The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History
Andreas Andreopoulos
“Among the items that had had ‘long-continued observance,’ even at the dawn of Christian history, was the sign of the cross. ‘In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting off our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross,’ Tertullian wrote. It seems that the sign of the cross was such an entrenched element of Christian practice that a believer would not consider refraining from it. Tertullian believed it to be universal, and already ancient in AD 204.” —“Foreword”
CONTENTS
Foreword Introduction CHAPTER ONE Experiencing the Sign of the Cross CHAPTER TWO The Sign of the Cross: Its History CHAPTER THREE The Need for Symbols and Signs CHAPTER FOUR A Prayer to Christ CHAPTER FIVE The Cosmic Cross Acknowledgments Further Suggested Reading Notes Index
Item Number: BKPCP707 Publication data: Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2006 Format: hardcover Number of pages: xx + 152 Dimensions (l × w × h): 20.9 cm × 14.3 cm × 1.7 cm Additional information: dust jacket ISBN-10: 1‒55725‒496‒6 ISBN-13: 978‒1‒55725‒496‒2
