Res Humanitariae

The article proceeds with the issues of the origin and evolution of the Lithuanian prayers and analyzes the beginning of the Sign of the cross and the Crossing formula. The linguistic analysis of the prayers was conducted by Zigmas Zinkevičius in the scientific study of language Lithuanian prayers in 2000; however, the features of the Sign of the cross or the Crossing formula and their relation to the Gospel were not highlighted, the wider context and the question whether the authors, translators and publishers have written the prayers in translations or original or semi-original writings, such as the cathechisms, theological treatises, postillas (educational writings) or the collection of prayers and prayer-books, also hymnals, were not taken into account. It is essential whether the text of the prayers is written in the translation of the Bible text, found in the citation from the Bible or freely recreated paraphrasing or remaking extracts or prayers from the Bible. The text of the Gospel in which Jesus Christ tells his disciples the christening formula (Mt 28, 19–20) is not the Crossing formula yet. It is necessary to perform the textual analysis and compare the respective passage with the originals.The object of research consists of the translations published in Prussia and GDL in the 16–17th centuries with the sources and original and semi-original texts.The aim of the article is to determine the origin of the variation of the beginning phrase of the Sign of the cross (Crossing formula). The tasks: 1) compare the beginning of the Crossing formula or the Sign of the cross with the originals, 2) examine the effect of various languages (Latin, German and Polish to begin with), 3) determine the origin of the insert God in the Lithuanian Crossing formula, 4) systemize and describe the results of comparative analysis.