The Sign of the Cross

Compiled by Bp. Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West)

The “Sign of the Cross” is not a “Pagan” or “Unnecessary” part of the Christian Tradition. It is the sign of the Covenant we have with God since the earliest days, and is present in Ancient Hebrew Temple worship and is the mark that God commanded be made on the foreheads of His people.

God commanded Ezekiel to mark the righteous of Israel with crosses on their foreheads. In Ezekiel 9:4, the Hebrew word that we translate as "mark" is in reality is a "Tau" the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is recognized by many translators and is included in the NET bible commentary on the verse. This is also seen in Job 31:35 where the word "Signature" is also translated from "Tau".

The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem and put a Tau (➕) on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.” Ezekiel 9:4

It is also known in Alexandrian Judaism that they marked themselves with the “Tau” as a sign of the covenant, and many theologians believe that the blood of a sacrifice was applied to the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant and the foreheads of the faithful with this sign as well. "This sign was also a part of the geography of the ancient tribes of Israel! The tribes camp on each leg of the cross with the Levites and the Temple in the sacrificial center." (Quote and link from Fr. Steven Macias) 

The seal the angels gave to the remnant in the Revelation is the sign of Chrism received at our baptism - 

Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 

Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 

Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (from a contribution by Richard Chapman)

This adds a whole new dimension to the practice of liturgically crossing oneself in the New Covenant of the Christian Church, in continuity with Ancient Hebrew practice.

Another thought hits me as well... that, if the Sign of the Cross is the mark wherewith the ancient Hebrews set aside their sacrifices and restored the people receiving the sacrifices, thus connecting the “points of contact” in the Covenant, the Church marking itself with the Sign of the Cross is also a form of “Spiritual Communion.” It anticipates, participates and facilitates the reception and keeping of God’s Covenant as a relationship between ourselves and our households with the Name, the Person, the Life of God. It represents the Name of God, the finished Work of Christ on the Cross, and our desire to be included in them. It is a act of setting apart and of receiving God’s Covenant symbolically, as a central figure and icon in our lives every day. This could be why the Sign of the Cross is considered a “sacrament” in the Syriac Tradition, and why Baptism, which replaces Circumcision as the “Sign of the Covenant” is full of the Sign of the Cross.

The finger position of a priestly blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity
The position represents the short form of the Name of Christ in Greek - ICXC

Two fingers pointed down for the Two Natures of Christ - Fully God and Fully Man
Three fingers together to represent the Unity of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit