The sign of the cross is the gesture with which Christians trace the figure of a cross in small or large form on themselves, on other people or on objects, either directly or from a distance.
This custom was already a consolidated tradition of Christians at the time of Tertullian (about 155 - about 230) [1] and of Origen (185–254). [2]
It remains in general use among Christians today with the exception of some Protestant confessions.
In a certain sense, the first sign of the cross, remembered by all subsequent ones, was that of the crucified Christ himself: "he let himself be nailed to the cross", extending "his arms between heaven and earth as a sign of perennial covenant" [3] .
According to the contexts, the gesture of the sign of the cross can be a profession of faith, prayer, dedication or blessing. [4]
The gesture can be performed without even mentally pronouncing any formula. For example, in the Holy Mass the proclamation of the Gospel passage is accompanied ("From the second Gospel ...") by tracing a small cross on the forehead, lips and chest. The formula that usually accompanies the gesture is "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
The little sign of the cross
The use of making a small sign of the cross with the thumb (or index finger) of the right hand is said to have been inspired by a passage from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, which many texts of the Church Fathers linked to the cross of Christ and analogous passages of the Apocalypse [5] [6]. The seal of God is opposed to those who choose the mark of the Beast. According to Ezekiel:
"The Lord said to him:" Go through the middle of the city, in the middle of Jerusalem and mark a tau on the foreheads of the men who sigh and weep for all the abominations that are committed there "[7]"
The letter "tau", corresponding to the "T" of our alphabet, is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and represents (like the Greek "omega") God in his perfection, the first and ultimate cause of the entire creation (according to the symbolism of Alpha and Omega). Up until the time of Christ this letter was drawn just like a cross. In this passage it appears how the faithful to God, that is, those who do not surrender to sin, are marked with a special, external sign, which had a shape similar to our cross, to be immediately recognized by God.
Tertullian (160-220), for example, attests in the Traditio that Christians used to cross their foreheads against the temptations of the devil. But he also attests that the sign was also widespread outside the liturgical environment. He wrote:
“If we set out, if we go out or in, if we get dressed, if we wash or go to the table, to bed, if we sit down, in these and in all our actions we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross. [8] "
This is also attested by Marco Minucius Felix and Clement of Alexandria.
The use of the sign of the cross is also attested in the Gnostic Acts of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Peter, all of the second century.
Already in the IV-V centuries even objects distant from the person were blessed with the thumb and the sick were marked with the cross on the painful limbs. In the same period, moreover, Gaudenzio of Brescia speaks of the triple cross (three crosses made on the heart, on the forehead, on the lips), a liturgical act still used in the Roman and Ambrosian Rite Mass before the reading of the Gospel.
The sign of the cross is traced, also in the Cemetery, for all believers, priests and lay people who are consecrated to Christ, the main manifestation of God in human history.
In fact, epitaphs with the + sign are not rare. In this way, marked in baptism with the cross, after death they testify to the living, their firm faith in the Mystical Body of the risen Christ, and the certain expectation of their living soul in Purgatory or Paradise, for the resurrection of the flesh.
According to St. Francis de Sales, the Sign of the Cross recalls the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Passion of Jesus and the "remission of sins by which we are transported from the left of the curse to the right of the blessing". [9] This choice is derived from the description of the Last Judgment which sees the righteous to the right of the High Judge and the damned souls to his left.
The great sign of the cross
The use of marking one's person with a large sign of the cross is testified in the context of monasteries starting around the 10th century and probably dates back to earlier times. Only with the Tridentine reform of the sixteenth century was it accepted in the Roman rite. [10]
The sign of the cross is made up of two movements:
a vertical movement: from the forehead to the stomach,
a horizontal movement: from one shoulder to the other.
Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians move from left shoulder to right shoulder. [11] [12] [13] Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians, on the contrary, touch first the right shoulder and then the left.
In Byzantine usage, the first three fingers of the right hand are used: index and middle fingers touch the thumb, ring and little fingers remain closed. This is true both while the hand is "immersed" in holy water, and while it is traced after the actual sign.
The sign of the cross can be traced with the hand on people or even on things, as a sign of blessing. While in the West it is customary to do blessings with one hand (not during exorcisms), the Eastern Orthodox]] prefer to bless holding a cross in the right hand. the Christians of the Byzantine rite keep the palm extended with thumb, index and middle fingers stretched and gathered forward, while the ring and little fingers are bent and placed on the palm [14]. The three joined fingers symbolize the Trinity.
In the West, before setting foot in a place of worship, the sign of the cross is made, sprinkling the right hand with the holy water of the holy water font, which is located at the entrance to the place of worship. Similar purifying rites are also foreseen in other religions (hygienic prescriptions and ablutions in water before entering the Temple in the Old Testament; in Islam, and taking off shoes before entering the mosque, etc.).
The head and neck can be slightly bent downwards, taking care first of all and the least attention not to wear anything that can cover the face (hats, hood, sunglasses, headphones, etc.); in addition to the rule of good manners and respect, which requires you to wear, as far as possible, clothing appropriate to the place.
The sujūd (Arabic: سُجود, [sʊˈdʒuːd]) is the act of prostration to God in Islam.
Prostration takes place in the direction of the Kaʿba of Mecca (qibla), to be performed during the obligatory daily prayer (ṣalāt) that every faithful pubescent and healthy person must fulfill five times a day. The sajdah (plur. Sajadāt) defines the single act of prostration. The position involves having the forehead, nose, hands at head level and knees touching the ground at the same time.
Prostration
The term prostration indicates a ritual gesture, performed by a person, consisting in bending, or throwing oneself to the ground, in front of another subject, or of several subjects, or even in front of an icon, a symbol or a representation of a subject, of a power, or of an entity, even divine or supernatural.
The gesture can take on different meanings, often connected or superimposed, being able to mean submission, humility, adoration or supplication towards a recipient, or recipients, even supernatural, to whom the prostrate recognizes a divine rank, a higher rank or a power in the own comparisons.
The case of the muslims is simply prostration.
I was trying to make sense of xians making the sign of the cross.
According to the symbolism and example of jesus, to me the gesture of the cross of the xians seems like self-tapping the nails. I wonder why the church and islam are connected with Israel and with judaism.
