Superstitious people are wary of any gifts with religious connotations. They always have doubts about whether it is possible to give a cross for a birthday, whether it is possible to give their pectoral cross to children, whether it is worth passing the symbol of faith to another person, and many others.
Folk signs strongly recommend not to do this, since the cross is associated with fate, suffering. But church officials have a strictly opposite opinion. Before making a gift that is in doubt, you should familiarize yourself with the point of view, arguments of both.
Pectoral cross as a gift
Some people are afraid of any manipulations with crosses, they believe that it is impossible to present and accept as a gift a difficult thing. Such superstitions have two sides: the object itself and the donation procedure.
Reasons why you can't give a cross:
- Esotericists warn that a metal object that has passed through someone else's hands is saturated with the owner's energy, then transfers it to a new owner. So from the donated cross, one can expect illness and failure for several years in a row.
- Together with the donated cross, you can get the fate of the donor. Each person has his own 'life cross', which he carries. Therefore, a personal cross must be purchased with your own hands, not trusting this important process to outsiders.
- Even if the present is presented from a pure heart, the very process of giving an important item is comparable to the 'laying of the cross' ritual. That is, a person will have to grieve and grieve all his life.
But the ministers of the church are extremely negative about prejudice, especially when it comes to religious objects. This is not a magical talisman, but an object showing the direction of a person's religiosity, his love for God. Therefore, you can present a cross without a grain of doubt that this act will harm the giver or the gifted person.
For true worshipers of the Christian religion, the cross:
- personifies the victory of Jesus Christ;
- helps to overcome temptations;
- protects from all misfortunes and worries.
It is impossible to treat this subject with fear, as well as to assume that any thing on its own, without God's will and a person's own efforts, is capable of changing his destiny. If you do not consider yourself a Christian, carefully refuse the gift, briefly explaining the reason.
When is it advisable to give a cross?
People who attend church, but still pay attention to folk signs, are of the opinion that it is possible to give cult symbols, but on strictly defined days. Otherwise, there will be no sense from such a gift. These days include:
- christening;
- name day, angel day;
- religious celebrations (Easter, Christmas and others).
But the clergy claim that you can present a holy object to a loved one any day.
Let's say you know that a friend wants to have a certain amulet cross, and then you come across just such a copy in a church shop
Another case: you returned from a journey to holy places with new acquisitions, among which there are the faces of saints and crosses. Do not hesitate to give gifts to relatives and friends without being tied to a specific date.
All this applies to new crosses, recently acquired, and not used. Personal belongings are worthy of separate words.
Can I transfer my personal cross to another person?
If someone easily parted with a cross, considering it a simple decoration, or with the thought: 'Just think, I'll buy myself as much as I want', the conclusion suggests itself about the insincerity of such an individual's belief in God.
With such thoughts, it is forbidden to give a cross – a religious attribute. Every Christian should understand this. An object, precious from the point of view of spirituality, must be protected, honored, not separated from it without a good reason.
You can give your cross to support a person in a difficult situation, for example:
- Protect a friend from trouble during a risky operation or a long journey.
- Help a relative in a difficult financial situation when he spends a lot of energy to get out of debt.
- Attract the help of higher powers to a person who is in a serious psychological state after severe stress.
- Give to your spouse as a sign of your deep love.
The most accurate answer to the question: is it possible to give a cross, your conscience will give. If, at the behest of your soul, you pass your personal cross to a relative or acquaintance who is in a difficult life situation, this is a good deed.
There has long been a tradition of exchanging personal crosses. After such manipulation, strangers who are strangers to each other turn into spiritual brothers or sisters, promise to take care and read prayers 'for health' as if they were relatives. At the same time, no one has a fear, to get someone else's fate, to burden another with an unbearable cross or to anger God.
Is it possible to give a cross to a loved one, a husband?
By presenting a cross to your beloved or husband, you convey your love, your feelings become more serious, spiritual intimacy grows stronger, relationships are raised to a different level. The cross is a symbol of purity of motives. The church helps strengthen family ties.
Such a birthday present is presented to loved ones as a sign of deep affection.
Can I give a cross to a child?
This is the simplest question. When parents give their pectoral cross to their beloved child, they clearly do it with the best intentions. Such a gift cannot harm the child.
In pre-revolutionary times, the nobles kept and handed over the crosses by inheritance, along with family relics and jewelry. The age of individual specimens is more than one hundred years. During their existence, they changed many owners, bestowing God's grace on everyone. Members of the family, without fear, accepted and gave relics, gave them for their birthday to dear people.
The first cross in life is given to the baby by the godparents. They are supposed to do this a second time if the gift is lost or broken.
Giving a cross to a person younger than yourself or to a child, you transfer to the donee a certain part of your life experience and worldly wisdom, protect from envious people.
Does it matter what the cross is made of?
Church ministers claim that the substance from which the cross was made does not affect its purpose. It can be gold, silver, iron, stone, wood, bone. The main thing is the attitude and state of the person's soul, and not the material value of the gift.
If you bought or received gold, do not wear it for show.
Church rules prescribe the 'creed' to be hidden under clothing, so it is not recommended to choose expensive heavy gold crosses inlaid with stones. Such jewelry is the personification of wealth, serves to attract monetary luck, and has nothing to do with the Orthodox cross.
Please note that even the simplest cross, purchased from a jeweler or from a trader on the street, remains a common 'trinket' for decoration. Before giving such a presentation, do not forget to visit the temple or tell the person to be gifted that the gift needs to be consecrated.
Can I wear a donated cross?
You cannot refuse such an offering. You need to accept it and thank the well-wisher, even if you have your own cross and you don't need another. A delicate refusal is possible only in such cases:
- They give too expensive an item.
- The donee is an adherent of a different faith or an atheist.
- Represents an individual prone to theft or debauchery, a murderer or rapist.
You should treat the cross with special trepidation if it comes from a loved one (beloved, spouse, relative).
If there is no doubt about the purity of the giver's goals, it is not forbidden to put a cross around the neck or place it in the red corner (near the icons).
It is known that even two sticks folded crosswise are a powerful protector against evil spirits, which are more afraid of the image of this symbol than fire.
If a gift gives rise to doubts about the purpose of its offering, you must immediately consecrate the present, and only after this ritual put it on the body. Your insecurity cannot be a valid reason to refuse the offering.
Even if you come across a cross lying on the road, you can safely wear it after the ritual of purification and consecration. It is believed that such a find is a message from heaven. When you lift the cross, you are doing a good deed. After all, the shrine could have been trampled into the mud, but you did not allow it.
How to neutralize negativity?
If you are not sure of the sincerity of the person who gave the cross, take the gift to the church, and after the ritual performed by Batiushka, you can put on the thing. The sacred sacrament procedure will rid the object of all the negative that could be on it.
If you received a consecrated cross, you do not need to repeat the procedure. You can safely wear the shrine, there will be no harm.
The only case when no measures will help is a gift from a person dishonest, vicious, leading the wrong way of life. Such decoration (even sanctified) should be given to those in need or left in the temple.
