Of the external or outward actions that accompany every Orthodox prayer, there is the main thing: the Sign of the Cross. Since the time of the Apostles, it has served as a visible sign that a Christian, beginning through prayer, his spiritual conversation with God, dares to do this not on his own behalf, or personal merit, but only in the name of the One who, having dissolved the handwriting of human sins on the Cross (Col. 2:13-14) and opening the doors of heaven to the world, bequeathed to his disciples: whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you! (John 16:23).
According to the statutes of the Holy Church, the performance of this sign of the cross should be as follows: the right (or right) hand is assigned for it, as usually signifying strength, honor and preference (based on the instructions of the Holy Scriptures, saying: Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father (Luke 22:69) Sit at My right hand (Ps. 109:1) “He will set the righteous at His right hand" (Matthew 25:31-34), etc. The first three fingers of this hand (thumb, index and middle) should be joined at the ends together, in commemoration of the union of the Divine persons of the Holy Trinity; and the last two fingers (the fourth and little fingers) are folded together and pressed to the palm, in an image of the dual nature of the God-man, who constantly remained in the incarnation, both perfect man and omnipotent. By God.
This arrangement of the fingers of the hand to apply the sign of the cross on oneself should be considered true and pleasing to God, because all the ancient Saints and Righteous Ones, who shone with the incorruptibility of their relics, used it in their prayers and with it, as a symbolic banner of immutable faith, they opened the gates of the Kingdom of God and were rewarded with eternal bliss.
With fingers folded in this way, the Orthodox must make the sign of the Cross on himself in the following places of the body and with the following meaning: raising his hand to his forehead, as the seat of the mind, he signifies by this that, recognizing and loving God with all his mind, he undertakes to primarily turn all his thoughts to Him! At the same time, he pronounces the words “the name of the Father—by whose wisdom everything was created and everything is contained!” Then moving his hand to his chest, like the center of the human body, where the main engine of life beats - the heart, he signifies by this that, loving God with all his heart, he reverently devotes all his feelings and desires to Him! At the same time, he pronounces the words of the Son, out of mercy and love for mankind, Who took away all the sins of the world on the cross! And finally, placing his hand on his right and left shoulders, as an instrument of a person’s physical strength and strength, he signifies by this that he is putting to the service of God not only all the powers of the soul and mind, but also all the organs of his bodily activity! At the same time, he pronounces the words of the Holy Spirit.
Amen, calling on His almighty power to consecrate these shoulders for the firm bearing of the earthly cross on them, in fulfillment of the words of the Savior; whoever wants to follow Me, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me! (Matt. 16:24).
Great is the power of the sign of this cross! - says St. Nile the Companion, - when it overshadows the heart, forehead, etc. parts, then all the enemy’s power is destroyed, and the evil demons run away from us with trepidation! (book 3. letter 378) And if the Holy Scripture, pointing to the victories won in the Old Testament Church by the saving image of the cross, mentions that by its image in the outstretched hands of Moses the destroyer Amalek was defeated and by its mysterious power, through the image by the hands of Joshua, even the sun itself was stopped, for the final destruction of the enemies: then how much should the power of this saving banner after its consecration by the atoning blood of the Son of God, who destroyed enmity with His flesh, abolishing the law of commandments and decree, in order to create in Himself one new man out of two, establishing peace, and in one body to reconcile both with God by the cross, killing enmity on it! (Eph. 2:14–17). And therefore the Apostle adds that even one Word about the cross, for us - those who are being saved - is the power of God! (Cor.1:18).
And that is why he will not boast of anything else, except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world! (Gal.6:18).
The Orthodox Church points us to the sign of the cross as a weapon against demons, expressing the full power of the cross in the words of the prayer given to us in honor of it: as smoke disappears, let them disappear, as wax melts in the face of fire, so let demons perish on behalf of those who love God and are marked by the sign of the cross, etc.
Following the overshadowing of himself with the sign of the Cross of the Lord, the Orthodox must make a reverent bow to God, expressing that his body, created by the will of the Life-Giver and existing by His mercy, must also gratefully serve its Provider.
These bows are divided into small, or waist, and great, or earthly, expressing either the degree of gratitude for mercies, or the degree of consciousness of one’s sinfulness and deepest humility, or, finally, the degree of extreme need for the benefits requested. In addition, bowing the head during sacred rites in the Church, when the Priest, secretly reciting a prayer, asks the Lord to graciously look down from heaven on those who have bowed their heads to Him in filial fear and grant them all the blessings they ask for, has also a special meaning, namely: contrition for the fall of mankind in the person of the ancestors; just like the bowing of the head, i.e. its raising, means the restoration of humanity, granted to him in the resurrection of the Glorified God-Man!
Kneeling and prostrating oneself express in the praying person the consciousness of his sinfulness before God and His earnest prayer for forgiveness; and equally, they serve as an expression of the consciousness of their insignificance before the Almighty Creator and Provider, Whom, having dared to offend in failure to fulfill His commandments, one must beg in dust and humility for mercy.