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 everything in his heart earthly life 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 thing is sign of the cross in 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 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.

“Shrink” the sign of the cross (not the stomach, but rib cage) is possible - for example, in situations where there are non-believers around, 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 “get together” internally, to enlighten oneself Christ symbol and by force, 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.

Read this and other posts in our group at

For the sign of the cross we join our fingers right hand like this: we put the first three fingers (thumb, index and middle) together at the ends evenly, and bend the last two (ring and little fingers) to the palm.

The first three fingers folded together express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as the consubstantial and inseparable Trinity, and the two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God upon His incarnation, being God, became man, that is, they mean His two natures are Divine and human.

You should make the sign of the cross slowly: place it on your forehead (1), on your stomach (2), on your right shoulder (3) and then on your left (4). And only by lowering your right hand, make a bow, so as to involuntarily prevent blasphemy by breaking the cross placed on yourself.

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 and calms sinful passions and attracts Divine grace.

In the temple, the following rules regarding bowing and the sign of the cross must be observed.

Be baptized no bows follows:

Be baptized with a bow follows:

Be baptized with a bow to the ground follows:

Bow from the waist without the sign of the cross put:

Please tell us about the history of the sign of the cross on early stage Christianity. As I understand it, neither Christ nor the apostles made the sign of the cross. When did this tradition begin? When and why did the difference appear in the direction of the cross: from the right shoulder to the left and from the left to the right. Which sign of the cross is the oldest?

Priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery, answers:

We do not have liturgical texts of Christians of the apostolic age. Therefore, we cannot unambiguously resolve the issue of the use of the sign of the cross in the primal Church. Ignorance does not give us reason to deny the possibility of the appearance of the sign of the cross in the earliest Christian communities. Some researchers speak about this quite definitely: “The custom of making cr. I know originates from the times of the apostles" (Complete Orthodox Theological Theological Encyclopedia, St. Petersburg. Published by P.P. Soykin, b.g., p. 1485). During Tertullian's time, the sign of the cross had already deeply entered the lives of Christians of his day. In the treatise “On the Warrior’s Crown” (about 211), he writes that we protect our forehead with the sign of the cross in all circumstances of life: entering and leaving the house, dressing, lighting lamps, going to bed, sitting down for any activity .

The sign of the cross is not just part of a religious ceremony. First of all, it is a great weapon. The Patericon, Patericon and Lives of Saints contain many examples that testify to the real spiritual power that the image of the cross possesses. Did the divinely enlightened apostles really not know about this? We find interesting evidence in the “Spiritual Meadow” of Blessed. John Mosch. When the presbyter of the monastery of Pentukla Konon left the monastery, he was met by St. John the Baptist, who meekly told him: “Return to the monastery, and I will deliver you from the battle.” Avva Konon refused. Then St. John sat him on one of the hills and, opening his clothes, made the sign of the cross over him three times” (chapter 3). The Great Forerunner John is a celestial being. How could he have learned to make the sign of the cross from people? The above story indirectly indicates that the image of the cross has been used since the beginning of Christianity. Let me give you one more idea. St. John of Damascus writes about the Cross: “It was given to us as a sign on our foreheads, as to Israel the circumcision” (Exact summary Orthodox faith, book 4, chapter XI). Given by whom? By God. Just as the Lord gave circumcision through Abraham (Gen. 17:10), so, apparently, He gave the sign of the cross through the apostles.

How and when were the two formed? different traditions in making the sign of the cross? Due to the lack of historical data, it is impossible to answer. Orthodox Christians, making the sign of the blessing, move their hand from the right shoulder to the left. If an Orthodox person overshadows another person or space in front of him, then the hand moves from left to right. Catholics perform the signum crucis from left to right, and the space in front of them from right to left. There is no dogmatic teaching behind these features. Perhaps, during the formation of these traditions, differences in ideological orientations emerged. In the consciousness and life of a Western person, the individual-personal principle is more clearly manifested than in an Eastern person. The worldview of a Western person is anthropocentric, while that of an Orthodox person is theocentric. In the Orthodox tradition, when making the sign of the cross, the idea is expressed that the person praying does not overshadow himself, but receives this spiritual seal from God (from the outside). The Western Christian overshadows himself by calling on the name of God.

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 placed together symbolize unity 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) - one should not rush to reprimand them: it is possible that they were brought up 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 double-fingered - different ways sign of the cross, therefore one of them cannot be considered the only possible one or, on the contrary, erroneous.

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 the recently published book by V. Artemov " 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 to be inverted: 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 Saint Equal to the Apostles Nina"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, three fingers also 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 lives 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 at her child, spouses at each other, one loved one at another (for example, when close person hits the road). 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 worth nothing without internal spiritual participation and sincere faith by virtue 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 their feet 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, without any apparent reason and without any blow from the side, it shattered into pieces. The kvass spilled, 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 in his own way. last way. 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 kind 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 in the most highest degree, but without deprivation of feelings, which alone could become some relief for the sufferer. The unnatural position made any movement painful; the inflamed and constantly renewed wounds near the nails were corroded by gangrene; the arteries - especially in the head and stomach - were swollen and tense from the rush of blood. To all these varied and ever-increasing torments were added unbearable heat and excruciating thirst. 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 the dream of it pleasant.”

“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 real reason death was an unnatural position of the body, which caused a terrible circulatory disorder, 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 man by means of certain injuries to his body, but the placing of 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 with the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” was found next to the cross, which was also sent to Rome. From this moment the cross becomes the highest symbol 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. All life path 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 Maundy Thursday a believer makes the sign of the cross on the windows and doors of his house.

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, showing the power of the cross to the land of Russia, may they not transgress. Holy Cross who kissed him; If anyone transgresses, he will suffer execution here, and eternal punishment at the next place. 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 the gods, in the gods, By the Cross, return fellow citizens, people defeat the adversaries. The Cross soon delivers from adversity those who call upon it with faith; nothing, nothing, I fear demons except the Cross, if there are dreams from demons, those who signify the face 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

“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.

WITH early childhood and until his 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 Honest and Life-giving Cross Christ's. 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 main symbol 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 eternal life- To 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, leading us to its Prototype - to the crucified God-Man who accepted death on the cross for 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 of the first centuries, the sign of the cross served as the main hallmark, 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 task, 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 history Christian Church There were three forms of digitation: single-fingered, double-fingered and triple-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 to XII century the fight with the Monophysites had already ended, then 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 the 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 With 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 in case of 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, there is a sign of the cross sacred symbol 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 ceremony. 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.

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 appears to us special sign, through which the Lord sends us His Divine blessing and grace, therefore this sign requires a deep, thoughtful and reverent attitude from us.

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 true beauty Churches are the weapon of peace, an invincible victory!

Priest Vladimir Kashlyuk