Actually Elizium, left to right is not a latinization for Syriacs. That would actually be anachronistic since we probably crossed ourselves left to right before the Latins even did
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.No. All Oriental Orthodox cross themselves left-to-right. It has nothing to do with Rome, and everything to do with specifically Oriental theology. There is also specific hand shapes to be used by some according to our Christology, which understandably differs from the Syriac Catholics and others who have made peace with the Tome of Leo as part of coming to Rome (the Copts don’t use the Greek way of folding two fingers in, for instance). The Orthodox Tewahedo (Ethiopians and Eritreans) probably have the most developed symbolism behind all their hand-shapes (I’ve seen it; they form a kind of “L” shape; very unique). I found on another messageboard this beautiful explanation from an Ethiopian deacon which explains some of the symbolism:
You’re welcome, God Bless!
I can confirm that these are my findings as well.Actually Elizium, left to right is not a latinization for Syriacs. That would actually be anachronistic since we probably crossed ourselves left to right before the Latins even did
Now I know this is going to sound facetious, but I promise you, I don’t mean it that way.
I would, shlomo3amrooh, but what I presented above is the Tewahedo tradition, not the Coptic. The Copts don’t have such symbolism in our sign of the Cross or the hand-positions used in making it (which do not match the Tewahedo “L” shape), which essentially follows the same explanation as the Syriac that you already posted on the blog: Left to right because Christ’s sacrifice on the cross brings us from the life of sin (left) to the salvation (right). So any comment from me about the Coptic tradition wouldn’t add any new information. We’re essentially the same as the Orthodox Syriacs.
excuse my ignorance… But what is Tewahedo?
Oh no worries. I thought Tewahedo was Coptic as well. I did a google and it was not.
That’s a really good question, and I have no idea how to answer it. They must do something, as there are an awful lot of elderly Ethiopian and Eritrean laity, priests, and monks who must make the sign of the cross just as often as anyone else in the Church…and the Tewahedo definitely do not get less devout as they age! See, for instance, this elderly Ethiopian monk who is keeping alive the tradition of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela by carving churches out of solid mountains in the Ethiopian highlands…by himself.
(He has completed four so far. I can barely manage to get to the post office before it closes…)
Nothing to apologize for. It’s a common mistake, since Tewahedo were mistakenly called “Copts” for centuries due to their ecclesiastical relation to the Church in Egypt, and old habits die hard. With ~1600 of being administered by the Coptic Orthodox Church before attaining autocephaly (their first bishops were sent by none other than St. Athanasius the Apostolic, but it wasn’t until the time of Pope Yusab II in the 1950s that they attained self-governing status), it’d be a bit naive to think that that particular misnomer would disappear in the space of about 50 years,
The “L” shape is their using the first two fingers to make a Cross. Here is a picture of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians showing how they hold their fingers:
I learned it from my grandmother in the Philippines, although I didn’t know it had a name. I’m not sure, but I thought it’s a version of the triple sign of the cross people make during the reading of the gospel in the Roman Rite Mass (yeah, our family at least somehow tends to default to the persignarse there instead). And yes, we also kiss our thumb and forefinger after making the sign of the cross (you have 300+ years of being a colony of Spain to thank, I guess
), although at least the way I do it I don’t keep my other three fingers upward.Yep.
This was news to me. Predictably, I don’t know the first thing about the Old Believers’ schism in the Byzantine Church. Very interesting to see. Thanks for sharing.
Also this painting: