r/OrthodoxChristianity Reddit 3 days ago

Meaning of a hand gesture in an Orthodox icon

The post asks what a particular hand gesture in an Eastern Orthodox icon signifies. The image shows the standard Christogram inscriptions: IC XC (the Greek abbreviation for Jesus Christ) with additional letters ω and N visible. The question seeks an explanation of the symbolic meaning conveyed by the positioning of the fingers in the icon's depiction of Christ or a saint.

Main points

Question about symbolism of a specific hand gesture in an Orthodox icon
Image displays the Christogram IC XC with letters ω and N
Request for interpretation within Eastern Orthodox iconographic tradition

7 opinions in the discussion 4 participants, 5 replies to each other The opinion with the most support That's the way a priest gives a blessing with his hand. You put your thumb against your ring finger, cross the first two fingers, and keep the pinky sticking out. It sort of forms the letters XPI, the start of Χριστός (Christ). Read the discussion

15 comments at the source Original on Reddit

Discussion · 7

Opinions are anonymous retellings of real comments from the original discussion. The same colour marks the same participant.

opinion#2152 6 likes at the source
That's the way a priest gives a blessing with his hand. You put your thumb against your ring finger, cross the first two fingers, and keep the pinky sticking out. It sort of forms the letters XPI, the start of Χριστός (Christ).
- opinion#2154 1 likes at the source
  Right, but here it looks like the thumb is touching the middle finger, the ring finger sits next to the middle one, and the pinky and index finger are slightly raised. So I'm confused, does it carry the same symbolism or not?
  - opinion#2156 5 likes at the source
    
    The hand is just badly painted on this one. Hands are really hard for a lot of painters.
opinion#2153 2 likes at the source
It's the Trinity symbol: the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. The two fingers down stand for the two natures of Christ, divine and human. I'm saying this as an Agiographos.
- opinion#2155
  I don't think so. With the Holy Trinity the thumb, index and middle finger are held together while the other two point down. You got the positions right, but in the icon it looks like the thumb touches the middle finger, the ring finger is next to the middle one, and the other two are slightly raised.
  - opinion#2157 1 likes at the source
    
    Wait, now I get it, this might be the IC XC blessing hand position, just painted a bit badly.
  - opinion#2158 1 likes at the source
    
    Let me explain it better, the way the Agiographos explained it to me: icons are paintings, and you can't show a 3D 360 degree view of the fingers in one. So usually, to make the Trinity clearly visible, they paint the fingers slightly apart so the "3" is easy and striking for the person praying. The two smaller fingers below (the double nature of Christ) are also in the canonical crossed position, but they're painted away from the palm so those symbols can be seen and recognized clearly too. That's all there is to it.