Look at the top of the doorway in an old Greek or Georgian home, and you will often find a small cross, sometimes painted, sometimes carved, sometimes nailed up decades ago by a grandfather no one remembers.
Nobody in the family can say exactly when it went up. But everyone knows what it is for: before you walk in or out, you remember Whose house this is.
The Cross is the center of Orthodox life. We make its sign over ourselves when we wake, eat, travel and fall asleep. The Church sings to it at Matins and on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, and prays: "Save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance."
It makes sense, then, that the Cross would also stand in the home. Not as a charm, and not as decoration, but as a confession: this is a Christian house, and we are under Christ's protection.
Every year at Theophany (January 6), many Orthodox priests bless homes with Holy Water, singing the troparion of the feast as they walk from room to room. If you can, ask your priest to bless the cross at the same time, or bring it to him after Divine Liturgy for a short prayer.
The blessing does not make wood magical. It offers a simple object to God, so that it may serve prayer, and asks His protection on those who use it.
You do not need a long rule. Try this each morning before you leave:
It takes ten seconds. It changes how the day begins.
Yes. Orthodox Christians have long carried crosses and icons when they travel. Treat it as a reminder to pray, not a guarantee of safety, and keep it positioned so it never blocks your view.
It is a beautiful custom and worth doing when possible. If you cannot reach a priest right away, you can still hang the cross and begin praying before it with reverence.
Do not throw it away. Bring it to your parish, where blessed items are treated with respect.
A cross over the door will not keep every trouble out. But it keeps a household turned toward Christ, and that is the best protection a home can have. Bring a blessed cross home – shop now →
