Why do Orthodox and Catholics baptize differently? How should Orthodox Christians be baptized correctly: from right to left or from left to right and with which hand? How to be baptized correctly for Orthodox Christians in a church at a service, in front of an icon, at the entrance to a temple, etc.

Often people who have recently embarked on the path of becoming a church face a dilemma: how should Orthodox Christians be baptized correctly? Why is this necessary?

Where did the tradition of creating come from? sign of the cross? Is it correct to cross yourself with your right hand or your left? And is it possible to sign the blessing on yourself with two fingers?

In Orthodoxy, the sign of the cross performed according to all the rules shows our sincere faith. One should always be baptized respectfully, with reverence.

Alas, many do this incorrectly, not understanding the meaning of the sign of the cross and not attaching much importance to their actions. History contains examples from the lives of saints that tell about amazing miracles performed by the power of the Cross. By being baptized incorrectly, a person shows his disrespect for God.

How to be baptized correctly by an Orthodox Christian in church

The Orthodox faith carries deep meaning, and all actions in it have special meanings. This also applies to making the sign of the cross. The sign of the cross signifies the Cross on which the Lord was crucified. By performing it, we are not just following tradition, but we are protecting ourselves from evil and driving away unclean spirits.

Initially, ancient Christians crossed themselves with one finger, then several and even the whole palm. In the sixteenth century, double-fingering was adopted. And around the seventeenth century, baptism with three fingers was established.

Sometimes neophytes wonder: how to cross themselves - from right to left or vice versa? Which hand? Over which shoulder? Three fingers or two?

Now triplicate is canonical for the church. Why three fingers? Three fingers shows the unity of the Lord in three persons. The Holy Trinity united into one, incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The sign of the cross should be made strictly from right to left. To cross yourself you need:

• close three fingers right hand together;
• Bend the remaining fingers and place them on the palm. They point to the dual origin of Jesus Christ as the God-man;
• now say: "In the name of the Father" and place your fingertips to your forehead;
• touch the womb (stomach), saying: "And the Son" ;
• move your fingers to your right shoulder, saying - "And the Holy" ;
• touch your left shoulder and say - "Spirit" ;
• end with a bow, saying - "Amen" .

How an Orthodox Christian should be baptized in front of an icon

Few people understand how to cross themselves when praying near an icon.

Approaching the icon, you need to respectfully cross yourself twice, then light a candle, and only then venerate the holy image and cross yourself again, for the third time.

How to properly cross another person

If you need to bless another person before a long journey or a difficult exam, then the sign of the cross is performed in exactly the same way as if the person crossed himself.

Regardless of which side the person is on, with their back or facing you. Everything looks the same.

An Orthodox Christian always baptizes loved ones or guests leaving the house in the back, so that the Lord does not leave them on the way.

How to make the sign of the cross correctly and in what cases

A believer makes the sign of the cross before entering and leaving a church, during prayer approaching everything holy (a cross or an icon), before leaving the house, before going to bed, and in any dangerous situation.

You should also be baptized before and after meals. And of course, any important task should begin and end with prayer.

The teaching of the Orthodox Church says that the cross is the strongest weapon against dark forces. If applied with faith, the cross will drive away evil and help cope with problems.

Therefore, Christian believers try to resort to this Divine help as often as possible, along with prayer and pectoral cross, which you always carry with you under your clothes.

He didn’t point out to us that we were making the sign of the cross incorrectly. In the monastery church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, there is a reminder for Orthodox Christians on how to be baptized correctly.

As a good memory and for edification, the monk handed us a reminder printed on a simple sheet of A-4 format. The copy is unclear, some places are very difficult to read, the last paragraph of the text is completely impossible to read. Nevertheless, we consider much of what is written in the instructions, for example, how to be baptized correctly, to be very useful. We don’t entirely agree with some of the conclusions, but we don’t dare judge them.
We present the instructions almost in their entirety, with the exception of the last paragraph. It is not possible to read it. In reprinting the text, we have preserved the original spelling and punctuation. Author's notes highlighted in color and italics .

First side of the sheet. How to be baptized correctly

“All the power is in the sign of the cross. The cross is a symbol of victory over the devil! And not only. When the fingers are folded correctly, fire comes out of them. And when we apply the sign of the cross to ourselves, then holy fire scorches, sanctifies and cleanses our body. The blood supplied by the heart passes through the fiery cross and is therefore cleansed of everything bad and terrible, everything burns up!
Therefore, the more we are baptized, the purer the blood, the higher the mind, the closer to God, the faster our prayer reaches the Lord. This is the meaning of the Cross."
Words of Blessed Pelageya of Ryazan (1890-1966)

You need to be baptized slowly, reverently, with fear and with a little tapping so that the body feels it. The devil is very afraid of this knock.
– An icon is a living person. When you pray in front of an icon, you need to look at the image depicted on it.
- The head is slightly raised. Look at the icon.
– Until you make the sign of the cross, do not take your eyes off the icon.
– It’s scary to make the sign of the cross with your head bowed.
– Place your feet correctly – heels together, maintain grace.
– When praying or being in a temple, you cannot look at the ground.
– It is a terrible sin to keep your hands on your stomach or behind your back.
– In the Church you need to pray, be baptized, and bow down. Mourn sins.
“Whoever does not pray in church, does not cross himself and does not bow is an idol.”
– If we cross ourselves and bow at the same time, then the Cross breaks.
– We lower our hand, and only then bow!
“You can’t whisper a prayer—the demon prays in a whisper!” Pray out loud or silently. If about yourself, then prayer comes from the heart!

Little finger and ring finger press tightly into your palm. For the sake of our salvation, the Son of God, bowing the heavens, came down to earth, took upon Himself human nature, and thus two natures were united in Him - God's and man's. Palm - earth.
Schema-nun Sepfola said that you need to press your fingers tightly so that there is no space between the palm and the last two, so that the enemy does not run into the soul and heart.

Fold the first three fingers correctly - the fingertips are equal. It is very important to align the tips of the index finger and thumb - equality of the Divine Faces, as if taking a pinch of salt from the table.
Three fingers are the Holy Trinity. Thumb don't bend! (as in the picture)!

+ With our right hand we place the three-finger on the forehead - the center of the forehead with a tap. God Trinity is in heaven / In the Name of the Father.../ You need to not just touch the forehead, but firmly press the fingers connected into three fingers to the forehead. Blessed Pelageya said that you need to tap, as if with a ball, so that the body feels it.

Then we draw a straight line at a short distance from the body to the umbilical cord - just 1-2 cm above the navel and also firmly touch the womb with our joined fingers. /..and Son../ If you put it on your chest, the cross will be upside down!
This symbolizes the descent to earth and the incarnation of Christ. From the womb of the Mother of God the Savior was born. The umbilical cord symbolizes the head of the forefather Adam. The lower horn of the Cross, on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, was located above the head of Adam. And the Blood of Christ, flowing from the wounds, washed all of Humanity in the face of Adam.

Next, we apply the right hand to the shoulder joint of the right and then the left hand. /..and the Holy Spirit.../ On the joint, not in the hole! And from the front, not from above! We lower our hand /…Amen./ And with our hand lowered we bow. If we cross ourselves and bow at the same time, then the Cross breaks, is thrown under our feet and trampled underfoot (a grave sin)!
The righteous will stand on the right hand at the Last Judgment, and the sinners will stand on the left.

Don’t be lazy, reach your hand to the joints, move your hand in a straight line, everything is perpendicular with a tap... Health, knowledge of the truth, salvation, help and strength in cruel torment and an easy death depend on this.

Blessed Pelageya of Ryazan told her godson (R. Peter) to go to Kyiv in the cave of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to find the relics of St. Spyridon and look at his hand (three-fingered addition), which he did. This arrangement has been preserved to this day. Go and see! This is stated in the akathist to the venerable fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Kontakion 6 “Akathist to all the venerable fathers of the Kiev-Pechersk”

Our preacher is your honorable right hand, the God-pleasing Spyridon, with whom you teach your Orthodox children how to place fingers in the image of the Holy Cross on the forehead, and you stop the mouths of the schism teachers, clearly denouncing their wrong teaching about putting the finger; In this way, having made the sign of the cross, you departed to Christ. Let us pray to Him before us, may He extinguish the immeasurably burning furnace of our passions, may He grant us true zeal to praise Him unceasingly in psalms and spiritual songs in this life and in the future, may He grant us the honor to sing to Him: Alleluia.

In the memo, the kontakion is not given in full, down to the words “having made the sign of the cross, you departed to Christ.” We have given the kontakion in full.
They couldn’t read the last sentence of the first page of the memo.

Second side of the sheet. How to be baptized correctly

Bow from the waist

Standing in front of an icon or other Shrine, first cross yourself, without taking your eyes off it. Polya Zakharovskaya repeatedly warned everyone not to be baptized with a bowed head! You need to look straight into the face of the icon! And don’t start bowing until you lower your hand, otherwise the Cross will break! Heels together (keep grace). A bow from the waist is performed by worshiping the body to the waist, the head is slightly raised (pressed to the back, this is how the monks prayed with St. Sergius of Radonezh), look at the icon, do not lower your head down, you cannot look at the floor (a grave sin, because it is located underground hell and to look into it is to long for it). This action is very IMPORTANT and means “I deny you, Satan, your pride and service to you and unite with you, Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen” – lyrics by the blessed virgin Pelageya of Ryazan. You need to lower your body more slowly, reaching the waist (the body is parallel to the floor, the head is pressed to the back) and return to straight position need to hurry up. The person praying must stand straight, without spreading his legs, in order to maintain grace. Our ancestors said: “Don’t spread your legs, otherwise the demon will slip through.” Often in temples you can observe that worshipers make a bow from the waist with a simple nod of the neck, which is a mistake.

Russia has disappeared without prostrations

Lay people perform Z.P. (bows to the ground) kneeling (they cannot stand on their feet). Bowing to the ground is the highest prayer before God. There is nothing higher. Standing in front of an icon or other Shrine, first cross yourself, without taking your eyes off it. Heels together (keep grace). The Christian then kneels either together or first right, then left. Heels together. We place our hands on the floor, palms next to each other, with our head (brow) touching only the palms (back) side. And we quickly raise our heads. We rise from the right knee, then from the left.
A common mistake is to place your hands on the floor too wide and touch your forehead to the floor. The palm symbolizes the earth - hence the name: prostration. The forehead is the sky, so you cannot touch the ground with your forehead, but touch the back of your hands. There is a mistake Christians make - they close their foreheads to the ground and remain in that position.
Which is unacceptable! A person becomes likened to such prayer evil spirits, demons, with this situation they show that we will never submit to God (a grave sin before God). Extended to Trinity on three kneeling prayers. “On Trinity Sunday, all of Russia goes to hell” - the saying of Blessed Pelageya Zakharovsa, do not spread your legs, keep your heels together.

A bow to the ground is 25 times more expensive than a bow. On annual holidays and Sundays, prayer to God is received with special love. Seraphim of Sarov rested on Sunday, kneeling, that is, he prayed on his knees on Sunday. The night bow is 40 times higher than the daytime bow (from 23.30 to 03.00) at any time of the year, and at least three bows before going to bed should be done every day with prayer. Remember that THREE or more Z.P. are strictly obligatory: in front of the Icons of the Holy Trinity, the Savior, Life-giving Cross And Mother of God, Shrouds of the Savior, Mother of God, Confession and Communion, before the Relics of the Pleasants of God. You cannot wear short sleeves in church, because... The soldiers who hammered nails into the Body of the Savior had their sleeves rolled up.

Women with short hair, trousers, and dyed hair are not allowed to approach the relics or enter the church. Just for wearing trousers, women will go to hell - the schema of the Nile. The Mother of God will pull women out of hell by the braid! What if she has short hair? It is unacceptable for both men and women to wear shorts.

You cannot burn (cremate) the bodies of the deceased, because... This is not even a sin, but service to Satan itself. It will be bad for the whole family.

It is unacceptable to have idols and dogs in the house. Grace leaves and icons are desecrated. A person is not allowed to take communion. After the dogs, the house needs to be blessed. Toads with coins are mammon (the sin of superstition and love of money). It is great to feed doves for the dead and for the living. You can even help suicide victims! Pelageya warned that it is impossible to read 15 Kathisma ((Ps. 105, 106, 107, especially 108). It will bring great troubles. When reading Psalms 15, Kathisma is replaced by 20 Kathisma (i.e. 20 Kathisma is read 2 times). The highest for the deceased 20 Kathisma.
Polya forbade watching TV, saying that this monster had a terrible effect on people and was destroying the people. TV is an icon of the Antichrist. Through TV he appears in every home.

To be baptized, or to make the sign of the cross, means to make the sign of the cross with the hand. There are many figures of speech that describe this prayerful gesture: making the sign of the cross, making or imposing the sign of the cross, and others. The sign of the cross, or sign of the cross, is present in many Christian denominations and is distinguished by the placement of the fingers and the movement of the hand. It can be used in a wide variety of life situations, at home and in the temple, during emergency events and everyday activities.

History of the Sign of the Cross in Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox faith, the sign of the cross has a very great value. It expresses faith in God, Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross for the sins of the whole world, turning the cross into a weapon and a banner of victory over sin and death. Orthodox Christians wear a cross on their body and make the sign of the cross over themselves, showing their affiliation with the faith, love for Christ, and obedience to His will.

To make the sign of the cross, you need to correctly fold your fingers and fingers, and make the right movement with your hand. For many years There were debates about how to properly baptize Orthodox Christians.

Initially, baptism with two fingers was accepted in Orthodoxy: in Constantinople - until the middle of the 13th century, in Rus' - until the middle of the 17th century. This is confirmed by the writings of Maxim the Greek, who argued that one should cross oneself with two fingers, overshadowing the forehead, navel, right and left shoulders of a Christian.

In 1551 Stoglavy Cathedral confirmed the double-fingered constitution, but ordered the sign to be placed not on the stomach, but on the chest, where the heart is. In 1627, 1644 and 1648, the “Large Catechism”, “Cyril’s Book”, “The Book of the True Orthodox Faith” were published, the authors of which, contrary to the decision of the Council, considered it correct to put a cross on the stomach.

In 1656, the book “The Tablet” was printed and published: it included the works of Damascus the Studite on the sign of the cross. The essay said that you need to cross yourself with three fingers, placing your fingers on your forehead, stomach, then on your right shoulder and left. Local and Great Moscow Cathedrals, which marked church reform Nikon, condemned and called heretics all who were baptized with two fingers. Only in 1971 were all anathemas lifted from the Old Believers.

How to be baptized correctly

Today in Orthodoxy there are 3 ways of adding fingers: two-fingered (not prohibited, used in Edinoverie and Old Believers), three-fingered (used by modern Orthodox Christians) and nominal fingering (performed by priests when blessing people).

The book “Psalms,” from which Orthodox Christians have been taught and educated from ancient times to the present day, describes in detail how to be baptized correctly. To perform a sign, it is necessary to connect together the thumb, index and middle fingers right hand, and press the ring and little fingers firmly to the palm, as shown in the photo.

The first three fingers mean the Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the other two – the Divine and human natures of Jesus Christ.

When making the sign of the cross, you need to touch your forehead with your fingers to sanctify the mind, your stomach to sanctify your inner feelings, then your right shoulder and left shoulder to sanctify your bodily strength. Also, the right and left sides symbolize places for the saved and dead people Therefore, touching the right shoulder first, the Orthodox Christian asks God to join the believer to the saved, saving him from the fate of the lost.

The figure shows diagrams of how to make the sign of a cross incorrectly (on the left) and correctly (on the right).

Orthodox people are supposed to be baptized in church and at home, before, during and after prayer, before approaching everything holy, before eating and sleeping, etc. When making the sign of the cross outside of prayer, an Orthodox Christian must say in his mind: “In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, amen." By this he expresses his faith and desire to live for the glory of God.

A clear example of correct baptism can be seen in the video.

The sign of the cross is given great importance; it gives a person the strength to fight evil and do good. The sign must be performed slowly and respectfully. If a bow follows, then it must be done after the right hand is lowered. Otherwise, the believer may break the created cross. A careless attitude towards a sign, waving your hands, or incorrectly applying it pleases demons and shows a disrespectful attitude towards God. This is a sin called blasphemy.

A person who believes in God is constantly baptized while staying in a house or in a temple. But not everyone knows how to be baptized correctly Orthodox Christian.

The method of baptism was developed long time . Orthodox and Catholics are baptized differently. They are based on various religious traditions.

Tradition of being baptized

Previously, believers crossed themselves only with the finger of their right hand. At the same time, they touched their lips, chest and forehead. Christians had to pray every time before reading the Gospel. After a while, they began to use the palm or several fingers to cross. First, believers in God baptized the forehead, left, right shoulder and navel. However, in 1551, the navel was replaced by the chest, because the heart is in the chest.

It is necessary to make the sign of the cross correctly. This suggests that an Orthodox person honors traditions and believes in God. To baptize yourself or a loved one, you must first fold the fingers of your right hand. Then connect the ends of the large, medium, index finger, and the little and ring fingers must be pressed against the palm. The fingers folded this way should be placed on the forehead.

After this, lower your hand to the solar plexus, to the right shoulder, to the left shoulder. After lowering your right hand, you can bow.

What is the meaning of this action

If the child’s parents are believers, they take him to church from a young age and teach him to be baptized correctly. But sometimes small children perform this action spontaneously.

Why are these actions needed and what do they mean:

• Three fingers folded together mean the Holy Trinity among the Orthodox.
• The other two, pressed against the palm, represent the active nature of Christ. About the union of two principles - human and spiritual - in the Son of God.

Please note that you only need to cross yourself with your right hand. You also need to know how to cross yourself correctly from left to right or right to left. After the sign of the cross, you can bow to the waist or to the ground. If at the waist, the head should be bowed to the waist. Prostration involves kneeling and touching the ground with your forehead. Bowing the head symbolizes humility before the Lord and great love to him.

Without exaggeration, the cross has great strength. It contains spiritual power to protect the soul. A person, having been baptized, receives powerful protection from various misfortunes and temptations. A cross placed by a priest or parents has similar power.

When to be baptized

Everyone knows that the prayer ends with the words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.” At this moment you need to baptize yourself. They are baptized at the moment when the words of prayer are pronounced by the minister of the church. But we should not forget that you need to rebaptize yourself not only at the moment dedicated to prayer.

Believers are baptized early in the morning after waking up from sleep, before eating food and before going to bed.

To make the sign of the cross, it is not at all necessary to read a long prayer. It is enough to say words of gratitude to God for the beginning of a new day in life, food or a well-past day. Mothers, in order to protect their children from misfortune, cross their children. Illumination of the Holy Cross by parents has great power, because it also includes parental love, and not just the love of God.

Why is it necessary to cross from right to left?

There is an opinion that Christian believers cross themselves from right to left, since the word “right” means “true”. In other words, following in the right direction. According to another opinion, how Orthodox Christians are baptized depends on physiological characteristics person. After all, many are right-handed and begin all actions with the right hand. But there are believers who consider the difference to be a mere formality and do not attach importance to how to be baptized correctly, from right to left or vice versa.

Historical data indicate that until the middle of the 17th century people were baptized not only from right to left, but also with two fingers. After the innovations of Patriarch Nikon, the cross began to be applied with three fingers, in turn, this symbolizes the threefold nature of the Lord.

But, despite the fact that there is still no direct evidence of the correctness of applying the cross properly, church traditions should be respected and not forgotten that in Orthodoxy the cross is imposed on oneself only from right to left.

Not everyone knows what this means. This is a sacred act in which the image of the Cross is applied to oneself or something. In other words, when applying the sign of the cross, a person seems to calls upon the Divine Grace of the Holy Spirit. In addition, a person tries to protect himself from various misfortunes and troubles.

Surely everyone has seen when people begin to cross themselves before entering or leaving a church, as well as before starting any action, for example, before a long journey or eating food. Why do they do this?

First of all, so that the business, which is just beginning, is successful. So, an elderly grandmother crosses herself in front of pedestrian crossing on the road, and only then begins to cross the roadway.

When entering the temple of God to perform prayer, or the need to order a funeral service, baptism, light candles - In all cases the following must be adhered to:

Subsequent stay in the temple is at the discretion of the worshiper. You can submit notes, light candles and place them in front of the saint’s face. Pray before him too.

Along with church prayer An Orthodox Christian is given the sign of the cross to help. Performed with sincere faith and heartfelt prayer, it can truly work miracles, of which there is much documented evidence. Unfortunately, many people, especially at the beginning of their churching, perform the sign of the cross incorrectly and do not understand its meaning at all. So how should Orthodox believers be baptized correctly?

Symbolism of the banner of the cross

In Orthodoxy all actions are filled deep meaning and always have symbolic meaning. And, of course, the sign of the cross in particular. Orthodox Christians, along with representatives of some other Christian denominations, believe that by making the sign of the cross, they drive away all unclean spirits and protect themselves from evil.

How to be baptized correctly

In order to cross yourself, you need to fold three fingers of your right hand into a pinch, and press the remaining two fingers to the inside of your palm. This position of the fingers is not accidental - it tells us about the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, of his free will, suffered for the salvation of every person. Three fingers folded together are the trinity of God in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit). The Trinity is one, but at the same time has three separate hypostases. Two fingers pressed to the hand testify to the dual origin of Christ - he is both God and man.

In order to cross yourself correctly, a person first raises his hand to his forehead and says “In the name of the Father”, then the hand falls on his stomach with the words “And the Son”, then the right shoulder “And the Holy” and the left shoulder “Spirit”. At the end, a bow is made and the word “Amen” is said.

This formulation, again, reveals the nature of God. All three hypostases of the Holy Trinity are mentioned, and the word “Amen” at the end affirms the truth of the Divine trinity.

In itself, placing the sign of the cross on a person symbolizes the Cross of the Lord on which he was crucified. By His crucifixion, death and resurrection from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ made the instrument of shameful execution an instrument for the salvation of human souls. That is why Orthodox Christians have long used this gesture as a symbol of participation in the death of the Lord, and then His resurrection.

Historical background

The banner of the cross has been used by Christians since the very beginning of the faith. After the Resurrection of Christ, the first confessors of the faith placed on themselves the symbol of the instrument of his execution with one finger, as if wanting to show their readiness to also be crucified for the Lord.

Later, at various periods of time, there were customs to make the sign of the cross with several fingers, as well as with the entire palm. At the same time, they touched the eyes, lips, forehead - the main human sensory organs - in order to sanctify them.

Important! With the spread Orthodox faith It has become customary among Christians to cross themselves with two fingers of the right hand, touching the forehead, stomach and shoulders.

Around the 16th century, the practice of shading the chest instead of the abdomen spread, since the chest is where the heart is located. A century later, the rule of making the sign of the cross with three fingers of the right hand, placing them again on the stomach instead of the chest, was formed and consolidated. This is the method used by the Orthodox to this day.

Interesting! Adherents of the old rite of church worship (Old Believers) still practice the application of two fingers.

Where and how to correctly use the sign of the cross

Anyone who considers himself a believing Christian should treat the sign of the cross with great reverence. In addition to being a great help, it also carries a deep spiritual meaning. By making the sign of the cross, a person shows his will to be involved in our Lord Jesus Christ in his death, and then in the Resurrection.

Sign of the Cross

Based on this, one must always be baptized carefully and prayerfully. If this happens during a church service, all prayers and significant parts of the service begin and end with the sign of the cross. It is also customary to be baptized when mentioning the names of the Lord God, Holy Mother of God, saints.

There is a pious practice of making the sign of the cross when passing by Orthodox church. In this way, a person openly professes his faith and shows himself to be a Christian among people.

When praying at home, it is necessary to cross yourself at the beginning and end of each prayer. In difficult circumstances, danger, or any adversity, the sign of the cross, performed with faith and trust in God's help, can work miracles. Orthodox Church teaches that the cross is the most powerful weapon against evil forces. When applied with strong faith, it drives away evil spirits from a person and deprives them of all power. Therefore, every believer should try to resort to such help as often as possible.

Video on how to be baptized correctly