As a Prostestant

[Justy90]

Do you make the sign of the croos went entering another church. Have you stop to say the station of the croos at a prostestant church if not why. If you have not its very reward to do so,have you ever seen the station of the croos

Us Anglicans make the sign of the cross frequently when praying on our own and of course many times during Holy Eucharist service on Sunday mornings. I cross myself in the same manner as Eastern Orthodox folks cross themselves; with my thumb,middle and index finger together to symbolize the trinity and with my ring and pinky finger against my palm to signify that Jesus was fully human yet also fully divine at the same time.

We have a very beautiful version of the Stations of the Cross said on Good Friday which was sanctioned by Pope John Paul II. Almost everyone joins our priest and acolytes as they make their way around to each of the stations. Many of us volunteer to read at each of the stations. At the end of the stations, we sing ‘Were You There’ as the liturgical colors in the sanctuary are changed from red to black.

 

[Bill_Pick]

Bill,

Thank you. I knew about the Trinity aspect of making the sign of the cross. I did not know about the prayers and the stations of the cross.

I appreciate the explanation.

Anna

Anna You are very,very welcome, I was going to eat so I hope you understand what I was trying to tell you about the stations of the cross,With 8 people here I had not wish to miss any thing here,smile

 

[peary1]

Do you make the sign of the croos went entering another church. Have you stop to say the station of the croos at a prostestant church if not why. If you have not its very reward to do so,have you ever seen the station of the croos

Personally for me, I only make the Sign of the Cross when a crucifix is present, or even if a cross without a corpus is displayed in the sanctuary. I also make the sign of the cross before and after prayer, and in moments of what I consider danger.

Protestant churches do not have Stations of the Cross. Stations of the Cross are a Catholic veneration or devotion. They are usually displayed throughout a Catholic Church. They are biblical moments where Christ stopped or an event took place on His way to Calvary. I have yet to see these in a protestant church.

This is a very ancient practice of the Church beginning with pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Christians would walk the very path of Christ on His way to Calvary in Jerusalem (in the older manifestation of this devotion, pilgrims would start at Calvary and work their way backward to Pilate’s house). The Franciscans were very influential in setting up stations of the Cross throughout the city in the 1300s. When medieval pilgrims came back to their cities in Europe, some of the bishops and priests allowed the faithful to continue the ‘spiritual’ pilgrimage in their churches by erecting icons or crafted pictures that would be erected throughout a church or even a church garden. The pilgrim then would stop at each station and recite a prayer and reflect on the meaning of the event in front of them. Franciscan missionaries in Europe for the most part had these in their own churches and promulgated the devotion.

The devotion finally settled on 14 stations of the Cross. Because several of the traditional incidents portrayed in the stations are not found in Scripture, Pope Paul VI approved a new, Gospel-based set of stations in 1975. The late Pope John Paul II himself as well as our present Pope Benedict XVI have prayed this new scriptural Way of the Cross, which begins at the Last Supper and ends with the Resurrection.

 

[Anna_Scott]

Personally for me, I only make the Sign of the Cross when a crucifix is present, or even if a cross without a corpus is displayed in the sanctuary. I also make the sign of the cross before and after prayer, and in moments of what I consider danger.

Protestant churches do not have Stations of the Cross. Stations of the Cross are a Catholic veneration or devotion. They are usually displayed throughout a Catholic Church. They are biblical moments where Christ stopped or an event took place on His way to Calvary. I have yet to see these in a protestant church.

This is a very ancient practice of the Church beginning with pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Christians would walk the very path of Christ on His way to Calvary in Jerusalem (in the older manifestation of this devotion, pilgrims would start at Calvary and work their way backward to Pilate’s house). The Franciscans were very influential in setting up stations of the Cross throughout the city in the 1300s. When medieval pilgrims came back to their cities in Europe, some of the bishops and priests allowed the faithful to continue the ‘spiritual’ pilgrimage in their churches by erecting icons or crafted pictures that would be erected throughout a church or even a church garden. The pilgrim then would stop at each station and recite a prayer and reflect on the meaning of the event in front of them. Franciscan missionaries in Europe for the most part had these in their own churches and promulgated the devotion.

The devotion finally settled on 14 stations of the Cross. Because several of the traditional incidents portrayed in the stations are not found in Scripture, Pope Paul VI approved a new, Gospel-based set of stations in 1975. The late Pope John Paul II himself as well as our present Pope Benedict XVI have prayed this new scriptural Way of the Cross, which begins at the Last Supper and ends with the Resurrection.

peary1,

Very informative. Is this why Catholic Churches have statues in the Church–do these represent the Stations of the Cross?

I do think some Protestants may walk the Stations of the Cross, when visiting the Holy Land. Otherwise, I have not seen it in Protestant Churches.

Anna

 

[Justy90]

Protestant churches do not have Stations of the Cross. Stations of the Cross are a Catholic veneration or devotion. They are usually displayed throughout a Catholic Church. They are biblical moments where Christ stopped or an event took place on His way to Calvary. I have yet to see these in a protestant church.

 

[peary1]

peary1,

Very informative. Is this why Catholic Churches have statues in the Church–do these represent the Stations of the Cross?

I do think some Protestants may walk the Stations of the Cross, when visiting the Holy Land. Otherwise, I have not seen it in Protestant Churches.

Anna

No. Statues are of particular saints who are part of the Communion of Saints who are honored in some way. For example, a parish might be named in honor of a Christian martyr or saint, and his or her likeness would be found somewhere in the Church or area proper.

Statues that are in Catholic Churches are usually of the Holy Family - Joseph, Mary, maybe even the Child Jesus. Other statues might be of Sts. Michael the Archangel or Gabriel. It depends.

Stations of the Cross are usually hanging plaques somewhere in the Church where the person can make his or her own spiritual journey on the Way of the Cross like Jesus did in Jerusalem.

 

[Reuben_J]

Stations of the Cross are usually hanging plaques somewhere in the Church where the person can make his or her own spiritual journey on the Way of the Cross like Jesus did in Jerusalem.

For Anna’s information - while perhaps nearly every church has the plaques depicting each scene hanging in the chapels, some churches may even go further, like having the Station of the Cross scenes depicted by statues outside the chapel in the compound of the church. This allows for anyone to do by himself to reflect / pray along the station of the cross at any time of the day as he walks from one station to another according to the number of the Station of the Cross. So you may not be surprise should you see these statues outside somewhere in the church/cathedral compound.

The Station of the Cross also depicted by statues / monuments can be built in certain places outside the church especially where Christians can visit them as an act of pilgrimage.

God bless.

 

[LutheranDK]

Do you make the sign of the croos went entering another church.

Yes

Have you stop to say the station of the croos at a prostestant church if not why.

Yes. at an Anglo-Catholic church I visited in Edinburgh during Easter this year.

 

[Anna_Scott]

No. Statues are of particular saints who are part of the Communion of Saints who are honored in some way. For example, a parish might be named in honor of a Christian martyr or saint, and his or her likeness would be found somewhere in the Church or area proper.

Statues that are in Catholic Churches are usually of the Holy Family - Joseph, Mary, maybe even the Child Jesus. Other statues might be of Sts. Michael the Archangel or Gabriel. It depends.

Stations of the Cross are usually hanging plaques somewhere in the Church where the person can make his or her own spiritual journey on the Way of the Cross like Jesus did in Jerusalem.

For Anna’s information - while perhaps nearly every church has the plaques depicting each scene hanging in the chapels, some churches may even go further, like having the Station of the Cross scenes depicted by statues outside the chapel in the compound of the church. This allows for anyone to do by himself to reflect / pray along the station of the cross at any time of the day as he walks from one station to another according to the number of the Station of the Cross. So you may not be surprise should you see these statues outside somewhere in the church/cathedral compound.

The Station of the Cross also depicted by statues / monuments can be built in certain places outside the church especially where Christians can visit them as an act of pilgrimage. God bless.

peary1 & Reuben J,

I really appreciate the information. I didn’t really understand the reasons for the plaques, or the statues.

As you know, many Protestant leaders focus on the “statues” in the Catholic Church, without giving any reason for them. Then they condemn Catholicism for having “graven images” in their churches. So, I’m really glad to know the truth about these statues.

These forums do help clear up misconceptions.

Much appreciated,
Anna

 

[romesweethome]

Bill, I have seen and participated in the stations of the cross and it is beautiful. But I never have understood what it is for, why they do it.We don’t do the stations of the cross. As far as the sign of the cross when I enter another church the answer is no, its not part of my religion anymore to make the sign of the cross. Now when I was still a Catholic, but not a practicing one, everytime I would respond to a fire, I’m a retired firefighter, I would always make the sign of the cross while getting my SCBA on and while in route to the fire. While making the sign of the cross I also asked God to forgive my sins and asked him to be with us.

As a convert to the Catholic church, i love to make the sign of the cross.

Because the sign of the cross reminds me of what draws me to Christ in the first place, his being lifted up from this earth, the way in which he died for me(john 12:32-33)
Because I acknowledge the fullness of the Godhead, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the One almighty and triune God.

When i make the sign of the cross for rescue vehicles, i ask for the prayers of Mary and the saints in heaven, (who are still in the body of Christ), to pray with me to God for those involved and ask for God to give the victims comfort, safety and peace in the situation and for the rescuers to have clarity.

peace, RSH