At the Feet of the Fathers: St. Ephrem on the Sign of the Cross

At the Feet of the Fathers

Monday, December 28, 2022

St. Ephrem, the Syrian

Ephrem the Syrian (c. AD 306 – 373) was a prominent Christian theologian and writer revered as one of the most notable hymn writers of Eastern Christianity. Ephrem wrote many hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as interpretations and commentaries on the Bible. These were works of practical theology for edifying the Church in troubled times.

Make the Sign of the Cross Everywhere

How gracious is the Lord! How measureless are His mercies! Happy is the race of mortals when God confesses it! Woe to the soul that he denies! Fire is stored up for its punishment.

Be of good cheer, my child, in hope; sow good seed and do not despair. The farmer sows in hope, and the merchant journeys in hope. You also love good seed; in the hope, look for the reward.

Do nothing at all without the beginning of prayer. Seal all your doings, my child, with the sign of the living cross. Do not go out of the door of your house till you have signed the cross. Whether in eating or drinking, whether in sleeping or in waking, whether in your house or on the road or again in the season of leisure, do not neglect this sign, for there is no guardian like it. It shall be to you as a wall, in the forefront of all your doings. And teach this to your children, that they may pay attention and be conformed to it.

St. Ephrem the Syrian, Homily on Admonition and Repentance, 17

Note: St. Ephrem describes the sign of the cross almost superstitiously as if it were a magic sigil. It isn't magic but a reminder of the seal placed upon you in your baptism. It reminds you of your salvation won for you on the cross by Christ. Remembering that making the sign of the cross does well to keep Christ in the forefront of all your doings!