Sign of the cross: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Redirect|Cross My Heart and Hope to Die|the film|Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (film)||Cross My Heart (disambiguation){{!}}Cross My Heart}}

[[File:Sign of the cross step by step.png|thumb|alt=refer to caption|The steps for making the sign of the cross in Catholic and Protestant rites]]

Making the '''sign of the cross''' ({{lang-la|signum crucis}}), oralso known as '''blessing oneself''' or '''crossing oneself''', is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of [[Christianity]]. This blessing is made by the tracing of an [[Latin cross|upright cross]] or [[Greek cross]] across the body with the right hand, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of the [[Trinitarian formula]]: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coptic.net/prayers/agpeya/Veil.html|title=The Prayer of the Veil|year=2011|publisher=Encyclopedia Coptica|language=en|access-date=14 October 2016|pages=16–17}}</ref>

The use of the sign of the cross traces back to [[early Christianity]], with the third-century treatise ''[[Apostolic Tradition]]'' directing that it be used during the [[Minor exorcism in Christianity|minor exorcism]] of [[baptism]], during [[ablution in Christianity|ablutions]] before praying at [[fixed prayer times]], and in times of temptation.<ref name="Hippolytus">{{cite web |author1=Hippolytus |author-link=Hippolytus of Rome |title=Apostolic Tradition |url=http://www.stjohnsarlingtonva.org/Customer-Content/saintjohnsarlington/CMS/files/EFM/Apostolic_Tradition_by_Hippolytus.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204235508/http://www.stjohnsarlingtonva.org/Customer-Content/saintjohnsarlington/CMS/files/EFM/Apostolic_Tradition_by_Hippolytus.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2019 |access-date=5 September 2020 |publisher=St. John's Episcopal Church |pages=8, 16, 17 |language=en}}</ref>

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==Gesture==

[[File:Funeral of Patriarch Alexy II-9.jpg|thumb|Orthodox Christians (among them then-president of Russia [[Dmitry Medvedev]]) making the sign of the cross at the funeral of [[Patriarch Alexy II]]]]

Historically, the sign of the cross was made from the right to the left, as done in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].<ref>Ted A. Campbell, ''Christian Confessions: A Historical Introduction'' (Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. 45.</ref> Western Catholics (the [[Latin Church]]) have made the motion from left to right, while [[Eastern Catholics]] follow the traditional signage of right to left.<ref>Daniel A. Helminiak, ''Religion and the Human Sciences: An Approach Via Spirituality'' (State University of New York Press (Albany, N.Y.: 1998).</ref>

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[[John of Damascus]] (650–750) stated:<ref name="JohnofDama">Steven A. McKinion, Thomas C. Oden. ''Isaiah 1-39''. Intervarsity Press (2004): p. 279</ref>

{{blockquote|Moreover we worship even the image of the precious and life-giving Cross, although made of another tree, not honouring the tree (God forbid) but the image as a symbol of Christ. For He said to His disciples, admonishing them, Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven Matthew 24:30, meaning the Cross. And so also the angel of the resurrection said to the woman, You seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified. Mark 16:6 And the Apostle said, We preach Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 1:23 For there are many Christs and many Jesuses, but one crucified. He does not say speared but crucified. It behooves us, then, to worship the sign of Christ. For wherever the sign may be, there also will He be. But it does not behoove us to worship the material of which the image of the Cross is composed, even though it be gold or precious stones, after it is destroyed, if that should happen. Everything, therefore, that is dedicated to God we worship, conferring the adoration on Him.<ref name="JohnExpoOrthoFaith">[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/31011333044.htm John of Damascus. An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Vol.Book 4IV]</ref>}}

[[Herbert Thurston]] indicates that at one time both Eastern and Western Christians moved the hand from the right shoulder to the left. German theologian Valentin Thalhofer thought writings quoted in support of this point, such as that of [[Innocent III]], refer to the small cross made upon the forehead or external objects, in which the hand moves naturally from right to left, and not the big cross made from shoulder to shoulder.<ref name=Thurston/> Andreas Andreopoulos, author of ''The Sign of the Cross'', gives a more detailed description of the development and the symbolism of the placement of the fingers and the direction of the movement.<ref>Andreas Andreopoulos, ''The Sign of the Cross'', Paraclete Press, 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-55725-496-2}}, pp. 11–42.</ref>

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The sign of the cross can be found in the [[Methodist]] liturgy of the [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="UMC 1">{{cite web|url =https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-why-dont-united-methodists-make-the-sign-of-the-cross|title=Why don't we make the sign of the cross?|publisher = United Methodist Church|access-date =September 19, 2022}}</ref> [[John Wesley]], the principal leader of the early Methodists, in a 1784 revision of ''The Book of Common Prayer'' for Methodist use called ''The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America'', instructed the presiding minister to make the sign of the cross on the forehead of children just after they have been baptized. (This book was later adopted by Methodists in the United States for their liturgy.)<ref name="UMC 1"/><ref>John Wesley's Prayer Book: The Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America with introduction, notes, and commentary by James F. White, 1991 OSL Publications, Akron, Ohio, page 142.</ref> Wesley did not include the sign of the cross in other rites.<ref name="UMC 1"/>

By the early 20th century, the use of the sign of the cross had been dropped from American Methodist worship.<ref name="UMC 1"/> However, its uses was subsequently restored, and the current United Methodist Church allows the pastor to "trace on the forehead of each newly baptized person the sign of the cross."<ref name="UMC 1"/> This usage during baptism is reflected in the current (1992) ''[[The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992)|Book of Worship of the United Methodist Church]]'', and is widely practiced (sometimes with oil).<ref>The United Methodist Book of Worship, Nashville 1992, p. 91</ref> Making of the sign is also common among United Methodists on [[Ash Wednesday]], when it is applied by the [[Elder (Methodism)|elder]] to the foreheads of the [[laity]] as a mark of penitence.<ref name="UMC 1"/><ref>The United Methodist Book of Worship, Nashville 1992, p. 323.</ref> In some United Methodist congregations, the worship leader makes the sign of the cross toward congregants (for example, when [[Benediction|blessing the congregation at the end of the sermon or service]]), and individual congregants make the sign on themselves when receiving [[Holy Communion]].<ref name="UMC 1"/> The sign is also sometimes made by pastors, with oil, upon the foreheads of those seeking healing.<ref>The United Methodist Book of Worship, Nashville 1992, p. 620.</ref> In addition to its use in baptism, some Methodist clergy make the sign at the [[Communion table]] and during the [[Confession (religion)#Methodism|Confession of Sin and Pardon]] at the invocation of [[Jesus' name]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revneal.org/Writings/Writings/preparedandcrosschecked.html|title=Prepared and Cross-Checked|last=Neal|first=Gregory S.|year=2011|publisher=Grace Incarnate Ministries|language=en|access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref>

Whether or not a Methodist uses the sign for private prayer is a personal choice, although the UMC encourages it as a devotional practice, stating: "Many United Methodists have found this restoration powerful and meaningful. The ancient and enduring power of the sign of the cross is available for us to use as United Methodists more abundantly now than ever in our history. And more and more United Methodists are expanding its use beyond those suggested in our official ritual."<ref name="UMC 1"/>