The Etiquette of the Liturgy
#1: Signing Ourselves with the Sign of the Cross!
This morning we are beginning a new series taking a few minutes at every Sunday's Trapeza to explore what we are calling The Etiquette of the Liturgy! In many ways, as we look at the etiquette of the Liturgy, we are looking at the external trappings of the worship of the Church to get a better understanding of what takes place each Sunday. Not only, of course, is this helpful for those who have just started coming to the Orthodox Church, but also for all of us to explore in greater depth what lies behind the otherwise sometimes perfunctory actions we perform week in and week out. Take, for example, signing ourselves with the sign of the cross. As we enter the Church each Sunday, invariably we find ourselves surrounded by those who are crossing themselves. But what actually does this mean to sign ourselves with the sign of the cross and why is it that we do it?
Well, first of all, how do we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross? The sign of the cross is made by taking our right hand and touching it first to our foreheads, and then to the stomach, next to our right shoulder and finally to the left shoulder. As we do this, we ask God for His protection of all our life, beginning with our mind, and then with our heart, and will and emotions, and finally with the service of our life. As we do so, we are, following Christ as He says to us, “If anyone would follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
But just what kind of a God are we following as we do this? Our right hand tells us the answer. As we look at how we hold our hand a little bit more closely, we notice first of all that our index and middle fingers are joined together with our thumb to form a trinity. As they do so, we are specifically signifying the Holy Trinity! The great mystery of the Holy Trinity is thus proclaimed even with the way we form our hands while making the cross! That our God is One God we signify by bringing together our first two fingers and our thumb as one. That this One God contains in Himself three separate Hypostases, or Persons, is signified by the distinct digits that we bring together to form this Unity!
Thus, the Father is uniquely worshipped and glorified as the Unoriginate One from whom the other two Persons of the Trinity come “before all ages.” This is referred to as the “monarchy” of the Father. The Son’s uniqueness comes from His being the Only Person of the Trinity to be Begotten of the Father. The Spirit also is unique from both the Father and the Son as the only God who proceeds from the Father. Nevertheless, while each One is unique, all Three share the same substance or essence, and therefore are equally God!
We thus affirm this One God existing in Three Persons every time we cross ourselves! In addition, we proclaim this God every time we say the Nicene Creed: “I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible… and in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made… and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life; Who proceedeth from the Father Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.”
As we, however, take an even closer look at the hand with which we cross ourselves, we discover that the ring and little fingers are also proclaiming through how they are positioned more about the Great God we follow! Their focus, however, is not on the Trinity, but on Jesus Christ Himself who for His part is One person, or hypostasis, in two natures! Specifically, we proclaim about Christ that He is the only one to be fully God and fully man.
How so? Christ is fully man as a result of His taking in Himself our own flesh as a result of being born of the Virgin Mary. At the same time, however, He is fully God by virtue of His being born also of the Holy Spirit! This, of course was necessary in order for Christ to secure our salvation through His being the perfect Second Man, or second Adam, who completely obeyed His Father in Heaven on the one hand, but yet nevertheless suffered for us on the cross that we might die to our sins and have victory over Satan and death through His resurrection!
This great truth, for its part, is also expressed in our Creed: “Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; And arose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; and ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father…”
This Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Trinity is therefore the One Whom we proclaim every time we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross! It is therefore little wonder that it is before this sign of the cross that Satan and the demons tremble and flee! Why is this? Because it was precisely on the cross, that Christ crushed the head of Satan and defeated him. He now gives this cross to us that we too might have victory over Satan and the demons every time we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross!
