The Sign of the Cross
When I as a Roman Catholic first encountered Eastern Orthodoxy, I noticed that they did the sign of the cross differently than I was used to. They did it "backwords," i.e. from right to left instead of from left to right. I now understand that there is an important reason for this. The sign of the cross is actually a summary of the Apostles Creed. I thought it was kind of cool, so I thought I'd share it here for anyone interested. Some of this is from what I was taught in my catechetical classes, and some is from the "Old Orthodox Prayer Book."
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Starting with the hand posture, the thumb touches the index and middle finger, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. The other two fingers, the ring finger and the pinky, are folded down together into the palm, symbolizing Christ's twin natures of humanity and divinity, and his condescention of coming down from Heaven to Earth.
Placing the hand to the forehead, you're confessing that "He Who is our one true and eternal Head gave Himself as head over all Churches, that is, over His body." Next you touch the belly, confessing Christ's descent to earth. It also is a confession of Christ's incarnation within the womb of the Theotokos Mary, the belly symbolizing God's womb and at the same time the belly button symbolizing the cave or manger in which He was delivered. The hand then goes to the right shoulder, for Christ now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Finally, the hand goes to the left shoulder, symbolizing that Christ will come again and that He will render eternal punishment to those on His left but everlasting life to those on His right. Said with the words "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen," the Christian who crosses him or herself has just performed a sort of Cliff Notes version of the Apostles Creed.
The Russian Old Believers use a different hand gesture- thumb to the ring finger and pinky to symbolize the Holy Trinity, and the index and middle finger upright together, with the middle finger slightly bent. Again, the two fingers together symbolize Christ's two natures, but the bent biddle finger symbolizes the fact that Christ "bowed the Heavens and came down to Earth and became man for our salvation."
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Anyways, just thought I'd share that, because it's stuff I never knew and that I think is kinda cool. 'Till next time ^_-
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Starting with the hand posture, the thumb touches the index and middle finger, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. The other two fingers, the ring finger and the pinky, are folded down together into the palm, symbolizing Christ's twin natures of humanity and divinity, and his condescention of coming down from Heaven to Earth.
Placing the hand to the forehead, you're confessing that "He Who is our one true and eternal Head gave Himself as head over all Churches, that is, over His body." Next you touch the belly, confessing Christ's descent to earth. It also is a confession of Christ's incarnation within the womb of the Theotokos Mary, the belly symbolizing God's womb and at the same time the belly button symbolizing the cave or manger in which He was delivered. The hand then goes to the right shoulder, for Christ now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Finally, the hand goes to the left shoulder, symbolizing that Christ will come again and that He will render eternal punishment to those on His left but everlasting life to those on His right. Said with the words "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen," the Christian who crosses him or herself has just performed a sort of Cliff Notes version of the Apostles Creed.
The Russian Old Believers use a different hand gesture- thumb to the ring finger and pinky to symbolize the Holy Trinity, and the index and middle finger upright together, with the middle finger slightly bent. Again, the two fingers together symbolize Christ's two natures, but the bent biddle finger symbolizes the fact that Christ "bowed the Heavens and came down to Earth and became man for our salvation."
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Anyways, just thought I'd share that, because it's stuff I never knew and that I think is kinda cool. 'Till next time ^_-