Lorentz covariance of three - dimensional equations

We show how the invariance under the charge conjugation and CPT symmetry, present in the Bethe-Salpeter equation, is lost in the reduction to certain relativistic three-dimensional equations. This in particular leads to the breakdown of the standard Lorentz structure and renormalization procedures for the resulting single-particle propagators. We formulate the equal-time approximation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in the form which manifestly satisfies the above symmetries, and apply it to the description of the pion-nucleon interaction in a dynamical model based on hadron exchanges. We also consider the one-body limit of various three-dimensional equations for the case of t-and u-channel one-particle-exchange potential.