The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History

The sign of the Cross, the tracing of the Cross of Christ onto the body, is a private and public gesture of blessing that millions of Christians do during worship and throughout their day. Greek scholar and practicing Orthodox Christian Andreopoulos explores the history, symbolism, and meaning of the gesture in this short book. He finds the sign one of the most fascinating elements of ritual symbolism, one that ""combines simplicity and profound meaning to a greater extent than any other symbol."" The book succeeds at translating the significance of the sign of the Cross into something personal and immediate. Especially poignant are the pages he devotes to his own understanding of the gesture, how he learned it from his grandfather, and what it means to him personally as an act of sanctification and reminder of the sacrifice of Christ and the mystery of the Trinity. He covers the history and theology of the sign in depth, satisfying the most curious scholars; however, some of his intellectual commentaries might lose the general reader. Although Andreopoulos writes from an Orthodox perspective, he presents the material in an ecumenical way, inspiring both churched and unchurched readers who wish to better understand the importance of the liturgical experience of the sign of the Cross.