Sign of the Cross - three and two fingers - saints - history - catalog of articles - unconditional love. Sign of the Cross

31.12.2023

Baptism is one of the Sacraments of the Church. It is called a sacrament because during the performance of sacred rites visible to the eye, the invisible saving power of God - grace - is communicated to the believer in a mysterious and incomprehensible way for us.

What is the rite of Baptism?

In Greek, baptism is vaptisis, which means immersion. The visible ritual, that is, the rite of Baptism, consists of immersing the body in water three times, with the invocation of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But this is only the external part of the Sacrament, accessible to our sight and hearing. Its essence lies in the fact that Baptism is a new birth for spiritual life, in which a person can achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the believer dies to a sinful, carnal life and is reborn by the Holy Spirit into a spiritual, holy life. Since Baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person is born only once, then the Sacrament of Baptism is not repeated.

What should you do if a person would like to be baptized, but does not know whether he was baptized as a child?

The situation is quite common in post-Soviet Russia, since during the years of militant atheism, children were often baptized secretly. If there are no witnesses confirming the fact of baptism, or definitely denying its possibility, the believer is baptized, and the priest adds the formula: “If he is not baptized, the servant of God (or the servant of God) is baptized...”, that is, “If he is not baptized, he is baptized.” servant of God..."

Where did Baptism come from?

Like other Sacraments of the Church, Baptism is divinely ordained. Sending His disciples, the apostles, to preach the Gospel, Jesus commanded them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). -20). It follows from this that Baptism is only the beginning of spiritual formation, indeed, only birth into spiritual life, which should be followed by a person’s sincere desire to live with Christ, to live in Christ, fulfilling His commandments and participating in other Sacraments of the Church that will help him in this - especially in the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession) and the Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist).

What does a person need for Baptism?

The most important thing is the desire of the person himself to be born into a new life, life in Christ, and to die to a life of sin. It is also necessary for a person to understand what he will need for this. Without such a sincere desire to be born into a new life, and then to continue to follow Christ, we turn Baptism into some kind of magical act, where instead of our sincere response to the Lord’s call to us, we offer God a bargain: “We will be baptized, and You do this, so that we don’t get sick, or so that everything is fine with us...”, there are many options. This approach is at least not useful to a person, and may even be dangerous.

In order for a person to meaningfully confess his faith, to accurately articulate and name what his Christian heart feels, a prayer called the Creed is given to help him. The Creed is a concise and understandable statement of what Christians believe. The prayer was compiled by the holy fathers in the 4th century, and is also read during the Sacrament of Baptism. So that during the Sacrament the person being baptized can pronounce the words of the Creed on his own behalf, the priests ask him to learn the prayer by heart in advance. Confession helps prepare your heart and soul to accept the Sacrament of Baptism; it cleanses the soul and helps to focus all forces on one of the most important events in our lives - Baptism. It is clear that Confession concerns adults.

Christ was crucified on the Cross for our sake, and, confessing His death on the cross, and then His resurrection from the dead, the baptized believer, already with the full right of a Christian, consciously wears a cross on his body. From now on, the cross is both his defense and his confession of Christ.

Everything else - handkerchiefs, sheets, the material from which the pectoral cross and chain are made, shirts, the quality of candles - these are the external attributes of the Sacrament, which correlate with its inner essence no more than the presence of a veil or wedding suit during a marriage with the love that should unite two. The Church knows examples when, in the absence of water, over seriously ill people, the Sacrament of Baptism was performed with sand. Also, “for the sake of the fear of death” - that is, in the event of a threat of death, Baptism can be performed not by a priest, but by any believer who knows his rite. The main thing is a person’s willingness to accept Christ.

Sign of the Cross

Sign of the Cross(Church Orthodox “sign of the cross”) in Christianity is a prayer gesture, which is an image of a cross with the movement of the hand. The sign of the cross is performed on various occasions, for example, when entering and leaving a church, before or after saying a prayer, during worship, as a sign of confession of one’s faith, and in other cases; also when blessing someone or something. There are several phraseological phrases denoting the action of a person performing the sign of the cross: “to make the sign of the cross”, “to make the sign of the cross”, “to impose the sign of the cross”, “(re)baptize” (not to be confused with the meaning of “receive the sacrament of Baptism” ), as well as “to mark (sya)”. The sign of the cross is used in many Christian denominations, differing in the variants of the folding of the fingers (usually in this context the Church Slavonic word “fingers” is used: “folding of fingers”, “finger folding”) and the direction of movement of the hand.

Orthodoxy

In modern Orthodoxy, two variants of the finger formation are generally recognized: three-fingered and nominal finger formation, which is used by priests (and bishops) when blessing. Old Believers, as well as fellow believers, use two-fingered fingers.

Three fingers

Hand folded into three fingers

Three fingers- to make the sign of the cross, fold the first three fingers of the right hand (thumb, index and middle), and bend the other two fingers to the palm; after which they successively touch the forehead, upper abdomen, right shoulder, then the left. If the sign of the cross is performed outside of public worship, it is customary to say “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen,” or other prayer.

Three fingers folded together symbolize the Holy Trinity; the symbolic meaning of the other two fingers could be different at different times. So, initially among the Greeks they did not mean anything at all. Later, in Rus', under the influence of polemics with the Old Believers (who argued that “the Nikonians abolished Christ from the cross of Christ”) these two fingers were reinterpreted as a symbol of the two natures of Christ: Divine and human. This interpretation is now the most common, although there are others (for example, in the Romanian Church these two fingers are interpreted as a symbol of Adam and Eve falling to the Trinity).

The hand, depicting a cross, touches first the right shoulder, then the left, which symbolizes the traditional Christian opposition between the right side as the place of the saved and the left as the place of the lost (see Matt., 25, 31-46). Thus, raising his hand first to the right, then to the left shoulder, the Christian asks to be included in the fate of the saved and to be delivered from the fate of the perishing.

An Orthodox priest, when blessing people or objects, puts his fingers into a special formation called a nomenclature. It is believed that fingers folded in this way represent the letters IC XC, that is, the initials of the name Jesus Christ in Greek-Byzantine writing. When blessing, the hand, when drawing the transverse line of the cross, is led first to the left (relative to the one giving the blessing), then to the right, that is, the person being blessed in this way is blessed first with his right shoulder, then his left. The bishop has the right to teach blessing with both hands at once.

Sign yourself with the sign of the cross more often. Remember: “The cross rises, and the ranks of the airy spirits fall”; “Lord, give us Your cross as a weapon against the devil.” To my regret, I saw that some simply wave their hands, without even touching their foreheads and shoulders. This is a direct mockery of the sign of the cross. Remember what St. Seraphim said about the correct sign of the cross. Read this instruction of his.
My children, this is how it should be applied, with prayer, which is an appeal to the Most Holy Trinity. We say: In the name of the Father, placing three fingers together, showing by this that the Lord is one in three persons. By placing the folded three fingers to our forehead, we sanctify our mind, lifting up in prayer to God the Father, Almighty, Creator of angels, heaven, earth, people, Creator of everything visible and invisible. And then, touching the lower part of the chest with these same fingers, we remember all the torments of the Savior, who suffered for us, His crucifixion, our Redeemer, the only begotten Son, born of the Father, uncreated. And we sanctify our heart and all our feelings, lifting them up to the earthly life of the Savior, for our sake and for our salvation, who came down from heaven and became incarnate, and we say: and the Son. Then, raising our fingers to our shoulders, we say: and the Holy Spirit. We ask the third person of the Most Holy Trinity not to abandon us, to sanctify our will and to graciously help us: to direct all our strength, all our actions towards acquiring the Holy Spirit into our hearts. And finally, humbly, reverently, with the fear of God and hope, and with deep love for the Most Holy Trinity, we finish this great prayer, saying: Amen, that is, truly, so be it.
This prayer is forever connected with the cross. Think about it.
How many times have I felt with pain that many pronounce this great prayer completely mechanically, as if it were not a prayer, but something that is customary to say before the beginning of prayer. You should never do this. It is a sin.
Schema-Archimandrite Zacharias (1850–1936)

Dual fingers

Double-fingered (also double-fingered) prevailed until the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century and was officially recognized in Moscow Rus' by the Stoglavy Council. It was practiced until the 13th century in the Greek East (Constantinople), and was later replaced by triplicate. Double-fingering was officially condemned in the Russian Church at Councils in the 1660s; At the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971, all pre-Nikon Russian rites, including the two-fingered sign of the cross, were recognized as legitimate.

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

In the West, unlike the Orthodox Church, there have never been such conflicts regarding the folding of fingers during the sign of the cross, as in the Russian Church, and to this day there are various versions of it. Thus, Catholic prayer books, speaking about the sign of the cross, usually cite only the prayer pronounced at the same time (In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti), without saying anything about the combination of fingers. Even traditionalist Catholics, who are usually quite strict about the ritual and its symbolism, admit the existence of various options here. In the Polish Catholic community, it is customary to make the sign of the cross with five fingers, with an open palm, in memory of the five wounds on the body of Christ.
When a Catholic makes the sign of the cross for the first time upon entering a church, he first dips his fingertips in a special bowl of holy water. This gesture, which is apparently an echo of the ancient custom of washing hands before celebrating the Eucharist, was later reinterpreted as a rite performed in memory of the sacrament of Baptism. Some Catholics perform this ritual at home, before starting home prayer.
The priest, when blessing, uses the same finger formation as with the sign of the cross, and leads his hand in the same way as an Orthodox priest, that is, from left to right. In addition to the usual, large cross, the so-called cross was preserved in the Latin rite as a remnant of ancient practice. small cross. It is performed during Mass, before the reading of the Gospel, when the clergy and those praying with the thumb of their right hand depict three small crosses on the forehead, lips and heart.

The Latin cross is the emblem of the intersection of the lines of Spirit (Alpha) and Matter (Omega), marking the place where Christ is born and from where the energies of the Logos pour out onto the planet.
Touching the forehead - the upper (northern) end of the cross, we say: “In the name of the Father.”
Touching the heart - the lower (southern) end, we say: “... and the Mother.”
Touching the left shoulder as the eastern end, we say: “...and the Son.”
And touching the right shoulder as the western end of the cross, we say: “...and the Holy Spirit. Amen!".
By including the name of the Mother in our invocation of the Trinity, we invoke the consciousness of the Cosmic Virgin, who makes every aspect of the sacred Trinity significant to our evolving consciousness. Truly, Mary is the Daughter of God, the Mother of Christ and the Bride of the Holy Spirit. Playing the intimate role of the feminine complement to every aspect of the masculine principle of God, she, like no one, is able to reflect the nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
By making the sign of the cross, we maintain awareness of these aspects in the body, soul, mind and heart.

Performing the Sign of the Cross requires a deep, thoughtful and reverent attitude from the believer. Many centuries ago, John Chrysostom exhorted us to think about this with the following words: “You should not just draw a cross with your fingers,” he wrote. “You have to do it in faith.”

The sign of the cross plays an exceptional role 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, a Christian places on himself the sign of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of Christ.

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.”

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.

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. 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:
“Our houses, our doors, our lips, our breasts, all our members are overshadowed by the life-giving cross. 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 Monophysitism in the Middle East and Egypt. Then the Orthodox 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.

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, St. John of Damascus also wrote about double-fingered 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.

Hegumen Pavel, inspector of the MinDAiS

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 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. 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.

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.”

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
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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 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

Sent: 2009.11.02 20:08:20. Heading: HISTORY OF FINGERS..

HISTORY OF THE FINGER
The original most ancient form of the sign of the cross, which was used in the first centuries of Christianity and, according to church beliefs, dates back to the times of the apostles, was one finger - then they were marked in the sign of the cross with one finger. There is a number of undoubted evidence for this. So St. John Chrysostom says: “When you signify yourself with a cross, then imagine the full significance of the cross... It should not just be depicted with a finger, but it should be preceded by a heartfelt disposition and complete faith.”

St. Epiphanius says about a certain Orthodox man Joseph, whom he knew, that he “took a vessel with water with his own finger and imprinted the sign of the cross on it.” The use of one finger in the sign of the cross is then spoken about by: Blessed Jerome, Blessed Theodoret, church historian Sozomen, St. Gregory Dvoeslov, John Moschus and in the first quarter of the 8th century Andrei of Crete. Only in Cyril of Jerusalem alone do we find such testimony: “with boldness let us depict the cross with our fingers on our foreheads and on everything.”

The cross itself, when marking oneself, in the first centuries of Christianity, was depicted differently than in subsequent times and now, namely: with one finger the cross was then depicted primarily on the forehead, sometimes on the lips, eyes, forearms and generally on individual parts of the body, so marking oneself with the present large cross, with the placing of a finger on the forehead, stomach, right and left shoulder, was not used at all in the first centuries of Christianity, but became a custom in later times, probably starting from the 9th century.

Over the course of time, starting from the 9th century, the ancient Christian one-finger began to be replaced in the Greek Orthodox Church by two fingers, which, having replaced the one-finger, became dominant among the Greeks. This is confirmed by undeniable evidence. 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 and beginning of the 10th centuries. Wanting to reconcile the Monophysites with the Orthodox or Melchites, as the Syrian Nestorians usually call the Orthodox, - and with the Nestorians, he says: “in the agreement of faith between the Nestorians, Melchites and Jacobites, that they disagree with each other in the image of the cross, which of course does not matter. Namely, they the sign of the cross is depicted with one finger, leading the hand from left to right; others with two fingers, leading, on the contrary, from right to left. The Jacobites, making the sign of themselves with one finger from left to right, mean by this that they believe in one Christ - he brought the redeemed from sin (from the left) to grace ( to the right). Nestorians and Melchites (i.e. Orthodox), depicting the cross in the sign with two fingers - from right to left, thereby profess their belief that on the cross humanity and deity were united together, that this was the reason for our salvation and that faith began with right side, and unbelief and delusion are driven out from the left."

In addition to Elijah Geveri, two more evidence from the 12th century have long been known that Orthodox Christians then used two fingers in the sign of the cross. Thus, one Greek of the 12th century denounces the Latin archpastors for the fact that they bless with five fingers, and signify themselves, like the Monothelites, with one finger, “while the fingers in signs should be arranged so that they signify two natures (in Christ) and three persons (in the Divine)", i.e. He considers the two-finger to be the correct finger formation.

The monk Peter from Damascus, writing around 1157 (although some think to argue that he lived much earlier) says that “in the sign of the cross, two fingers and one hand reveal the crucified Lord Jesus Christ, in two natures and in one body cognizable.” .

Some people think to weaken the strength of the evidence given by the consideration that if this evidence speaks for the existence of double fingers, it is only supposedly among Syrian Christians who lived among the Monophysites and Nestorians, so this phenomenon should be viewed only as an exclusively local one, as a a specifically Syrian custom, which the Ecumenical Orthodox Church of Constantinople did not know at all and never adhered to, in which double-fingering was not used at all.

But such an understanding of the matter will be unfair and inconsistent with reality, since two pieces of evidence have now been found that put beyond any doubt the existence of double-fingered behavior in the Church of Constantinople itself from the beginning of the 11th and 12th centuries.

The first evidence is as follows: the Jacobite Patriarch John VIII Abdon, who lived in Antioch, which at that time belonged to the Greeks, was accused by the Militinian Metropolitan Nikephoros before the Greek Emperor Rowan Argyropulus of allegedly trying to seduce the Greeks into his heresy. The emperor ordered John to be brought to Constantinople. In 1029, on July 15, John Abdon with 6 bishops, 20 priests and Jacobite monks, accompanied by the accuser Metropolitan Nikephoros, arrived in Byzantium.

Here the Patriarch of Constantinople convened a council with the goal of converting the Jacobites to Orthodoxy, but they remained adamant in their error. “Then,” says Asseman, “having again arranged a meeting, the patriarch (Greek) and the invited bishops (Greek) ordered John Abdon the patriarch and Elius, bishop of Simnadia, to be present (at the council). When, after a long dispute, they could not bend ours to in their opinion, the only thing they demanded of them was not to mix oil in the Eucharist and to be baptized not with one finger, but with two.” Thus, in 1029, the Patriarch of Constantinople, together with other Greek bishops, wishing to convert the Jacobite Patriarch John VIII and his companions to Orthodoxy, solemnly demanded of them at the council that they be baptized not with one finger, but with two. It is clear that at the beginning of the 11th century, both the Patriarch of Constantinople himself and other Greek hierarchs used two fingers in the sign of the cross, which they considered a truly Orthodox sign, contrary to the then Monophysite one-finger.

The Byzantine emperors more than once tried to reconcile the Armenians with Orthodoxy, for which they repeatedly entered into church relations with the Armenians. In these types, Emperor Manuel Komnenos, in 1170, sent one of the Constantinople scientists, named Theoriana, to the Armenians for theological interviews with them. Theorian described his interviews with the Armenians and about the second of them, by the way, he also reports the following: “When this (previous) was said, one Syrian priest stood up and said to Theorian: why are you (i.e., the Greeks of Constantinople) depicting the sign of the cross? two fingers? Are not the fingers separated (from each other), as if they are special from one another? Therefore, in your opinion, the two natures of Christ are also divided. But Theorian, as if resorting to a joke, said: without signifying the two natures of Christ, we do this, but Having been delivered from the torment of the devil, we are taught to create militia and warfare against him, for with our hands we do justice, alms and other virtues, and this is militia; and with our fingers, placing the seal of Christ on our foreheads, we formulate warfare and thus defeat him and with David we bless the Lord, saying each: Blessed is the Lord my God, teach my hands to fight and my fingers to fight (Ps. 143:1) - not a finger (i.e., not one finger, like you - the Armenians), but fingers."

From the above evidence it is clear that when one Syrian priest reproached the Greeks of Constantinople, whose representative was Theorian, “why do you depict the sign of the cross with two fingers? Aren’t the fingers separated as special from one another, therefore, in your opinion, the two natures of Christ are divided between yourself?", then Theorian confirmed that the Greeks of Constantinople actually cross themselves with two fingers for such and such reasons. This means that in 1170 in the Church of Constantinople, two fingers were undoubtedly used in the sign of the cross, which served and was then recognized as an external visual sign distinguishing the Orthodox from the Monophysites.

Why the Greeks later replaced the ancient early Christian one-fingered sign of the cross (no later than the beginning of the 9th century) with two fingers is understandable. When the heresy of the Monophysites appeared, it took advantage of the hitherto used form of the sign of the cross - single-fingered - to propagate its teachings, since it saw in single-fingered a symbolic expression of its teaching about the one nature in Christ. Then the Orthodox, contrary to the Monophysites, began to use double-fingered in the sign of the cross, as a symbolic expression of the Orthodox doctrine of 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.

The long and persistent struggle against Monophysitism, which the Greek Church had to wage, naturally forced the Orthodox Greeks to attach especially important importance to double-fingering, as a visible and understandable sign of a famous person’s belonging to the Orthodox Church, especially since in Syria, Egypt, and some Greek cities, The Orthodox population was mixed with the Monophysite population. This explains why the Patriarch and Bishop of Constantinople, converting the Jacobite Patriarch and his companions to Orthodoxy, insistently demanded that they depict the cross not with one finger, but with two; and, on the other hand, this also explains why the Monophysites stubbornly stood for one-finger and did not want, despite all the convictions, and in some cases the threats and coercions of the Greeks, to change their one-finger to the Greek Orthodox two-finger. This would mean, in their opinion, a clear and open change in their very doctrine, since, by the use of two or one fingers in the sign of the cross, they then concluded that the person belonged to Orthodoxy or Monophysitism.

The struggle and constant cohabitation with the Monophysites explains the circumstance why double-fingering persisted for so long in the Church of Constantinople, and then between Syrian Orthodox Christians, and why tripling, this, apparently, the most natural form of finger formation for a Christian, could appear in the Greek Church became the dominant custom only in later times, when the fight against Monophysitism had finally ceased. This also explains the circumstance why in the Western Church, which was not in direct contact with the Monophysites, triplicate is found earlier than among the Greeks.

The Greeks, who, at the request of the indicated circumstances, changed the ancient Christian single-fingered to double-fingered, which lasted for more than four hundred years, then changed their double-fingered to triple-fingered. The reasons for this phenomenon can be assumed to be the following: if the Greeks abandoned the ancient single-finger formation, not because this form of finger formation, at first strictly Orthodox, used by the great fathers and teachers of the church, became over time unorthodox in itself, but because the Monophysite heretics took advantage of it , who connected with it, to the temptation of the Orthodox, their heretical teaching, so that one-fingered became a symbol of Monophysitism, and two-fingered - of Orthodoxy; then the Greeks later abandoned double-fingeredness, not because it became unorthodox in itself, but for completely different reasons. If the appearance of double fingers and the duration of its existence in the Orthodox Greek Church depended exclusively on Monophysitism, only during the struggle against it had its own special meaning and significance, then, as soon as the fight against Monophysitism ceased, the Greek Church of Constantinople, wanting to differ in the very form of the finger formation, not only from the Monophysites-one-fingered, but also from the Nestorians, who always strictly adhered to double-fingered, since they combined with it their heretical teaching about the union of two natures in Christ, and in double-fingered they saw a symbolic expression and confirmation of their heretical teaching - replaced double-fingered with a more natural one and characteristic of every Christian, in addition to his religious characteristics, three-fingered, as expressing the main, fundamental dogma of Christianity - the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. This change among the Greeks in the sign of the cross - from two fingers to three fingers - occurred, as one might think, at the end of the 12th century and continued until the end of the 13th century, when it finally became dominant among them, a circumstance that is extremely important for us.

The Russians, and earlier other Orthodox Slavs, accepted Christianity from the Greeks at a time when, as we have seen, in the Church of Constantinople the double finger in the sign of the cross was recognized as the only correct one and was used by everyone as an external sign, visible to everyone, that a famous person belongs to the Orthodox Church. The Russians, having accepted Christianity from the Greeks, also accepted church hierarchs sent from Constantinople, who taught them the faith and passed on to them all the Greek church rites and rites. It is clear that the enlighteners of Russian Christianity, the Greeks of Constantinople, first of all taught them to make the sign of the cross on themselves, as an external, visible sign of their conversion and belonging to Christianity, it is clear that the Greeks taught the newly enlightened Russians to make the sign of the cross in the same way as they they themselves created it at that time. And since the Greeks then considered the double-fingered formation right and obligatory for Orthodox Christians, then of course they taught the Russians to sign themselves with two fingers in the sign of the cross; It is clear that the Greeks also taught all the Slavs they converted to Christianity to make the sign of the cross on themselves. This is where and when the double finger in the sign of the cross appeared in Rus'.

Note:

From the book by N.F. Kapterev "Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich"

Christian of the Orthodox True Old Belief uncontaminated by heresies / Christian of the Old Orthodox priestly confession (PACP) http://starodruki.bloog.pl

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

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 encyclops. Dictionary, 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, like circumcision to Israel” (An exact statement of the Orthodox faith, book 4, chapter XI). Given by whom? By God. Just as the Lord gave circumcision through Abraham (Gen. 17:10), so, apparently, He gave the sign of the cross through the apostles.

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