Sign of the cross

Making the sign of the cross (Latin: signum crucis), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging their belief in the triune God, or the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There are three variants of the sign of the cross, including a large sign of the cross made across the body, a small sign of the cross traced on the forehead or objects, as well as a lesser sign of the cross made over the forehead, lips and heart.

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 of baptism, during ablutions before praying at fixed prayer times, and in times of temptation.

The large sign of the cross is made by the tracing of an 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." The movement is the tracing of the shape of a cross in the air or on one's own body, echoing the traditional shape of the cross of the crucifixion of Jesus. Where this is done with fingers joined, there are two principal forms: one—three fingers (to represent the Trinity), right to left—is exclusively used by Christians who belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of the East, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Byzantine and Syriac Christian traditions; the other—left to right to middle, other than three fingers—used by Christians who belong to the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Oriental Orthodoxy. The large sign of the cross is used in some denominations of Methodism and within some branches of Reformed Christianity.

The use of the small sign of the cross has been documented in early Christianity by Tertullian, an Ante-Nicene Church Father, who wrote in AD 204 in De Corona ('On Crowns'): "In all our actions, when we come in or go out, when we dress, when we wash, at our meals, before retiring to sleep we form on our foreheads the sign of the cross." Tertullian attested to the Christian practice of tracing this small sign of the cross on objects, such one's bed before sleeping. It is traced on the forehead, or objects, with the thumb (sometimes using holy water or anointing oil). The small sign of the cross is made on the forehead during the rites of baptism and the anointing of the sick in Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. In the Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal traditions of Christianity, the small sign of the cross is often made on the forehead of the recipient during ordinations, anointing of the sick and deliverance prayers. Christians of various denominations have traced the small sign of the cross onto doors or windows of their dwellings as a house blessing. The small sign of the cross is additionally used during certain observances, such as during the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, in which ashes are marked on the forehead of a believer using the small sign of the cross.

Many individuals use the expression "cross my heart and hope to die" as an oath, making the sign of the cross, in order to show "truthfulness and sincerity", sworn before God, in both personal and legal situations.

The small sign of the cross was originally made in some parts of the Christian world with the thumb of the right hand, being used on the forehead to bless oneself, along with being used to bless various objects, as attested by Tertullian, an Ante-Nicene Church Father. In other parts of the early Christian world it was done with the whole hand or with two fingers. Around the year 200 in Carthage (modern Tunisia, Africa), Tertullian wrote: "We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross." He documented that Christians would trace the sign of the cross on their beds prior to sleeping. In the 4th century, the small sign of the cross was applied to various parts of the body. The 6th century saw the development of the large sign of the cross as a "four-point movement traced across the chest or in the air".

Hippolytus of Rome, in his Apostolic Tradition, recommends sealing oneself the forehead in times of temptation, with it being described as the "Sign of the Passion". Vestiges of this early variant of the practice remain: in the Masses of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Churches and the Anglican Churches, the celebrant makes this gesture on the Gospel book and—together with the congregation—on his forehead, lips, and on his heart at the proclamation of the Gospel (known as the lesser sign of the cross); on Ash Wednesday the small sign of the cross is traced in ashes on the forehead; chrism is applied, among places on the body, on the forehead for the Holy Mystery of Chrismation in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The actual motion of the large sign of the cross is heavily disputed; the Eastern Orthodox state that the right to left motion to be the more ancient way whereas writings by Bar Salibi and other Syriac prose writers show that the left to right motion predates the right to left signage. Western Catholics (the Latin Church) and Western Lutherans have made the motion from left to right, while Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Lutherans and Eastern Catholics move from right to left.