Pope Innocent iii and the sign of the cross

[tablecorner]

Has the sign of the cross we make in the Roman Catholic church changed in anyway from the early church?

I found this quote by Pope Innocent iii

“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, and from the Jews (right) He passed to the Gentiles (left).”

I found another quote but unsure if there was a chronological gap between the two.

"Others, however, make the sign of the cross from the left to the right, because from misery (left) we must cross over to glory (right), just as Christ crossed over from death to life, and from Hades to Paradise. [Some priests] do it this way so that they and the people will be signing themselves in the same way. You can easily verify this– picture the priest facing the people for the blessing– when we make the sign of the cross over the people, it is from left to right….”

 

[Anesti33]

The common story goes that East and West once went from right to left. The priest at the Roman Rite Mass would make the Sign of the Cross over the faithful, going from his right to his left. The faithful mirrored the priest and went left to right. And thus was divided the gesture, East from West.

 

[tablecorner]

thank you Anesti33 for your (name removed by moderator)ut.