The rule of the Stoglavy Council on double fingers from a historical point of view

Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, by the way, declared at the Council of the Stoglavy: “Christians are baptized not essentially and put the sign of the cross on themselves not essentially, and the spiritual fathers do not rejoice or teach about this” (Stoglav Chapter 5, Issue 6). In response to this statement of the tsar, the council decided: “archpriests, priests and deacons would imagine the sign of the cross on themselves in a cruciform manner and in order, and archpriests and priests would bless the Orthodox in the same way; In the same way, we would teach our spiritual children and all Orthodox Christians to protect themselves with the sign of the cross according to the rank and sign themselves in the shape of a cross, to point out their right hand for the sign of the cross, joining the thumb and two lower fingers into one, and joining the upper finger with the middle one, stretching out and bending slightly. So the saints and priests should bless and place the sign of the cross on themselves with two fingers: first place it on the shoulder, 1 then on the chest, that is, the heart, then on the right shoulder, finally on the left shoulder.... It is also appropriate for all Orthodox Christians to raise their hand and imagine on their faces the sign of the cross with two fingers. If anyone does not bless with two fingers, like Christ, or does not imagine the sign of the cross, let him be cursed, - said the saints. fathers... Three fingers are placed below, and two are on top: with these to bless and be baptized into deity and humanity.” Then the cathedral brought, in confirmation of its words, the legend of St. Meletius of Antioch, which supposedly blessed the people at the council with just such a combination of fingers, and Theodoret’s teaching about the addition of three fingers for blessing and the sign of the cross in the image of the Most Holy. Trinity and two fingers in the image of two natures in Jesus Christ (chapter 31). This rule of the Stoglavy Council, which sets out the doctrine of blessing and the sign of the cross, the same one that the Russian schism adheres to to this day, and not that which the Orthodox Church contains, has long been the subject of the most heated arguments between denouncers of the schism and its defenders. We will not go into the details of all these disputes, but will limit ourselves to only a possibly brief examination of the controversial rule from a historical point of view. Does the 31st chapter of the Stoglav, which contains the doctrine of blessing and the sign of the cross, really belong to the Stoglav Cathedral? There was a time when they doubted the authenticity of the book itself - Stoglav, and thought to see in it not the conciliar code, but only the draft notes of the Stoglav Cathedral, later changed and supplemented by someone 2. But now, when two mandated letters of Metropolitan Macarius have become known, written by him on behalf of the Stoglav Cathedral, one to the White, and the other to the monastic clergy of Russia, and containing in full or only in abbreviation many chapters from the Stoglav, as a cathedral code, it would be unreasonable to doubt the authenticity of this book 3 . And if so: then it is necessary to recognize the 31st chapter of Stoglav as genuine, not only because it is in all his copies, even the most ancient ones, but also because it is also stated in both mandate letters of Macarius, written on behalf of the council 4. It was in vain that they said that the fathers of the Stoglavy Cathedral, responding directly to the tsar’s proposal about the sign of the cross, could only establish or confirm to Christians the rule about the dean’s protection of themselves with the sign of the cross, and that the article on double-fingering and in general on the folding of fingers did not at all correspond to the tsar’s request, and so on. included in the 31st chapter of Stoglav not by the fathers of the council, but by someone else 5. On the contrary, this article fully corresponds to the tsar’s question: “Christians,” said the tsar, “are baptized with their hands not essentially, and do not essentially place the sign of the cross on themselves.” Here, obviously, there are two particular instructions, and the council should have given two answers to them: the first, how to essentially make the sign of the cross with your hand, that is, how to position your hand for the sign of the cross, how to form its fingers, and the second, how to essentially place the sign of the cross on yourself. The council, in all fairness, could attribute to the essence of the sign of the cross not only the correct outline of the sign of the cross, but also the correct folding of the fingers for the sign of the cross. It was in vain that they tried to prove that Met. Macarius could not sign Stoglav and the chapter on two fingers in it, as if this metropolitan himself adhered to three fingers, because he placed in his Cheti-Mineaion the famous word of Theodorite in the form in which it apparently favors three fingers, and the debate between Panagiot and Azimite, reproaching the Latins for using two fingers, and not three, in the sign of the cross 6 . Unfortunately, it is necessary to agree that Macarius signed Stoglav with the article on double-fingered, if only Stoglav was signed by the fathers present at the council, and he himself adhered to double-fingered: because, we repeat, after the council he sent out two mandate letters drawn up according to Stoglav and containing the doctrine of double-fingered. If Macarius placed in his Cheti-Mineaion the word of Theodorite in such a presentation that, apparently, favors tripartiteness: then - a) in almost the same presentation, this word was placed in the 31st chapter of Stoglav by the fathers of the council, and it is known how it was interpreted by them there; b) and when presented in this way, this word prescribes the same formation of the finger both for the sign of the cross and for the blessing, which is contrary to Orthodox custom. If Macarius also placed in two books of his Cheti-minya, December and June, written before the Council of the Hundred Heads, an article about the debate between Panagiota and Azimite, in which the former reproaches the latter: “not having folded three fingers..., but making a cross with both fingers...”; then in the August book of the same Cheti-Minya of Macarius, written after the Council of the Hundred Heads, this part of the article is already read like this: “and why, not as we are baptized, as a prototype of the true cross, there are two fingers... - you, the damnation of a heretic, not as you commanded St. fathers..., you are imagining the cross outside of yourself..." 7. The fathers of the great Moscow Cathedral, which took place in 1667, had the most correct view of the Stoglavy Cathedral. They did not reject or suspect either the authenticity of Stoglav or the participation of Metropolitan Macarius in it, but directly expressed the idea that the council and Macarius erred in the doctrine of double-fingered and some other subjects set forth in the book of Stoglav, and committed “simplicity and ignorance” 8 . It is not necessary to forget that the Hundred Head Cathedral was only a private or local cathedral; and private councils, like private churches, are not exempt from the possibility of sinning; Moreover, private individuals and hierarchs, even the most enlightened, are not excluded from it. And since the errors made by the Stoglavy Council and its chairman out of simplicity and ignorance do not concern the dogmas of faith at all, but only the ritual side of it, they cannot serve as an obstacle for us to recognize both the council and the famous St. Macarius as Orthodox. But if the teaching about the formation of the finger, contained in the 31st chapter of the Stoglav, undoubtedly belongs to the Stoglav Council, then how can we explain the origin of this teaching, where and when did it appear among us? In order to pose this question more separately and answer it as clearly as possible, we consider it necessary to first make the following two remarks. First remark: the main, fundamental feature of the teaching set forth in the 31st chapter of Stoglav is that it commands only one sign of the sign both for the sign of the cross and for blessing, while the Orthodox Church strictly distinguishes, both in the internal meaning and in appearance, between two fingers: the sign of the sign, which is used by all believers for the sign of the cross, and the sign of the sign, which is used by the pastors of the church for blessings of the believers. All Orthodox believers make the sign of the cross in the name of the Holy One. Trinity, and for this purpose they put together and equal the first three fingers of the right hand, bending the last two: this finger formation is called tripartite. The pastors of the Orthodox Church give the believers a blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for this they fold the fingers of their right hand so that they represent the first and last letters of the blessed name: IS. HS., i.e. Jesus Christ, in particular - the second and third fingers copulate, otherwise - the index and middle, so that the second, extended, represents the letter - I, and the third, extended and slightly inclined, the letter - C, the first or thumb copulates with the last two so that it, crossing the fourth finger, represents with it the letter - X, and the fifth finger or little finger, extended and slightly inclined, represents the letter – S: this finger formation is called nominative. If we compare with these two finger formations the so-called two-finger formation, which was approved by the Stoglavy Council and is still maintained by our schismatics, we will see, firstly, that, in appearance, it, although completely different from the three-fingered one, has a great similarity with the nominal one: for it teaches how to put together two fingers, the index and the middle, exactly as they are added in the nominal one, and the other three fingers - to copulate quite close to how they copulate in the nominal - and this similarity obviously extends to the point that the nominal finger formation, not without reason, can be called two-finger, while the two-finger one can be recognized as nominal, only not entirely accurate or corrupted. And secondly, we will see that, in its internal meaning, the two-fingered finger formation tries to combine both Orthodox finger formations in itself: for it teaches us to form three fingers in the name of the Holy One. Trinity, according to the three-fingered, and two fingers in the name of Jesus Christ or the two natures in Him, according to the naming. But this is not what is actually important for us in the present case; the important thing is that, as we have already said, the Stoglavy Cathedral commands one sign of the cross for both the sign of the cross and the blessing, but the Orthodox Church commands two different ones, and so on. the question of the time of origin of this sign of the sign, commanded by Stoglav, can, first of all, be expressed as follows: were one or two different sign of the sign used in the Orthodox Church for the sign of the cross and blessing in the times preceding the Council of the Stoglav? Second remark: the finger formation commanded by the 31st chapter of Stoglav is unfairly, or at least not accurately, called two-fingered: it is also three-fingered. Stoglav teaches how to make the sign of the cross and blessing not only two fingers, but also three, and even about folding three fingers in the name of the Holy One. The Trinity speaks first, and only then about the joining of two fingers to signify the two natures in Christ. True, the sign of the cross itself must be drawn, according to Stoglav, with two fingers of the right hand, but at the same time the other three fingers of the right hand must also be joined into one, so that if someone began to be baptized or blessed with only two fingers of his right hand, and did not join the other three fingers into one, or put them together in some other way, or did not put them together at all, such a blessing and such a sign of the cross the sign would, according to Stoglav, be non-Orthodox, impermissible. Therefore, our question is not at what time did the church begin to make the sign of the cross or to bless with two fingers, but at what time did they begin to use the two-fingered and three-fingered sign of the cross for the sign of the cross, preached by Stoglav, from what time did they begin to use this two-finger and three-fingered sign not only for the sign of the cross, or not for one blessing, but equally for both. Indisputable evidence has been preserved that in the first half of the 15th century, in our country, as in Greece, two different finger formations were used, one for blessing, and the other for the sign of the cross - evidence that should have full force for the followers of Stoglav. In the Degree Book, revised and supplemented under the direct leadership of Metropolitan Macarius himself, and even according to its list, written during his lifetime, the following story is stated twice: once Metropolitan Photius (1410-1431) visited the Simonov monastery and, bypassing the monastery services, went into a bakery and here he saw the monk Jonah, who shortly before, from a lot of work, abstinence and incessant I fell asleep while praying, and “I held my right hand on my head, bent, as if blessing with it. The saint was surprised and did not command anyone to wake him up, and, prophesying about him, said: “Understand, O children, that this monk Jonah will be a great saint in the countries of the Russian land,” and so on, which was later fulfilled 9. Why was Metropolitan Photius surprised at the sight of Jonah sleeping? Why did he prophesy that he would be a great saint? Because the only thing is that Jonah, a simple monk who did not have the right to bless, kept his right hand “bent, as if blessing with it.” But how could Photius know by the bending of Jonah’s hand that he was “blessed by it,” if the placing of the priest’s and priest’s fingers for blessing did not then differ from the placing of the fingers of all believers for the sign of the cross, but were one and the same? In this case, Photius, seeing the sleeping Jonah, would most naturally have come to the thought that, indeed, the monk, as he prayed before going to bed, fell asleep, tired, with the same prayer finger, and there would be no reason to be surprised or predict about the future priesthood of Jonah. It must be agreed that in the days of Metropolitan Photius, who, as is known, came to us from Greece and knew well the customs of the Orthodox Church, two different finger formations were actually used in it, one for blessing, and the other for the sign of the cross. And after that, it is necessary to admit that the same formation of the finger for the sign of the cross and blessing, preached by Stoglav, could have its beginning no earlier than in the second half of the 15th century. However, this is only a general and far from sufficient solution to the problem. Let's look at the details. What type of sign was used in the Orthodox Church for the sign of the cross before the time of the Council of the Hundred Heads? In the first centuries of Christianity, we do not see among Christians one specific finger arrangement for the sign of the cross. St. John Chrysostom (IV century) taught to be baptized with a finger 10, and this custom of being baptized with one finger is mentioned by St. Epiphanius, a contemporary of Chrysostom, and then Blessed. Jerome, blessed Theodorite of Cyrus, Sozomen (5th century), St. Gregory the Dvoeslov and John Moschus (VII century), telling about various Orthodox Christians, ascetics and saints who created the cross in this way 11. And St. Cyril of Jerusalem, also a father of the fourth century, taught to make the sign of the cross with fingers, most likely three: since it was performed then, according to the clear contemporary testimony of St. Ephraim the Syrian, in the name of the Most Holy. Trinity 12. No other information regarding fingers for the sign of the cross is found among writers of the first eight centuries of the Christian era. churches: because, without a doubt, this issue was not deliberately dealt with at that time. From the same few pieces of evidence expressed in passing and as if by chance, which we pointed out, we can draw the following conclusions: a) although the custom is marked by the image of the cross, according to St. Christians undoubtedly accepted Basil the Great, the father of the 4th century, from apostolic tradition; but the apostles, it is true, did not command Christians to make one specific sign of the sign of the cross: otherwise this sign of the finger would have been preserved unchanged in the primal church, and in the 4th century they could not have been baptized indifferently, both with one finger and with fingers 13; b) if the doctrine of the sign of the finger, preached by Stoglav, existed in the first centuries of Christianity with the formidable words: “If anyone does not sign with two fingers, let him be cursed,” then St. John Chrysostom, other Orthodox Christians, ascetics and saints who were baptized with one finger would also be subject to this; c) if on the days of blessedness. Theodoret, who served as a priest in the city of Cyrus, had a custom of being baptized with one finger, and if Theodoret himself speaks of saints who were baptized only with a finger, including the Ven. Marcians, who came from the same city of Cyrus, is already blessed by this alone. Theodoret of Cyrus cannot own the well-known word about the addition of three and two fingers, cited by Stoglav and ending with the words: “this is worthy of baptism and blessing, this is what the holy fathers indicated and legitimized.” Not until the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century do we encounter evidence of fingers for the sign of the cross, which, however, does not apply to the entire church. church, but only to one country - Syria. Elijah Geveri, Nestorian Metropolitan of Damascus (from 893) and previously the former Nestorian bishop in Jerusalem, proving in his work that all three departments or communities of Christians existing in Syria - Jacobites, Nestorians and Melchites, in the essence of faith, seem to agree with each other and differ only in the way they express their faith, by the way, says: “and that in the depiction of the sign of the cross they are between They agree very little with themselves... this does not in the least harm agreement and like-mindedness. Thus, the Jacobites (Monophysites) mark themselves with a cross with a single finger, moving from the left hand to the right, thereby confessing their faith in one Christ, who, having died on the cross, having been snatched away from the soul, i.e. from sin, was transferred to the gum, i.e. to grace. In the same way, the Nestorians and Melchites, when with two fingers they draw the image of the cross from the right hand to the left, they profess their faith that on the cross Divinity and humanity were united together, that the cross was the wine of our salvation, and from it faith came from the gum part and unbelief or error was driven away from the soul” 14. Let us not doubt that by Melchites Elijah means Orthodox Christians - Syrians, having assimilated to them completely Orthodox beliefs about both the face of the Savior and the Mother of God - although there is reason to doubt: since the modern Orthodox Metropolitan of Kizicus, Demetrius, who wrote to Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitus (911-919) calls Elijah about the same Jacobites and Melchites, he calls the latter are downright heretics 15. We will even agree that the two-fingered sign of the cross did not die out among Orthodox Christians in Syria even in the 12th century, as can be concluded from the well-known words of the monk Peter of Damascus (i.e. from Damascus), who wrote around 1157, so beloved by our schismatics: “by drawing the honest and life-giving cross, drive away the essence of demons and the distinction of evil..., as two fingers and one hand reveal the crucified Lord of our I. Christ, cognizable in two natures and in one composition” 16. But we affirm decisively that this two-finger arrangement of Syrian Christians is not at all the same finger formation as Stoglav commands, and our schismatics in vain refer to Peter of Damascus: a) The Syrians were baptized with two fingers, but did not put together three fingers, and Peter of Damascus speaks only of two fingers and one hand as a sign of two natures in the single person of our Savior, without mentioning the addition at all three fingers in the name of the Most Holy. Trinity; and Stoglav teaches how to make the sign of the cross and three fingers in the name of the Holy One. Trinity and together two fingers as a sign of two natures in Christ; b) The Syrians put together two fingers only for the sign of the cross, and Stoglav commands his three-fingered and together with two-fingered fingers not only for the sign of the cross, but also for blessing; c) adding only two fingers for the sign of the cross, without adding three fingers at the same time, before the court of Stoglav, as we have already noted, should be considered non-Orthodox, impermissible; d) if we assume that Stoglav borrowed two fingers from Syrian Christians, then from whom did he borrow his three fingers? The rest of the reliable evidence about the folding of fingers for the sign of the cross, which was used in the Orthodox Church, in Greece and Russia, from the 10th to the half of the 16th century, all speak of the Orthodox tripartite. We mean - a) St. the relics of the ascetics of the 11th–12th centuries, resting incorruptibly in the Kyiv caves, and namely, Ven. Ilya of Muromets and Joseph the Much-Sick, whose first three fingers of the right hand are connected, although unequally, but together, and the last two, the ring and little fingers, are bent to the palm, and St. Spiridon, whose first three fingers are connected even completely equally, and the last two are bent 17; b) the words of the Greek philosopher Panagiota, already known to us, who, in the days of the Greek emperor Michael Palaiologos, had a solemn debate in Constantinople with twelve Latin philosophers sent by Pope Gregory X (1271‒1276) and, among other things, reproached them for not laying the true cross on themselves with three fingers, as the Orthodox do, but with two 18; c) finally, the testimony of the Subdeacon of Thessaloniki Damascene Studite, who was later the Metropolitan of Nafpakta and Arta, who in one of his teachings, published by himself back in 1528, in Venice, says the following: “every pious Christian, for the sign of the cross, first joins together three fingers to signify the Holy Trinity, the great finger and the other two that are near him, then let him put them, first, on your forehead, second, on your belly, third, on your right shoulder, and fourth, on your left.” We consider it not superfluous to add that these teachings, after the first edition, were published many times (the last time in 1844), and have always enjoyed great respect among Orthodox Greeks 19 . Thus, from all the reliable evidence (we are not talking about unreliable evidence, such as evidence from icons painted with paints that seem to be very ancient, but were renewed more than once, or representing the finger formations of the persons depicted on them in an extremely vague and unclear manner, arousing only endless disputes) 20 it turns out that in the Orthodox Church until the time of the Hundred-Glav Cathedral, it was never used, in fact for the sign of the cross, then the two-finger and together the three-fingered sign, which this council commanded under an oath 21. What kind of sign was used in the Orthodox Church for blessings before the time of the Council of the Hundreds of Glava? Here, too, we will limit ourselves to pointing out evidence that is only reliable and beyond doubt. On the mosaic icons of the famous Cathedral of Constantinople, which recently became known from the most faithful and impartial description of one learned foreigner, and from the most accurate copies taken by him, we find up to eleven blessing hands - the Savior himself and some prophets, apostles and saints, and all these hands have a nominal finger, some - strictly and clearly nominal, others - less strictly and clearly; but there is not a single hand that would have a two-fingered Old Believer finger, that is, in which “three fingers, the thumb, the ring finger and the little finger, were equal together.” Here is before us evidence of the laying of the finger for blessing in the Greek church from the 6th to the half of the 15th century: because, although most of the mosaic icons of the St. Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople undoubtedly belong to the time of the church builder himself, Emperor Justinian, some should already be attributed to the time of Emperor Basil the Macedonian (IX century), who put a new mosaic on them, and a few - even to the time of the last Greek emperor John. Palaeologus (15th century), who also tried to restore the mosaics in the church 22. There are two verbal testimonies about the folding of the finger for blessing, used in Greece: one belongs to the Patriarch of Constantinople Germanus - 8th century, the other - to an unknown Greek of the 12th century. St. Herman, in his interpretation of church services, bearing in mind the then prevailing opinion that the second coming of the Savior will follow after 1000 years from His birth, or 6500 years from the creation of the world, says that this opinion is expressed by the bishop by the very folding of the fingers of his hand, when he blesses the people during the liturgy after reading the Gospel: because the folding of the fingers of the blessing the bishop's hand, if the fingers are transferred to numbers, means 6500. But in order for the addition of the fingers of the hand to mean 6500, it must certainly be verbal 23. An unknown Greek of the 12th century, in his article against the Latins, containing a list of their errors, among other things wrote the following in denunciation of their archpastors: “some of them somehow bless with five fingers and signify their faces with their fingers, like the Monothelites, while the fingers in signs should be positioned so that through them two natures and three Persons are signified, as Christ showed when he ascended to the heaven, raised his hands and blessed the disciples" 24. Here the addition of both two and three fingers together is clearly indicated for blessing, which, if not in appearance, which is not indicated at all here, then in its internal meaning, is completely similar to that approved by the Stoglavy Council. True, the last half of the evidence we cited from an article by an unknown Greek is found only in its Latin translation, although very ancient, but is not found in the Slavic translation of this very article, which from the 13th century until the 19th century was constantly placed in our helmsmen, handwritten and printed, under the title: “about the Friars and other Latins.” Here, the testimony of the Greek against the Latins in question reads like this: “(these saints....) somehow bless the country with five fingers and then cross the face with a finger,” and that’s all, and all subsequent words about the folding of fingers to signify two natures and three Persons are not at all 25. It is impossible for a Slavic translator to allow himself to deliberately exclude these words if they were in the Greek original and especially if they expressed the general belief and general custom of the Orthodox Church regarding the folding of fingers for the saint's blessing. It is much more feasible that they were added to the article, in one or another list of it, by some Greek who held the opinion expressed in them as a private opinion, and that from such and such a list with the addition, the article was translated into Latin, perhaps even by the same Greek, judging by the extreme ineptitude of the translation. But in any case, it must be assumed that, at least in the form of a private or local custom, such a two-fingered and three-fingered finger for blessing existed somewhere in Greece in the 12th century. Russia has its own famous St. Sophia Cathedral, Kiev, which preserves mosaic icons and frescoes from the 11th century. On these icons and frescoes, according to “the most impartial evidence, one can distinguish a three-finger folding of blessing hands: a) strictly-nominal, b) very and even completely close to the two-finger - Old Believer (which, however, as we noted above, can generally be considered as inaccurate-nominal and could simply depend on the lack of skill of the icon painters), and c) some unknown, in which the index and little fingers are extended, the middle and ring fingers are concave into the palm, and the thumb is either not visible behind the palm or is extended 26. On some sakkos of our saints Peter, Alexius, Cyprian, Photius, on some ancient sacred vessels, gospels and Greek grivnas, in addition to the nominal, more or less strict, there are also other very different finger formations for blessing, not at all similar to either the nominal or the two-fingered schismatic, which were also probably sometimes used or allowed in the church, if we do not assume that all this variety in the images of blessing hands depended on the lack of art of the craftsmen and artists 27 . The sacristy of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra still contains a shroud donated by the modern Metropolitan. Photius V; Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich (1359‒1425) on the coffin of St. Sergius with the image of the venerable himself on it: here the blessing hand of the wonderworker Sergius is depicted with a clear and precise sign of the name, and this image, sewn, remains unchanged to this day 28. This is the kind of sign we used for blessing in the presence of M. Photius! The general conclusion presents itself: among the finger formations used in the Orthodox Church during the first 15 centuries, actually for blessing, there was one, or very close to the one approved by the Stoglavy Council. But we repeat: actually for blessing.... But how could it happen that this very folding of the finger began to be used together for the sign of the cross, and when did this happen? How, instead of two different finger formations, which were used in our country back in the first half of the 15th century? under Metropolitan Photius, for blessing and for the sign of the cross, could only one finger formation for both purposes, the so-called two-finger, approved by the Stoglavy Council, have arisen and then spread and acquired power? Let us remember what we said before, that this two-finger formation, in appearance, has similarities with the nominative one, and in the addition of the two fingers themselves, the index and middle, there is even perfect similarity, and in its internal meaning it tries to combine in itself both the nomenclature and the three-finger formations: so, didn’t it directly arise from them in the most natural and inconspicuous way? Some literate person who loved to think could easily come up with the idea of ​​why in the church two different finger formations are used for blessing and the sign of the cross, when it is completely convenient to combine them into one, without any violation of their internal meaning? For blessing, all five fingers of the right hand are folded, in the name of Jesus Christ, and express the IP. HS.; and it is completely enough to form only two fingers, the index and the middle, expressing IS., in the name of Jesus, in his two natures. For the sign of the cross, the first three fingers of the right hand are folded in the name of the Most Holy. Trinity, or you can compose in the name of the Most Holy. Trinity and the same three fingers of the right hand, which during blessing are folded to signify the name of Christ - HS., i.e. the thumb with the ring and little fingers. And one will come out of the two folds, with their signs preserved. Having been born in the head of a literate person, such an idea, as being in agreement with the spirit of Orthodoxy, could find sympathy among other, similar literates, and through them spread little by little. Or the matter was even simpler: some pious Christian, discussing the difference between the sign used by the pastors of the church to bless the faithful, and the one used by all believers for the sign of the cross, could dwell on the consideration that the first sign, as used by the pastors of the church, should be more sacred and stronger before God, and after that move on to the conclusion that it is much better and more expedient to do the same thing All believers should also use the pastoral sign of the cross for the sign of the cross. And this idea, like the one we outlined above, as not contrary to faith and piety, could also find followers among believers and serve as the beginning for the gradual spread of the double-triple finger formation and for the sign of the cross, at least in the form of a private custom. Be that as it may, however, whether the assumptions we have made are true or false, it must be admitted that if not earlier, then no later than the second half of the 15th century, we already had zealots of the doctrine that for blessing and the sign of the cross one should use the same addition of fingers, two and three: they appeared precisely here, and not in Greece, where, as we saw, even at the beginning of the 16th century, they still continued to teach believers to be baptized with only three fingers. These zealots, in order to spread their favorite teaching, tried to find various book evidence, and one of them was not embarrassed even to create a false word himself (a thing quite common among us then!) under the name of St. Theodoret, how to bless and be baptized, in which, having expounded the doctrine of folding three fingers into the image of the Most Holy. Trinity and about the addition of two fingers to signify the two natures in Christ, without explaining which fingers, however, he added in conclusion: “this is what the holy fathers indicated and legitimized.” The word is undoubtedly false and does not belong to the blessed one at all. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus; but then we didn’t know Greek, we didn’t know how to distinguish the genuine works of the fathers from the forged ones, and with reverence they accepted everything that was given out in the name of the saints, the fathers 29 - and so by the end of the 15th century. The imaginary word of Theodoret, how to bless and be baptized, was already copied into the helmsmen's books and other collections 30. Dissatisfied with one word of Theodorit, at the same time they began to refer, in support of their teaching, to a distorted story about St. Meletia of Antioch. According to Greek historians, it was said that Meletius, when the Orthodox asked him at the Council of Antioch to briefly express the doctrine of the consubstantial Trinity, first showed three fingers, and then, bending two of them, extended one and said: we mean three, but we speak as one 31. In our ancient Prologues, on the 12th of February, this story was not presented in the same way, for example, in the prologue of the 14th century - like this: “(Meletius) showed three fingers to them and there was no sign for them, then I joined together and, bending down alone, blessed the people, and from him came fire like lightning, and he let out a praiseworthy voice: we mean three, about one “Let’s talk” (Imperial publ. bib., Drevlekhran. Pogodin., No. 59, parchment); in the Prologue of the early 16th century - like this: “three showing fingers and..., then two together, and one holding out, blessing”... and so on. (also Bible, and Drevlekhran., No. 618). In both of these Prologues the legend is conveyed quite closely to the Greek originals. But in the Prologue, written in 1432 in Novgorod, we read: “three displays...., then two couples, and one bending down, blessing”... (same bib., in sheet., Dept. I, No. 48, parchment.); the same thing is in the Prologue of 1481 (same bib., in leaf., section I, no. 311). Finally, in one Collection towards the end of the 15th century. this story is already referred to in confirmation of the doctrine of double-fingeredness and it is stated in it that St. Meletius first “showed three fingers..., and there was no sign; Therefore, the two are together, and I will bend the third and bless the people, and it comes out from him like fire of lightning, - he let out a praiseworthy voice: for we understand three, but we talk about one” 32. The distortion is obvious! But they didn’t stop there, and then they invented a third basis for the doctrine of double-fingeredness, creating a new corruption. In our handwritten helmsmen and other manuscripts, not earlier than the 15th century, however, there is an order of acceptance of the Khvalisyans (Armenians) and other heretics turning to Orthodoxy; In this rite, by the way, there is the following article: “Whoever does not baptize (i.e., does not bless) with two fingers, like Christ, let him be cursed.” We are talking here, without a doubt, only about a blessing, and not at all about the sign of the cross - for Christ only blessed, but was not baptized himself - and the article was intended to protect against heretics the Orthodox, that is, the naming sign, which, based on the two most prominent fingers in it, can also be called two-fingered. But by the end of the 15th century, in some of our Collections, this article was presented in the following form: “whoever is not baptized or signified with two fingers, like Christ (Christ was baptized!), is cursed 33 . Thus, by the end of the 15th century, all three proofs had already been invented, on which the Stoglav Council later approved its decree on the addition of three and two fingers for blessing and the sign of the cross, although one cannot help but notice that both the second proof (the legend of Meletius) and the third, even in its distorted form, do not completely correspond to the goal: they do not at all talk about the addition of three fingers, which Stoglav demands, but speak only of two fingers; the second does not speak at all about the sign of the cross, mentioning only the blessing. It is worthy of note that none of these three articles has yet defined which three fingers should be joined in the image of the Most Holy One. The Trinity and which two are in the image of the two natures in Christ; but by the end of the same 15th century an attempt was made to define these fingers, which stated that it was necessary to put together the fingers - the upper one with two lobes in the image of the Trinity, and the two upper ones - in deity and humanity. Such ineptitude and lack of skill in the naming of the fingers themselves, two and three, for the sign of the cross, and in general in the presentation of the teaching about this subject, which we see here in an unknown author and now we will see in other writers, each of whom named the fingers in his own way and unsuccessfully, most clearly indicates that at that time this teaching was still very new and that for its exact expression the concepts had not yet been understood, the language had not been developed, the terminology had not been established 34. And why would all this evidence in favor of two-fingered and three-fingered fingers be needed if such a double-fingered arrangement had not been an “innovation” among us at that time and was widely accepted by everyone? It is very natural that there were then and among the literati people who tried to defend the two former, since ancient times existing in our church, finger formations, one for the sign of the cross, and the other for blessing, and said: “as it is appropriate to be baptized with three fingers, and to bless with two,” - for which they even pointed out that in the very word of Theodorite, first it speaks of three fingers, and then of two; but the adherents of two-fingered fingers remained adamant in their opinion and answered them with evasive and obscure interpretations 35 . In this form, the doctrine of two fingers passed into the 16th century, and at the very beginning of this century we find Theodorite's word in one chronograph, and all three articles - Theodorite's word, and the legend of Meletia, and the curse on those who are not baptized with two fingers - in one subsequent Psalter 36. In the first quarter of the century, if not earlier, the author of “Domostroy” introduced Theodorite’s word into his work without any changes, but on his own explained that the three fingers in the image of the Trinity are the outer one and the two lower ones, and the two fingers are in the image of the two natures in Christ - the middle one and the other with him 37 . Then the word Theodorite was placed in the “Collection” of his writings by Metropolitan Daniel himself (1522‒1539), and already in this form: “bless the face with your hand and be baptized: have three fingers together, the large one and the last two, in the image of the Trinity..., and have two fingers inclined, and not outstretched..., the upper finger forms the deity, and the lower finger forms humanity”... and so on, that is, he placed it with an explanation about fingers in the very text of the word 38. The question of the sign of the cross was then considered a matter of the greatest importance, and the famous elder of the Pskov Eleazar Monastery Philotheus, in his letter to the leader. Prince Vasily Ivanovich (1505‒1533) pointed out to him as the first task of his reign, so that he taught his subjects to correctly apply the sign of the cross on themselves, which many of them did not do - although the sign of the cross is not directly mentioned here and it is not clear what kind of sign of the cross Philotheus himself held 39 . They addressed this question to Maxim the Greek, and he, allegedly, like Metropolitan. Daniel, stood for two fingers and answered in accordance with the word of Theodorite, naming, in his own way, the fingers themselves (“by the union of three fingers, that is, the finger and the hedgehog from the middle and the smallest, we confess the mystery of the divine three Hypostases. that Maximus’s legend about the sign of the cross was spoiled by the first collector of his works, shortly after his death 40. In this way, even before the Council of the Hundred Heads, for perhaps a whole century, the doctrine of double-fingeredness was gradually prepared and disseminated among us by our scribes and literates: it is not surprising if it managed to acquire ardent followers and adherents, mainly among bookish people. But it did not penetrate the masses of the people, or penetrated very little: they continued to make the sign of the cross in the old way, with three fingers, as they had learned from their ancestors. This was witnessed by the Tsar himself at the Council of the Hundred Heads, when he said: “Christians are baptized with their hands not essentially,” which meant: “Christians are baptized with their hands, not with two fingers,” as the fathers of the cathedral understood the Tsar, and therefore they established the well-known rule about two fingers for pastors and laity. And, remarkably, the tsar did not say: “some Christians”..., but said in general: “Christians are baptized by hand not in essence.” This shows how large the number of those holding three fingers was then. Were there disagreements and disputes at the Council of the Hundred Heads on the issue of laying down the finger for blessing and the sign of the cross? No information about this has survived; but it is doubtful that they happened: since all the persons, more or less literary, who knew what was written about this subject in the testimonies then in use, and, moreover, written in the name of St., were present at the council. fathers, and got used to believing everything that was written. It is much more likely that the members of the council, without much hesitation, decreed their famous rule on two-fingered fingers and, as the basis for their definition, “out of simplicity and ignorance,” cited both the word of Theodorite, without at all suspecting its falsity, and the story of St. Meletie, without noticing the obvious distortion in it, and the equally distorted article with a curse on those who are not baptized with two fingers, which they stated in their definition even twice, first like this: “Whoever does not bless with two fingers, like Christ, or does not imagine the sign of the cross, let him be cursed,” and a few lines later like this: “Whoever does not sign with two fingers, like Christ, let him be cursed.” This is how, finally, the doctrine of double-fingeredness, which for so many years was carried out in our country only through bookish methods, reached its highest power: - approved by an entire council and even elevated to the level of dogma, protected by a curse! This curse in a completely ritual matter, legitimizing for everyone and forever only two fingers for blessing and the sign of the cross and striking with anathema all the Orthodox - Greeks, Russians and others who used a different finger arrangement, was the greatest mistake of the Stoglavy Council. Sooner or later, it inevitably had to cause, and indeed did cause, a little over a century later, a new curse, but only one that fell on those who were baptized with two fingers according to Stoglav, and served, although remotely, as the very root and most important cause of the Russian schism. Now, it seemed, it was no longer necessary to disseminate the teachings approved by the council to use corruptions of previous works, although this was not abandoned 41; Now the spiritual authorities themselves began to spread double-fingered. Metropolitan Macarius sent out his letters of instruction throughout Russia, to the white clergy and monastics, with instructions on double-fingering; all diocesan bishops were obliged to have the book Stoglav and be guided by it; In addition, all priestly elders (dean) and local cathedrals were obliged to do the same 42. There is, however, evidence that even now, despite all the influence of the clergy, the doctrine of two-fingered fingers, especially at the beginning, had little success 43; that triplets continued to remain in place in some of our monasteries 44; that at the end of the 16th century the three-fingered sign of the cross was still used, although already together with the two-fingered one 45 . There is direct and indisputable evidence that even at the beginning of the 17th century. the three-fingered sign of the cross was not only not supplanted among us, but still remained dominant in Russia, as in Greece. The foreigner Petrey, a Swede by birth, who, in his own words, visited Russia several times, even under Boris Godunov (1598‒1604) and subsequent kings before Mikhail Feodorovich, as an ambassador from his sovereign, lived among the Russians for several years, carefully observed their faith and rituals and entered into his chronicle only what he saw with his own eyes, this is how he describes the sign of the cross among the Russians: “in the houses of Muscovites, both poor and rich, there are picturesque images.... at every entrance and exit they bow and cross themselves before the images...; especially when they go to bed, get out of bed, leave the table or the house, and enter it again, they bow their heads and cross themselves three times, with three bent fingers, the thumb and the longest one."... 46. And about the Greeks, this is what the learned Greek Christopher Angel, a native of the Peloponnesian, says, who, due to persecution for his faith, was forced in 1608. retire to England and there he subsequently published a short essay about his compatriots: “when they enter the church, everyone goes to his place and, having stood, takes off his hat or headdress, and connects the three fingers of his right hand, that is, the first finger and the second and third together, signifying that God is the Holy Trinity, and places the three connected fingers first on the forehead, as a sign that St. The Trinity is in heaven; and then he places it on the womb to signify that the Son of God and the Word came to earth and was incarnate, and was crucified, and died for our sins; further he places it on his right shoulder, showing that He ascended from hell and sat down at the right hand of the Father; Finally, he rests on his left shoulder, expressing (the prayer) that He will not leave us on the left (at the Last Judgment), but will deliver us from the left country” 47. Let us now ask the followers of Stoglav: how could it happen that at the beginning of the 17th century the three-fingered sign of the cross was dominant in Greece and even in Russia, if it is true, as you claim, that not only since the time of the Council of the Stoglava, but also before it and in general from the beginning in the Orthodox Church, only one true sign of the finger was used - the two-fingered one? There is obviously a typo in the original and should be read “chelo”. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith. Preos. Filaret. East. Russian Ts. III, 193, ed. 2. We also held this opinion and tried to prove it in detail in our History. Russian schism, 49‒60, ed. 2. See our History. Russian Church VI, 220‒227 and gave. It was placed in a letter to the monasteries (see Stoglav, p. 260, ed. Kazan) and briefly stated in a letter to the white clergy (Right. Sobesedn. 1863, 1, 203) Ave. Filar. East. R. Church. III. 189, 191. O. Grapes. About Theodorite's Word, 97‒102, Moscow. 1866. According to the Synodal. list No. 183, l. 597. Additional to Act. Histor. V, p. 487. “When you signify yourself with a cross, then imagine the full significance of the cross... It should not just be depicted with a finger (δακτύλῳ), but it should be preceded by a heartfelt disposition and complete faith.” Chrysostom Conversation on Ev. Matthew, LIY, part II, pp. 426‒427, Moscow. 1839. St. Epiphanius about one Orthodox committee, named Joseph, whom he knew personally: “this man, having put the seal of the cross on the vessel with his own finger and calling on the name of Jesus, said in a loud voice: in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, let there be in this water power to destroy all witchcraft” (Haeres. 30, §12, Works of St. Epiphanius, part I, 234, c Works of St. vol. 42, Moscow. Blazh. Jerome about Rev. Mother Paulae: “holding her finger over her lips, she made the sign of the cross on them” (Epitaph. Paulae matris. in Opp. t. I, p. 110, Francof. et Lipsiae). Blazh. Theodoret of Cyrus about St. Marcians, who came from the same city of Cyrus: “the saint imagined the sign of the cross with his finger, and with his lips he blew on him (the serpent), and like a reed from the fire, the serpent immediately disappeared” (Theodoret. Philotheus or historian Bogolyubtsev, stat, about Marcian, as well as in the Prologue, on the 2nd of November); same about Rev. Julian: “calling on the Lord and showing the victory sign with his finger, he drove away all fear” (Istr. Bogolyub, stat., about Julian). Sozomen about St. Bishop Donata: “When the great dragon wanted to attack St. Donatus, then with his finger he depicted the sign of the cross in the air in front of him and spat; the saliva got into the beast’s mouth and he died.” Sozomen Church. Histor. book VII, ch. 26). Gregory Dvoeslov about the monk Martyrios: “he made the sign of the cross with his finger”..., and about the priest Amantius: “the man of God depicted the cross with his finger” (Dialog, lib. I, p. 11; lib. III, p. 35, in Opp. t. II, ed. Paris.). John Moschus about St. Julian, Bishop of Botra: “he crossed the cup (with poison) three times with his finger and, saying: in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I drink this cup, - he drank it all in front of everyone and remained unharmed” (Lug spiritual. Chapter 94). St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified One; Let us boldly depict with our fingers (δακτύλοις) the sign of the cross on our foreheads and on everything” (Ochlanit. Teachings 13, §18 or 36). St. Ephraim the Syrian: “not only place the sign of the cross on yourself with your hand, but also in your thoughts, seal with it every activity you do: your entry, and your departure at all times, and your sitting and rising, and your bed, and whatever service you perform, first of all, seal it in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (On arming a monk, in the Creation of the Holy Father, vol. XV, and the work of St. Ephraim, part IV, pp. 371‒372, Moscow 1850). St. Basil led. Right 91 from Chapter 27 books about the Holy Spirit (in the Book of Rules....). The work of Elijah of Damascus: de concordia fidei - placed in Asseman. Biblioth. Oriental. T. III, Part. 2, where Acsemani provides information about the author himself (see pp. 325. 385. 513‒516). This is the message of Demetrius about the Jacobites and Melchites - in the second part of the Slavs. Helmsman, ch. 39. That the monk Peter of Damascus wrote around 1157 and lived in the 12th, and not in the 8th, century, as the publishers of the Philokalia mistakenly believed (Moscow 1793), this was clearly shown by the Most Reverend. Nikifor Feotoki in his Answer. Old Believers, l. 105, note. 120, ed. 1813 Our Histor. R. Church II, 227. This philosopher and his debates are described in our manuscripts (Description of Rumyants. Muz., p. 308; Slav.-Russian manuscript of Undolsky, p. 431. 443). It is worthy of note that in one collection of the end of the 15th century, when exactly they began to preach two fingers among us, the words of Panagiot to the Latins are presented in the following form: “and to what, not as we are baptized, a prototype of the true cross with three fingers on the head and on the heart and on the right shoulder and on the left, by virtue of it we will put on...; Are you making a cross with two fingers on the ground?” But only the word: three, obvious from the meaning of the speech, was scraped out (someone didn’t like it!) and was not replaced by anything (Collected Room, Music No. 358, l. 277). A similar reading of Panagiot’s words is given in Conversations. k verb. old school, p. 202. ed. 3). K. Σαϑα, Νεοελληνικὴ Φιλολογία σελ. 152‒153. Ἐν Αϑήναις, 1868. The above instruction of Damascus in the original text can be read from Leo Allation - De cons. occid. et orient. eccl. III, c. 18, n. 15, p. 1358, and in the Slavic translation - in Opis. Khludov's manuscripts, p. 145. For example, we can point to the analysis of these testimonies from St. icons and other sacred images, printed, in Orthodox. Interview 1869, II, 95‒134. As for the Roman church, which we did not mention, then, according to the research of one learned Jesuit, who wrote in 1598 a special essay on St. on the cross, the Latins, for centuries, performed the sign of the cross and blessing with one, two, three, and all five fingers indifferently (Jacobi Gretseri Opp. T. I, lib. IV p. 338‒340, Ratisbon. 1734). In particular, the use of the double-fingered finger in the Roman Church is evidenced by: and some monuments of the 8th-10th centuries. (indicated in the work of Fr. Vinogradov - on the Theodorit. word, 50‒53); b) the so-called Korsun gate to Novgorod. Soph. cathedral, at which the Latin bishop Alexander de Blutsich is presented with a two-fingered blessing (Philar. Conversations to the verb. Old Belief. 211‒213, ed.) 3); c) words already known to us from the debate between Panagiot and Azimite. The use of three fingers for the sign of the cross and blessing in the Roman Church is spoken about by the popes and scientists themselves from the 9th-13th centuries, and namely: a) Pope Leo IV (847-855): calicem et oblatam recta cruce signate, id est, non in circulo et variatione digitorum, ut plurimi faciunt, sed districtis duobus digitis et pollice intus recluso, per quos trinitas annuitur, istud signum + recta facere studete; non enim aliter quidquam potestis benedicere (Mign. Patrolog. curs, compl. T. CXV, p. 667); b) Pope Innocent III (1198): signum crucis tribus digitis exprimendum est ita, ut a superiori descendat ad inferius et a dextera transeat ad sinistram (De myster. missae lib. II, c. 45); c) Luke, Bishop of Tudent in Spain (+ 1288): tribus digitis extensis, id est, pollice, indice et medio, duobus aliis digitis plicatis, sub invocatione Deificae Trinitatis, nos !et alios consignamus (Adversus Albigens. lib. II. c. 18, in Maxim. Biblioth. Patr. T. XXV, p. 233). Honorius, an Augustonian presbyter who lived in the first half of the 12th century, also speaks about folding three fingers to make the sign of the cross. (Noporii Augustod. Gemma animae de antiquo ritu missarum, lib. I, c. 17 in Max. Bibl. Patr. T. XX, p. 1053), and Gibert of Tornatsen, Parisian doctor, - XIII century. (Guibert. Tornacens. De officio episcopi, c 2, in Max. Bibl. Patr. T. XXV, p. 402). Salzenbory, Alt – Chrislliche Baudenkmale von Constantinopel vom V. bisXII. Jahrhundert. Berlin, 1854. See, in particular, in the text: Agia Sofia, Einleitung und Geschichle, S. 14‒16, as well as descriptions and explanations by the author of the images of St. Sophia he took. More about this - Orthodox. Conversation 1858, II, in the article: Evidence from the 8th century on the folding of fingers in a priestly blessing (pp. 462‒471). The Latin translation reads: Quinque digitis quomodo aliqui benedicunt et cum pollice faciem signant, tanquam monothelitai, cum igitur debeant disponi digiti in consignationibus, quod per eos duae naturae significentur et tres personae, prout Christus monstravit, quando in caelum ascensurus discipulis manibus elevatis benedixit. The article of an unknown Greek against the Roman high priest, in which these words cited by us are found, is placed, as an appendix, in the Latin work: tractatus contra errores Graecorum editus Constantinopoli in aedibus fratrum praedicatorum anno Domini 1253, and was found by these Latin monks in the papers of the Latin writer Hugon Etherianus, who lived in the second half of the 12th century (Dela Bigne, Max. veterum Patr. XXVII p. It is also included in the work: Observationes et notae in libros Calecae (Max. Biblioth. Patr. T. XXVI, p. 467‒468). The translation of the article is very bad and reveals that the translator is not a natural Latin, but rather a Greek with little knowledge of the Latin language. The article about Fryazekh.... is in both of our well-known lists of the Helmsman of the 13th century: the Ryazan 1284, which is a copy of the list sent in 1262 to our Metropolitan. Kirill from Bulgaria (Imperial Publ. Library, Tolstoy collection, department I, No. 311, Ch. 51), and Sofia-Novgorod, writing. between 1280‒1294 (Undolsk. Description of this list, in Reading. M. Historical Society. 1867, II, department III p. 51), and then found in all subsequent lists of both Ryazan and Sofia surnames (see, for example, Description of the hand. Rumyants. Muz. 283. 293. 301). The words we cited in this article are taken from the above-mentioned Ryazan list of the 13th century. (l. 271); but in some later lists (for example, Rumyants. Muz. No. 233, l. 248) and in the printed helmsman (according to the first edition, Chapter 48, and the last, Chapter 47) they are slightly distorted and read like this: “the fingers of the five are strangely blessed and in the middle of the face they are baptized.” Read more about this in the article by Arch. Nikanora: “Constantinople. The church of St. Sophia is a witness to the ancient rights. first constitution”, in Orthodox. Interview. 1870, III, 286‒306. Images of these various finger formations are presented in the book of M. Gregory. Truly ancient. and truly orthodox. Chr. Church, II, 121‒1.5 ed. 4. Filar. Conversation k verb. old-fashioned, p. 240. Anyone familiar with our ancient writing knows very well how often, under the names of Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, or other saints. Our fathers were given works that were undoubtedly Russian. “I oppose the false speaker, I complained in the 16th century. Prince Kurbsky, transforming into ardent teachers, and write a story contrary to the words of the Gospel, and hide their names, so that they will not be exposed, and sign them with holy names, so that their writing is conveniently accepted by the simple and unlearned...” (Manuscript of the former biblical book. Pogodin No. 208). On the falsity of the said Theodorite word, see the response of the Greek patriarchs and in general the fathers of the Moscow Council of 1667 (Additional Act. Ist. V, 502‒503) and the comments of the learned Greek Nicephorus Theotoki (Reply of the Old Belief. 133) As far as is known so far, it is found for the first time in two books of the Solovetsky Library, written at the end of the 15th century. in Novgorod for the holy monk Dosifei: in Kormchay No. 858, l. 472 vol., and in Collection No. 802, l. 201 vol., - and in its then form it read like this: “The word of St. Theodoret, how to bless and be baptized. Bless your face and make the sign of the cross with your hand: three fingers are equal, together in the image of a trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, are not three Gods, but one God in the Trinity, the names are divided and the deity is one; The Father is not begotten, but the Son is begotten, and the Holy Spirit is neither begotten nor created, but proceeding; three in one deity, one power, one honor, one worship from all creatures, from angels, from people. This is a decree to those three fingers! And having two fingers is inclined, and not outstretched, and thus the decree is this: then divinity and humanity are formed into two natures, God by divinity, and man by incarnation, and in both is perfect. The upper one forms the deity, and the lower one humanity: having come down from the highest, the lower one saved. That bending of the sacred interprets: bow down the heavens and descend for our salvation. This is indicated and legitimized by the holy fathers. To Him be glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. V. Amen" (Descended. Ignat. Truth Solov, inhabited, 87–8; Orthodox. Sobesedn. 1860 II, p. 322). In addition, the same Theodorite word is included twice in the 15th century Collection of Moscow. Synod, bib. No. 316 (Description of this book. II, 3, pp. 570. 585). Sozomen. Church Histor. book IV, ch. 28, p. 299, S. p. b. 1851; Theodorite. Church Histor. book II, ch. 31, p. 192, S. p. b. 1852; Nicephor. Callist. Eccles. Hist. lib. IX, c. 48. Collection of Bibles. Kirillo-beloz. monastery, now with. p.b. spirit. Academician, XV century, No. 1088, l. 263‒265. We consider it necessary to present here from this Collection the entire article in which the story of St. Meletie and to which we will have to refer more than once. Here it is: “How it is appropriate to baptize with your hand. Baptize and bless: two are longer, and the third is the top one with a long finger; the bending of the finger also interprets: for we bow down to the heavens and come down for our salvation; and the two are on top, and with these two bless them into deity and humanity. It is appropriate to be baptized and bless the fingers 3 below, and the two upper ones together, with those to bless and be baptized into deity and humanity. Likewise, Melentius Sebastian and Theodoret teach us, and in some way. Melentius, bishop of Savastia, was very famous in his life and word, but for the sake of those who were under his hand, he renounced the episcopacy and remained in silence. Then the heretics thought that Melentius was philosophizing with them, asking him from the king, so that there would be a patriarch, a hedgehog. And therefore, having held a council about the faith of the one being and the Arians speaking differently, Melentius, however, showed the divine rule of the manifestation; to people asking for a quick teaching from God, he showed the fingers 3 in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and there was no sign; Therefore, Melentius bought two, and I will bend a third, and bless the people, and from him came out like a fire of lightning, - he let out a praiseworthy voice: for we understand three, but we talked about one, - and thus disgrace the heretics. And therefore, having come to the city of Constantine, this saint was greatly honored by the great king Theodosius. Nearest monastery of Physima. And again, for the sake of assurance, she wrote and organized and preached, saying: whoever is not marked with two fingers, like Christ, is cursed. Yes, no one, having transgressed this, will be depraved: for now, collectively, this is the testimony from the God-enlightened and holy fathers. Even if Netia has been encroached upon, the verb sitse: as it is fitting to be baptized with three fingers, to bless with two, - imaginatively, as in those scriptures it says to bless with three fingers; and the velmi say that there are 3 fingers, but the highest is two to the longest, and those are three fingers; and truly and I do not put aside three fingers, and the blessed ones above are two fingers, deity and humanity. And I don’t want to write the first two and then three, but, for the sake of Christ our God, they add the upper to the lower two from heaven, and so the Trinity is called, and what remains of them is deity and humanity. And again in all of them there is one power, and one honor, one indivisible equality of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the deity is intangible, and the trisolar illumination is not comprehended. Come, my beloved, to the assurance that follows the holy saying, and let us not philosophize, lest we become bogged down in mortal unbelief; Basil of Caesarea already commanded, saying: about the divine and ineffable light, do not try much, but recognize the saints as you wrote them, so that we do not descend into the depths of evil; For this reason, he forbids being unwise. I venerate both the wood of the venerable cross, enshrined on it for the sake of the Lord’s flesh, and the entire image of the life-giving cross. Other two words are written in the book where the chronicler first began.” It should be added that this article, like the entire Collection, was written in Kirillo-Beloz. monastery by the hand of the monk Euphrosynus around 1490, as can be seen from his own note (l. 217), and that in the same monastery and by the same monk Euphrosynus and handwriting, another Collection of the said monastery was written in 1476‒1482, now with. p.b. spirit. Academician No. 1083, as evidenced by the notes of the scribe himself (fol. 78 vol. and 218), as well as Collection 1473-1477 of the former Tsarsky library No. 365 (Description of it, p. 355. 363). See the article in the previous note, as well as the Collection. XV century Moscow. Synod. bib. No. 316, l. 12 rev. (Description page 571). About other things - in our History. schism, 60‒64. This order of receiving heretics is also in hand. Trebnik of our library, No. 89, beginning. XVI century, and here the said article reads like this: “Whoever does not baptize with two fingers, like Christ, let him be cursed” (p. 331). But in Required. Moscow. Synod, bib. ΧVI century No. 378, l. 470, this article already speaks of the two-fingered sign of oneself with a cross (Description III, I, p. 233). Let us also add that in Kormchay Novgorod. Soph. library, now p.b. spirit. Academician, XV century, No. 1173, l. 296 vol., the said article reads: “Whoever does not baptize with two fingers, like Christ, let him be cursed”; as well as in the two Helmsmen of the Kirillov Bible, p. p.b. spirit. Akad, XVI century No. 1079, ch. 100 and 1590, No. 1078, g. 100, reads: “whoever does not baptize with two fingers like Christ, let him be cursed.” See the article included in the note. 31, and comp. with the following evidence of the folding of the fingers of the author of Domostroy, Metropolitan. Daniel and Maxim the Greek, and even the Stoglavy Cathedral itself. See the same article in note 31. See Chronograph. Blush. Music No. 454 (Description p. 735. 736), and about the said Psalter in the Orthodox Church. Interview 1870, III, 38‒44. 83‒85. Nekrasov. About the incident Domostroya, in Chiten. M. Histor. General 1872, III, dept. I, 61. Here are the original words from Domostroi, according to the list of the first quarter of the 16th century. Justice requires noting, on the one hand, that M. Daniel could not have made this explanation or addition himself, but found it in some previous list of Theodorite’s words and only copied it into his Collection, and on the other hand, that this explanatory addition could have been included in the Collection of Daniel even after his death by some copyist: for although the Collection of Daniel was preserved in the copy of the 16th century. (Moscow spirit. Academician No. 197), but this is not the original of Daniil’s hand - it is missing the entire last part of the last word, which, however, is in other, albeit later, copies and, without a doubt, was in the original. This message is in the Law. Interview 1863, I, 343‒348. It is placed between the works of Maxim: in the list of the 16th century. M. Synod, bib. No. 191, l. 64 rev. (Description II, 2, 525); in the list of the late 16th century. former bib. Tsarskogo No. 241, l. 223 (Description 204); in the 1587 list of the former library. Undolsky No. 487, l. 128 (Description 352), and even in the oldest list of the Bible. Khludov, written in 1563, that is, six to seven years after the death of Maxim, No. 73, ch. 40. (See Popov. Description of the manuscript of Khludov, pp. 150‒152, M. 1872). This was still the first time after the Council of the Hundred Heads, and a zealot of two fingers, collecting the works of Maxim, could easily either only distort his work on the sign of the cross in his own way, or even attribute his own product to Maxim. Or perhaps Maxim wrote his articles about the sign of the cross and the special alleluia after the Council of the Hundred Heads, and in these articles, as they think (Conversation on the verb of the old school, p. 194, ed. 3), he only showed leniency towards the prevailing prejudice, so as not to further irritate his enemies against himself. As proof, we point to the article of Panagiot, already known to us: in two books of Makaryevsky cetimens, December and June, written before the Council of the Hundred Heads, she reproached the Latins for why they did not cross themselves with three fingers; and in the August book, written after the Council of the Hundred Heads, he already reproaches why people don’t cross themselves with two fingers. Act. Exp. I, no. 232, pp. 227. 228. In this sense, one can understand the famous words of the former Trinity abbot Artemy, said in 1554, that “at the council there was a word about the sign of the cross, but nothing was accomplished” (Act. Exp. I, p. 252). In 1567, the hieromonk of the Osheven monastery, Theodosius, compiled the life of St. Alexander Oshevensky and at the end of his life, describing the miracle that happened to him, among other things he said: “... and I saw that what was above me, as if my right hand was weakened, my hand was bent at the wrist, but the three upper fingers were barely able to move instead of imagining the sign of the cross on my face, but the two lower fingers were crouching against my hand.” This hieromonk was baptized, obviously, with three fingers (Slavic-Russian manuscript of Undolsky, No. 276, life of Alexander Osheven. 15th century, Description pp. 214‒215). The following obverse Psalter, written in 1594, in Moscow, by order of the boyar Dim, has been preserved. Ivan. Godunov, with many iconographic images in the margins of the manuscript. Here you can count more than 100 hands folded for blessing and for the sign of the cross, and among them there are three-fingered, two-fingered, and naming (Right. Sobesedn. 1869, III, 105‒124. 185‒211). For another copy of this same Psalter, written by the same scribe, see Right. Sob. 1870, III, 92‒110. Petreya History of Vel. Principality of Moscow, in Reading M. Histor. General 1867, II, dept. IV, pp. 401‒402. We find similar evidence from the secretary of the Holstein embassy, who was with us in 1633, 1636 and 1638, Adam Olearius, who says: “Russians use the folded three main fingers of their right hand to make the sign of the cross” (Olear. Description of the trip of the Holstein embassy to Muscovy, book III, chapter 26, in Reading Moscow. History General 1868‒1870). This evidence is considered in the Law. Interview 1864, II, 76‒81. We can add here the testimony of Leo Allacius (b. 1586, d. 1669), who knew both the Latins and the Greeks well and speaks of the folding of the latter’s fingers for the sign of the cross: Graeci tribus primis manus dexterae digitis extensis et inter se connexis, reliquis duobus intra palmam paululum plicatis, frontem tangunt, et manum eodem modo digestam versus pectus extendunt, postea a dextera pectoris parte in sinistram progrediuntur; tandem inclinato capite cum humeris in faciem procumbunt (De cons. eccl. orient. et occid. III, cap. 18, p. 1357‒1358).