The sign of the cross of the Old Believers. Old Believer sign of the cross

The most common and practiced, perhaps, are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Despite the fact that in the age of information technology, every person has access to almost any information, many people do not know what the essence of each religion is, what is common between them and how they actually differ from each other. Today we propose to talk about the difference in the imposition of the sign of the cross in different religions.

How Catholics are baptized, with which hand, how they fold their fingers: a diagram of how to baptize correctly

Before we talk about the issue of making the sign of the cross, let's talk a little about religion itself.

• Catholicism or Catholicism is a Christian denomination, which today has a huge number of adherents.
• The very word "Catholicism" means nothing more than "universal", "all-encompassing".
• It is also worth saying that it was the Catholic Church, which was formed during the 1st millennium BC. in the Western Roman Empire had a huge impact on the development of Western civilization.
• Concerning the sign of the cross. Most people do not know what it is, and all because we are used to calling this process a little differently - “baptized”, “crossed”.
• The sign of the cross is nothing more than a prayerful gesture during which people make movements with their hands and, as it were, draw a cross with them.
• It should also be noted that the sign of the cross is present in almost all areas of Christianity.

So, how does the imposition of the sign of the cross take place among Catholics?

• It must be said right away that Catholicism does not have a single correct version of this action. There are many options for how you can cross yourself and all of them are considered correct. This is because Catholics pay more attention not to the method by which this is done, but to the goal. By crossing themselves, they seem to once again prove that they believe precisely in Christ.
• Catholics are baptized with the same hand as the Orthodox, that is, with the right hand. The difference lies in something else - in the direction of movement of the hand, and even then not always.
• Initially, both the Catholics of the West and the Catholics of the East performed the application of the cross on themselves in almost the same way. They were baptized from the right shoulder to the left, while using 3 fingers of the right hand. A little later, the procedure changed, and they began to be baptized from the left shoulder to the right, while using the entire hand.
• The so-called "Byzantine Catholics" perform the action in the traditional way. To do this, the first 3 fingers of the hand are connected together, and the remaining 2 are pressed against the palm. In this case, baptism is carried out with the right hand, from right to left. The 3 fingers that are connected together are nothing but the Trinity, and the other 2 fingers mean the double origin of Christ. By dual origin is meant his divine and human essence.

If we show the general classification of options that Catholics use when making the sign of the cross, then it looks something like this:

1. The first and fourth fingers of the right hand are connected in a bundle, while the index and middle fingers also stick together. The index and middle fingers in this case mean the dual nature of Christ, which was mentioned a little earlier. This option is typical for Western Catholics.
2. Another addition option is to connect the 1st and 2nd fingers.
3. Eastern Catholics most often use this option. The thumb, index and middle fingers are connected together, and the last 2 are pressed to the hand. At the same time, 3 connected fingers mean the Holy Trinity, and 2 pressed fingers mean the dual nature of Christ.
4. Also, Catholics very often cross themselves with the whole palm. To do this, you need to keep your right hand completely open, all fingers except the 1st are straightened. The hand can be slightly bent, and the thumb is pressed slightly against the palm. This version of baptism means the wounds of Christ, of which there were 5.

Why do Catholics cross themselves from left to right, with two fingers or with the palm of their hand?

To answer the question, perhaps, we will delve a little into the history:

• In ancient times, the left and right most often carried associations regarding various kinds of gods who were on opposite sides.
• If we talk about Christianity, then the understanding of left and right is slightly different. Left and right at the same time, this is something completely different, something that has a clearly opposite meaning. For example, as a struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, sinful and righteous. In Christianity, it is generally accepted that the right side is the territory of God, and the left side is Evil.
• Another fact is that the Orthodox put the cross from the right shoulder to the left, but when they baptize someone, they do it the other way around. In any of these cases, initially the hand of the one who baptizes is on the right side. Why is that? The overshadowing of the cross, which is carried out from left to right, means something coming from a person to God, but from right to left it is exactly the opposite, from God to a person.
• Catholics, regardless of whether they baptize themselves or someone else, always do it only from left to right.
• In both the first and second cases, believers turn to God, but they put different meanings into their conversion and communication with him.
• That is, the question: "Why do Catholics baptize from left to right?" may be considered closed. They are baptized in this way, due to the fact that when they make the sign of the cross, it is important for them to communicate with Christ, and they themselves cry out to him. That is the meaning of this action.
• It would also not be out of place to say that the movement of the hand from left to right can mean the path from darkness to light, from evil to good, from hatred to the world, from sin to repentance.
• Movement from right to left can be interpreted as a victory over everything sinful, in particular the Devil. Since ancient times, it has been considered that it is on the left side that the unclean “sits” with us. Therefore, such movements from right to left speak of the neutralization of evil forces.

Now a few words as to why Catholics cross themselves with two fingers or with the whole palm:

• As mentioned earlier, Catholics do not have a single correct option for folding fingers or hands when crossing. That is why sometimes you can see the imposition of the sign of the cross with two fingers, and even with the whole palm.
• When Catholics cross themselves with 2 fingers, they once again confirm that they believe in the dual nature of Christ. That is, they realize and recognize the fact that Christ had in himself both the divine and the human principles.
• The open palm symbolizes the wounds of Christ. To be more precise, it is not the palm itself, but the fingers of the hand, which, with this version of the application of the cross, are in a straightened position.

How are Greek Catholics and Jews baptized?

Speaking about Catholics, it is necessary to note the fact that there are Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics. Both of them have something in common and different.

• Greek Catholics recognize the Pope as the visible head of the Church and refer to themselves as members of the Roman Catholic Church.
• At the same time, it should be said that the Greek Catholics have much in common with the Orthodox, including the way the cross is applied.
• They are baptized with their right hand, while with the hand they draw the cross in this way: from top to bottom, from right to left.
• Also, Greek Catholics and Orthodox have a general addition of fingers. When baptized, the fingers are folded in this way: the first 3 fingers are connected together, and the little finger and ring finger are pressed to the palm.
• Representatives of this movement, living in the West of Ukraine, often perform other movements during baptism. For example, a hand movement is made that marks the pierced rib of Christ.
• If, for comparison, we take the Roman Catholics, then they make the sign of the cross differently. Movements are derived from the head to the womb, and then from the left shoulder to the right. In this case, the fingers are folded in different ways. This is both two-fingered and three-fingered addition.

Now let's talk about the Jews:

• Let's start with the fact that the traditional religion professed by this people is Judaism.
• The words "Jew" and "Jew" are very similar and today in many languages ​​of the world have the same meaning. However, in our country it is generally accepted that "Jew" is still a nationality, and "Jew" is a professed religion.
• Before answering the question "How are Jews baptized?" let's talk a little about what the symbol "cross" itself means to them. By the way, it would be more appropriate to ask the question “Are Jews baptized at all?”.
• So, in ancient times, the Jews associated the cross with fear, punishment and death itself. While for Christians, the cross is the main symbol that can protect and protect from misfortune and troubles.
• Today, Jews recognize the sacred cross, but put a slightly different meaning into it. For them, it is a symbol of the rebirth of the Savior. By and large, the cross does not carry such importance (as with Christians), therefore, accordingly, there is no need to impose a sign on yourself. This leads to the conclusion that the Jews are not baptized at all.

Why are Orthodox and Catholics baptized differently: Orthodox from right to left, and Catholics from left to right?

We have touched on this a little earlier. The thing is that Catholics and Orthodox put a slightly different meaning into the sign of the cross, respectively, and the implementation of the procedure is different.

• We also clarify that for a long time Catholics could be baptized in different ways, that is, from left to right and from right to left. However, in 1570 this freedom of choice was cut short. Since then, Catholics have been given some kind of ban on the use of one of the options. The allowed option was left to right.
• By moving the hand when drawing the cross from right to left, the Orthodox ask God's blessing. Movement in that direction always means something that comes from the Savior. Since the right side of a person is taken as the side of God, the movements from this side are considered victorious over evil and impure.
• Catholics, making movements from left to right, as if express their appeal to God. Moreover, their application of the cross according to such a scheme means nothing more than a movement from everything sinful, dark and evil to light, good and moral.
• Both versions of the procedure carry only a positive message, but are interpreted a little differently.

What is the difference between how Catholics and Orthodox are baptized?

Based on the information presented earlier, the answer to this question can be quite simple.

• Both of them are Christians. Despite this, there are many similarities and differences between them. One of the points that is different for these two beliefs is the way the sign of the cross is applied.
• Orthodox always during the removal of the cross do it only from the right shoulder to the left, while representatives of other beliefs do it the other way around. Why this happens, we figured out a little earlier.
• Further, if the Orthodox fold their fingers in basically one way - three fingers are connected in a bunch and two are pressed against the inside of the palm, then Catholics can do it in completely different ways. We also discussed options for similar additions of fingers and hands earlier.
• That is, the difference lies only in the trajectory along which the hand moves and in what way the fingers are folded.

This topic is very relevant and interesting, you can talk about the differences in the imposition of the cross for a very long time, exactly, as well as argue about the correctness of this process. However, we would like to draw attention to a slightly different point, which, in our opinion, is no less important: remember, it is important not only how you are baptized, but also what meaning you put into this action.

Depicted in the famous painting by Surikov, with her hand raised high, overshadowing people with a two-fingered sign of the cross.

I wonder why in those years thousands of people gave their lives for what seemed to be such a narrowly ceremonial understanding of Orthodoxy? What difference does it make to be baptized with two or three fingers? After all, the teaching of Christ is much higher and wider than these ritual trifles. It is impossible to answer this question and such reasoning without a deep and thoughtful study of the problem, and yet, let's try to do it.

Blissful Theodorite, Bishop of Cyrus (393-466), participant of the III and IV Ecumenical Councils, writes how to be baptized and bless: “ Three fingers equally have together, great, and the last two - the mystery of the Trinity is confessed, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Not three Gods, but one God the Trinity. Names are divided, but the Deity is one. The Father is not begotten, and the Son is begotten of the Father, not created, the Holy Spirit is not begotten, not created, but proceeds from the Father. Three in one Deity, one power, one honor, one worship from all creatures, from angels and from man. Such is the decree with the three fingers. And two fingers, the upper (index) and the middle great, fold and stretch together (keep straight). The great finger is held a little obliquely, then it forms the two natures of Christ, the Divinity and humanity. God according to Divinity, and man according to incarnation, is perfect in both. The upper finger forms the Deity, and the lower one, humanity, descended from the upper ones to save the lower one. The inclination of the finger is interpreted: bow the heavens, descended to earth, for our salvation. Taco befits be baptized and bless. Taco is indicated by the holy fathers. Such, then, is the power of the signs of the honest cross, which we guard ourselves against when we pray, confessing the mysterious vision of the Savior, (when we place outstretched fingers on our foreheads) a hedgehog from God and the Father before all creation, (lowering our fingers on our stomachs) and hedgehog from above to His land descent and crucifixion, (raising his hand and placing his fingers on his right shoulder, then on his left) resurrection, ascension and again His second coming". This evidence clearly shows that already at the beginning of the fifth century, by the third Ecumenical Council, the sign of the cross with two fingers was widespread and had a clear theological interpretation.

And yet, the thoughtful reader will ask, is double-fingering a rite that can change, or is it the unchanging foundation of the Orthodox Church? For further consideration of the issue, I propose to turn to the basis of the foundations of Christianity - Holy Gospel.

Evangelist Matthew describes what happened at the Last Supper, which marked the beginning of the sacrament of the Eucharist:

To those who eat them, take Jesus the bread, and having blessed, break it and give it to the disciple ... (Matthew 108)

And an evangelist Luke tells about what happened after the resurrection of the Lord, when the apostles Luke and Cleopas went to Emmaus. And Jesus joined them under the guise of a traveler, and asked them what they were talking about. They told him about those who were in these days ... And that traveler spoke to them:

Oh, foolish and inert of heart, that you do not believe what the prophets said. Is it not now fitting that Christ suffer and enter into his glory? And he began from Moses, and from all the prophets to tell them from all the scriptures that spoke about him ...

In the evening they came to the village and invited the traveler to share a meal and an overnight stay with them.

And it was like lying down with him, and we will bless the bread, and breaking the dayash ima. Their eyes were opened, and I knew him, and Ima was invisible to him. (Luke pass 113)

And only by the blessing of the bread did the apostles recognize Jesus, who had previously taken him for a simple fellow traveler. And further at the beginning of 114:

You are a witness to this. And now I will send the promise of my Father upon you... And bring them out as far as Bethany, and lift up your hands, and bless them. And be always blessing them, depart from them, and ascending to heaven, and bowing down to him.

Blessing was not taught by Christ in different ways: with one-finger, two-finger, three-finger, palm, one way or another... These words of the Holy Gospel, in my deep conviction, clearly indicate that Christ showed and commanded us the custom of blessing, some kind of secret sign. Oral, secret, in all details not described action. For the disclosure of this secret, it is logical to turn to the witness of everything that happened, the Evangelist Luke. According to church tradition, preserved in almost all Christian countries, the Evangelist Luke is considered the first icon painter who painted a large number of icons. On the icons painted by the Evangelist Luke, including on the image of the Tikhvin Mother of God, the right hand of Jesus Christ is depicted blessing with two fingers.

Also, the holy apostle speaks of the necessity of faith not only in written laws, but also in oral decrees in his epistle to Thessalonica:

Brethren, stand firm and hold the traditions; learn them either by word or by our epistle.

He is echoed by St. , a famous preacher of Orthodoxy of the 4th century:

Of the preserved dogmas and sermons, some we have from written instruction, and some received from the apostolic tradition, by reception in the mystery, and both have the same power for piety. And no one will rebuke this, although he is little versed in the establishments of the Church. For if we undertake to reject unwritten customs, if not a great possessive power, then we will inconspicuously damage the Gospel in the main subjects, or rather, we will shorten the sermon into a single name without the thing itself. For example, first of all I will mention the first and most general, so that those who trust in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ are signified by the image of the cross, who taught this scripture? ("Full. Trans.", right. 91st).

And the modern historian Alexander Dvorkin in the preface to his work Essays on the History of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church"writes:

It was the disciples who were entrusted with keeping in memory and writing down what had happened. But all this was written down several decades after the death and resurrection of the Savior. And here we are already entering the realm of Sacred Tradition. Tradition (in Latin traditio) means that which is passed from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth (3rd ed. Nizh. Novg. 2006, p. 20). And in the 21st century, it is also reminded of the need for Faith in tradition.

And many other material monuments of Christian art, which, according to St. John of Damascus, « are a kind of memorable story even for those who do not know how to read and write"(John of Damascus" An Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith", 1885 p. 266), reflect the universality of the two-fingered up to the 13th century. This is the statue of the Apostle Peter in the Cathedral of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, which is " transitional”from paganism to Christianity, remade by Christians of the first centuries from a statue of Jupiter, where the apostle blesses with two fingers. And a mosaic image The descent of St. Spirit on the apostles”, located in one of the domes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople. This image was discovered in the 50s. of the last century, where Jesus is also depicted blessing with two fingers, etc.

The absence of disputes and disagreements between the Christians of the first centuries on this issue, which would inevitably have been submitted for consideration to the Ecumenical Councils, only confirms the above. And now an interesting situation occurs: we unshakably believe the words of the Gospel, written by the Evangelist Luke, and do not dare to change them! And we disdainfully treat his testimony about the composition of fingers, as something unimportant and capable of changing over time.

Another vivid example is described in the life of the archbishop Meletios of Antioch, which tells of a miracle that happened at the II Ecumenical Council. During the dispute with the Arians, who, even after the First Ecumenical Council, continued to philosophize unorthodoxly that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, is not consubstantial with God the Father, but was created and is, although higher than people, but a creation, " Saint Meletios stood up and showed the people three fingers, and there was no sign. Then two couples, and one bending down, and bless the people. At that time, fire overshadowed him like lightning, and the saint loudly exclaimed: we understand three Hypostases, and we talk about one being.».

Renowned historian N. F. Kapterev in his work The time of Joseph's patriarchate' concludes:

Theodorite, Bishop of Cyrus, who was at the time of the Third and Fourth Ecumenical Councils, having met the Monophysite heresy, condemned at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, strongly opposed it. But since this heresy came up with the designation of one nature in Christ with one finger to represent the cross, then, without any doubt, against this heresy, the theological explanation of the image in the addition of fingers from the blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Kirsk, was set forth, which the Stoglavy Cathedral cited as evidence.

Here I would like to add that all societies that distort the basic dogmas of Orthodoxy have also invented their own physically visual symbol.

Compiled by a disciple of the holy Archbishop Meletios, the order of the divine liturgy in many places speaks of a blessing. And it implies a specific movement (action) of a priest or bishop - those who have been given the authority to bless in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the beginning of the liturgy, in forgiveness, the deacon says: Time to serve the Lord, bless the lord". The priest, signing with his hand the cross on his head, says: Blessed be our God, always and now and forever and ever and ever". The deacon says Amen"... And on the very transposition of the holy gifts: "... and having fulfilled everything about us: in the night, indulging in it, moreover betraying yourself for the worldly belly, taking bread with your holy and most pure and immaculate hands, giving thanks and blessing, having sanctified the break, will give to his holy disciples and apostles, rivers". Exclamation. " Take and eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, for the forgiveness of sins.". The priest, saying this, with his right hand will point to the holy paten. The deacon shows with his ular and says: Amen».

For many centuries of Orthodox Christianity, the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the ordination of the priesthood and the simple blessing of people, has been continuously celebrated. And in all ages it was passed down from generation to generation in the form of an oral and visual, concrete action - the blessing of the Lord. At the time of Stoglav, when in Rus' " crawled“Three fingers from the Catholic West, and then from Byzantium, which signed the union with the Catholics in 1439, the holy fathers again had to remind the church children how and why it is appropriate to bless and make the sign of the cross:

If anyone does not bless two fingers, like Christ, or does not imagine the sign of the cross, let him be anathema.

After only a hundred years, during the patriarchate Nikon, at the councils of 1666 and 1667. ancient rites were cursed, including the sign of the cross with two fingers, and the Russian Church was split by these curses. And those who remained faithful to the Orthodox (which had become old) rite again began to explain and prove the truth in their writings. According to N.F. Kapterev in his work " Patriarch Nikon and his opponents»:

The Russians also borrowed from the Greeks the sign of the cross, the double alleluia, etc., which the Greeks have undergone modifications over time. The two-finger was finally supplanted among them by the three-finger, which probably became predominant among the Greeks from the middle of the 15th century, just as the former indifferent doubling or tripling of alleluia was replaced exclusively by tripling. The Russians, regarding the sign of the cross, remained in its most ancient form - the two-fingered one ”(ed. 2nd article 24).

Here it should be added that, most likely, the beginning of tripartite was put by his decree by the Pope Innocent III who held the Roman see from 1198 to 1216

One should be baptized with three fingers, for this is done with the invocation of the Trinity (“De sacro altaris misterio”, II, 45).

Archpriest Avvakum in his life calls the ancestor of the tripartite pope Farmoz, who occupied the Roman throne from 891-896. Although it was still far from the division of the Church into Eastern and Western that occurred in 1054, and Pope Stephen VII (896-897) professed two-fingeredness. In the gospel of brand says:

Is your imate heart still petrified, eyes that have property do not see, and ears that have property, do not hear (Zch.33).

Who wants to believe - he believes, who wants to see - he sees the Divine wisdom in everything, starting with the smallest wildflowers and ending with the wise course of the planets in the universe according to the law set by God. And not just whoever wants to ... or what he comes up with on his own. The sign of the cross was not invented by people and should not be considered as some kind of evolving from a less dogmatically saturated to a more saturated form. The double-fingered sign of the cross, commanded to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, is a true and accurate expression of the basic tenets of the Orthodox faith.

Used Books:

1. Holy Gospel.
2. Apostle.
3. Life of Archbishop Meletios.
4. Life of Archpriest Avvakum. SPb: " VERB", 1994
5. Bishop Anthony of Perm and Tobolsk. Holy Fathers Collection. Novosibirsk: Slovo, 2005
6. Bishop Arseny of Ural. Justification of the Old Believer Church of Christ. Moscow: Kitezh, 1999
7. S. I. Bystrov. Double-fingering in the monuments of Christian art. Barnaul: AKOOH "Support Fund ...", 2001
8. F. E. Melnikov. A Brief History of the Ancient Orthodox Church. Barnaul: BSPU, 1999
9. N. F. Kapterev. The time of the patriarchate of Joseph. issue 1. art. 83.
Patriarch Nikon and his opponents. Ed. 2. article 24.
10. A. L. Dvorkin. Essays on the history of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church. N. Novgorod. "Christian Library" 2006

Before starting a conversation about how the Old Believers are baptized, we should dwell in more detail on who they are and what their role is in the development of Russian Orthodoxy. The fate of this religious movement, called the Old Believers, or Old Orthodoxy, has become an integral part of the history of Russia and is full of drama and examples of spiritual greatness.

The reform that split Russian Orthodoxy

The Old Believers, like the entire Russian Church, considers the beginning of its history the year when the light of the Christian faith, brought to Rus' by Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, shone on the banks of the Dnieper. Once on fertile soil, the grain of Orthodoxy gave abundant shoots. Until the fifties of the 17th century, the faith in the country was unified, and there was no talk of any religious schism.

The beginning of the great church turmoil was the reform of Patriarch Nikon, begun by him in 1653. It consisted in bringing the Russian liturgical rite in line with that adopted in the Greek and Constantinople churches.

Reasons for church reform

Orthodoxy, as you know, came to us from Byzantium, and in the first years after the service in the churches was performed exactly as it was customary in Constantinople, but after more than six centuries, significant changes were made to it.

In addition, since for almost the entire period of this period there was no printing yet, and liturgical books were copied by hand, not only a significant number of errors crept into them, but the meaning of many key phrases was distorted. To rectify the situation, he made a simple and seemingly uncomplicated decision.

Good intentions of the patriarch

He ordered to take samples of early books brought from Byzantium, and, having re-translated from them, replicated in print. He ordered the former texts to be withdrawn from circulation. In addition, Patriarch Nikon introduced three fingers in the Greek manner - the addition of three fingers together when making the sign of the cross.

Such a harmless and quite reasonable decision, however, caused a reaction like an explosion, and the church reform carried out in accordance with it caused a split. As a result, a significant part of the population, which did not accept these innovations, departed from the official church, which was called the Nikonian (after Patriarch Nikon), and a large-scale religious movement emerged from it, the followers of which began to be called schismatics.

The split that resulted from the reform

As before, in pre-reform times, the Old Believers were baptized with two fingers and refused to recognize new church books, as well as priests who tried to perform divine services on them. Standing in opposition to ecclesiastical and secular authorities, they were subjected to severe persecution for a long time. This started in 1656.

Already in the Soviet period, the final softening of the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to the Old Believers followed, which was enshrined in the relevant legal documents. However, this did not lead to the resumption of Eucharistic, that is, prayerful communion between local and Old Believers. The latter to this day consider only themselves to be the bearers of the true faith.

With how many fingers do the Old Believers cross themselves?

It is important to note that the schismatics never had canonical disagreements with the official church, and the conflict always arose only around the ritual side of worship. For example, the way the Old Believers are baptized, folding three fingers instead of two, has always become a reason for condemnation against them, while there were no complaints about their interpretation of Holy Scripture or the main provisions of the Orthodox dogma.

By the way, the order of adding fingers for the sign of the cross both among the Old Believers and among the supporters of the official church contains a certain symbolism. Old Believers are baptized with two fingers - index and middle, symbolizing the two natures of Jesus Christ - divine and human. The remaining three fingers are kept pressed to the palm. They are the image of the Holy Trinity.

A vivid illustration of how the Old Believers are baptized can be the famous painting by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov “Boyar Morozova”. On it, the disgraced inspirer of the Moscow Old Believer movement, taken into exile, raises two fingers folded together to the sky - a symbol of schism and rejection of the reform of Patriarch Nikon.

As for their opponents, supporters of the Russian Orthodox Church, the addition of fingers adopted by them, in accordance with the Nikon reform, and used to this day, also has a symbolic meaning. Nikonians are baptized with three fingers - thumb, index and middle, folded in a pinch (the schismatics contemptuously called them "pinches" for this). These three fingers also symbolize and the dual nature of Jesus Christ is depicted in this case by the ring finger and little finger pressed to the palm.

Symbolism contained in the sign of the cross

The schismatics always attached special meaning to how exactly they imposed on themselves. The direction of the movement of the hand is the same for them as for all Orthodox, but its explanation is peculiar. The Old Believers make the sign of the cross with their fingers, placing them first of all on the forehead. By this they express the primacy of God the Father, who is the beginning of the Divine Trinity.

Further, putting their fingers to their stomach, they thereby indicate that in the womb of the Most Pure Virgin, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was immaculately conceived. Then, raising his hand to his right shoulder, they indicate that in the Kingdom of God He sat at the right hand - that is, on the right of His Father. And finally, the movement of the hand to the left shoulder reminds us that at the Last Judgment, sinners sent to hell will have a place on the left (left) of the Judge.

The answer to this question can be the ancient, rooted in apostolic times and then adopted in Greece, the tradition of the sign of the cross with two fingers. She came to Rus' at the same time as her baptism. Researchers have convincing evidence that in the period of the XI-XII centuries. there was simply no other form of the sign of the cross in the Slavic lands, and everyone was baptized the way the Old Believers do today.

The well-known icon of the Almighty Savior, painted by Andrei Rublev in 1408 for the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, can serve as an illustration of what has been said. On it, Jesus Christ is depicted sitting on a throne and raising his right hand in a two-fingered blessing. It is characteristic that it was two, and not three, fingers that the Creator of the world folded in this sacred gesture.

The true reason for the persecution of the Old Believers

Many historians are inclined to believe that the real reason for the persecution was not those ritual features that the Old Believers practiced. The followers of this movement are baptized with two or three fingers - in principle, it is not so important. Their main fault was that these people dared to openly go against the royal will, thereby creating a dangerous precedent for the future.

In this case, we are talking about a conflict with the highest state power, since Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who ruled at that time, supported the Nikon reform, and rejection by part of the population could be regarded as a rebellion and an insult inflicted on him personally. And the Russian rulers never forgave this.

Old Believers today

Finishing the conversation about how the Old Believers are baptized and where this movement came from, it would be worth mentioning that today their communities are located in almost all developed countries of Europe, in South and North America, as well as in Australia. It has several organizations in Russia, the largest of which is the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy founded in 1848, whose representative offices are located abroad. It unites more than a million parishioners in its ranks and has its permanent centers in Moscow and the Romanian city of Braila.

The second largest Old Believer organization is the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church, which includes about two hundred official communities and a number of unregistered ones. Its central coordinating and advisory body is the Russian Council of the DOC, which has been located in Moscow since 2002.

Until 1656 in Rus', everyone was baptized with two fingers and in this the Russian Church differed from all Orthodox Churches.

In 1656, Patriarch Nikon convened a Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, which was attended by four Eastern hierarchs:
Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch
Gabriel, Patriarch of Serbia
Gregory Metropolitan of Nicaea
Gideon, Metropolitan of all Moldavia.

The Russian clergy, including 40 metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, as well as archimandrites and abbots of Russian monasteries, also took part in the cathedral.

Three years before the council, Patriarch Nikon called on the Russian clergy to be baptized with three fingers, following the example of Byzantium. Discontent arose in the Russian clergy, and it was then that Patriarch Nikon decided to assemble this cathedral in order to resolve the issue of how to be baptized correctly.

This council was preceded by the council of 1654, when Patriarch Nikon entered into an argument with Bishop Pavel of Kolomna It is believed that the father of Bishop Paul was a grammar teacher of Patriarch Nikon.
In 1652 he was one of the twelve pretenders to the throne of the patriarch. Nikon became Patriarch at the insistence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

On October 17, 1652, Patriarch Nikon headed his episcopal consecration and elevated him to the Kolomna cathedra.
Bishop Pavel defended the old Russian rites in such a way that, according to the Old Believer tradition, this dispute ended with Nikon tearing off Paul's mantle and personally beating Bishop Paul.

Without a Council Court (contrary to all church rules), he was deprived of the episcopal chair by Nikon and exiled to the Paleostrovsky Monastery. After that, Nikon wrote a slanderous letter to Patriarch Paisios I of Constantinople - allegedly he and John Nero composed new prayers and church rites, and corrupt people, and are separated from the cathedral church. Misled Patriarch of Constantinople condemned the "supporters of innovations." Bishop Pavel was exiled by Nikon to Lake Onega, to the Paleostrovsky Nativity Monastery, where he stayed for a year and a half. The conditions of detention were rather difficult, but the saint and confessor had the opportunity to communicate with the laity and priests who flocked to him, who received advice, consolation and archpastoral blessing from him.

According to Old Believer sources, Nikon allegedly sent assassins, and Bishop Pavel Kolomensky was burned in a log house on Great Thursday, that is, April 3, old style (13 new) 1656.

Among the followers of the Old Rite, the veneration of Bishop Paul as a saint began immediately after his death and continues to this day.

To continue his reform, Patriarch Nikon decided to enlist the support of the eastern hierarchs, for this purpose the cathedral of 1656 was assembled.

At the council, Patriarch Nikon addressed a question to four Eastern hierarchs about how to be baptized, with two or three fingers, Patriarch Macarius of Antioch answered him:
== The tradition of accepting first the faith from the holy apostles, and the holy fathers, and the holy seven councils, create the sign of the honest cross, with three fingers of the right hand, and who from Orthodox Christians does not create the cross tacos, according to the tradition of the Eastern Church, holding hedgehog from the beginning of faith even to today, there is a heretic and imitator of the Armenians, and this imams are excommunicated from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and cursed==

This answer became the decision of the council, all the other hierarchs put their signatures under it.

In the same year, during Great Lent, the anathema against the two-fingered was proclaimed in the churches on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The decisions of the council were printed in the book "Table", which was adopted at the council.

The decision of the council of 1656 to curse all those who are baptized with two fingers was confirmed at the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667, at which a similar anathema was adopted not only for two fingers, but also for all the old rites and for those who use them.

The anathemas of the cathedrals of 1656 and the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667 became the main reasons for the 17th century split of the Russian Church into Old Believers and New Believers.
The question of adding fingers was one of the reasons for the split.

At the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on May 31, 1971, all decisions of the councils of the 17th century, including the decision of the council of 1656, were canceled against the old rites:
== Approve the resolution ... on the abolition of the oaths of the Moscow Cathedral of 1656 and the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1667, imposed by them on the old Russian rites and on Orthodox Christians who adhere to them, and consider these oaths, as if they had not been==

SO DOUBLE-FINGER OR THRE-FINGER?

Even a little enlightened person knows that the Old Believers are baptized differently than Christians of other denominations. This sign of the cross is called duplex", because it consists of not one, not three, not four or five fingers, but only two.

Why are Christians baptized?

The sign of the cross is placed by Christians as a sign that we confess the Lord crucified on the cross. By the sign of the Cross at the beginning of every work, we testify that everything we do is for the glory of the Crucified Christ.

The sign of the cross, i.e. the custom of drawing a cross on the body by laying fingers on the forehead, persi and ramen (shoulders) is an ancient custom that appeared along with Christianity. The custom of Christians to overshadow themselves with the sign of the cross in the prayer of St. Basil the Great refers to the number of those that we received from the apostolic tradition by succession.

How to put fingers together during the sign of the cross?

For the sign of the cross, we put the fingers of the right hand like this: “the great one with two small ones.” This signifies, according to the teachings of the Greater Catechism, the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, not three gods, but the One God in the Trinity, which is divided by names and persons, but the Divinity is one. The Father is not begotten, and the Son is begotten, not created; The Holy Spirit is neither born nor created, but is the source (Great Cat.). The two fingers (index and great middle), having joined together, we have outstretched and somewhat inclined - this forms the two natures of Christ: Divinity and humanity; with one (index) finger we mean the Divine, with the other (middle), slightly bent, we mean humanity; the inclination of the fingers is interpreted by the holy fathers as an image of the incarnation of the Son of God, who "bow down the heavens and come down to our earth for the sake of salvation".

Having folded the fingers of the right hand in this way, we put two fingers on our forehead, i.e. forehead. By this we mean that " God the Father is the beginning of all Divinity, but from Him before the age the Son was born, and in the last times bow the heavens, descend to the earth and become a man". When we put our fingers on our stomach, we mean by this that in the womb of the Most Holy Theotokos, by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, there was the seedless conception of the Son of God; He was born of her and lived on earth, suffered in the flesh for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, and raised up from hell the righteous souls who were there. When we put our fingers on the right shoulder, this is interpreted as follows: first, that Christ ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of God the Father; second, that on the day of judgment the Lord will place the righteous on His right hand (on the right hand), and sinners on the left hand (on the left hand). The standing of sinners on the left hand also means the position of the hand when making the sign of the cross on the left shoulder (Great Catech., ch. 2, folios 5, 6).

Where did the duplicity come from?

The custom to fold the fingers in this way was adopted by us from the Greeks and has been preserved with them invariably from the time of the apostles. Scientists, prof. Kapterev and Golubinsky collected a number of testimonies that in the 11th-12th centuries the Church knew only two-fingered fingers. We also find double-fingeredness on all ancient icon images (mosaics and frescoes of the 11th-14th centuries).

Information about two-fingeredness is also found in ancient Russian literature, including the writings of St. Maxim the Greek and the famous book Domostroy.

Why not tripartite?

Usually believers of other faiths, for example, New Believers, ask why the Old Believers are not baptized with three fingers, like members of other Eastern churches.

On the left is a three-fingered sign, this sign of the cross is accepted by the New Rite tradition. On the right - two-fingered, the Old Believers overshadow themselves with this sign of the cross

This can be answered as follows:

• Two-fingeredness was commanded to us by the apostles and fathers of the ancient Church, to which there is a lot of historical evidence. Three-fingering is a newly invented rite, the use of which has no historical justification;
• The storage of two fingers is protected by a church oath, which is contained in the ancient rite of acceptance from heretics Jacob and the resolutions of the Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551: “If anyone does not bless Christ with two fingers, or does not imagine the sign of the cross, let him be damned";
• The double finger reflects the true dogma of the Christian Creed - the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, as well as the two natures in Christ - the human and the Divine. Other types of the sign of the cross do not have such a dogmatic content, and the three fingers distort this content, showing that the Trinity was crucified on the cross. And although the New Believers do not contain the doctrine of the crucifixion of the Trinity, St. The Fathers categorically forbade the use of signs and symbols that have a heretical and non-Orthodox meaning.
  Thus, arguing with the Catholics, the holy fathers also pointed out that the mere change of species creation, the use of customs similar to heretical ones, is in itself heresy. Ep. Nikola Mefonsky wrote, in particular, about unleavened bread: The one who consumes unleavened bread, already from some similarity, is suspected of communicating with these heresies.". The truth of the dogma of two-fingeredness is recognized today, although not publicly, by various New Rite hierarchs and theologians. So oh. Andrey Kuraev in his book “Why Orthodox are like this” points out: “ I consider two-fingeredness to be a more accurate dogmatic symbol than three-fingeredness. After all, it was not the Trinity that was crucified, but “one of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God» ».