sign of the Cross – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

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When you are baptized, you will wear a cross around your neck as a sign that you are an Orthodox Christian. You bear the Cross because you belong to Jesus Christ and have become a faithful member of His Holy Church. Follow Christ as an obedient disciple. In a world full of death and darkness, be an agent of Life and Light in the lives of others.

Let the chain around your neck that holds the cross remind you of all the Saints who have gone before you. Throughout history, Saints have walked the same Way that you now walk. Through their prayer and repentance, they knew Christ with their hearts and acquired the mind (phronema) of His Church. This golden chain of Saints linking generation to generation through history is why the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church does not change. Since there is One True God, everyone who knows the True God with their hearts, through the personal experience of Divine Grace, holds and expresses the same Orthodox theology.

In your generation, strive to know Christ, to acquire the mind of the Church, and to boldly serve as a faithful living witness of Jesus Christ in the world.

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At the beginning of your training, learn to make the sign of the Cross upon yourself.

The sign of the Cross is made by placing the thumb and next two fingers of your right hand together. This represents the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Fold in the other two fingers of your right hand so that they touch the palm of your hand. These two fingers represent that Christ is two natures, human and Divine, and remind us that God was born a human child.

Touch your forehead with the three fingers you joined together. Draw your fingers down to your stomach. Then touch your right shoulder and move your hand across to touch your left shoulder.

When you hear the Name of the Holy Trinity, make the sign of the Cross upon yourself. You follow the true and living God. Whenever you drift into unawareness, by the sign of the Cross remind yourself that God is with you. The sign of the Cross is a silent and powerful prayer. Ask for God’s blessing and help by making the sign of the Cross. Renew your commitment to take up the Cross and follow Christ with this sign when you are tempted. Call upon Divine protection by the sign of the Cross. The demons fear the weapon of the Cross and flee from it. The Cross is a symbol of triumph over evil and death.

Make the sign of the Cross when you get up in the morning and when you lie down at night. Begin your prayers with the sign of the Cross and end your prayers with the sign of the Cross. By the sign of the Cross, start your work and finish your work. Every time you make the sign of the Cross, do so from your heart with prayerful attention and intention. Make the sign of the Cross boldly with faith, thanksgiving, joy, and hope.

The power of the Cross is the Power of God. With the Cross, Jesus Christ transformed mortality into immortality. He changed death into life! By the Cross, what is meant for evil against you can be turned into good. What is intended to harm you can be changed into something beneficial to your inner health. A situation that could crush you can instead by used to strengthen and nurture you.

Remember the sign of the Cross.

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