Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/162

134 peace in the world, and has put an end to wars and contentions, and has reconciled the nations, so that they may now pray to it in one Church, and confess and worship its greatness, and cry aloud with holy voices, saying: 'Glory to the of the heavenly, who in His great mercy has forgiven our sins, and wiped out our iniquities by His baptism, and given us His sacraments as a pledge.

"Behold throughout the world the living Cross of is worshipped and revered, and its festival is commemorated in the uttermost parts of the earth. Its help affords succour, and its power is wonderful; since through it we are saved from the death and corruption which have reigned over our race, and through it the dead have attained a new and incorruptible life. Henceforth, ye children of Adam, who through it are justified, sing praises, pray, supplicate, and implore, that in the day when its sign shall appear, we may go forth to meet it with joy and rejoicing, that it may make us partakers of its love." From the service appointed in the Khudhra for the third Sunday after Holy Cross Day.

The following quotation shows what importance is attached to the sign of the Cross in private worship, and how frequent its use is among the Nestorians.

"Par. V. How the aged, husbandmen, shepherds, sailors, and the illiterate ought to pray. Standing up they should turn their faces to the east, and sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, (if there be no wall on which they can draw one,) and say: 'The Cross of our ;' and whilst repeating these words, they must kneel upon the ground, and say three times: 'Create in me a clean heart, O .' Then, if there be one or many, they must stand up again, with their garments drawn around them, with their hands stretched out in a supplicating posture, and with their minds and eyes turned up to heaven towards our, and they shall say the  prayer fervently. After this, they shall kneel again upon the ground, and shall say thrice: 'Have mercy upon me, O , according to Thy mercy