Historical Prospective of the Liturgy

THE OPENING SIGN OF THE CROSS

ipodiakonos zoran j. bobic

The opening sign of the cross • Standing before the royal doors, the deacon sings in a loud clear voice:

Bless, Sir.

• The priest, standing in the center before the holy table, and making the sign of the cross over it with the Gospel Book, begins loudly and solemnly:

Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever.

• The choir (and/or the people):

Amen.

The opening sign of the cross • The deacon's petition, "Bless, Sir," refers to the whole congregation,

whose place the deacon takes in formally presenting their requests to God. That is why the deacon stands before the royal doors, that is, with the people.

• In making the sign of the cross with the holy Gospel Book over the altar, the priest uses a formula which is exclusive to the opening of the Divine Liturgy.

• Actually, the words are non-essential, since the sign of the cross is often made silently. The important element is the sign itself.

• The chief purpose of the Liturgy is the glorification of the Trinity.

• In the course of the Divine Liturgy, the faithful make the sign of the cross thirty-six times-at every blessing and doxology, and whenever the three Persons of the Trinity are mentioned.

The opening sign of the cross • The thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are joined at the tips;

the fourth and fifth fingers are folded over the palm;

• The two fingers and thumb signify the three Divine Persons of the Trinity, while the other two fingers symbolize the two natures in Jesus Christ;

• With the fingers so joined, the forehead is touched first ("In the name of the Father"), then the breast (and of the Son"), the right shoulder ("and of the Holy ... "), and finally the left shoulder (Spirit. Amen. ").

The opening sign of the cross: Latin Catholics • Prior to the end of the twelfth century, Christians of both East and

West made the sign of the cross from the right to the left;

• Latin Catholics began making it with all the fingers extended, and from the left shoulder to the right, at the time of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216);

• Supposedly, this meant that Jesus came from the Father to earth by becoming man, then descended into the left side, i.e., into hell, by his Passion and thence into his Father's right side, by his ascension;

• Another explanation was that making the sign from the left, the weak side, the side of sin, to the right, the side of salvation, would symbolize the death of Christ on the cross, and our being carried by it from the left to the right side, to salvation.

The opening sign of the cross • Byzantine Church: from the right to the left;

• This mean that salvation passed from the Jews, who were at the right side of God (the side of honor, belonging to the chosen people) to the Gentiles, who were at his left;

• Touching the right shoulder first also expresses the Christian hope to be put among the righteous on the right hand of Christ, the Judge at the Final Judgment;

The opening sign of the cross : Amen• To this formula of praise, the faithful answer : "Amen."

• The Amen is indeed, as St. Jerome put it, the "seal of prayer.“

• Originally coming from the Hebrew root 'MN, meaning "steadfast,“ "fixed" , “settled" and, hence, "true“;

• Amen can be translated as: "truly," "verily," or" so be it."

• These words, however, do not express its full meaning, a meaning which is really untranslatable;

• After the first century, "Amen" was left in its original Hebrew;

• AMEN: Liturgically, it is a solemn ratification of prayer.

• The Amen was already in liturgical use during the lifetime of the Apostles, as we know from St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians :

"Else, if thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that holdeth the place of the unlearned say Amen to thy blessing?" (I Cor. 14:16).