Quintessence of Religious Doctrines - Malankarasyriac Voice

61122Quintessence of Religious DoctrinesTheme No: 23On Signing oneself with the mark of the Crossand the Veneration of the Cross1. We must sign ourselves with the mark of the Cross as a constantreminder of the following. We ought to repose our confidencefor our protection and salvation in the death of our Lord on theCross; we must ever bear it as symbol of the passion of Christ;we should impress on our mind that the Cross is our insigniaand honour; we must proclaim that through the Cross we believeall the above and act accordingly; we ought to venerate theCross as the whole mankind was redeemed through the Crossof the Son of God. The Cross that we must venerate is not theone made of gold, silver, stone, wood etc. and modeled afterthe Cross of our Lord. They are, rather, made simply for theawakening of, and as a reminder of the Cross of Christ. This infact, is one of the main reasons why the Cross is not consecrated.But as we comprehend in our heart the great God who cannotbe seen or stipulated and who can be seen only through theinner spiritual eye, we must imprint on the tablets of our heartsthe Cross of the Son of God and worship the same by lookingat it through our spiritual eye.Ref: (a) Gal. 6:14. But I will never brag about anything exceptthe Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of hisCross, the world is dead as far as I am concernedand I am dead as far as the world is concerned. (L.B.)(b) 1Cor. 1:18. The message about the Cross does notmake any sense to lost people but for those of uswho are being saved, it is God’s power at work. (L.B.)(c) Heb. 13:13. Let us, then, go to him outside the campand share his shame. (G.N.B.)(d) Mt. 16:24. Then Jesus said to his disciple, “If anyonewants to come with me, he must forget himself carryhis Cross and follow me”. (G.N.B.)(e) Phil. 3:18... There are many whose lives make themenemies of Christ’s death on the Cross. (G.N.B.)CommentIt is commonplace that the Cross has become theacknowledged sign of Christianity, all throughout the world.Therefore, it is only in the fitness of piety that we markourselves with the sign of the Cross. While doing so it isgood that we are reminded of the following:- Firstly theCrucifixion of our Lord, secondly our protection from evilthereby, the salvation that the Cross has brought to mankind.Further, the cross epitomises the alpha and omega oftheology and ecclesiology combined. The signing on theforehead and the breast is a reminder of the descent of ourLord from the high heavens to the earthly plane. Thehorizontal signing should recall to our mind the obligation forcommunion with the Ecclesia. Besides this interpretation, theS.O.C. honours the one given by Severius, one of the earlyPatriarchs of the Antiochean See. He contended that thesigning by the Cross signifies the divine descent and thedivine salvation of mankind. So in the crossing, firstly thereis the signing from the forehead to the breast and secondlyfrom the left arm to the right. The latter is because in thesymbology of the Syrian Church left side stands for the wickedaspect, while the right side signifies the virtuous condition.For the doubt, whether, venerating the Cross amounts toidolatry, the theological answer that the S.O.C. proposes isexplicated here. Unlike the Church of the East, the Cross isnot consecrated by the S.O.C. as to make it a sacrament.Therefore, the S.O.C. forbids the adoration of the Cross aswe adore God. The S.O.C. worships only the crucified Christand not the Cross. The Cross of Jesus alone is to bevenerated. The Crosses that we make are only symbols ofthe one Cross at the Calvary that bore Jesus. If the BlessedVirgin bore Him in Her womb, at the time of Incarnation, theCross at Calvary bore Him at His death. So it became the lifegiving Cross. As one can see the mighty Sun only through a