: “Shade your forehead with the Sign of the Cross in order to defeat Satan and be glorified for your faith” (Can. Ip. 247) or John Chrysostom: “The sign of the Cross is daily inscribed on our forehead, as if on the pole." The sign-gesture was precisely the cross: “If we say to the catechumen: “You believe in Christ.” He answers: “I believe” and becomes enlightened. He already wears the cross of Christ on his forehead and does not blush at the cross of his Lord” (St. Augustine, In epistolam Ioannis ad Parthos, 11.3 ). Augustine also testifies that the sign of the cross was used during the ancient Liturgy. “By the sign of the cross the Body of Christ is sanctified, the baptismal well is blessed, priests and other ministers are ordained. Everything that is to become holy through invocation of the Name of Jesus is sanctified" ( Sermo 181, de tempore).

On the forehead, on the lips and on the chest

Over time, the sign of the cross begins to appear not only on the forehead, but also on other parts of the body. This is evidenced, for example, by the Apostolic Tradition, a revered liturgical text from the 3rd century: “Overshadow the catechumen three times during the last exorcism: forehead, ears and nose” ( Trad. Apost., 28). The Roman Christian poet Prudentius also speaks of the sign of the cross "on the forehead and on the heart" ( Cathemerinon, 131. 132). St. writes especially vividly. Gaudentius on the triple cross: “Let the word of God and the sign of Christ be in the heart, at the mouth and at the forehead” ( Tractatus Vel Sermones Qui Extant Sermo 8, De evangelii lecture primus, PL 20.890-91). We still make this gesture today when we read the Gospel during Holy Mass or when we make the sign of the cross three times with the thumb of our right hand: first on the forehead, saying: “through the sign of the cross,” then on the lips, saying “from our enemies,” and , finally, the chest: “Lord free us!”

Usually with one finger

It is curious that the first Christians made the sign of the cross with one finger. Blessed Jerome writes that before her death, St. Paul, “holding her finger over her lips, made the sign of the cross on them” ( Epistle 108, 28 (if as in quotes from the Bible, then 108.28). “When you signify yourself with a cross,” says Chrysostom, “then imagine all the significance of the cross. Not easy finger must depict it, but this must be preceded by a heartfelt disposition and complete faith.” This is also evidenced by the blessed. Theodoret of Cyrus, Sozomen, Gregory Dvoeslov and many others. The texts do not mention which finger we are talking about. But historians believe that it was either the index finger or the thumb. Considering that this sign has been made with the thumb for thousands of years during the Latin Mass, most researchers agree that the sign of the cross was most often made with the thumb. We still make this sign of the cross today, for example, when a bishop teaches Confirmation, or when the priest, parents and godparents make the sign of the cross on the forehead of a child during the sacrament of Baptism.

From left to right

It is curious how the first Christians were baptized: from right to left or from left to right? Nobody knows this for certain. B.A. Uspensky, a leading specialist in the field of history and cultural studies, believes that the antiquity of the custom of baptism from left to right is beyond doubt, since in all liturgical traditions priests bless from left to right. In addition, this custom unites two earlier traditions: Catholics and Monophysites (Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, Syrians). Uspensky suggests that the custom of being baptized from right to left refers to the process of catechesis of children, when catechesis of adults ceased to be a common occurrence: “Indicative in this sense is the rite of catechesis of a child, which was once accepted in the Auxitan church: the priest crosses the child’s right hand with his thumb, while saying : “I pass on to you the sign of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in your right hand...”; after this he baptizes him, i.e. child, with his right hand, saying: “I signify you with the sign of the holy cross of our Lord...”. Thus, the sign of the cross is performed simultaneously by both the hand of the priest and the hand of the catechumen... At the same time, the priest moves his hand towards himself from left to right, as is generally accepted (in all traditions) when blessing, while the catechumen, on the contrary, moves his hand towards himself from right to left... (Uspensky B.A. Sign of the Cross and sacred space. M.: Languages ​​of Slavic Culture, 2004, pp. 31-32).

Conclusion

Not a single modern tradition of the sign of the cross coincides with the early Christian one. But when we Catholics make the sign of the cross with our thumb three times, we can feel like heirs of the first Christians.

father Alexander Burgos

When discussing baptism, it is worth mentioning the sign of the cross and the cross on the body. Many Christians claim that the sign of the cross has its roots in apostolic teaching. However, it is not. There are no theologians at their disposal no one historical evidence confirming the fact of the apostles and their disciples making the sign of the cross. For the first time, a similar sign was mentioned in the 3rd century by the early Christian theologian Tertullian in his work “On the Warrior’s Crown”:

“At every success and good fortune, at every entrance and exit... starting a meal, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down to do any activity, we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross».

The Milanese bishop Ambrose of Milan (c. 340 - 397) wrote about this sign:

"The sign is due on the forehead, as a place of shame, so that we are not ashamed to confess the crucified Christ Who was not ashamed to call us brothers."

He was echoed by Augustine the Blessed (354 - 430):

“Christ pleased that His sign should be sealed on our forehead, as in the place of modesty, in order for a Christian was not ashamed of the reproach of Christ».

In the hands of modern theologians there is a lot of evidence about the practice of placing the sign of the cross on a person’s forehead (forehead) that existed since the 3rd century. However, not a single ancient source speaks of the obligatory nature of this action for all Christians. For believers, this gesture was rather a manifestation of loyalty to the Savior, an open demonstration of their belonging to Christianity - without being ashamed of the cross of Christ (see Mark 8:38) and without fear of persecution for Him (see John 15:20). It is also possible that Christians put the sign of the cross of Christ on their foreheads to show that there would be no place on it for the mark of the devil, which the Apostle John predicted in the book of Revelation (see Rev. 13:16). The sign on the forehead, indicating belonging to God, is also mentioned in the book of the prophet Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 9:4). According to many theologians, these prophecies refer directly to the time before the Great Judgment and speak of a faithful remnant - people who will remember and fulfill the commandments of God (see Deut. 6:6,8, Deut. 11:13,18). In any case, Christians of the first centuries applied the mark on their foreheads on their own initiative, and not trying to follow the instructions of the apostles.

Subsequently, the sign of the cross from the practice of individual believers firmly entered the canon of the church. At the same time, it moved from the face to the body, began to differ among confessions, and even acquired an aura of miraculousness. Now, churched Christians of some denominations are simply obliged to put a cross on themselves, and when and how the church teaches them.

According to a number of historical evidence, until around the 9th century, many Christians made the sign of the cross with one finger, then with two, three and the palm. Today, Orthodox Christians cross themselves with three fingers, the Old Believers who come out of them cross with two, placing the sign on the forehead - stomach - right shoulder - left shoulder. As we have already said, the major schism in the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century was largely caused by the reluctance of some Christians (later called Old Believers) to accept the innovations of Patriarch Nikon. One of Nikon's innovations was changing the sign of the cross from two fingers to three. Catholics mostly cross themselves with their palms and friend direction: forehead - stomach - left shoulder - right shoulder.

As for the pectoral cross, it is not known for certain when and where the tradition of wearing it came from. Its likeness was first mentioned by the theologian John Chrysostom (347 - 407) in his work “Against the Anomeans” (part 3, paragraph 10):

“Why are many, both husbands and wives, having received a small a piece of this tree and overlaid it with gold, hang it around your neck like a decoration."

Here we are talking about an encolpion - a hollow medallion, cross or box for wearing some shrine on the chest. In this case, John is talking about slivers from the supposed Calvary cross, which were placed in encolpions and worn on the body by some Christians. Let us recall that the Calvary cross in the form of a shrine entered Christianity thanks to Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, which we discussed in Chapter "Holy places and holy objects".

In addition to encolpion crosses, that is, containers for relics (relics, slivers of the Calvary tree, lists of sacred books and other shrines), body crosses themselves, according to various sources, appeared in the 9th - 11th centuries. Among historians, there is a version, based on the Jokimov Chronicle, that in Rus' the custom of wearing crosses dates back to the time of the baptism of the Novgorodians “with fire and sword.” The governors of Prince Vladimir, Dobrynya and Putyata, put small crosses on the necks of those whom they had already baptized, so as not to be confused with the unbaptized.

As an obligatory part of the baptism procedure, crosses began to be mentioned in Rus' only in breviaries (“instructions” for priests) of the 17th century. And the pectoral cross (large pectoral cross) as a distinctive sign of the priestly rank was introduced in Russia only in the 18th century.

There is nothing wrong with the cross itself, which symbolizes the Savior’s death for us on Calvary, just as there is nothing reprehensible in decorating houses of worship with images of biblical scenes. However, it is bad that the images acquired an aura of holiness and miraculousness, and the cross turned into a kind of cult. From a manifestation of personal piety, wearing a cross turned into a duty. Now the absence of a cross on the chest can be regarded by a number of believers as a sin, and even a betrayal of the Christian faith.

Some representatives of popular churches try to connect the canon of the body cross with the call of Christ: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up your cross, and follow Me"(Matt. 16:24, Mark 8:34). Although if you read this statement of Jesus without taking it out of context, it will be absolutely clear that there can be no talk of the cross as a sign of belonging to the church. There is nothing in common between cross - yoke, that is, the choice of the path of a Christian, which Jesus is talking about here (we will discuss this later), and the symbol worn on the body:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take the yoke Take mine upon yourself and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for yoke is my good and My burden is light"(Matt. 11:28-30).

It is not difficult to see the negative consequences of overemphasizing the cross as a sacred object. On the one hand, the reluctance of believers to part with their pectoral cross, even for a short time, and their worries about its loss or breakage look touching. But, on the other hand, this is terrible - after all, many people become slaves to pagan superstitions. Personifying the presence of God in their life with a cross or other shrines, they forget that God is Living and He is always next to them: "He … near from each of us"(Acts 17:27, see also Ps. 32:13,15, Ps. 139:3,5, Ps. 15:8, 1 Chron. 28:9).

Crosses began to be blessed in churches, although according to even simple logic, the symbol of the cross of Christ is already holy by definition. They began to be credited with the power of healing, protection from Satan and demons. Think about it - not to God, but to a sign. Therefore, many believers, hoping for the cross, the sign of the cross and shrines, do not see the need to repent of sins, change their lifestyle, study the Bible, fulfill the law of God... After all, at the level of their understanding of Christianity, it is enough to kiss the cross and make the sign of the cross. Such believers think that God will be completely satisfied with little on the part of a person - you just need to wear a cross, congratulate each other on religious holidays, and in honor of especially important dates, arrange meals with certain dishes and visit the temple... And if trouble does come, you can will order a mass in the church, demand a prayer, light candles in front of icons or make a pilgrimage to a miraculous shrine...

Unfortunately, most believers of historically widespread faiths pay too much attention, even to the point of worship and superstition, to signs, symbols and images. The real truth about the Cross of Calvary - the Old and New Testament history, the teaching of God the Father and the Son - is given insufficient attention or not paid at all.

It is worth noting that despite the extremely negative attitude of official Orthodoxy towards superstition (superstition is a vain faith, faith in vain things is empty), its representatives themselves admit that the majority of their parishioners are superstitious. According to the Orthodox magazine “Thomas” (No. 5/49, 2007), among active Orthodox Christians (that is, those who attend church services once a month or more often), only about 40% of believers reject superstitions.

The theologian John Chrysostom (347 - 407) in the “Second Catechetical Oration” (item 5) said about signs and superstitions:

“Sometimes someone, leaving his house, sees a one-eyed or lame person, and takes this for a bad omen. This - satanic pride, since it is not meeting a person that makes a bad day, but living a sinful life.”

The theologian Blessed Augustine Aurelius, Bishop of Hippo (354-430), in his work “Christian Science or the Foundations of Hermeneutics and Church Eloquence” (book 2/35) wrote:

“The ... opinions of people about the importance of certain fortune-telling signs established by human prejudice, in some respects, must be looked at in no other way than at some kind of agreement and condition with evil spirits».

Of course, the veneration of various shrines, the multiplicity and complexity of religious rituals predispose people to superstition.

Before starting a conversation about how Old Believers are baptized, we should dwell in more detail on who they are and what their role is in the development of Russian Orthodoxy. The fate of this religious movement, called the Old Believers, or Old Orthodoxy, became an integral part of the history of Russia and is full of drama and examples of spiritual greatness.

The reform that split Russian Orthodoxy

The Old Believers, like the entire Russian Church, consider the beginning of its history to be the year when the light of the Christian faith, brought to Rus' by Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, shone on the banks of the Dnieper. Having fallen on fertile soil, the seed of Orthodoxy sprouted abundantly. Until the fifties of the 17th century, faith in the country was united, and there was no talk of any religious schism.

The beginning of the great church unrest was the reform of Patriarch Nikon, which he began in 1653. It consisted in bringing the Russian liturgical order into conformity with that adopted in the Greek and Constantinople churches.

Reasons for church reform

Orthodoxy, as we know, came to us from Byzantium, and in the first years after, services in churches were performed exactly as was customary in Constantinople, but after more than six centuries, significant changes were made to it.

In addition, since during almost this entire period there was no printing, and liturgical books were copied by hand, they not only contained a significant number of errors, but also the meaning of many key phrases was distorted. To rectify the situation, I made a simple decision that seemed to have no complications.

The Patriarch's Good Intentions

He ordered to take samples of early books brought from Byzantium, and, having re-translated them, replicate them in print. He ordered the previous texts to be withdrawn from circulation. In addition, Patriarch Nikon introduced three fingers in the Greek manner - putting three fingers together when making the sign of the cross.

Such a harmless and completely reasonable decision nevertheless caused a reaction similar to an explosion, and the church reform carried out in accordance with it caused a schism. As a result, a significant part of the population that did not accept these innovations moved away from the official church, which was called Nikonian (named after Patriarch Nikon), and from it a large-scale religious movement emerged, the followers of which began to be called schismatics.

The split that resulted from the reform

As before, in pre-reform times, Old Believers crossed themselves with two fingers and refused to recognize new church books, as well as priests who tried to perform divine services using them. Having stood in opposition to church and secular authorities, they were subjected to severe persecution on their part for a long time. This began in 1656.

Already in the Soviet period, there was a final softening of the position of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the Old Believers, which was enshrined in relevant legal documents. However, this did not lead to the resumption of Eucharistic, that is, prayerful communication between local and Old Believers. The latter to this day consider only themselves to be carriers of the true faith.

With how many fingers do Old Believers cross themselves?

It is important to note that the schismatics never had canonical disagreements with the official church, and the conflict always arose only around the ritual side of the service. For example, the way Old Believers cross themselves, folding three fingers instead of two, has always become a reason for condemnation against them, while there were no complaints about their interpretation of Holy Scripture or the main provisions of the Orthodox doctrine.

By the way, the order of folding the fingers for the sign of the cross among both the Old Believers and supporters of the official church contains certain symbolism. Old Believers cross themselves with two fingers - the index and middle, symbolizing the two natures of Jesus Christ - divine and human. The remaining three fingers are kept pressed to the palm. They represent the image of the Holy Trinity.

A vivid illustration of how Old Believers are baptized can be seen in the famous painting by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov “Boyaryna Morozova”. In it, the disgraced inspirer of the Moscow Old Believer movement, being taken into exile, raises two fingers folded together to the sky - a symbol of schism and rejection of the reform of Patriarch Nikon.

As for their opponents, supporters of the Russian Orthodox Church, the folding of fingers adopted by them, in accordance with Nikon’s reform, and used to this day, also has a symbolic meaning. Nikonians cross themselves with three fingers - the thumb, index and middle fingers, folded in a pinch (the schismatics contemptuously called them “pinchers” for this). These three fingers also symbolize and the dual nature of Jesus Christ is depicted in this case by the ring finger and little finger pressed to the palm.

Symbolism contained in the sign of the cross

The schismatics always attached special meaning to the way in which they imposed on themselves. The direction of movement of the hand is the same for them as for all Orthodox Christians, but its explanation is unique. Old Believers cross themselves with their fingers, placing them first of all on their foreheads. By this they express the primacy of God the Father, who is the beginning of the Divine Trinity.

Further, by placing their fingers on their stomach, they thereby indicate that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was immaculately conceived in the womb of the Most Pure Virgin. Then raising his hand to his right shoulder, they indicate that in the Kingdom of God He is seated at the right hand - that is, to the right of His Father. And finally, the movement of the hand to the left shoulder reminds that at the Last Judgment, sinners sent to hell will have a place on the left (to the left) of the Judge.

The answer to this question can be the ancient tradition of the two-fingered sign of the cross, which dates back to apostolic times and was then adopted in Greece. She came to Rus' at the same time as her baptism. Researchers have convincing evidence that during the XI-XII centuries. There was simply no other form of the sign of the cross in the Slavic lands, and everyone was baptized the way the Old Believers do today.

An illustration of what has been said can be the well-known icon “Savior Pantocrator,” painted by Andrei Rublev in 1408 for the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. On it, Jesus Christ is depicted sitting on a throne and raising his right hand in a two-fingered blessing. It is characteristic that it was precisely two, and not three, fingers that the Creator of the world folded in this sacred gesture.

The true reason for the persecution of the Old Believers

Many historians are inclined to believe that the true cause of the persecution was not the ritual features practiced by the Old Believers. Whether followers of this movement cross themselves with two or three fingers is, in principle, not so important. Their main fault was that these people dared to openly go against the royal will, thereby creating a dangerous precedent for future times.

In this case, we are talking specifically about a conflict with the highest state power, since Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who ruled at that time, supported the Nikon reform, and rejection of it by part of the population could be regarded as a rebellion and an insult inflicted on him personally. But the Russian rulers never forgave this.

Old Believers today

Concluding the conversation about how Old Believers are baptized and where this movement came from, it would be worth mentioning that today their communities are located in almost all developed countries of Europe, in South and North America, as well as in Australia. It has several organizations in Russia, the largest of which is the Belokrinitsky hierarchy, founded in 1848, whose representative offices are located abroad. In its ranks it unites more than a million parishioners and has its permanent centers in Moscow and the Romanian city of Braila.

The second largest Old Believer organization is considered to be the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church, which includes about two hundred official communities and a number of unregistered ones. Its central coordinating and advisory body is the Russian Council of the DPTs, located in Moscow since 2002.

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 essence of the sign of the cross, why is it necessary to be baptized?

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.”

With what hand and how correctly should Orthodox Christians be baptized?

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.

How to fold your fingers correctly (photo)

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.

Do I need to be baptized before entering a temple or while passing through a temple?

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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We all know very well what an exceptional role the sign of the cross plays in the spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian. Every day, during morning and evening prayers, during worship and before eating food, before the beginning of teaching and at its end, we place on ourselves the sign of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of Christ. And this is not accidental, because in Christianity there is no more ancient custom than the sign of the cross, i.e. overshadowing oneself with the sign of the cross. At the end of the third century, the famous Carthaginian church teacher Tertullian wrote: “When traveling and moving, entering and leaving a room, putting on shoes, taking a bath, at the table, lighting candles, lying down, sitting down, in everything we do - we must overshadow your forehead with a cross." 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. However, if we are honest with ourselves, it will become absolutely obvious that quite often we make the sign of the cross out of habit, mechanically, without thinking about the meaning of this great Christian symbol. I believe that a short historical and liturgical excursion will allow all of us subsequently to more consciously, thoughtfully and reverently apply the sign of the cross to ourselves.

So what does the sign of the cross symbolize and under what circumstances did it arise? The sign of the cross, which has become part of our daily life, arose quite late, and entered the liturgical life of the Russian Orthodox Church only in the 17th century, during the well-known reforms of Patriarch Nikon. In the Ancient Church, only the forehead was marked with a cross. Describing the liturgical life of the Roman Church in the 3rd century, Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome writes: “Always try to humbly sign the sign of the cross on your forehead.” The use of one finger in the sign of the cross is then spoken about by: St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, Blessed Jerome of Stridon, Blessed Theodoret of Cyrrhus, church historian Sozomen, St. Gregory the Dvoeslov, St. John Moschos, and in the first quarter of the 8th century, St. Andrew of Crete. According to the conclusions of most modern researchers, marking the forehead (or face) with a cross arose during the time of the apostles and their successors. Moreover, this may seem incredible to you, but the appearance of the sign of the cross in the Christian Church was significantly influenced by Judaism. A fairly serious and competent study of this issue was carried out by the modern French theologian Jean Danielou. You all remember very well the Council in Jerusalem described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which took place approximately in the 50th year of the Nativity of Christ. The main question that the apostles considered at the Council concerned the method of accepting into the Christian Church those people who had been converted from paganism. The essence of the problem was rooted in the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ preached his sermon among the Jewish chosen people of God, for whom even after acceptance of the Gospel Message, all religious and ritual prescriptions of the Old Testament remained binding. When the apostolic preaching reached the European continent and the early Christian Church began to be filled with newly converted Greeks and representatives of other nations, the question of the form of their acceptance quite naturally arose. First of all, this question concerned circumcision, i.e. the need for converted pagans to first accept the Old Testament and be circumcised, and only after that accept the Sacrament of Baptism. The Apostolic Council resolved this dispute with a very wise decision: for Jews, the Old Testament Law and circumcision remained mandatory, but for pagan Christians, Jewish ritual regulations were abolished. By virtue of this decree of the Apostolic Council, in the first centuries there were two most important traditions in the Christian Church: Judeo-Christian and linguistic-Christian. Thus, the Apostle Paul, who constantly emphasized that in Christ “there is neither Greek nor Jew,” remained deeply attached to his people, to his homeland, to Israel. Let us remember how he speaks about the election of the unbelievers: God chose them in order to awaken zeal in Israel, so that Israel would recognize in the person of Jesus the Messiah they were waiting for. Let us also remember that after the death and Resurrection of the Savior, the apostles regularly gathered in the Jerusalem Temple, and they always began their preaching outside Palestine from the synagogue. In this context, it becomes clear why the Jewish religion could have a certain influence on the development of external forms of worship of the young early Christian Church.

So, returning to the question of the origin of the custom of making the sign of the cross, we note that in the Jewish synagogue worship of the times of Christ and the apostles there was a ritual of inscribing the name of God on the forehead. What is it? The book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9:4) speaks of a symbolic vision of a catastrophe that should befall a certain city. However, this destruction will not affect pious people, on whose foreheads the angel of the Lord will depict a certain sign. This is described in the following words: “And the Lord said to him: go through the middle of the city, in the middle of Jerusalem, and make a sign on the foreheads of the mourning people, sighing over all the abominations that are being committed in its midst.” Following the prophet Ezekiel, the same mark of the name of God on the forehead is mentioned in the book of Revelation of the holy Apostle John the Theologian. Thus, in Rev. 14:1 says: “And I looked, and behold, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty-four thousand, having the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” Elsewhere (Rev. 22.3-4) the following is said about the life of the next century: “And nothing will be cursed any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. And they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”

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”. This meant that God is Infinite and Almighty, Omnipresent and Eternal. He is the completeness of all conceivable perfections. Since a person can describe the world around him with the help of words, and words consist of letters, the first and last letters of the alphabet in the writing of the name of God indicate that He contains the fullness of being, He embraces everything that can be described in human language. By the way, the symbolic inscription of the name of God using the first and last letters of the alphabet is also found in Christianity. Remember, in the book of the Apocalypse, the Lord says about himself: “I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.” Since the Apocalypse was originally written in Greek, it became obvious to the reader that the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet in the description of the name of God testify to the fullness of Divine perfections. Often we can see iconographic images of Christ, in whose hands is an open book with the inscription of only two letters: alpha and omega.

According to the passage from Ezekiel's prophecy quoted above, the elect will have the name of God inscribed on their foreheads, which is associated with the letters "aleph" and "tav." The meaning of this inscription is symbolic - a person who has the name of God on his forehead has completely given himself to God, dedicated himself to Him and lives according to the Law of God. Only such a person is worthy of salvation. Wanting to outwardly demonstrate their devotion to God, the Jews of the time of Christ already inscribed the letters “alef” and “tav” on their foreheads. Over time, in order to simplify this symbolic action, they 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.

Around the 4th century, Christians began to sign the cross over 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. Moreover, by the 4th century, Christians began to sign the cross not only on themselves, but also on surrounding objects. Thus, a contemporary of this era, the Monk Ephraim the Syrian writes: “The life-giving cross overshadows our houses, our doors, our lips, our breasts, all our members. You, Christians, do not leave this cross at any time, at any hour; may he be with you in all places. Do nothing without the cross; whether you go to bed or get up, work or rest, eat or drink, travel on land or sail on the sea - constantly adorn all your members with this life-giving cross.”

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 appeared, it took advantage of the hitherto used form of finger formation - single-fingered fingers - to propagate its teachings, since it saw in single-fingered fingers 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.

An earlier and very important evidence of the use of double fingers by the Greeks belongs to the Nestorian Metropolitan Elijah Geveri, who lived at the end of the 9th century. Wanting to reconcile the Monophysites with the Orthodox and the Nestorians, he wrote that the latter disagreed with the Monophysites in the depiction of the cross. Namely, some depict the sign of the cross with one finger, leading the hand from left to right; others with two fingers, leading, on the contrary, from right to left. Monophysites, crossing themselves with one finger from left to right, emphasize that they believe in one Christ. Nestorians and Orthodox Christians, depicting the cross in a sign with two fingers - from right to left, thereby profess their belief that on the cross humanity and divinity were united together, that this was the reason for our salvation.

In addition to Metropolitan Elijah Geveri, the well-known Venerable John of Damascus also wrote about double-fingering in his monumental systematization of Christian doctrine, known as “An Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.”

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.

Thus, to summarize this message, it can be noted that the sign of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord is not only the oldest, but also one of the most important Christian symbols. It requires a deep, thoughtful, and reverent attitude from us. Centuries ago, John Chrysostom admonished us to think about this with the following words: “You must not just draw a cross with your fingers,” he wrote. “You have to do it in faith.”

Hegumen PAVEL, candidate of theology, inspector of the Ministry of Education and Science
minds.by

Why not three-fingered?

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.

To this the Old Believers respond:

Double-fingering was commanded to us by the apostles and fathers of the ancient Church, for which there is a lot of historical evidence. Three fingers 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 in 1551: “If anyone does not blesh 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, the Holy 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. Nikolas of Methonsky wrote, in particular, about unleavened bread: “Whoever 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-fingered to be a more accurate dogmatic symbol than three-fingered. After all, it was not the Trinity that was crucified, but “one of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God.”

Source: ruvera.ru

So how to be baptized correctly? Compare several photographs presented. They are taken from various open sources.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' and Bishop Anthony of Slutsk and Soligorsk clearly use two fingers. And the rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Healer” in the city of Slutsk, Archpriest Alexander Shklyarevsky and parishioner Boris Kleshchukevich folded three fingers of their right hand.

Probably, the question still remains open and different sources answer it differently. St. Basil the Great also wrote: “In the Church, let everything happen in order and in order.” The sign of the cross is a visible evidence of our faith. To find out whether the person in front of you is Orthodox or not, you just need to ask him to cross himself, and by how he does it and whether he does it at all, everything will become clear. And let us remember the Gospel: “He who is faithful in little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10).

The sign of the cross is a visible evidence of our faith, so it must be performed carefully and with reverence.

The power of the Sign of the Cross is unusually great. In the Lives of the Saints there are stories about how demonic spells were dispelled after the overshadowing of the Cross. Therefore, those who are baptized carelessly, fussily and inattentively simply please the demons.

How to make the Sign of the Cross correctly?

1) You need to put three fingers of your right hand (thumb, index and middle) together, which symbolizes the three faces of the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. By joining these fingers together, we testify to the unity of the Holy Indivisible Trinity.

2) The other two fingers (little finger and ring finger) are bent tightly to the palm, thereby symbolizing the two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ: Divine and human.

3) First, folded fingers are placed on the forehead to sanctify the mind; then on the stomach (but not lower) - to sanctify internal abilities (will, mind and feelings); after that - on the right and then on the left shoulder - to sanctify our bodily strength, because the shoulder symbolizes activity (“to lend a shoulder” - to provide assistance).

4) Only after lowering the hand do we bow from the waist so as not to “break the Cross.” This is a common mistake - bowing at the same time as the Sign of the Cross. This should not be done.

The bow after the Sign of the Cross is performed because we have just depicted (overshadowed ourselves) the Calvary Cross, and we worship it.

In general, at present, on the question “How to be baptized?” Many people don't pay attention. For example, in one of his blogs, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov writes that “... the truth of the Church is not tested by how a person feels in its church: good or bad... being baptized with two or three fingers now no longer plays any role, because these two rites are recognized Church of equal honor." Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky also confirms there: “Be baptized as you like.”

This illustration was posted on the website of the Church of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Lyubimovka, Sevastopol, Crimea.

Here is a reminder for those who are just joining the Orthodox Church and still don’t know much. A kind of alphabet.

When should you be baptized?

In the temple:

It is imperative to be baptized at the moment the priest reads the Six Psalms and when the Creed begins to be chanted.

It is also necessary to make the sign of the cross at those moments when the clergyman says the words: “By the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross.”

You need to be baptized when the paremias begin.

It is necessary to be baptized not only before entering the church, but also after you leave its walls. Even when passing by any temple, you must cross yourself once.

After a parishioner venerates an icon or cross, he must also cross himself.

On the street:

When passing by any Orthodox church, you should be baptized for the reason that in every church in the altar, on the throne, Christ himself dwells, the Body and Blood of the Lord in the chalice, which have all the fullness of Jesus Christ.

If you do not cross yourself when passing by the temple, you should remember the words of Christ: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark. 8:38).

But, you should understand the reason why you did not cross yourself, if it is embarrassment, then you should cross yourself, if this is impossible, for example, you are driving and your hands are busy, then you should cross yourself mentally, also you should not cross yourself, if for This can become a reason for others to ridicule the church, so you should understand the reason.

At home:

Immediately after waking up and immediately before going to bed;

At the beginning of reading any prayer and after its completion;

Before and after meals;

Before starting any work.

Selected and prepared materials
Vladimir KHVOROV