Why do Bishops bless in this particular way?

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CutlerB

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It appears that most Bishops (I don’t think priests do this) have their hand giving the blessing in this wonderfully elegant posture (one loves elegance!) as in these images. Does anyone know whethere there is a meaning to it or why and how it originated?

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Thanks 🙂
 
Well, Priests should bless with their hands in such a way also, as many depictions and visions of Christ show this form of blessing too!

However… Priests bless people with one sign of the Cross, Bishops on the other hand bless with three signs of the cross; a cross for the father, a cross for the son and a cross for the Holy Spirit. Just a bit of extra information.
 
DeusSalusNostra said:
Well, Priests should bless with their hands in such a way also, as many depictions and visions of Christ show this form of blessing too!
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I’m following this thread because I’m curious of the answer. But just to comment on this, the depictions of Christ show a blessing gesture that is appropriate to the tradition who made that depiction. So Christ’s icons in the Eastern Catholic (Byzantine Rite) and Orthodox Churches would show Him with the “ICXC” Christogram on his right hand, the proper blessing hand gesture in the mentioned Churches.

So it is correct for Roman Catholic depictions of Christ to show the blessing gesture to be that of the Roman Catholic tradition.

Now, I await what the meaning of this gesture means 🙂
 
Thanks! 🙂 I just love those depictions and the monuments, and while browsing them, the question came to mind.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Interesting. Why isn’t the 3 fingers for the Trinity held together? In our tradition we hold the 3 fingers together to also affirm the oneness of the Trinity.
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My guess is that the thumb was originally supposed to be touching the ring finger (like Christ in the Sinai Pantocrator icon) but, over the years, this changed. 🙂
 
Zekariya said:
The 6th Century Sinai Pantocrator Icon:
http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/179117_160708340767173_86473862_n.jpg

A modern example:
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/943024_160708337433840_1847168507_n.jpg

Venerable Pope Pius XII:
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/316130_160708344100506_38046822_n.jpg
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The Pantokrator icon uses the ICXC hand gesture. Basically your index finger is the I, the middle finger is bent for the C, then the thumb and ring finger form the X, and the pinkie is the second C. Though how the pinkie is depicted isn’t consistent, some icons have it bent the same way as the middle finger, others as you have shown here have it all the way down, forming a C not only with the finger but the entire side of the hand.

Of course in the East the gesture is a blessing with the name of Christ (ICXC meaning Christ Victorious, can be interpreted as “The Risen Christ” as He is victorious over sin and death). If the Latin gesture is Trinity and 2 natures of Christ, then it is not the same gesture.
 
ConstantineTG said:
The Pantokrator icon uses the ICXC hand gesture. Basically your index finger is the I, the middle finger is bent for the C, then the thumb and ring finger form the X, and the pinkie is the second C. Though how the pinkie is depicted isn’t consistent, some icons have it bent the same way as the middle finger, others as you have shown here have it all the way down, forming a C not only with the finger but the entire side of the hand.

Of course in the East the gesture is a blessing with the name of Christ (ICXC meaning Christ Victorious, can be interpreted as “The Risen Christ” as He is victorious over sin and death). If the Latin gesture is Trinity and 2 natures of Christ, then it is not the same gesture.
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Actually Pantocrator Icon uses the Old Believer gesture (some Icons such as the following use this older gesture) :
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/931296_157953194376021_1268882504_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/943024_160708337433840_1847168507_n.jpg

This is the ICXC gesture (notice that the pinkie finger is up, not curled in):
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/970987_160733237431350_608034905_n.jpg
 
Isn’t the Old Believer gesture, the thumb overlaps the pinkie and ring finger to signify the unity of the Trinity?
 
ConstantineTG said:
Isn’t the Old Believer gesture, the thumb overlaps the pinkie and ring finger to signify the unity of the Trinity?
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The pinkie and ring finger meat to signify the Trinity similar to the first three fingers together in the lay blessing used the East. The two fingers pointed upwards represent the two natures of Christ. 🙂
 
Zekariya said:
The pinkie and ring finger meat to signify the Trinity similar to the first three fingers together in the lay blessing used the East. The two fingers pointed upwards represent the two natures of Christ. 🙂
Click to expand...
But the Pantokrator isn’t pointing upwards, it’s curved.
 
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