The sign of the cross is a movement that Christians have used since ancient times, and it constitutes the external sign of all the mysteries of the Holy Church, without exception.

The first written testimony about making the sign of the cross that reached us is from the African scholar Tertullian (155-225), who said: “In all our actions as Christians, when we enter and leave, when we put on our clothes..., or sit at the table, or lie on the bed..., we make the sign of the cross.” On our foreheads.” He goes on to say that this custom “is not commanded by the Holy Books, but tradition teaches it, custom confirms it, and faith preserves it.” Saint Basil the Great (+379) repeated the same thing, as he spoke about some of the “doctrines and teachings preserved in the Church” that were not mentioned in the Holy Bible, but rather “we accepted them in secret as handed down to us from the tradition of the Apostles,” so he made the sign of the cross about the importance of “direction in prayer toward the east.” “And the words of invocation in the manifestation of the Bread of Thanksgiving and the Cup of Blessing,” and the triple immersion that takes place in baptism... (See his book: On the Holy Spirit, 27/66).

The sign of the cross includes the two basic doctrines of the theology of the Orthodox Church and the essence of its faith, I mean the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and the Divine Incarnation, and it is drawn as follows: The Orthodox Christian joins the three fingers of his right hand (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) one to the other, and joins the last two fingers (the little finger and the ring finger) together. With the palm of the hand, then he raises his hand and places it first on his forehead, then moves it to the stomach and shoulders from right to left, without any return to the stomach or kissing the hand. The three joined fingers symbolize recognition of the One Triune God, and the little finger and ring finger joined together in the palm of the hand symbolize the incarnation of the Son of God, who redeemed the world through his death and resurrection and raised him to divinity, and in particular they symbolize the union of the divine and human natures in Christ.

Christians are crucified on many occasions, as we previously suggested and the fathers generally recommended, and we note next that when mentioning the Holy Trinity, or any word whose meaning is related to crucifixion, prostration, resurrection, or glory... they make the sign of the cross, accompanied, in some cases, by a bow of the head, or a great or small prostration. It is called “Matania” (a Greek word that means repentance), as their fingers touch the ground to indicate that they are from it, and they ask for mercy and salvation while confirming that they are subject to God in everything.

The scholar Tertullian inspired this connection by saying that Christians mention the Holy Trinity while drawing the cross “because faith is sealed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This brings us back to the books of the New Testament, where the Apostle Peter, in his first epistle, portrays Christ, who redeemed the world with his precious blood, as a sacrificial lamb “known before the foundation of the world” (1:19 and 20), which means that the Triune God saw, in His eternity, that the only Son of God will come into the world as a human being to complete “the Father’s plan” by dying on the cross for the salvation of those who sinned and turned away from His love. Therefore, we make the sign of the cross every time God is mentioned, especially in the form of a Trinity. The drawing of the sign is therefore associated with the mention of words such as: “glory” and others..., and we know through the New Testament that the crucifixion of Christ is linked to his glory, as the two expressions (the cross and the glory) are synonymous, especially in the writings of John the Evangelist, so if John said, for example: “Now is the Son of Man glorified and glorified.” God is in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will glorify him in himself and will glorify him quickly” (13:31-32). This undoubtedly means that the glory of Christ, which he had with the Father before the world, will shine in all its splendor if he hangs on the cross (see: John 17:5).

This sign has a life force that stems from its relationship with the person of the crucified, and therefore we must draw it with understanding, meaning that its drawing should be accompanied by absolute faith in what it symbolizes or what it calls for, “that is, faith in all the saving doctrines of our Church, which we declare by making the sign of the cross, in addition to absolute hope in God’s indescribable love.” His mercy, and an unwavering determination to crucify our sinful selves and our desires, so that we can accept God’s grace and live in conscience a life of inner renewal and transformation.”

The Orthodox Church teaches that man is one entity, and therefore requires him, in his relationship with God, to work as this one entity, to pray with his mouth, heart, and mind, to draw the sign of the cross on his face, and to stand, bow, and kneel before God to truly depict the connection of his heart and his desire to unite with Him.

Let us make the sign of the cross as a sign of our love for God, the Triune Persons, who first loved us through His Son Jesus, and let us convey through it our hope in the truth of His promises.

Patristic sayings about the cross:

To Saint Ephrem the Syrian:

They erected his cross in sight on a hill, then they came down and sat at his feet. With this symbol, they depicted him sitting on his throne while they were his footstool. Golgotha is a mirror of his church, which he built on the pinnacle of truth. Today it is clear that he was the one who confirmed the pledge of allegiance on Calvary... Christ was crucified, what a secret! Between two thieves: one of them was blaspheming him and the other was confessing to him. Behold, evil has been revealed: the Jewish people mock Christ, and today all other peoples acknowledge him. In silence, Christ mocked the infidel thief. As for the believing thief, Christ praised him and all his disciples venerated him. Blessed are you, O place in which you have qualified for the race of the Son to fall into you. The Son blessed the earth with his race to nullify the race of Adam that dwelt on the earth. Blessed is the earth which he perfumed with his sweat and which was sick and which he healed because he sprinkled his sweat on it. Who has ever seen a sick person recover from a race that is not his own?

To Saint John Chrysostom:

Make this sign when you eat, when you drink, when you sit, when you sleep and when you get up, when you speak and when you walk, and in short, make the sign of the cross at every action, because Christ who was crucified here on this earth is in heaven. If he had been crucified and buried and continued in the grave, we would be ashamed. From him, but the reality is that the one who was crucified on Calvary has ascended to the heavens.

Adapted from a message from the Archbishopric of Aleppo and my parish bulletin