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The sign of the Cross

Mark96Mark96
edited December 1969 in Coptic Orthodox Church
I've always wondered why we signed the cross in church when we hear 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' or 'We worship you...' or whenever. It's been much a 'do because everyone else is' and so can anyone tell me why we do sign the cross when we hear these things?

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  • jojo204
    [quote author=Athanasius1 link=topic=13601.msg158571#msg158571 date=1344320080]
    I've always wondered why we signed the cross in church when we hear 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'

    Actually, we’re not supposed to do the sign of the Cross after the Bread and Wine has transformed into the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord.

    Because…
    Some Remarks on the Litany of the Invocation of the Holy Spirit
    After the transformation the blessings can come only from the Sacraments, therefore the priest can no longer do the sign of the Cross on the Sacraments. Swiftness is therefore necessary as the action of doing the sign of the Cross on the sacraments must be completed before the priest finishes the sentences, “He makes it into His Holy Body... and His honoured Blood of the New Testament.” In other words, the signings of the cross must be confined to the words “...this bread...” in the first instance, and, “...this chalice too...”, in the second instance. The priest may need to say the words slowly in order that the signs are completed before the transformation takes place. Pg. 202

    “After St. Basil’s Diptych the priest says, “Guide us into Your Kingdom ...”, and ending with, “Peace be with you all.” All of this he says without doing the sign of the Cross on the congregation because, as mentioned previously, after the Holy Spirit has descended upon the Sacraments and as we are in the presence of Christ, so it is not permitted to do the sign of the Cross on the people or to look Westward, facing his back to the Sacrifice. Pg. 211

    The priest then prays the Litanies of Safety and of the Fathers, silently praying, “Remember, O Lord, the peace of Your One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic Church. Remember, O Lord, our Patriarch, the honourable Pope Abba....and his brother in the Apostolic Ministry, Bishop...”. He then audibly prays the Litany of the Gatherings while uncovering the Chalice, saying, “Remember, O Lord, our gatherings, bless them” (without doing the sign of the Cross). Pg. 231

    The priest carries the paten with great care, and from the left hand side he turns to the West and blesses the congregation in the partakers area, while saying, “The Holies are for the holy. Blessed is Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God and Holy is the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The people bow and cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” The priest then puts the paten back on the Altar. The priest carries the paten again, and from the right hand side he turns west, blesses the people and says, “Holy Body and True Honourable Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of Our God. Amen.” The congregation cries out while bowing, saying “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
    From the right side of the altar, the priest, carrying the paten in his hands, goes to the men seeking the Holy Communion in the Northern part of the Sanctuary. The deacon precedes him, walking backwards with a lit candle in his hand, crying out, “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.” Pg. 241-242

    [quote author=Athanasius1 link=topic=13601.msg158571#msg158571 date=1344320080] or 'We worship you...' or whenever. It's been much a 'do because everyone else is' and so can anyone tell me why we do sign the cross when we hear these things? 

    The prayer of Ephnoti nai nan - Lord have mercy upon us
    Without making the Sign of the Cross, he chants, “Lord have mercy, establish Your mercy upon us.” Still facing East, he then makes the sign of the cross, and says, “Have compassion upon us.” He turns to face the North and, while signing the cross, says, “Hear us.” Then he turns towards the West, gives the blessings to the congregation, and says, “Bless us.” The congregation bow their heads to receive the blessings. The priest then turns to the South and says, “Protect us,” while making the sign of the cross. He then turns to the East once more, and with the sign of the cross, he says, “Support us.” Still facing East, he completes the Litany without signing, saying, “Take Your wrath away from us, tend to us with Your salvation and forgive us our sins.” Pg. 64

    When beginning to pray the Psalms of the Third Hour the priest and the congregation prostrate while the priest says, “Lord have mercy, Amen. Alleluia. Glory be to the Father, the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forevermore, Amen.
    When praying the afternoon prayers from the Agbia or those during Vespers we should not prostrate but rather bow our heads reverently and do the sign of the cross. Prostrations are always associated with abstinence from food. Pg. 92

    Source: The Spirituality of the Rites of the Holy Liturgy in the Coptic Orthodox church, H.G. Bishop Mettaous http://www.orthodoxebooks.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/THE%20RITES%20OF%20THE%20HOLY%20LITURGY%20-%20HG%20Bishop%20Mettaous.pdf

    From this understanding, I think people do the sign of the Cross, as a sign of a 'sub-prostration', through bowing their head while standing up and doing the sign of the Cross.
  • Mark96Mark96
    [quote author=+iloveJesus link=topic=13601.msg158663#msg158663 date=1344425345]
    [quote author=Athanasius1 link=topic=13601.msg158571#msg158571 date=1344320080]
    I've always wondered why we signed the cross in church when we hear 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'

    From this understanding, I think people do the sign of the Cross, as a sign of a 'sub-prostration', through bowing their head while standing up and doing the sign of the Cross.


    So if you say that signing the cross is a sub-prostration, does that mean we should be prostrating every time we hear those words?
    & when would you say is the precise moment in the mass when the bread and wine is turned into the body and blood?
  • jojo204
    +[quote author=Athanasius1 link=topic=13601.msg158733#msg158733 date=1344585143]
    So if you say that signing the cross is a sub-prostration, does that mean we should be prostrating every time we hear those words?

    I'm not quite sure, but considering the Divine Liturgy is commonly held on Saturday and/or Sunday (Joyous days), there wouldn't be any prostrations of repentance or of worship, but just the kneeling and bowing of the head.
    If it were held during a weekday, then at times of the beginning of the Agpeya prayers for example, a prostration is undertaken.
    We mostly do the sign of the Cross in the Divine Liturgy out of worship, blessing, mentioning the Name of the Holy Trinity...

    (Anyone who can enlighten me/us, please feel free to include your input).

    [quote author=Athanasius1 link=topic=13601.msg158733#msg158733 date=1344585143]
    & when would you say is the precise moment in the mass when the bread and wine is turned into the body and blood?

    When the Prayer of the Descent of the Holy Spirit/The Epiclesis is completed. (It begins with, "Worship God in fear and trembling.") One of the most awe-filled moments of the Liturgy.
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