It's common knowledge that Martin Luther did not reject making the sign of the cross. The most popular piece of evidence is found in his Small Catechism. Under the heading "How the Head of the Family Shall Teach His Household to Say Morning and Evening Prayers," Luther writes:
In the morning, when you rise, make the sign of the cross and say, “In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen” (BOC, 352).
In the evening, when you retire, make the sign of the cross and say, “In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen” (BOC 353).
A cogent contemporary Lutheran explanation of this ritual can be found here. This explanation ends with this citation from the book, Lutheranism 101 Worship:
Again, to make the sign of the cross is a matter of Christian freedom. You may or may not feel comfortable doing it yourself, or you may not do it as often as your neighbor. That’s okay. But when the sign of the cross is made, whether by pastor or people, let this be the proclamation: Christ has died for your sins upon the cross; in Baptism he shares that cross with you; because you share in His cross, you are a child of God and are precious in His sight (232).
As the Reformation gained momentum, John Calvin began distancing his movement from long-held Catholic beliefs and practices, including the use of images and art, citing them as idolatrous. By extension, the sign of the cross was condemned as a superstitious physical manifestation of the spiritual reality of the Cross and, therefore, forbidden by Calvin (source).
The sign of the cross was routinely done by all Christian believers up to the time of the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin called it "a superstitious rite" (Institutes 4.17.28). The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) Chapter 27, calls it a mere "custom in the ancient church." The Protestants tossed the idea just like they did with the Holy Water, Confessions, and Books In The Bible. At this point maybe some of the reformers or protestors should have read from their own King James Version of the Bible "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4, KJV). Since Calvin was not God and since Calvin was the man the only logical conclusion is that he was lying according to Paul who wrote the Epistle to the Romans (source).
John Calvin himself called the sign of the cross "a vain and superstitious rite", which fits right in with his idea that a church service should be "four bare walls and a sermon" (source).
Similar Examples could be multiplied. You'll notice that in two of the examples above, Calvin is called out for saying the sign of the cross is a "superstitious rite." Here is what Calvin actually wrote:
Elsewhere, explaining how believers now possess Christ, Augustine says, “You have Christ through the sign of the cross, through the sacrament of Baptism, through the food and drink of the altar.” I am not discussing how correctly he reckons a superstitious rite among the symbols of the presence of Christ. But when he compares the presence of the flesh to the sign of the cross he sufficiently shows that he does not conceive of a Christ with two bodies, so that he who sits visible in heaven may lie hidden in secret under bread. But if a clearer explanation is needed, he adds immediately thereafter, "With regard to the presence of majesty we always have Christ; with regard to the presence of the flesh it has been rightly said, ‘You will not always have me’" [Matthew 26:11, Cf. Vg.]. (Institutes 4.17.28, Battles translation)
As far as I can determine, this passing reference is the major prooftext used to delineate Calvin's view of the sign of the cross. A careful reading demonstrates Calvin was discussing a citation of Augustine, not expounding on the sign of the cross. Kudos to this webpage that at least states, "While Calvin did not openly oppose the sign of the cross, his disdainful attitude would in time develop into outright opposition by his followers." Karl Barth makes a curious comment that "It is at least historical that in Italy, and in Savoy in particular, people later made the sign of the cross when the Genevan reformer was in view." If I'm understanding Barth correctly, people had (mistakenly) thought Calvin escaped the Inquisition and were not making the sign of the cross as a form of reverence toward him... they were doing it as a form of protection against him as a hated fugitive!
There is evidence that Calvin was part of a movement actively seeking to eliminate making the sign of the cross. The Registers of the Consistory of Geneva in the time of Calvin 1542-1544 records that a woman "does not make the sign of the cross any more" (127) and that a man was accused of saying "the Pater, the Ave Maria and the Benedicite in Latin, with the sign of the cross" (294). Another man "was summoned before the Consistory in 1546 for having supported the Mass and having persisted in saying his rosary, in giving the sign of the cross at the sermon and in praying for the dead and to the Virgin Mary" (148, fn. 572). It's undisputed that the Reformed tradition did not look favorably at retaining or reinterpreting the sign of the cross.
Conclusion
At times I occupy a middle sort of ground between these two traditions. On the one hand, I can appreciate the freedom of the Lutheran tradition on this issue, taking something papal and pouring significant Christian meaning into it. On the other hand, I can also appreciate the Reformed tradition that wants to guard anything that hints at being anti-biblical and pro-papal.
I take the Reformed side, but not with any sort of disdain or disapproval toward the Lutheran position. I appreciate taking any aspect of reality and reclaiming it with the Gospel and a Christ centered perspective! The emphasis of the early Reformed tradition was attempting to remove superstition from Christian worship. Even when reading through the The Registers of the Consistory of Geneva in the time of Calvin 1542-1544, it's obvious that many people in Geneva were going through the motions. They were engaging in Roman behaviors without any understanding of what they were doing. In my extended relationships with Roman Catholic friends and family, I've witnessed the same thing: people living as pagans and then going into Roman Catholic "ritual mode" at funerals, masses, saying grace at dinner, etc.
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2 comments:
In your conclusion, you say that the sign of the cross is "papal," but it's not. The entire eastern church does it as well, and most of the western church, prot and RC. Only baptists and some reformed/presbyterians and methodists don't use it. Anglicans, Lutherans, RCs, orthos, and even some presbies and methodists retain the practice. It's a very ancient tradition of the whole church, and not some Roman innovation.
Thanks for the comment. My post is limited to contrasting the 16th century Roman Catholic practice with the Lutheran and Reformed responses and then choosing one over the other.
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