pictures of Jesus and his thumb and fingers touching?

[mmreed]

Ive noticed that many pictures of Jesus show a specific hand position where the finger touches the thumb. This is seen in MANY images.

Can someone tell me why his hand is depicted as that, and what meaning is behind it?

Here is a few example images:

http://emp.byui.edu/davisr/humpix/Byzantine,Jesus%20Christ,Icon.JPG


http://www.stitchability.co.uk/4103-12%20jesus%20christ%20permin%20cross%20stitch%20kit.jpg

http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/icons/data/pantokrator2.gif

 

[talitha]

"In 1666, the Orthodox Church adopted the sign of the cross or the blessing gesture, formed by placing the ring finger on the thumb and bending the middle finger below the index finger. The index and middle fingers represent the two natures of Christ: the index is humanity; the middle is divinity. The middle finger, or divine nature, is bent below the human nature to show how the divine humbled himself to save us from our sin by taking human flesh. The positioning of the fingers symbolizes the Holy Trinity and also spells CC, the Greek abbreviation for Jesus Christ" ~~ Icons of Christ, http://hulmer.allegheny.edu/christ.html -- i found it at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/794378/posts

 

[Oblio]

It is Christ blessing the faithful. The fingers roughly form IC XC, or IEOCOC XRISTOC, Jesus Christ

 

[Oblio]

"In 1666, the Orthodox Church adopted the sign of the cross or the blessing gesture, formed by placing the ring finger on the thumb and bending the middle finger below the index finger. The index and middle fingers represent the two natures of Christ: the index is humanity; the middle is divinity. The middle finger, or divine nature, is bent below the human nature to show how the divine humbled himself to save us from our sin by taking human flesh. The positioning of the fingers symbolizes the Holy Trinity and also spells CC, the Greek abbreviation for Jesus Christ" ~~ Icons of Christ, http://hulmer.allegheny.edu/christ.html -- i found it at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/794378/posts

There are some innaccuracies here.

 

[Oblio]

The Sign of the Cross is totally different from the blessing sign. I am also not aware of any CC abbreviation for Christ or that it is present in the regular sign of the Cross. Greek abbreviations are of the first and last letter of each word (unlike the Western first only). eg. Christ (XPICTOC) is XC not X. The blessing symbol contains IC XC and does not contain any Christological or Trintiarian symbology as does the sign of the Cross. Also note that the sign of the Cross predates 1666, though the article may have been speaking of the Nikonian reforms that the schismatic Old Believers protested.

All the icons presented in the OP are of Christ blessing, not the sign of the Cross.

 

[Philip]

You can see the letters better in this image.

 

[mmreed]

So this finger placement and illustration is "man made" later in history, and not an action that was actually recorded being performed by Jesus?

 

[Philip]

These icons contain theological messages and are not intended to represent an exact historical event. For example, I doubt anyone believes that Christ ever held a bound book as He is depicted in your links.

 

[Oblio]

So this finger placement and illustration is "man made" later in history, and not an action that was actually recorded being performed by Jesus?

Not sure where you get this idea from, though even if it were true, does not diminish the icons. It is vital to understand that one of the purposes of icons is to portray theological truths. They are not paintings but theology in color.

Edited: I see where you got that idea. The article posted is incorrect.

 

[Oblio]

You can see the letters better in this image.

I was thinking of that very same image Philip, thanks for posting it.

 

[mrcrow]

I was thinking of that very same image Philip, thanks for posting it.

some of the saints in death are also portrayed with specific hand and finger positions.

 

[BarbB]

Thanks brothers, for the information. I never really noticed this on the icons before!

It's amazing how much there is to learn and I'm doing that daily!