Knowing the purpose of the Orthodox symbol will help you understand what to do if you lose your cross, because in this religion priests explain: a gold or wooden pectoral cross is not magic amulet or jewelry. An Orthodox believer wears a pectoral cross with a crucifix, a symbol of humility and readiness to bear his burden of trials, as a reminder of his prepared fate. The loss of a sacred object has no basis hidden meaning, relationship with subsequent events in life or heavenly punishment. It is worse to deliberately remove and not wear the symbol of faith.
Why lose the cross?
The Orthodox Church teaches to avoid superstitions passed down through generations. These include the prejudice regarding the loss of the cross. A person often endows objects magical properties through ignorance. The Law of God says: “The Cross of Christ is the garment in which we must put on in order to be distinguished from everyone of a different faith or unbeliever.” The shrine expresses belonging to Orthodoxy, conscious confession, faith in God's providence. If a child has lost a cross, you should not pay attention to this negative accident, unless it is the result of a careless attitude.
Priest's opinion
When turning to a clergyman with such a question as the loss of a cross, he will advise you to purchase another one, already consecrated in the church. You are allowed to bring an item purchased in a store for consecration. A Christian is recommended to fast for three days and come to the service to receive the sacrament of communion. Tell the priest in confession about your thoughts and fears that bother you Lately. The Church does not consider the loss of a cross to be a sin of lack of faith. Just replace it with a new one.
Folk signs
The sign of losing a cross, familiar to many, is associated with paganism and combined with a bad omen. Folk "meaning" bad omen- deviation from the right path of life, impending troubles. Previously, the power of the amulet was considered exhausted when it stopped absorbing unfavorable energy. The owner lost his amulet, became vulnerable and needed protection. The loss of a cross could also be a good omen: a sign of fulfilled duty, forgiveness of sins. There was an opinion that explained why the cross was lost: it meant the opportunity to change one’s destiny.
What to do after losing your cross
“The Cross of Christ is a spiritual sword,” says Holy Scripture. A small cross imposes a great responsibility: to lead a spiritual life according to God's commandments, which introduces to the Divine grace necessary for protection. If the pectoral cross was lost by an adult or child, it is necessary.
Pectoral cross
Almost every one of us wears a cross, which is a powerful amulet against many negative influences on its owner. People believe that it gives strength to endure this or that trouble, life difficulties and adversity. The cross helps to overcome the disease faster and easier. He is the personification of faith. It can neither be given nor sold, since it is he who is the keeper of your destiny. But it happens that it gets lost, and not everyone knows what it means. What kind of sign is it to lose a cross? What is this for? Some are sure that this bad sign, others worry as about any lost thing, others take it for granted. Let's talk about everything in order.
The loss of the cross from the point of view of the Church
It should be noted that in the Church the loss of a cross is not considered an omen of something bad. For a Christian, his loss does not mean that he has become unprotected from evil forces. After all, the cross is a sign of love for God, his reverence and the readiness of each person to bear a certain cross placed on him by fate. It is as a symbol of faith in the saving power of the Cross of Christ that every Christian carefully wears this item. In the Church there is no such thing as a sign. Losing a cross due to a careless attitude towards it indicates a person’s lack of faith. And if the cross is lost due to the fraying of the thread or chain, then such an incident is not considered as a result of lack of faith. After all, this event occurred against the will of a person, and God cannot punish him for this and burden him with any additional trials or difficulties. Therefore, if you have lost your pectoral cross, then you just need to purchase a new one, but it must be consecrated.
Folk sign: losing a cross - what is it for?
Despite the fact that almost the entire population believes in God, there is also a folk sign that characterizes such an action as losing a cross. For those who don’t know: a folk sign describes the consequence of a certain action, the probability of which is quite high. In a word, people observed certain incidents and the consequences after them were passed on from mouth to mouth, from century to century. According to one of these signs, losing a cross means losing the strength to carry your Cross, and God gives you a choice, providing several paths. This doesn't mean that he abandoned you, it's just given new chance in life.
Cross - amulet
According to the second version of what this sign means, losing the cross means being left without protection. Among the people around us there are those who, with the help of magic, can cause harm or, as people say, “cause damage.” The presence of a cross creates a kind of shell around a person that protects him from such influence. With the loss of such an “amulet,” the shell also disappears, thereby making a person vulnerable to such things.
Human energy protection
It's no secret that we are surrounded different kinds energies that are created by one or another action. This can be either positive energy or negative (black). When exposed to humans negative energy he loses his vitality, begins to get sick, gets tired, and so on. The cross, mostly metal, absorbs all this negativity, thereby protecting a person from it. When he is no longer able to hold all this energy within himself, he breaks down or is lost. In this case, the sign takes on a completely different meaning: losing a cross means needing new protection that needs to be acquired.
Folk signs. Finding a cross - what is it for?
In itself, this sign carries neither good nor bad, if you simply pass by such a find. If you pick it up, you will take on a lot of negative energy, which will not lead to anything good. In addition, in occult rituals, a lot of “damage” is done by throwing objects, so when you pick up such an object, you risk picking up something that can change your whole life for the worse. After all, no one can say with certainty how true this is. As they say, God protects those who are careful...
Loss situation pectoral cross common, but each person perceives it differently. It all depends on the worldview and spiritual state of a particular person. Some people think this is bad, foreshadowing trouble. And someone, on the contrary, thinking like a true Christian believer, understands: this is nothing more than just a situation with the loss of an object.
The second position is certainly correct. However, a minority of people adhere to it. This is due to the fact that modern people tend to trust signs and mysticism rather than the real thing Orthodox faith. That is why it is worth understanding what it means to lose a cross.
What do folk signs say?
There are several signs that interpret this circumstance. Let's look at what the loss of a cross means:
- Loss of your “shield” from incorporeal and visible enemies- this is a bad prediction, believe those who believe in omens.
- Lost cross- This an indication to someone who has lost a spiritual object of his sinfulness and the need to change quickly.
- Some people are inclined to believe that a person who finds himself in such a situation with loss is now became even more subject to demons.
- There are people who explain the situation like this: the previous cross did not have sufficient power to protect from the spirits of evil. That is, losses should be considered, they assess, as an opportunity to acquire more reliable protection.
- There is also such an interpretation. A person has too much negativity and negative energy accumulated in his soul. The cross “took it away” and absorbed it all. And therefore its loss means getting rid of the “minus sign”.
- A certain number of believers in omens think so. The man was strongly “jinxed”, he was “damaged”. The cross protected its owner, “took” it all upon itself and “disappeared.” That is, its loss can be regarded as the removal of negative damage.
If in a dream you dreaming that you have lost your pectoral cross is an alarming sign, such a loss does not bode well for you, be prepared for trouble.
Church position
That is, in general, if we proceed from what the signs say, the following is obtained: the loss of your cross, its loss, is not good. This, as “the people” assume, promises misfortune and trouble. Although there are also judgments suggesting that the cross “takes away” everything negative that was in a person and on him, and therefore its loss can be assessed from a positive point of view as getting rid of negative energy.
However, in order for the consideration of the situation not to look one-sided, let us turn to the opinion of the official Orthodox Church on this matter. What do the clergy say about the situation with the loss of the pectoral cross?
The opinions are:
- If a person is a true believer, he steps aside from all sorts of signs, including those associated with the loss of spiritual objects.
- A true Christian will never attach any importance to the loss of his cross, saying to himself: “Lost means lost. I’ll go and buy a new consecrated cross.”
- In general, the believer’s position will be as follows: “Is it worth spending your time and energy “unraveling the mystery” of losing your cross, especially since there is no mystery here. A simple oversight. The main thing is to quickly, without delay, acquire a new “defender” from the machinations of the enemy in the church. After all, the cross is a reliable shield of any Orthodox person from all evil, visible and invisible, existing in the world.”
Lost along with the chain
If a person finds himself in a situation where he loses a cross along with a gold chain, folk signs explain this in different ways. There are in general two main positions:
- Losing a cross on a gold chain is bad sign.
- Loss of a cross with a gold chain - true a sign of getting rid of negative energy.
If we consider these opposite positions in more detail, we get the following:
Those who regard this loss as a bad sign explain that the chain and the cross are it is almost one with the person who wears them. This person has already “fused” with them. Moreover, when he purchased an expensive chain made of precious material, he hoped that it would always be with him, at least for a long time.
And suddenly a loss occurred - which means, most likely, this indicates that the person something bad awaits ahead, since his plans were disrupted.
The rest, which evaluates the loss of a cross on a gold chain as a positive sign, explains it this way. People believe that a chain, like with warlike, wraps around a person’s neck and serves as his protection from bad people who want to bring evil. If the chain is gold, it has even more power.
And when these objects are lost, this may mean that the evil accumulated in them has exceeded the possible level, and the moment has come when the things that have taken on the negative had to leave the person in order to rid him of the negative spiritual burden.
There are, of course, regarding this and opinion of clergy. Official representatives of the Orthodox Church believe that:
- Losing a cross, no matter what chain it was on, doesn't portend anything. The usual situation - nothing more.
- The main thing is immediately buy a new cross for yourself to regain your spiritual protection.
If found, is it worth raising?
Answering this question: is it possible to raise a cross, signs say differently. The most common positions are two:
- Some people's councils are inclined to never pick up a cross that someone has lost. Allegedly, along with this, the person takes on the “baggage” of the previous owner of the item. The best thing to do is to ignore the situation and move on.
- Some people's councils suggest otherwise: they say that It’s better to raise the cross you see, but not just like that. You need to take it to the temple, don’t keep it for yourself.. Otherwise, for appropriating someone else’s property, a person may be punished by forces from above.
As for the clergy, they say the following on this matter:
- If you find someone's cross, be sure to pick it up - It is not right for a consecrated object to lie on the ground and be trampled under foot.
- Be sure to take what you find to the temple. The priest will decide for himself what the future of the consecrated object should be.
- And most importantly - you shouldn’t attach importance to the fact that you found a cross and build various assumptions around it regarding what it means to you. This is simply a discovery of an item. It is important that you picked it up - did not leave the sacred object in oblivion.
So, folk signs regarding the loss and finding of a cross vary. You can trust them, or vice versa. But, I think, it is more logical for any Orthodox to turn to the advice of the church, which says unequivocally: it is wrong to attribute any meaning to the loss or discovery of consecrated objects. - this is a vain faith, and it has no place in the life of an Orthodox person.
Losing a cross is an ambiguous omen, just like finding such a religious accessory on the street. Find out what they are prophesying folk beliefs if you have found or lost a cross and what needs to be done in this situation.
Losing a cross - what is the sign?
Believers and religious people are skeptical about folk signs, since Orthodox Church denies them and considers them ordinary fiction. Therefore, the clergy assure that the cross can be lost by a person who is unable to keep track of his things or who is careless.
Popular belief says that the loss of a pectoral cross cannot be an accident and is primarily considered a sign of a person’s weak faith. This can explain that most often chains are broken and incense and crosses are lost in small children whose faith is not yet strong enough.
Other transcript folk wisdom -no longer need to bear your “cross”, in the near future, what bothered me the most will go away. If life path was filled with trials, it will finally come white stripe; if you have taken on a “cross” as a relative of someone stricken with a serious illness, this person will soon recover, or, unfortunately, will pass on to another world. If before this you were constantly sick and suffering, now you will experience a different life.
A bad omen is the loss of a cross (no matter wooden, copper, gold, silver) for older people. This indicates that last years will not pass in wealth. The sign changes if the elderly person turns out to be lonely or poor. In this case, higher powers prophesy changes for the better.
If the loss happened at home and was later found, this means that everything destined will come true, but with less force. Sometimes you come across this decoding - a person has a grave sin on his conscience that needs to be atoned for (if you don’t do this in the near future, various problems will begin). It's less common to hear that a reckoning is about to happen.
What to do after a loss?
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If the cross has been lost, do not rush to immediately go for a new one (as in the case of the “ ” ring). Take a good look around the house for it. Perhaps he just fell somewhere. Before you begin your search, pray and ask your guardian angel for help.
It is not necessary to use the texts of prayers that you know by heart; you can turn to the Lord in your own words. The cross may be found in a few days or even weeks. If, after all, they searched the whole house, but the loss was not found, then it is God’s will. Now you can go to a temple or church and buy new cross. It is important that it be sanctified.
Superstition - find a cross on the street
The cross is a religious symbol, so point at it in negative program, it is impossible to endure your sins and illnesses. Therefore, from the point of view of the church, there is nothing wrong with the fact that a person raised it.
If we turn to folk signs, we will come across a very ambiguous interpretation. In the first case, this can be regarded as a good omen. It doesn’t matter whether a gold, silver or wooden cross was found, this can be regarded as God’s mercy, in the same way the Lord gives you a strong amulet.
Superstitious people are sure that it is better to raise such a find so as not to desecrate the sacred thing. If you are still afraid to use it, it is better to take it to the temple.
According to another sign, the pectoral cross, as an accessory that is always with a person, accumulates the energy of the owner. This means that others cannot wear it. It cannot be passed on by inheritance; such things are usually left on a person at the time of the funeral.
The most common belief about a found cross warns that wearing it is prohibited, because in this case you will take on someone else’s “cross” (problems). Another says that if you see a golden cross on the road, this is a test to see how greedy and greedy you are.
As you can see, the signs are very ambiguous and it is impossible to accurately answer the question of what the loss of the cross or its discovery prophesies. If you are a believer, it is better to adhere to the opinion of the church - do not think that someone could transfer negativity to the cross and pick it up on the road, simply take it to church.
Christians wear a cross on their chest, some have it made of wood, tin, others have gold or silver, some wear it as a talisman, others see in the cross a symbol of Orthodoxy and the power of Jesus’ sacrifice. For the first time, the sign of visible Christianity is worn at baptism; many believers believe in the protective power and fall into despair if they lose the shrine.
The meaning of the pectoral cross in Orthodoxy
The crucifix is a symbol of Christianity, appeared in Rus' after baptism Slavic peoples in 988, as a reminder of the price paid for every believer. A body sign in the form of a cross with the crucifixion of Jesus confirms that its owner belongs to Orthodoxy.
The cross is first worn at the time of the Sacrament of Baptism
For Orthodox believers, the cross is the greatest shrine, the guardian of the universe, church beauty, glory from angels and an ulcer for demons.
According to Christian custom, the body sign is worn at the level of the heart, as a talisman that heals and gives life. There are many cases in the history of Christianity when the cross saved the life of a Christian, protecting him from a bullet or a knife.
Important! Big sin wearing the symbol of the Life-giving Cross for the sake of fashion, without reverence for the saving sacrifice of Christ. A person who understands the meaning of the pectoral cross, through faith in the saving sacrifice, wears this gift of heaven as a weapon with which a Christian fights demonic forces.
The symbol of Christianity is first put on a baby or an adult at the time of the Sacrament of baptism; it is not recommended to remove it. There is a debate among Orthodox Christians about which cross is the correct shape, whether the number of ends is important, and whether it is necessary to have a semicircle at the bottom. The answer to this question was given by Demetrius of Rostov, who lived in the eighteenth century. The saint said that neither the material nor the number of ends matters; Christians venerate the Life-Giving Cross.
Ordinary believers wear crosses on their bodies, but priests and bishops are allowed to wear the breastplate of Christianity on top of their clothes. People who do not have a strong faith believe in various superstitions associated with the body sign of Christianity, whether it is lost or found.
What to do if you lost your cross
People tend to exaggerate and fall into despair where there is no danger. According to priest Mikhail Vorobyov, the loss of a pectoral cross means nothing except inattention and careless attitude towards it, therefore one should not fall into the despair of superstition, but buy and consecrate a new sign.
The Church considers the loss of a pectoral cross to be an ordinary everyday occurrence
Don’t rush to run to a church or store for a new cross, try to find the old one. Calm down, cast aside all fears, reading the “Our Father” prayer, mentally go through all the places where you could lose your protective symbol.
If you don’t find a cross, don’t despair, God is merciful and His grace remains with you. On the advice of a spiritual mentor, if you lose your pectoral cross, you should:
- in prayer to repent for negligence and inattention to the Christian shrine;
- buy a consecrated or consecrate a newly purchased symbol;
- fast for three days;
- repent before the priest of your superstitions;
- take Communion;
- put on new symbol Christianity.
Don't listen to the accusations superstitious people in that this is a punishment for an unrighteous life, they say nonsense. God is merciful and understands that everything happens in life. Do not take any warnings about coming troubles personally, but hold fast to the promises of the Savior.
Friends, in order to reassure, will encourage that this is a chance to start all over again, with the loss of the previous symbol, all the old sins have gone away, and begins new life. For the sake of reassurance, true well-wishers can say that the previous amulet has gained negative energy and has fallen away along with the misfortunes. Therefore, you need to purchase a new symbol of protection.
Listen to these words, because it clearly smacks of mysticism, which the Orthodox Church opposes. Do not give in to despair and superstition, accept the loss as a sign that Heaven has accepted all your previous sins, forgiven them, and now expect a special blessing ahead. After all, it will be according to your faith.
Advice! The loss of a child’s body symbol is also not a reason for panic; an unreasonable child could break a ribbon or accidentally throw off a cross during intense movement. Acquire a new sign of Christianity and gently, lovingly tell your child about the meaning of the Christian shrine and respect for it.
What to do if you find a pectoral cross
Sometimes, as a result of a break in the chain, a person loses a cross, and someone else finds it. What should be done in this case?
People say that crosses are used for black magic. If you believe in witchcraft and are not confident in the protective power of Christ, do not pick up a lost item, even if it is gold.
- A pectoral cross can be given to an adult believer on the day of his baptism; sometimes, as a child grows up, they buy a pectoral sign of Christianity made of gold or silver.
- When purchasing a symbol of an Orthodox shrine outside the walls of the temple, it must be consecrated; all things in the temple shop are pre-sanctified.
- Orthodox crosses are prohibited from being worn together with Catholic ones, or replacing one with another.
- It is not recommended to hang two crosses on your chest at the same time, because this is not a decoration. Having several symbols of Orthodox authority, one can be worn and the rest kept near the icons where the prayer rule is read.
- By Orthodox traditions the deceased is buried with a pectoral cross, which is not inherited. This thing cannot be kept as a souvenir of another person who has passed into the world. The main thing here is not the memory of the deceased, not family ties, but the sacrifice of Jesus.
The iconography of the Orthodox Crucifixion has been approved since 692 at the Council of Trula.
On the Orthodox Creed, the figure of the crucified Jesus is filled with peace and majesty. Looking at him, you hear: “It’s finished! End of suffering! The Savior's arms are open to embrace everyone who comes to Him.
Orthodox iconography combines the human and divine essence of Jesus, in it there is victory and death. On the Catholic crucifix there is no nature of peace and joy, but only suffering. According to Orthodox piety, wearing a Catholic crucifix goes against the dogmas of the foundations of the Orthodox faith.
Important! True Christians must remember that our amulet is not the cross, but the Living Savior, and we draw our protection from the sacrifice of His blood.
What to do if your cross is lost?
