The sign of the cross (Latin: signum crucis), or 'blessing oneself even 'crossing oneself'(sic), is a ritual blessing made by members of many branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by a priest, religious or individuals by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with the right hand, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula.
The motion is the tracing of the shape of a cross in the air or on one's own body, echoing the traditional shape of the cross of the Christian Crucifixion narrative. There are two principal forms: the one—three fingers, right to left—is exclusively used in the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church of the Byzantine and Chaldean Tradition; the other—left to right, other than three fingers—is the one used in the Latin, Syriac, Syro-Malankara, Armenian, Coptic, Maronite, and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheranism and Oriental Orthodoxy (see below). The ritual is rare within other Christian traditions.
Read more about Sign Of The Cross: Gesture, Use, Origins, Protestant Views
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