Sign of the Cross!
Christ & Him crucified! 1 cor 2:2
Gal 3:1 …Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Ancient & Universal!
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
, St. Caesarius (470–542), the bishop of Arles and one of Christianity’s first best-selling authors, rebuked Christians who signed themselves while on their way to sin.
The holy gesture had its roots as a prayer in apostolic times. Fourth-century Father of the Church St. Basil (329–379) said that the Apostles “taught us to mark with the sign of the cross those who put their hope in the Lord”—that is, those who presented themselves for Baptism.
So early Christians learned to make the sign of the cross at their Baptism when the celebrant marked them with it to claim them for Christ. There is some evidence for this in Scripture. For example, St. Paul reminded the Ephesians that they received the sign at Baptism when he said: “You have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise” (1 Cor. 1:13). And Paul may have been speaking of his being signed with the cross at Baptism when he told the Galatians that “I carry branded on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). I will say more about this later, but for now I merely want to show you that the sign of the cross originated among people who were not far removed from Christ himself.
Early Christians used the thumb or index finger to trace a little cross on their foreheads. They associated the practice with references in Ezekiel 9:7 and Revelation 7:3, 9:4, and 14:1, all of which describe believers bearing God’s seal on their foreheads. That mark was a cross—the Greek letter tau—that was written as a T and stood for the name of God. Origen (c. 185–c. 253), a third-century theologian and spiritual writer, commented on the Ezekiel passage by quoting a writer who said:
The shape of the letter tau presented a resemblance to the figure of the cross and this represented a prophecy of the sign that Christians make on their foreheads. For all the faithful make this sign when they undertake any activity, especially prayer or reading Holy Scripture.
“Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). To sign the cross is to recall or announce the gospel of Jesus’ victory for us over sin, death and the devil. That’s why the custom is so ancient and universal.
Tertullian (c. AD 155-220), for example, writing at the end of the second century, testifies that: “At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign.” Elsewhere, he positively identifies the sign: “We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross.” [1] The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it. [2]
St. John of Damascus, who wrote,
"The holy cross was given to us as a sign on our forehead, just as circumcision was given to Israel: for by it we believers are separated and distinguished from unbelievers." [4]
Crossing one’s self thus recalls this seal and confessing the invocation that is said while making this holy sign calls on our God— Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—and is, therefore, a sign of our belief. Indeed, it serves as both a “mini-creed” that asserts our belief in the Triune God into whose name we were baptized (by the blood of Christ but also into the blood of Christ).
St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (AD 315 – 386), who, in his ancient catechism for children, remarked:
Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat, and the cup we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake… It is the Sign of the faithful and the dread of evils; for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a show of them openly; for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the seal of baptism, because of the freeness of the Gift; but for this rather honor thy Benefactor. [5]
The sign of the Criss Shall be seen in heaven when christ returns!
Matt 24:30
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…
(For those who claim it is a catholic practice)
During the sixteenth century, some repudiated the sign of the cross because they judged it to be superstitious. But Martin Luther himself did not abandon it and recommended the practice in his Small Catechism in an appendix on family prayer.
There Luther writes:
"In the morning, when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say, ‘In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.’ … In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say…." [6]
Christ & Him crucified! 1 cor 2:2
Gal 3:1 …Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Ancient & Universal!
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
, St. Caesarius (470–542), the bishop of Arles and one of Christianity’s first best-selling authors, rebuked Christians who signed themselves while on their way to sin.
The holy gesture had its roots as a prayer in apostolic times. Fourth-century Father of the Church St. Basil (329–379) said that the Apostles “taught us to mark with the sign of the cross those who put their hope in the Lord”—that is, those who presented themselves for Baptism.
So early Christians learned to make the sign of the cross at their Baptism when the celebrant marked them with it to claim them for Christ. There is some evidence for this in Scripture. For example, St. Paul reminded the Ephesians that they received the sign at Baptism when he said: “You have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise” (1 Cor. 1:13). And Paul may have been speaking of his being signed with the cross at Baptism when he told the Galatians that “I carry branded on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). I will say more about this later, but for now I merely want to show you that the sign of the cross originated among people who were not far removed from Christ himself.
Early Christians used the thumb or index finger to trace a little cross on their foreheads. They associated the practice with references in Ezekiel 9:7 and Revelation 7:3, 9:4, and 14:1, all of which describe believers bearing God’s seal on their foreheads. That mark was a cross—the Greek letter tau—that was written as a T and stood for the name of God. Origen (c. 185–c. 253), a third-century theologian and spiritual writer, commented on the Ezekiel passage by quoting a writer who said:
The shape of the letter tau presented a resemblance to the figure of the cross and this represented a prophecy of the sign that Christians make on their foreheads. For all the faithful make this sign when they undertake any activity, especially prayer or reading Holy Scripture.
“Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). To sign the cross is to recall or announce the gospel of Jesus’ victory for us over sin, death and the devil. That’s why the custom is so ancient and universal.
Tertullian (c. AD 155-220), for example, writing at the end of the second century, testifies that: “At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, when we put on our clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign.” Elsewhere, he positively identifies the sign: “We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross.” [1] The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it. [2]
St. John of Damascus, who wrote,
"The holy cross was given to us as a sign on our forehead, just as circumcision was given to Israel: for by it we believers are separated and distinguished from unbelievers." [4]
Crossing one’s self thus recalls this seal and confessing the invocation that is said while making this holy sign calls on our God— Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—and is, therefore, a sign of our belief. Indeed, it serves as both a “mini-creed” that asserts our belief in the Triune God into whose name we were baptized (by the blood of Christ but also into the blood of Christ).
St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (AD 315 – 386), who, in his ancient catechism for children, remarked:
Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat, and the cup we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake… It is the Sign of the faithful and the dread of evils; for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a show of them openly; for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the seal of baptism, because of the freeness of the Gift; but for this rather honor thy Benefactor. [5]
The sign of the Criss Shall be seen in heaven when christ returns!
Matt 24:30
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…
(For those who claim it is a catholic practice)
During the sixteenth century, some repudiated the sign of the cross because they judged it to be superstitious. But Martin Luther himself did not abandon it and recommended the practice in his Small Catechism in an appendix on family prayer.
There Luther writes:
"In the morning, when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say, ‘In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.’ … In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say…." [6]