Russia is a huge country. Its territory is home to many peoples, some of whom are not Christians. But still, the overwhelming majority of citizens of our homeland are Orthodox believers, who wear a cross at baptism. Most often we wear it on our chest, but is it possible to wear a cross on a bracelet, earrings, or other jewelry? To answer the question correctly, you need to understand the concepts.
Church symbols
Of course, the main symbol of the Orthodox Church is the cross. As a sign of memory of the torment that the Lord took for people, during baptism the priest puts a cross on his neck. A newly converted Orthodox Christian must wear this symbol from the moment of initiation until his death. It is called a body wear and is intended to be worn on the front, that is, on the chest. You can wear it on a cord, a chain, or even just pinned to the inside of your shirt - it doesn’t really matter. In this case, the main thing is that the cross should be near the chest, closer to the level of the solar plexus. It is believed that this is where a person’s soul is located.
Also, the material from which the cross is made is not of fundamental importance. It can be silver, gold, aluminum, a cross made of wood or natural stone. A prerequisite is that the cross must be consecrated by the priest in the church. During this sacred rite, prayers are read in which the church minister asks Jesus Christ to endow the cross with divine power to protect the owner. Often on the back of the pectoral cross you can see the inscription: “Save and preserve.” A pectoral cross should be worn under clothing; only priests can wear a cross over clothing.
Why should a cross be worn around the neck?
Everything connected with the Lord Jesus Christ is revered by Christians as a great shrine. The cross is a symbol of the martyrdom of the Son of God on the cross of Calvary, which he voluntarily went to in order to save humanity from sins. Therefore, the cross that a person puts on after the baptismal ceremony must be treated with reverence, as if it were a shrine.
An alternative way to carry the item is in the inside pocket of a shirt, where you put it and sew up the pocket so that the cross does not fall out.
This method is used by people who work in offices where there are strict dress code requirements. In this way, it will be possible not to violate the orders of your superiors and at the same time constantly wear a cross without drawing attention to it.
Non-believers often wear jewelry in which one of the details is a cross. The Orthodox Church does not have a clear opinion on this matter. Some clergy believe that if a person is not baptized and does not believe in Jesus Christ, this attribute is nothing more than a beautiful trinket and has nothing to do with religious shrines, and therefore you can wear it wherever you want, including on the wrist.
Other church ministers are categorically against the use of the symbol of the Christian faith in secular jewelry and wearing it on the hand, in the ear and in other inappropriate places, even by non-believers.
Some parents who have baptized their baby do not know what to do, because if you put it around the baby’s neck, he can get entangled in a chain or rope and suffocate. In this case, the clergy recommend that the child’s pectoral cross be worn by the mother until the child reaches at least 3-5 years of age. Just like adults, children are not recommended to wear the attribute on their hand. Later, when the baby grows up, they purchase a special rope with a practical and reliable clasp - it does not rub the baby’s skin and prevents the loss of a precious item.
Beads
The rosary is also a church symbol. This attribute helps the believer relieve tension, tune in to the right mood, and concentrate on reading the prayer. Christian rosaries are usually illuminated in church; they are also a personal attribute of everyone. You cannot give a rosary to another person, with the exception of cases when a priest gives his rosary as a gift to a student or novice.
In Orthodoxy, wooden rosaries are accepted, but they are also found in other materials, for example, natural stone. On the rosary for Orthodox Christians there is always a cross at the point where the circle closes. It is not wearable, so a rosary with a cross can also be worn on the hand, wrapped around the wrist. In stores you can find rosaries in the form of a wooden bracelet with a cross. If this is an illuminated attribute and is intended for prayers, then the clergy are not against wearing a rosary on their wrist. If you are not a believer and want to wear a bracelet with a cross for beauty, then such an accessory does not have any sacred meaning and is perceived simply as decoration.
Is it possible to give a pectoral cross as a gift?
Orthodox clergy do not see any sin in giving a gift in the form of a cross. It is good when such a gift is presented by parents to their child or by those people who baptize the child.
In ancient times, in the Orthodox world, there was a tradition when congenial people exchanged crosses, and from that very moment they became the dearest people to each other, real relatives in the name of the Lord. Often this ritual was performed by relatives in order to become even closer to each other.
Decorations
If you pay attention to jewelry and jewelry, you will notice that in some models the symbolism of the cross is used as the main or secondary elements. Is wearing such jewelry blasphemous? On this issue, the opinions of the clergy are divided. The majority are still inclined to this interpretation: “If this is an element of decoration, and not a cross illuminated in the church, then it should be treated as a decoration that has nothing to do with the sacred attributes of Christianity.” But there are also those who are against wearing the symbol of the cross in any of its manifestations, except as a church symbol.
To summarize, we can say that only a personal cross, which was illuminated by the priest in the church, should be worn on the chest and nowhere else. Jewelry and costume jewelry with a cross are not church paraphernalia, and therefore do not require strict wearing rules.
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