Hello all,
I've seen several topics on the two methods of doing the sign of the cross: from right to left vs. from left to right.
I was wondering why, as Orthodox Christians, we don't all do it the same way.
I am more familiar with the left to right method because I understand the symbolism (that Christ moved us from darkness-left to light-right...and also that the right side is considered the symbol of power).
Any comments?
Thanks,
God bless
P.S. WWJD is not exclusively Protestant...TITL forced my fingers to type those words...it was under extreme torture and threats to deprive me of food...
Comments
"The act of "Placing the cross on oneself" is a request for a blessing from God. We make if from right to left to mirror the actions of the priest when he blesses us. The priest, looking at the parishioners, blesses from left to right. Therefore, the parishioners, putting on the sign of the cross on themselves, do it from right to left.
Because the Lord separated the sheep from the goats, putting the faithful sheep on His right side, and the goats on the left, the Church always treats the right side as the preferred side. We only cross ourselves with our RIGHT hand. The priest, when blessing a person, first touches or points to their RIGHT side, then their left. Also the censing of the Holy Table in the Altar is always done from the RIGHT side first; censing of the Ikonostasis, the Congregation and of the Church itself always begins with the right side. The priest always gives communion with his RIGHT hand, even if he is left handed. There are other examples of this right side preference.
When a parent makes the sign of the cross over a child, they will cross them from left to right, just as the priest blesses. When they make the sign of the cross over themselves, they would do it, logically, the other way.
The Catholic Encyclopedia states that in the Roman Catholic Church, the faithful crossed themselves from right to left, just as the (Eastern) Orthodox do, until the 15th or 16th century." http://www.orthodox.net/articles/about-crossing-oneself.html
I spoke with an Eastern Orthodox priest who did his Doctorate in Coptic Christianity and he told me that originally Copts and Syriacs also crossed themselves from right to left, but under Latin influence we started crossing ourselves from left to right. If I meet him soon, I will ask him for a source on this.
Either way, it doesn't matter which direction we cross ourselves since both have deep spiritual meaning: right to left symbolizes the separation of the sheep and the goats (just as the Coptic/Roman Catholic way does ironically) and also symbolizes that since the heart is closer to the left side of the human body, they want to invoke the presence of the Holy Trinity into the heart so they touch the left side the last.
The power of the cross is undeniable no matter which tradition you follow.
Also, of interest is that traditionally in Eastern Orthodox churches, men sit on the right (rather than the left), and women sit on the left rather than on the right as is done in the Coptic Orthodox church. There is a symbolic reason for this as well but which escapes me right now.
Bar Salibi, the great Syrian writer, in the 12th century and long before the Catholic Enc. says the Latins changed from Right to Left insists that the correct manner is to cross from Left to Right. It is a taking of the soul from darkness (left)
and setting it in the light (right). It is a taking of the soul from among the goats (left) and setting it among the sheep (right).
He writes extensively on the sign of the cross. He is well aware of the Franks but in the matter of the cross does not indicate either that the form of making the cross is a novelty, or that it derives from the Franks.
I do not think that the form is so important, but I do not believe at all that there is evidence to show that a change in custom took place and that this change was due to the Latins.
Innocent the III writing before 1198 says that the sign of the cross is made from right to left, but that some make it from left to right. He does not criticise the other form since he says that it has the idea of being taken from darkness to light. Innocent III is writing just after the decease of Bar Salibi and describes the Latin practice. Therefore it cannot be said that the Syrians and Copts learned the Latin practice since at the time when Bar Salibi is describing the motion as being from left to right the Latins are clearly practicing from right to left, as the Greeks who Bar Salibi criticises.
In the 13th century the Latins went from left to right or right to left indifferently, not placing any greater significance on the associations of either direction. Both associations were considered valid.
Therefore it would seem that far from the Latins teaching the East the practice of crossing from left to right, it was the East who taught the Latins that this was an appropriate manner, and this happened after the time of Bar Salibi, and after the 13th century, as the Cath. Enc. intimates.
It would seem to me, without further documents to hand, that there was a variety of practice in the early period, but that the Greeks tended to move towards a unity of practice, perhaps that of Constantinople, while the OO continued to use the ancient form they were used to.
Certainly it was the ancient form as far as Bar Salibi was concerned in the 12th century, and he was clearly not following a Latin practice which was still the same as the Greeks. That the Latins did not find the OO practice problematic suggests that it was due to polemics that it has ever been an issue.
I too was surprised that this priest said that the Copts would take this tradition from the Latins since contact with the Latins was minimal such as in the crusades during the middle ages in Egypt.
Thanks for the information; I learned a lot!
The E.O tradition is - Jesus was in Heaven Came down to Earth (Up and down) Then came to the Jews (Right) then to the Gentiles (Left).
The O.O - Jesus was in Heaven came down to Earth, brought us from darkness to the Light (Left to right)
Either way it doesn't matter how you do it.. because its not the hand movement that counts but the Name (Invoking) of God..
Did we forget that St. George's hands were tied when they made him drink the Poision and he said the Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.. without hand movement and did not die.
God bless and happy New Year.
For myself, as I was becoming Orthodox many years ago, it was for a while through the study of Eastern Orthodoxy, and I suppose that I absorbed the practice of crossing myself right to left. To be honest I had to cross myself just now to even remember which direction comes natural.
I have been in the presence of many bishops and priests of various jurisidictions and traditions and have never once really noticed how others have crossed themselves, save that some of the elderly cross themselves with great reverence and attention.
Rather ironically, my natural inclination is to teach the left-right manner but I am habitually using right-left myself. Maybe I need to change my practice.
Because it means: "That we are transformed from darkness to light with the power of the Cross (dark being the left and light being the right)."
And see this topic also: http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php/topic,8073.0.html
We cross from left to right:
1)The head :symbolises heaven;Our Lord was incarnated ,took our lowly nature ,and descended from heaven.
2) We go down from the head to the centre : The centre symbolises earth, our Lord coming down to Earth.
3) Then we go to the left: The left indicates Hades.After His earthly mission,Our Lord descended into hades to free the righteous.
4) Then we go to the right to indicate the ascension of our Lord into heaven and sits at the right Hand of the Father.
The COC tradtion says the thief who was crucified on the right was Egyptian and the thief on the left was Syrian.The syrians may have it the the other way :D. So the left indicates the eternal damnation of the thief (hell) and the right the confession of the thief of our Lord and eternal life.
Left= Goats, Old testament, prophets, etc.,etc
Right: Sheep, New testament, Apostles, etc., etc.,
We must to make the cross from left to right! It's wrong to sign the cross from right to left.
Because it means: "That we are transformed from darkness to light with the power of the Cross (dark being the left and light being the right)."
And see this topic also: http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php/topic,8073.0.html
The person you quoted isn't a scholar. It's me (my old account).
[quote author=+Marmar+ link=topic=12737.msg149720#msg149720 date=1325327602]
We must to make the cross from left to right! It's wrong to sign the cross from right to left.
Because it means: "That we are transformed from darkness to light with the power of the Cross (dark being the left and light being the right)."
And see this topic also: http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php/topic,8073.0.html
The person you quoted isn't a scholar. It's me (my old account).
Lol :P
But it is right anyway.