Sign of the cross?

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Jennifer132

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I noticed our Deacon, when he makes the sign of the cross he touches his chest again at the end to “close out the sign,” if you will. Is there any significance to this extra gesture? Our priest holds his thumb and ring and pinky together, lifting the index and middle fingers up, when doing the sign of the cross or blessing someone. Again, is this just a varied style, and what is the significance? Anyone know? Are there any other interesting variations?
 
Jennifer132 said:
I noticed our Deacon, when he makes the sign of the cross he touches his chest again at the end to “close out the sign,” if you will. Is there any significance to this extra gesture?
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As for this, I wouldn’t know.
Jennifer132 said:
Our priest holds his thumb and ring and pinky together, lifting the index and middle fingers up, when doing the sign of the cross or blessing someone. Again, is this just a varied style, and what is the significance? Anyone know? Are there any other interesting variations?
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The Eastern Orthodox do this. The three touching fingers (including the thumb) is supposed to symbolize the Trinity and the two separated fingers represent the two natures of Jesus Christ.
 
I’ve seen the chest thing, too. Hispanics will often kiss their fingers after making the sign. I don’t know where these variations originated. The traditional sign of the cross for the Roman rite is an open hand and four points, horizontal part going left-right (for the person making the sign).

Is your priest Eastern rite, or perhaps bi-ritual? When he crosses himself, does he do the horizontal part starting with his right shoulder?
 
I do the three fingers, it was basically natural or seen as a youngster idk. But when my son asked if there was a “right way” I looked it up and found of course specifics vary but that the 3 fingers was old way of representing the trinity during the sign so I the extra significance in how we did it and I like it 🙂
 
Jennifer132 said:
I noticed our Deacon, when he makes the sign of the cross he touches his chest again at the end to “close out the sign,” if you will. Is there any significance to this extra gesture? Our priest holds his thumb and ring and pinky together, lifting the index and middle fingers up, when doing the sign of the cross or blessing someone. Again, is this just a varied style, and what is the significance? Anyone know? Are there any other interesting variations?
Click to expand...
I’ve seen it with an Assyrian friend.
Also eastern Catholics such as the Chaldean, Melkite do this also. You will see especially in the Chaldean rite that they do the sign of the cross instead of the chest, which is in the roman rite and western In rome at the early times of Christianity in the west it was a symbol of the heart, they do it in the stomach because like my friend that was from the Assyrian Church explained Our Lord was conceived in the womb of Our Lady.
 
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