<P> The movement is the tracing of the shape of a cross in the air or on one's own body, echoing the traditional shape of the cross of the Christian crucifixion narrative . There are two principal forms: one--three fingers, right to left--is exclusively used in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Church of the East and the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Byzantine, Assyrian and Chaldean traditions; the other--left to right to middle, other than three fingers--is the one used in the Latin (Catholic) Church, Anglicanism, Methodism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism and Oriental Orthodoxy . The ritual is rare within other Christian traditions . </P> <P> Many individuals use the expression "cross my heart and hope to die" as an oath, making the sign of the cross, in order to show "truthfulness and sincerity", sworn before God, in both personal and legal situations . </P> <P> The Cross is a symbol representing Christ's victory over sin and death . The sign of the cross was originally made in some parts of the Christian world with the right - hand thumb across the forehead only . In other parts of the early Christian world it was done with the whole hand or with two fingers . Around the year 200 in Carthage (modern Tunisia, Africa), Tertullian wrote: "We Christians wear out our foreheads with the sign of the cross". Vestiges of this early variant of the practice remain: in the Roman Rite of the Mass in the Catholic Church, the faithful make this gesture on the forehead, on the lips, and on the heart at the proclamation of the Gospel; on Ash Wednesday a cross is traced in ashes on the forehead; holy oil (called chrism) is applied on the forehead for the sacrament of Confirmation (called the Holy Mystery of Chrismation in the Eastern Orthodox Church, as Orthodox call the Sacraments by the name "Holy Mystery"). By the 4th century, the sign of the cross involved other parts of the body beyond the forehead . </P> <P> The open right hand is used in Western Christianity . The five open fingers are often said to represent the Five Wounds of Christ . This symbolism was adopted after the more ancient gesture of two or three fingers was simplified . Though this is the most common method of crossing by Western Christians, other forms are sometimes used . The West also employs the "Small Sign of the Cross" (+). The primary use for this is immediately before the reading of The Gospel during the Mass . Using the right thumb, a small cross is traced over the forehead, lips, and heart of the individual while whispering or silently praying the words "May Christ's words be on my mind, on my lips, and in my heart ." The Small Sign is also used during the majority of the Sacraments . </P>

Where did the sign of the cross come from
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