The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History [Hardcover]

Andreas Andreopoulos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2006

“This book is a little masterpiece: it informs and it explores, it recounts history and it provokes a religious quest. It is a personal book, yet it explores the great questions of theology; it is full of learning, but not ponderous; it is written from the perspective of faith, but is not off-putting to the inquirer.”

                                    -Thomas O’Loughlin, Professor of Historical Theology

                                    University of Wales Lampeter

 

“Andreopoulos explains the gesture and meaning and history of why Christianity has needed symbols and signs through the ages. Throughout, his writing is as inspiriting as a restorative benediction.”

-ALA Booklist

 

“The book succeeds at translating the significance of the sign of the Cross into something personal and immediate.”

                                    -Publishers Weekly

 

“The Christian of today grows quickly from the innocent child into adulthood and demands understanding of any simple behavior. ‘Why to sign with the crossing? Where did this practice begin? When and how?’ Andreas Andreopoulos, with his book, helps to answer these questions…. [H]e immerses us into the illuminating obscurity of the Holy Tradition.”

                                    -Protopresbyter Kyrillos Leret-Aldir, Orthodox Christian Comment

                                   

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
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From Booklist

Roman Catholics cross themselves with an open hand, the Eastern Orthodox with two fingers and thumb extended and the smaller fingers against the palm. Most Protestants and others know that the movement of hand from shoulder to shoulder is done left to right by Catholics, right to left by Orthodox, but do they know the significance of the direction of movement for either? Or what the groups of fingers in the Orthodox hand configuration represent? The answers to those questions are among the first things Andreopoulos imparts in his sparkling little book on the most practiced nonverbal Christian prayer. Explaining the gesture's meanings and history yields to a discussion of why Christianity has needed symbols and signs through the ages. That yields to discourse on the sign of the cross as a prayer that joins the believer with all Christians in the kingdom of God and, finally, on the cross as a vehicle for contemplation of the mystery of salvation. Throughout, Andreopoulos' writing is as inspiriting as a restorative benediction. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Pr; annotated edition edition (November 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557254966
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254962
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,104,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orthodoxy and the Sign of the Cross, November 2, 2007

By 

Eleanor Cavin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History (Hardcover)

The gestures, the mystery, the history of the sign of the cross with emphasis from life among Orthodoxy. Wonderful. Light reading with pointers for more information. Glad I bought it. A useful, short exploration of bringing our physical bodies in line with worshipful practices.

I recommended it friedns and loand it to friends. It was very well received.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual and Religious Understanding, November 20, 2007

By 

Tom G (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History (Hardcover)

Wonderful as either an introduction to, or deeper exploration of, a fundamental Christian practice.
I highlight only the best thoughts in a book, but ended with highlights on almost every page. (Only one point seemed to me as just a little "off the mark".)
I feel that the author expresses the essence of a personal relationship with the divine (aka religion) in the context of a personal/public practice proven to promote such a relationship.
Regardless of how frequently one may make this sign (if ever), this discussion of it should motivate increased trial and practice with it.
How better to realize the presence, service, and protection of the King?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it, October 19, 2009

By 

Charles R. Wiese - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History (Hardcover)

Paraclete Press sent me a complimentary copy of this book written by Andreas Andreopoulos and it's truly wonderful. I had written a review of a book on the same subject by Bert Ghezzi. Ghezzi is Roman Catholic and Andreopoulos is Eastern Orthodox. Ghezzi's book is written in a popular style that would be easy for any layman to pick up and read. Andreopoulos writes with great clarity but seems to be writing for the pastor, scholar, or educated layperson. Andreopoulos gives a very objective and thorough telling of the story of the history of the sign of the cross with lots of footnotes. It could be used for a college class or for a research paper. There is much less overlap between the books than I expected and I would recommend that both be purchased.

Chapter three, which deals with the meaning of signs and symbols is fascinating. I had never even thought of about 80% of what is dealt with in this chapter.

I did have some disagreements with the author on some of the issues dealt with in the book. The author holds to a synergistic view of salvation in which God and man co-operate. This is not much of a surprise--the author is Eastern Orthodox. Even though I disagree with him, I appreciate the way in which he presents these teachings. Andreopoulos makes it clear at the beginning of the book that he wants to write a book that is accessible to those outside of his own communion and he definitely does that. I've read books by Orthodox authors for an Orthodox audience that would be very difficult for a non-Orthodox reader to understand because of the theological jargon. Recently I've heard radio programs and read books written by Orthodox speakers or authors for what seems to be an evangelical audience. Sometimes these books and programs present Orthodox spirituality in a way in which no Orthodox Christian who has grown up in the faith would ever recognize it. Sometimes it even seems like they are being deliberately deceptive to try to lure evangelicals in. But Andreopoulos doesn't engage in any of this nonsense. He knows what he believes. He knows what his church teaches. He uses the vocabulary of his church but explains it so that it is understandable to the outsider. This is the only way that ecumenical dialog should ever take place. People should know the teachings of their church and not hide them or try to smooth over differences. They should also be able to explain these teachings in a way that is understandable to outsiders.

Has the subject of the sign of the cross been exhausted by the publishing of these two books? I don't think so. I look forward to a book written by a Lutheran or Anglican author on the same subject. But this is a great book.