Just as the Cross is one of the oldest Christian symbols, blessing yourself or “making the sign of the Cross” (i.e. literally tracing the Cross upon your person) is one of the Church’s earliest liturgical actions. Crossing yourself is an external expression to the worshipper’s inward feeling of devotion and conveys a wordless confession of faith: the thumb and two forefingers of the right hand joined together symbolize our belief in the Holy Trinity, while the other two fingers pressed against the palm represent the two natures (God and man) of Christ.
During Orthodox worship the faithful routinely make the sign of the Cross at special moments throughout services, such as at the opening doxology (“Blessed is the Kingdom…” or “Blessed is our God…”), each time the Holy Trinity is evoked (“Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…”), before and after the reading of Scripture, etc. Yet the faithful are also free to Cross themselves at other times, whenever the spirit of prayer fervently moves them. And although there are distinct moments when you will see the entire congregation making the sign of the Cross together, there are also times when you will perhaps only see a few individuals making such devotions. In essence, outside of those specific times listed above, there is great latitude and freedom as to when and how often an individual may choose to make the sign of the Cross.
