Making Sign of the Cross in Orthodox way?

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Rafael19 said:
can we Catholics make the sign of the cross in orthodox way or is it forbidden?

like right to left?
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Not forbidden. I attend both RC and EC parishes. I do my best to follow the customs of the church that I am in. When I serve Mass in the West I have been asked why I cross myself “backwards” or why I cross myself at certain times when there is mention of the Holy Trinity? Those are honest lapses in concentration, but you do have to be careful or some people will begin to mimic you.

In the East the default location for our hands is not “5-on-5” as it is in the West. It’s simply hands at our sides. Many times I would make the mistake of assuming the “5-on-5” and other acolytes would begin to copy me or my “backwards” RC crossing, so I had to focus more and remember where I am.
 
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I mean, in addition to the Eastern Catholics still doing it, this is how the Romans did it as well hundreds of years ago.

We still have writings from Pope Innocent III that show that the Romans crossed themselves in this manner.

“The sign of the cross is made with three fingers, because the signing is done together with the invocation of the Trinity. … This is how it is done: from above to below, and from the right to the left, because Christ descended from the heavens to the earth…”
 
Three fingers means the Holy Trinity. I heard 4 fingers means Virgin Mary is included. But I also saw the fingers all relaxed and pointing while making the Catholic Cross, you know like the bishop does it when he blesses but it is true I saw this at the cardinals so maybe it means something 2 them.
 
Western Christians used to cross themselves with 3 fingers (Period 11-13 centuries), there is even one papal katehizis that teaches Christians to cross themselves with 3 fingers, Eastern Byzantine Christians used 2 fingers (Old Believers still do), but when Crusaders conquered the Greek lands, Eastern Christians adopted 3 fingers (Moscow Patriarchate was last to accept that), but then Western Christians switched to using today’s method.
 
There are 22 Eastern Rite Catholic Churches Sui Juris. We sign ourselves from right to left the same as Orthodox, so Yes, it is fine.
 
Haha, when I was younger I would do it “wrong”, I went right to left, took a long time for me to get it “right”.

I do not think too many people even noticed aside from my family
 
Ignatius said:
There are 22 Eastern Rite Catholic Churches Sui Juris. We sign ourselves from right to left the same as Orthodox, so Yes, it is fine.
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Its fine for Eastern Rite people, as it is their tradition. Its certainly ok for Latin rite people if they are at an Eastern liturgy to mimic their hosts

But a Latin Rite person really should show unity when at a Latin rite liturgy and do it like everyone else
 
Well the devil has to flee or has to bend his knees by the sign of the Cross.The Sign of the cross is a sacramental that is, its an out word sign and an in word Grace,each time you bless your self by it, we get Grace.There is also an indulgence of 50 days pope Pius the 9th July 28 1863,100 days if Holy Water is made use of at the same time.

1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.(Sign of the Cross)

Philippians 2: 9-11 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
 
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It’s interesting, in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, three of the characters are sitting in a booth in a booth at a restaurant. One of them says something and they all cross themselves. The two that cross themselves the western way have Italian surnames in real life. The man that does it the eastern way has an actual Greek surname. I thought that was interesting.
 
Brendan said:
It comes from Latin being the primary language of the West. The Latin word for ‘left’ is ‘sinister’, which gives us both the English word ‘sinister’ and even the word ‘sin’ itself. ‘left’ was traditionally associated with evil. Moving the fingers from left to right indicates a move from sin to salvation.
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Off topic, but as a person of lefthanded orientation, I’ve always felt a little bit triggered by the Latin word for left and the word’s meaning in English.

Now I’m curious if the use of sinister, sin, and lefthandedness is what led lefties in years past to be persecuted and forced as children to abandon their natural orientation on pain of corporal or other punishments.

I’m being facetious, of course, but it’s an interesting question.
 
When I was in Catholic school (1970s), on of my friends was an Eastern Catholic (I don’t know which Rite) and when we were at Mass or praying he would make the sign of the cross three times in succession each time we RCs did it once.

He did it very quickly so no one would notice. I asked him why he did the triple cross and he said that was the way they did it in his church.
 
A friend of mine is Eastern Orthodox. I attended his wedding and I had never before seen so much crossing yourself, three times each time as you say.
 
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