crossing yourself

[zhilan]

Why do EO cross themselves right to left but Catholics and Coptics do it left to right? Does anyone know where this came from? I was surprised to find out that Coptics cross the same way as Catholics. :crosseo::crossrc:

[Kolya]

Well, this is the Orthodox home page. I'd just go ahead and say that the RC's and Coptics have forgotten the correct way. :)

[ThePilgrim]

Why do EO cross themselves right to left but Catholics and Coptics do it left to right? Does anyone know where this came from? I was surprised to find out that Coptics cross the same way as Catholics. :crosseo::crossrc:
That surprises me, too, because it was a change on the part of the Roman Catholics. I can't think of why the Coptics would have adopted the change.

Lutherans, who broke from the Catholics before the Catholics made the change, still cross from right to left, like the Orthodox. Or at least, those Lutherans who still make the sign of the cross.

Grace and peace,
John

[Dewi Sant]

Why was there a change?

[InnerPhyre]

This is the sort of thing that strikes me as something that just developed differently in different parts of the world. Both sides have theological reasons for doing so, such as Orthodox going right to left to show that Christ came from Heaven to Earth and those who go left to right say that Christ ascended from Earth to Heaven. Doesn't strike me as a big deal. Our priests bless the layity from left to right, so maybe we just started following his motion ;)


The sign of the cross doesn't strike me as something that would have been extremely formalized in the beginning, so maybe people were doing it both ways and the east decided one way and the west decided the other.

[Dewi Sant]

I suppose that is a good argument.

I must say that the first time I entered an Orthodox church, I did copy the priest when crossing myself but saw that everyone else was doing it differently.


I think of it like this.
we pass our hand to the right side whilst saying "and the son" because the Son is seated at the right hand of the father.

Also it is entirely personal thing.

[choirfiend]

I was told it was because one is a mirror image of the priest when blessing and one is a "re-doing" of the priest blessing. Not a big deal.

[zhilan]

Yes, I'm not overly concerned. I was just curious. I don't think that God gets too worked up over it either. He has bigger fish to fry. =)

[Dewi Sant]

I don't think this is something that We should get worked up about.

As Orthodox though, we should learn how to cross ourselves in the acceptable Orthodox fashion.

However, prayer is in the heart, not the outward appearence.
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

I must say that it is dodgy to talk about what God finds acceptable. We are not God and nor will we fully understand God's ways.

[repentant]

The reason is...when the Priest or Bishop blesses the congregation with the sign of the cross, he goes up, down, his left then his right. So he is blessing you when you look at him from your right to your left. What happened was in the West, the people began to mimc and go left to right as well..

[ElenaS]

I always think of making the sign of the cross from right to left as symbolically "receiving" the blessing the priest makes or acknowledging the blessing from God when I do it by myself. Since I don't think I have the ability to actually bless myself when I pray, crossing myself that way is a sign that I'm accepting/receiving the blessing given by God. I don't know if there is any actual source for this way of thinking about it or if it's just the way mind mind has come up with.
Hope that made some kind of sense - my brain is kind of fried from finals. One more paper and I am done with college! :cool: