This is probably the most basic in one's journey towards Orthodoxy. When I was Catholic, this was already a regular gesture for me. How we cross ourselves as Orthodox is different from how it is as a Catholic. Even before I became Orthodox I already crossed myself in the Orthodox way, starting in 2005.
It begins with the way we form the hand we cross ourselves with. As a Catholic, it didn't matter much how our crossing hand would be; we do what is most comfortable for us. However, in the Orthodox Church it is more specific. The thumb, second and third fingers touch together, while the fourth and the pinkie go down towards the palm area. All of these have meaning.
The three fingers touching together symbolize the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The two remaining fingers symbolize the two natures of Jesus: human and divine. They go down to show us that He came down on Earth, and is flush in the palm area to show us that He came to us in the womb of His mother, Mary.
In itself that is already a small catechism, and it is a good starting point to teach people, especially the young ones, about our Orthodox Faith. But it doesn't end there; next of course we have to cross ourselves.
For Catholics, the cross goes from left to right. In the Orthodox Church, it goes right over left. So we begin the cross at the temple of our head, then move towards at the center of our stomach, then to our right shoulder first, then to the left. The main difference between the Orthodox and Catholic way of crossing is that part where we touch our right shoulder first, instead of the left. For us Orthodox, this means that the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father.
So as one can see, the Sign of the Cross, taken in whole from the way we form our signing hand, to how we make the Cross, is a small catechism. It teaches us something about what we believe in as Orthodox. Beginning with that actually is the start of orthopraxis. By doing that, we slowly acquire an Orthodox mindset. So for those who ask, how can one become Orthodox? It begins with praxis. Make small steps; do the sign of the Cross first, and then from there one can slowly begin to acquire that Orthodox mindset.
It begins with the way we form the hand we cross ourselves with. As a Catholic, it didn't matter much how our crossing hand would be; we do what is most comfortable for us. However, in the Orthodox Church it is more specific. The thumb, second and third fingers touch together, while the fourth and the pinkie go down towards the palm area. All of these have meaning.
The three fingers touching together symbolize the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The two remaining fingers symbolize the two natures of Jesus: human and divine. They go down to show us that He came down on Earth, and is flush in the palm area to show us that He came to us in the womb of His mother, Mary.
In itself that is already a small catechism, and it is a good starting point to teach people, especially the young ones, about our Orthodox Faith. But it doesn't end there; next of course we have to cross ourselves.
For Catholics, the cross goes from left to right. In the Orthodox Church, it goes right over left. So we begin the cross at the temple of our head, then move towards at the center of our stomach, then to our right shoulder first, then to the left. The main difference between the Orthodox and Catholic way of crossing is that part where we touch our right shoulder first, instead of the left. For us Orthodox, this means that the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father.
So as one can see, the Sign of the Cross, taken in whole from the way we form our signing hand, to how we make the Cross, is a small catechism. It teaches us something about what we believe in as Orthodox. Beginning with that actually is the start of orthopraxis. By doing that, we slowly acquire an Orthodox mindset. So for those who ask, how can one become Orthodox? It begins with praxis. Make small steps; do the sign of the Cross first, and then from there one can slowly begin to acquire that Orthodox mindset.
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