What is the correct way for Orthodox Christians to be baptized: from right to left or left to right, and with which hand? What is the correct way for Orthodox Christians to be baptized in a church at a service, in front of an icon, at the entrance to a temple, a church, a cemetery, a grave: when and how many times? How.

When you come to church, you will notice that many of the parishioners are being baptized completely wrong. Someone waving their hands in different directions, someone collects all the fingers in a pinch, and someone does not reach their hands to the abdomen at all. What does this small rite of passage mean for an Orthodox person, how to perform it correctly.

What does the sign of the cross mean

In Christianity, this prayer gesture personifies the cross of the Lord. Three fingers put together means faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that is, the consubstantial Trinity. And the fingers on the palm express the two natures of the Son of God: Divine and human. Thus, the Orthodox are attracting divine grace upon themselves.

Three fingers are used by all Orthodox people, and the priests, blessing, put their fingers in a noun sign. For three fingers, the Orthodox must put the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand together, and the other two fingers must be bent to the palm. Thus, the Christian touches the forehead, then the upper abdomen, right shoulder, left shoulder. You only need to be baptized with your right hand in this order.

If a person performs the sign of the cross outside of public worship, then he should say at this time: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Why is it necessary to cross from right to left, that is, to bring the right hand first to the right shoulder and only then to the left? The right shoulder symbolizes the place of the saved, and the left - the place of the perishing. On the right is paradise with saved souls and angels, and on the left is purgatory and hell for sinners and demons. It turns out that when an Orthodox person is baptized, he asks the Lord to include him in the fate of the saved and to deliver him from the fate of the perishing. Thus, a Christian tries to protect himself by saying prayers, turning to God, going into and out of the temple, attending divine services.

To be baptized, or to cross, means to create the sign of the cross with the hand of the hand. There are many turns of speech describing this gesture of prayer: making the sign of the cross, making or applying the sign of the cross, and others. The sign of the cross, or the sign of the cross, is present in many Christian denominations and is distinguished by the addition of the fingers and the movement of the hand. It can be used in a wide variety of situations in life, at home and in the temple, during emergencies and everyday activities.

The history of the sign of the cross in orthodoxy

In the Orthodox faith, the sign of the cross is very important. It expresses faith in God, Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross for the sins of the whole world, who turned the cross into a weapon and a banner of victory over sin and death. Orthodox Christians wear a cross on their bodies and sign themselves with the banner of the cross, showing their belonging to the faith, love for Christ, obedience to His will.

To make the sign of the cross, you need to correctly fold your fingers, fingers, and make the right movement with your hand. For many years there was a debate 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 Russia - until the middle of the 17th century. This is confirmed by the writings of Maxim the Greek, who argued that one should cross with two fingers, covering the forehead, navel, right and left shoulders of a Christian.

In 1551, the Stoglavy Cathedral confirmed the double-footed addition, but ordered to put the sign not on the stomach, but on the chest, where the heart is. In 1627, 1644 and 1648 the "Bolshoi Catechism", "Kirilov's Book", "The Book of True Orthodox Faith" were published, the authors of which, contrary to the decision of the Council, considered it correct to put a cross on their stomachs.

In 1656, the book "Tablet" was printed and published: it included the works of Damascene the Studite on the sign of the cross. The essay said that you need to be baptized with three fingers, putting your fingers on your forehead, stomach, then on your right shoulder and left. The local and Great Moscow cathedrals, which marked Nikon's church reform, condemned and called heretics all those who were baptized with two fingers. Only in 1971 all anathemas were lifted from the Old Believers.

How to be baptized correctly

Today, in Orthodoxy, 3 ways of folding fingers are used: two-fingered (not prohibited, used in common belief and Old Believers), three-fingered (used by modern Orthodox Christians) and noun-word finger (performed by priests, blessing people).

The book "Psalms", according to which Orthodox Christians have been taught and educated from ancient times to the present day, describes in detail how to be baptized correctly. To make the sign, you need to connect the thumb, forefinger and middle fingers of your right hand together, and press the ring and little fingers firmly to the palm, as shown in the photo.

The first three fingers represent the Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the other two - the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ.

Making the sign of the cross, you need to touch your forehead with your fingers - to sanctify the mind, stomach - to sanctify the inner feelings, then the right shoulder and left to sanctify bodily forces. Also, the right and left sides symbolize places for the saved and lost people, therefore, touching the right shoulder first of all, the Orthodox Christian asks God to join the believer to the saved, delivering from the fate of the lost.

The figure shows the diagrams of how it is wrong (on the left) and correctly (on the right) to cross oneself with a cross.

Orthodox people are supposed to be baptized in church and at home, before, during and after prayer, before approaching all that is 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.

An illustrative example of correct baptism can be seen in the video.

Great importance is attached to the sign of the cross, it gives a person the strength to fight evil and do good. The sign must be performed slowly, respectfully. If a bow follows, then it must be done after the right hand is lowered. Otherwise, the believer can break the created cross. A negligent attitude towards a sign, waving hands, and improper imposition delight demons and show a disrespectful attitude towards God. This is a sin called blasphemy.

The meaning of the sign of the cross is the same for all Christian denominations. By overshadowing themselves with the sign of the cross, people testify to their faithfulness to Christ. The Lord took upon himself the death of the cross in order to grant us salvation. The sign of the cross itself differs among the Orthodox, Catholics and Old Believers. How can Orthodox Christians be baptized correctly? In order not to get confused and correctly sign the sign of the cross, read our material on how to be baptized correctly.

How to get baptized properly - history

Basil the Great called the sign of the cross one of those Apostolic Traditions that came to us not through Scripture, but through custom. Wherever the apostles preached the Word of God, people who converted to Christianity began to depict the sign of the cross on themselves. We were baptized in different ways in all countries. In the West - with the whole palm, in Africa it was customary to baptize with one finger, forefinger or thumb, as a sign of faith in one God. They could also be baptized in an unusual way - not with a complete cross, but only with the forehead, mouth and heart. According to the Orthodox tradition, the sign of the cross is blessed with the lesser from the larger: the laity from the priest and children from their parents.

There is no answer to the question why Catholics are baptized from left to right, while Orthodox Christians from right to left. Due to the distance, distance, cultural characteristics and differences, the sign of the cross differs in different countries and denominations. We can say that the beginning of the differences was laid by the church schism that occurred in the XI century. Not only the peculiarities of overshadowing oneself with the sign of the cross differ, but also the vestments of priests, temples, and some customs. Moreover, all Christian traditions have one common root - faith in Christ. So, despite the difference in divine services, the Eucharistic canon in Orthodoxy and Catholicism remains practically identical.

How to be baptized correctly - sign

A finger is a finger. To sign themselves with the sign of the cross, the Orthodox put together three fingers as a sign of the Lord's trinity. The thumb, forefinger, and middle finger are assembled. The rest remain clenched in a fist. These two fingers mean that Jesus Christ remained both God and man at the same time.

Left to right or vice versa? How to baptize Orthodox Christians correctly

1. First, we put our fingers on our foreheads, asking the Lord for the sanctification of our minds.
2. We put our fingers on our stomach in the solar plexus area and ask God to extend the days of our lives.
3. We put our fingers on the right shoulder.
4. We put our fingers on the left shoulder.

Thus, we are like drawing a cross on ourselves, agreeing to accept the will of God and follow Christ. In order to consolidate their devotion to God during the divine services, people also bow down to the ground. Making a bow in the waist, people bow to the belt, and during the earthly they kneel and touch the floor with their foreheads.

The Old Believers, on the other hand, fold their index and middle fingers, and press the rest to the palm. In this case, the essence of fingerprinting remains the same.

Catholics make the sign of the cross using their entire palm and do it from left to right, not right to left. The whole palm is used as a sign of ulcers on the body of Jesus, there were five of them - two on the legs, two on the hands and one from the copy. In Orthodoxy, it is believed that this is not a dogmatic, but a ritual image of the cross.

What is the right way to be baptized in front of the temple and in society?

Orthodox Christians are often faced with the question of whether it is right to be baptized in public places. There is no single answer to the question of whether it is worth doing, but it is important to ask yourself the question - why are we baptized? If a person has an inner need for this or he reads a prayer to himself and wants to cross himself, then, of course, there will be nothing wrong with that. The Lord has called us to confession, and Orthodox Christians should not be shy and hide their faith in God. If a person does this for show to show that he is leading a godly and righteous life, it is worth asking yourself if what is called to help people will harm his soul? The visible evidence of our faith is not condemned if it is for good. By doing a good deed or by overshadowing ourselves with the sign of the cross, we show faith in Christ. But our intentions must also be good and good. Thinking that someone nearby does not know how to be baptized or is baptized incorrectly, we can do something in condemnation, and not in justification.

The meaning of the sign of the cross

Orthodox Christians should not condemn those who do not know how to be baptized correctly, because the grace and love of the Lord does not depend on how we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross (although this should be done according to the foundations of the doctrine). If a person accidentally crossed himself from left to right, but at the same time in his soul he took upon himself the way of the cross of Christ and agreed to follow Him, this is not imputed as a sin. After all, the essence of the sign of the cross is to manifest in a visible way what is in the soul of a person - faith and love for Christ.

An appeal to the power of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the sign of the cross is a great protection. Read how to get baptized properly.

How to baptize Orthodox people in church and at home

Turning to the power of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord is a great protection for every person. It is known that the sign of the cross stops the demonic influence: the devil and his servants cannot endure the correct cross, therefore they often try to mock him (this is the origin of the satanic symbols of the inverted cross).

Often we make the sign of the cross unconsciously, without thinking about its power. On the one hand, this is not true. On the other hand, in any case, we defend ourselves with the cross. If you do not know how to do this correctly and where the tradition of baptism came from, you will understand this from our article.

What does the priest's blessing mean?

This means that God's help is being sent to you. The fingers of the blessing priest (other servants of the church - deacons and readers cannot bless, only priests and bishops) are folded in a special gesture of a noun blessing that bestows grace and has been used since antiquity in the Orthodox Church today.

Before every important task, you should ask the priest for blessing (for example, buy a car, buy an apartment, go on a trip, get married, start a new job). It is better if it is your confessor - a priest with whom you regularly confess (if you have one). If you have not yet confessed and received Communion, but are thinking about it in connection with important events in your life, tell any priest on duty in any church about it.

The same gesture is used on icons - usually Christ blesses them.

• The meaning of the gesture of blessing on the icon and in life is help in the name of Jesus Christ.


• At the same time, the fingers of the priest's right hand are folded, forming the monogram IC XC, where
  straight index finger - the letter "I" of the Greek alphabet,
  middle and little finger - two letters "C",
  and the letter "X" is formed by the crossed thumb and ring fingers.

Orthodox Christians to be baptized correctly from right to left

The correct sign of the cross is performed with the right hand, with the thumb, forefinger and middle fingers clenched. They symbolize the power and omnipotence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - the Inseparable Holy Trinity.

• First, you need to press your fingers to your forehead, thereby sanctifying your mind and remembering the sky and your destiny to reach for the spiritual, for God;


• then to the stomach (approximately at the level of the waist), sanctifying the internal organs and recalling their earthly and mortal nature;


• to the right and then to the left shoulder, sanctifying the whole body and remembering the Holy Spirit as Exercising the unity of all things in God.

At the entrance to the temple and kissing the icons in the temple and at home, they are baptized three times. There are several options for prayer during the sign of the sign of the cross:

• putting fingers to the forehead, say: "In the name of the Father";


• to the belly: "And the Son";


• to the shoulders: “And the Holy Spirit. Amen".

According to another tradition, one can be baptized three times and say the following prayers before each sign of the cross.

• Before the first: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” (or: “Holy Trinity, glory to Thee” - that is, to address God in Three Persons);


• Then: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!”;


• Finally: "All holy and angelic powers, pray to God for me."

After the sign of the cross, they usually bow to the belt (it is easy enough to bend over).

When blessing a child or a loved one, you need to baptize him as if he himself performed the sign of the cross - first on his right shoulder from his point of view. Such a blessing also protects a person from evil and vices, because you pray for him, making the sign of the cross. The history of the Church witnessed many miracles when, through the prayer of mothers, wives, relatives and friends, people avoided danger or turned away from passions.

The life-giving Cross of Christ - protection from the devil, witchcraft, any danger

In the modern world, many people can try to harm you with the help of witchcraft spells - psychics, "healers". The curse will not have its power if the person to whom they wish evil is church-going, believes in God, goes to church, attends church services and partakes of the Mysteries of Christ.

Knowing or suspecting the existence of a curse is not a cause for despair. Order a prayer service for the removal of the curse and turn to God in a special prayer every day.

You can hurt yourself if you use foul language and swear frequently. Often people do not even know that black words spoil their fate.

If you assume a dark influence, damage in your life, first of all, you need to turn to the Lord for help with the help of prayer and the sign of the cross. You need to visit the temple in the near future, talk with the priest and, if you believe in the existence of God and His help, accept Holy Baptism. The priest will tell you how to live the church life

Reading a prayer does not require any rituals or rituals to be performed. You just need to ask the Lord with sincere faith for protection, better in solitude and silence, in front of the icons of the Almighty Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos.

Strong prayer - an appeal to the Almighty Power of the Cross of the Lord

Particles of the Life-giving Cross are today in many temples of the world. Perhaps, in your city there is also a particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, and you can venerate this great shrine. The cross is called Life-giving - the one who creates and gives life, that is, it has great power.
In the morning and evening prayers found in every Orthodox prayer book, there are prayers invoking the power of God, which comes from the Cross of the Lord. Orthodox Christians, therefore, protect themselves every day and every night by the power of the Cross of the Lord.

Turn to the Lord in prayer, protect yourself with the banner of the cross and sincere faith in God - and you will see how your life will change.

Protect me, Lord, with the power of Your Honest and Life-giving Cross and save me from evil.
Save, Lord, Thy people and bless Thy Church, giving victories to Orthodox Christians against enemies and preserving Thy people with Thy cross.

The faith given by the Lord, the knowledge of His help should be multiplied among people. Therefore, unlike the conspiracies that are spread by the servants of the dark forces and which must be “read secretly,” you can and must share your faith, talk about the miraculous help of God and his mercy. Good deeds that are done with the invocation of God's grace will always be accomplished successfully.

Through the prayers of all the saints and the power of His Cross, may the Lord keep you!

In the Orthodox tradition, it is considered wrong, and sometimes even blasphemous, to be baptized from left to right. Thus, the Orthodox tradition believes that by raising his hand to the right and then to the left shoulder, the believer prays to include him in the lot of the saved and to save him from the share of the perishing.

Well, Catholics baptize themselves from left to right. By this they put Christ in front of themselves as if in defense. Even such a simple thing as kneading dough should also be done from right to left, or, for example, massage certain points on the spine in circular motions from right to left. And if each person begins to sharpen it in his own way, then the whole stereotype will come to naught, and the ceremony will disappear as such. Therefore, in those denominations in which it is customary to be baptized from right to left, everyone always does this. And all the explanations about who is behind the right shoulder and who is behind the left is interesting, but just an artificial justification of the rule.

How to baptize Orthodox Christians from right to left or left to right

In the tradition of Catholics, it is considered correct to be baptized from left to right, and not vice versa, as among the Orthodox. However, before the great church schism, both of them were baptized mainly from right to left, although such an order was not obligatory. Therefore, the Orthodox, when meeting with representatives of another branch of Christianity, should know these features and understand that they do not imply anything blasphemous. However, if a believer signs himself with the banner of the cross surrounded by his fellow believers, it is better not to go against the traditions that have developed in their midst in order to avoid disagreements.

In Christian history, several ways of the sign of the cross are known: two (Old Believers), three and five fingers. Before being baptized, you must fold your fingers correctly. Many believers at this stage make the mistake of not finishing being baptized and immediately begin to bow. Important! Only after the right hand is lowered down can bows be made. Where and how Orthodox Christians can be baptized correctly (from right to left or left to right), there is only one answer - of course, in the church. After the sign of the cross, having said “In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” they bow down to thank God for his favor.

Therefore, people ask themselves the question of how to properly baptize Orthodox Christians from right to left or from left to right? Then, when a person crosses himself, he lowers his hand and worships God. Regardless of age, the cross ceremony is performed only with the right hand of Christians. The main difference between the sign of the Catholic people is that they perform the rite from the left to the right side. The image of the cross of the Lord on a human body, with a hand. It is practically unknown when this sacred rite appeared in Christianity. Orthodox Christians observe the tradition of baptism from the right side to the left. Catholics cross, on the contrary, from the left to the right. In the Orthodox world, a believer performs the ritual from right to left. And yet, how to properly baptize Orthodox Christians from right to left or left to right, the video can be found on official sources. It is enough to ask him to conduct the sacred ritual of baptism and then everything will become clear. Even in the Gospel Scripture it was said: "He who believes in little is faithful in many respects."