When are prostrations made in church during worship? Why do prostrations and how to do them correctly

Man is a spiritual and bodily being at the same time, therefore both the spirit and the body participate in prayer.

The prayer of the body is the postures and movements that accompany the reading of the text of the prayer:

• prayer posture
• kneeling
• raising hands
• bows
• sign of the cross

In Orthodoxy, there is a charter on how to do it correctly and at what moments.

The Importance of Participating the Body in Prayer

For correct prayer important posture in which to pray. Not because God will punish for inaccuracy, but because the position of the body affects the state of mind, determines the emotional mood.

A relaxed posture leads to mental relaxation, absent-mindedness. Prayer without the participation of the body is incomplete, not intense enough. The body, which is at rest, distracts from prayer, provokes the desire to stretch and move.

Labor in prayer

Prayer is not without work for the body. By forcing the body to make efforts (to stand, bow, kneel), the Christian curbs his flesh and does not give freedom to passions.

The Holy Fathers considered difficult prayer, which tires the body, as the first step towards true prayer.

Ascension to God is impossible without bodily fatigue!

Orthodox prayer accompanied by the sign of the cross and bows.

The prone position is practiced only once a year, during the recitation of prayers at Vespers.

How to read prayers at home - standing or sitting?

In the Russian Orthodox Church, prayers both in the temple and at home read standing up. If it is difficult to stand (for example, when you are very tired or sick), then sitting prayer is allowed. Even if you are lying at home and cannot get out of bed and sit down, this is not an obstacle to prayer.

The main condition for performing prayer is reverence and concentration.

standing prayer

When you pray, remember that you are standing before God. In this situation, frivolity is inappropriate. You need to stand in prayer

• directly,
• reverently,
• without shifting from foot to foot,
• without making fussy movements.

During worship in the temple, at some points it is allowed to sit. This is possible during the reading of kathisma (excerpts from the Psalter) and proverbs (excerpts from the Old Testament) at the evening service.

It is not customary to sit at the Liturgy, but an exception is made for people who are physically unable to stand for a long time.

However, in worship everyone needs to be on time

• gospel readings
• between the singing of the Creed and the Lord's Prayer
• during the exclamations of the priest "Blessed is the kingdom ..."

Prayer on your knees at home

Kneeling prayer is performed at home, according to the special zeal of the believer. She expresses special humility and reverence.

On your knees at home, you can pray at any time,

except Sunday and the period from Easter to Pentecost.

You can’t kneel on the day after Holy Communion

A person who has tasted is sanctified, he should not make signs of repentance and thereby humiliate the Holy Gifts he has received.

Kneeling at the liturgy in Orthodoxy

In an Orthodox church prolonged kneeling during worship are performed only

• on the feast of Pentecost,
• at the Great Vespers, which is served immediately after the Liturgy.

At this time, the priest reads several long prayers and himself, along with all the people, kneels.

The rest of the time, prostrations may be performed at church services.

No kneeling in the Liturgy In Orthodox churches in Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, under the influence of the Catholic Church, a local tradition arose to pray on the knees. In fact, these are earthly prostrations, for the performance of which believers kneel.

Bows during prayer. What does the earthly and waist bow mean in Orthodoxy?

During prayers, it is customary to make earthly and waist bows. it a sign of reverence for God.

Usually a bow is made after the sign of the cross when pronouncing especially significant, important words of prayer.

The prayer book always indicates when to bow.

How to prostrate properly?

A prostration is a prostration during which the believer kneels, touches the floor with his forehead and immediately rises.

In the Orthodox Church, prostrations must be made by venerating shrines (icons, relics, sacred relics):

• two bows to the earth before application and
• one prostration after application.

Some days the church cancels earthly prostrations because they do not correspond to the meaning of the honored event. In these cases, prostrations are replaced by waist.

These are Sundays and polyeleos, and prostrations to the earth are especially strictly prohibited from Easter to the Day of the Holy Spirit (the Monday after the feast of Pentecost).

During the Sunday Liturgy in Orthodoxy, bows to the earth, according to the rule of Basil the Great, should not be done. Sometimes this rule is violated, and at the exclamation of the choir "One is Holy, One is Lord Jesus Christ ..." one bow is made.

How to bow properly?

Bow bow is bow at the waist when a believer seeks reach the floor without bending your knees.

• Usually done immediately after the sign of the cross
• Belt bow must be performed before entering the temple.

Prayer gestures

The main prayer gesture in Orthodoxy, as in all Christianity, is sign of the cross.

In addition to him, in church worship priests use the gesture of blessing.

On the Sign of the Cross in Orthodoxy: Power, Meaning and Essence

Since apostolic times, it has been customary in the Church to overshadow oneself with the sign of the cross, or, as they say, be baptized.

The sign of the cross is reminder of the cross on which he was crucified. By laying on ourselves such a symbolic cross, we invoke the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The Church teaches that the sign of the cross protects the Christian, because the power of the Cross of Christ overcomes all evil.

How to make the sign of the cross?

The sign of the cross is being made slowly and always with the right hand.

First fingers folded:

• thumb, index and middle fingers are folded together,
• the ring and little fingers remain bent.

stacked like this fingers to touch

• first forehead, sanctifying your thoughts,
• then the belly - to the consecration of the heart and feelings,
• then right shoulder
• and, finally, the left shoulder - in consecration of bodily health and deeds.

Thereafter should be followed by a head tilt or bow.

You can't bow until you've completed the sign of the cross.

Composition: two-finger and three-finger in Orthodoxy

For the sign of the cross three fingers are used in modern Orthodoxy.

For this gesture

• thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand are folded together,
• the little finger and ring finger are pressed to the palm.

Folded three fingers symbolize the Holy Trinity-, nameless and little fingers remind of the dual nature of our Lord Jesus Christ - divine and human.

In ancient times, two fingers were used: the sign of the cross was made with the extended index and middle fingers, while the thumb, ring and little fingers were folded together.

The index and middle fingers symbolized the two natures of Christ, the big, ring and little fingers - the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

After the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, three fingers began to be used in Orthodoxy. Because of this, an Old Believer split occurred. Only in the 19th century did the Church again allow baptism with two fingers and use other elements of the old rite, and some Old Believers were able to reunite with the Church. Their communities are called common faith.

Nominal Composition

There is one more prayer gesture - nominative signet.

It used by a priest to bless the faithful during service and outside of it.

Nominal Composition means the initials of the Lord's name Our Jesus Christ ICXC:

• index finger extended
• the middle one is slightly bent, forming the letter C,
• thumb and ring fingers crossed with the letter X,
• the little finger is also bent in the shape of the letter C.

When a person enters the temple of God, he immediately feels that he has found himself in some special majestic and at the same time very peaceful environment - in heaven, which, however, is on earth. Everything here carries harmony, deep meaning and great spiritual beauty. Each church paraphernalia and utensils has its own rank and order. The sacred service and prayer in front of the altar are performed according to strict ancient canons. All this is quite logical and understandable, but there is something that requires careful explanation.

For example, many clergy often face the following question: prostration - how to do it? It is impossible to answer it simply and unequivocally, but it is not so complicated if you carefully study it.

Earth bow - how to do?

It must be said right away that the bow is a symbolic action that has been performed since the most ancient biblical times and expresses great reverence for the Creator of everything earthly and heavenly - the Lord God. Therefore, any bows must be done very slowly and with the words of prayer. In order to find out for yourself how to properly bow to the ground, you need to decide what bows are in general. It turns out that there are great ones - bows to the earth, and there are small ones - waist ones. And there is also a simple bowing of the head.

When bowing to the ground, one must fall on one's knees and touch the floor with the forehead. With a waist bow, the head leans down so that the fingers of the hand touch the floor. So at the consecration of the Temple of the Lord, Daniel, when he was in captivity in Babylon, and other righteous men of the Old Testament. This custom was consecrated by Christ Himself and entered into the practice of the Holy Church of Christ.

kneeling

The largest part of kneeling is done during Lent. According to the explanation of St. Basil the Great, kneeling symbolizes the fall of a person in sin, and then the uprising - his forgiveness through the great mercy of the Lord.

And again the question arises: 40 earthly bows - how to do it right? Bows are made at any time, except for special days, we will talk about them below. The rest of the time, you don’t need to be lazy, but it’s better to voluntarily plunge yourself into a bow, which means your own fall into the abyss of repentance in the hope that God will accept and bless these modest labors.

Nothing depends on the number of bows and fasting, if the heart and soul are not cleansed of bad thoughts and change for the better. And if a person sincerely repents even a little bit, then the loving Father will surely stretch out His holy right hand to him.

Experience of Bishop Athanasius Sakharov

It is not always possible to find the correct answer to how to bow to the ground in Orthodoxy. But let's try to turn to the well-known zealot of the Church Charter - the confessor Athanasius (Sakharov).

First of all, let's deal with when it is impossible to make earthly bows, and when it is possible. During the divine service, bows to the earth, as in principle, bows, are performed not at all at will. They are made on weekdays and on fast penitential days. On Sundays and, of course, on great holidays, according to the decree of the Holy Fathers, they are canceled.

During the period of Easter and before the Trinity, as well as from Christmas and before Epiphany, prostrations are also not allowed. In canon VI, 90, it is written that on Sundays one should not kneel for the honor of Christ's Resurrection. But small prostrations should be done at certain moments in accordance with the meaning of prayers.

Belt and earthly bows

So, at any worship it is necessary:

Church charter

Bows at services (vespers, matins, all-night vigil):

Special rules for bowing

So, we are considering what an earthly bow is. How to do it right? It is worth considering that nuns may be present at the services. Many parishioners, not knowing the rules, begin to imitate them and, just like them, bow down. Or, on the contrary, they look at them and are embarrassed.

The thing is that the monks obey their own special rule, and the parishioners must adhere to the rule of the Holy Fathers, intended for the entire Church, so that the whole meaning of worship is gradually revealed and known.

Incense

There is already a well-established tradition when, during the censing by the rector of the church, parishioners are distracted from liturgical prayer, begin to move from one side to the other, riveting all their attention to the approaching priest, creating noise, stand with their backs to the altar, which is unacceptable. During the censing, parishioners should part and let the priest through, after which they should quietly stand in place and return to prayer.

If the priest begins to incense people, then it is necessary to bow and return to the service, and not look through the eyes of the priest during this entire ceremony. It may seem that this entire list is too complicated and tedious to memorize, but it can help every believer get comfortable in the actions of worship.

Is it possible to make prostrations at the Liturgy

The Liturgy is a special service that consists of three parts: the Proskomedia, the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful. In the first two parts, bows are performed according to the charter of the ordinary services described above, but we will describe the third part - the most important one - in more detail. When and how are small and great prostrations performed? Let's figure out when to bow to the ground at the Liturgy, and when to bow.

The priest at the Great Procession goes to the pulpit in his hands holds the Chalice and diskos, and the choir at this time sings the "Cherubic Hymn":

• A small bow during the end of the first half of the "Cherubim", at this time the priest is on the pulpit.
• Stand with your head bowed during the commemoration of the priests.
• Three small bows at the triple hallelujah.
• Great bow for the day (if not on a holiday) with the exclamation of the priest "We thank the Lord."

When the Eucharistic Canon is celebrated, the Most Holy Sacrament must be observed in complete silence and the mind must be kept in mind.

• A small bow is made with the exclamations of "Take, eat, drink from Her all."
• A small bow for the day is performed at the end of “We sing to you” and “And we pray to Tees, our God.” This is a very important moment for a praying person.
• A small bow for the day is performed after "It is worthy to eat."
• A small bow at the words "And everyone, and everything."
• A small bow for the day at the beginning of the national prayer "Our Father".
• Great bow (if not a holiday) at the exclamation of the priest "Holy to the saints."
• A small bow on the day to the endowed gifts before communion with the words "Come with the fear of God and faith."
• Put a bow to the ground and fold your arms crosswise on your chest after the priest's prayer before communion. (Before the cup, do not cross yourself and do not bow, so as not to push it in any case).
• The communicants do not have to make prostrations until the evening. A bow from the waist for the communicants at the appearance of the Holy Gifts with the exclamation "Always, now and forever."
• The head bows when the prayer behind the ambo sounds, and the priest, finishing the liturgy, leaves the altar and stands in front of the pulpit.

Many believers are interested in the question of whether it is possible to bow to the ground after communion. The priests warn that it is not necessary to kneel after it is done for the sake of the shrine, which is inside the person who has taken Holy Communion, and so that they do not accidentally vomit.

Conclusion

I would very much like believers to understand that bows do not seem to be the main ones in the life of an Orthodox Christian, but they help to strengthen faith, enlighten the heart, set them in the right spiritual mood and understanding the whole meaning of the service, being a participant in it. Starting small, you can achieve more. It was not at all out of idleness that the Charters were created. Perhaps now it has become at least a little clearer what an earthly bow is. How to do and when - also described above is quite clear and detailed. But in order to better assimilate all these rules, one must go to the temple more often.

Details Created: 14.09.2015 11:34

Prayer gestures. At what time should a parishioner make the sign of the cross (that is, be baptized), and at what time should he bow? This is what we are talking about today.

The best advice that can be given to a person who is completely unfamiliar with the Rule of Divine Liturgy and the rules of conduct during Divine Liturgy is to watch how the priest and deacon behave. They cross themselves and bow - and the parishioners should. They kneel - and the parishioners need to kneel. Even one observation of what and how the clergy are doing will, in a short time, make it possible to assimilate the culture of behavior during worship and answer many questions. It is strange, but even parishioners with experience sometimes do not know how to properly behave during worship. This suggests that the parishioners do not look and do not think about what and how do the clergy. I mean, what and how do in the service. Because in real life the parishioners follow the priests very carefully – what car he drives, how his wife and children are dressed, and much more.

And you should be careful about what and how the priest does not in his worldly life - only God is the judge of every person, but at the service, because here the priest is not an ordinary person, but a servant of God.

However, we digress.

Let's talk about our topic: prayer behavior during worship.

bows

There are three types of bows:

1. Simple bowing of the head;

2. Waist bow: we bow at the waist. If we follow strict rules, then during the waist bow we should lean forward so that our fingers touch the floor.

3. Bow to the ground: We kneel and bow our heads to the ground. Then we get up.

In accordance with the rules of the Church Charter, during worship, all three types of bows are used in appropriate cases. At what time - which ones, we will now tell:

head bow

A short bow of the head is never accompanied by the sign of the cross, we simply bow our head or slightly bow our bodies:

BUT. To the words of the priest Peace to all; The blessing of the Lord is on you, that grace and philanthropy ...; The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

B. To the words of church hymns: let's fall down, bow down.

AT. Whenever the priest blesses not with the Cross, but with his hand. When the priest blesses with the Cross (for example, after the Liturgy, on vacation, or at other moments, one should cross himself and then make a bow from the waist)

G. Whenever a priest (or bishop) blesses with candles.

D. Every time you get censed. By incense, a deacon (or priest) expresses reverence for a person as the image of God. In response, we bow to the deacon (or priest). The exception is on the night of Holy Easter. Then the priest censes with the Cross in his hand and greets everyone with an exclamation Christ is Risen. Here you need to first cross yourself, and then bow.

Prolonged bowing of the head

With the exclamations of the deacon: Bow your heads to the Lord and Let us bow our heads to the Lord. With these words, you should bow your head and stand like that all the time while the prayer is being read.

E. We bow our heads during the Great Entrance, when the procession of the clergy stops at the pulpit.

AND. While reading the Holy Gospel.

Belt bow

Always before bowing from the waist, we overshadow ourselves with the sign of the cross!

Having made the sign of the cross, we bow in bow:

BUT. After each petition of the diaconal litany, while the choir sings Lord have mercy or Give it, Lord.

B. After each exclamation of the priest, with which he completes the litany.

AT. Always when singing in chorus: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

G. For each: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us(during Liturgy).

D. After singing Most Honorable Cherub.

E. When reading akathists - at each kontakion and ikos; when reading the canons at the evening service - before each troparion.

AND. Before and after the reading of the Gospel, with the singing of the choir: Glory to You, Lord, Glory to You.

Z. Before singing Creed(on Liturgy).

AND. Before reading Apostle(on Liturgy).

TO. Whenever the priest blesses with the Cross (for example, after the Liturgy, on vacation, during the singing of Many Years, and in other cases).

L. Every time they bless with the Chalice, the Cross, the Holy Gospel and the icon.

M. At the beginning of the prayer Our Father.

N. Passing by the royal doors inside the temple, we must also cross ourselves and bow.

Earthly bows

Earthly bows are canceled:

BUT. From Easter to the feast of the Holy Trinity;

B. From the feast of the Nativity of Christ to the feast of the Epiphany (during Christmas time);

G. On the days of the twelfth (twelve great) holidays;

D. On Sundays. However, it is important to clarify the following here: although since ancient times Sunday has enjoyed special respect, nevertheless, some Christians, due to their reverent attitude towards the relic of the Body and Blood of Christ, wanted to bow to the ground in front of the shrine on these days. So the custom was fixed to allow two earthly bows even on Sunday:

1) after the words of the priest: Having changed by Your Holy Spirit;

2) and then, when the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ is taken out to all believers with the words: Come with the fear of God and faith.

It is at these two moments that prostrations to the earth, even on Sunday, are blessed. At other times, it is not blessed (except for bows before the Cross and the Shroud, if they are in the middle of the temple).

The first of the moments - the end of the consecration of the Holy Gifts - is not easy to track if the royal doors are closed and it is not visible through them how the clergy bow to the ground. In this case, you can bow to the ground with the exclamation of the priest: holy to the holy.

If the day is not Sunday, then one more must be added to these two prostrations during the Liturgy. This bow is done when the Chalice is shown to the believers for the last time. And this happens after Communion. When everyone has received communion, the priest brings the Chalice into the altar, reverently immerses the particles taken from the prosphora into it, and quietly reads the prescribed prayers. After that, the priest turns with the Chalice to the faithful and proclaims: Always, now and ever, and forever and ever! At this time, it is also necessary to make a prostration. If the day is Sunday, then you need to overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross and make a bow.

E. Even prostrations are canceled until the evening for a person who has received communion. But with the beginning of the evening service, a new liturgical day begins, therefore, starting in the evening, even a communicant can make prostrations.

We talked about when prostrations are cancelled. What to say about when they, on the contrary, are laid?

All the cases when prostrations are laid down cannot be cited, there are many of them. The important thing is this: whenever the worshipers are called to bow to the ground, this bow is done by the clergy themselves. There are many such cases in Lent. Watch the priests and you won't go wrong.

kneeling

I must say right away that in the Orthodox tradition it is not customary to pray on your knees. Other priests do not know this either. You look, sometimes the Eucharistic canon begins - and everyone in the altar kneels and remains in that position. Friends: Praying on your knees is the custom of the Catholic Church. In Orthodoxy, they kneel for a short time:

BUT. During the transfer of the shrine.

B. Once a year they listen to kneeling prayers on the Day of the Holy Trinity;

AT. They kneel during prayer (for example, after a prayer service), when the deacon (or priest) called for this: On bended knee let's pray.

G. You can kneel down when a particularly revered shrine is carried past, for example, the Miraculous Icon, relics.

But just like that, they don’t kneel in the temple and, moreover, they don’t remain in this position for a long time.

We overshadow ourselves with the sign of the cross, but do not bow

BUT. While reading the Six Psalms. It is read during Matins, which can be served in the morning or in the evening. Also, the Six Psalms is always performed during the All-Night Vigil, that is, on Saturday evening and on the eve of holidays.

The Six Psalms consists of six psalms. In the middle, after three psalms, the reader proclaims:

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.

Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

The Six Psalms is performed in deep silence and reverence. These six selected psalms speak of humanity's expectation of the Messiah - the Savior. Silence here denotes the state in which ancient mankind was on the eve of the Coming of Christ: the concentrated expectation of deliverance from sin.

B. At the beginning of singing Creed;

G. At the beginning of the reading of the Apostle, the Gospel (at the Liturgy, at the All-Night Vigil);

D. At the beginning of the reading of proverbs (at the all-night vigil before the big holiday)

E. When the priest pronounces the words By the power of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross(these words are found in some prayers).

Bows are earthly - when the worshiper kneels and touches the ground with his head, and the waist bows, bend so that the head is at the level of the belt.

Archbishop Averky (Taushev) writes about the types of bows:

“The charter and primordial customs of our Eastern Orthodox Church do not know such “kneeling” at all, as they are now practiced in most cases with us, but only bows, great and small, or in other words, earthly and waist. Bowing to the ground is not kneeling with your head up, but “falling down” with your head touching the ground. Such prostrations to the earth are completely abolished by the canonical rules of our Holy Orthodox Church on Sundays, Lord's feasts, in the period between the Nativity of Christ and Theophany and from the feast of Easter to Pentecost, and when entering the temple and venerating holy things, they are also canceled on all other holidays, when there is an all-night vigil, polyeleos or at least one great doxology at matins, on the days of pre-feasts, and are replaced by belt ones.

Bows to the earth at the Divine Liturgy, when they are allowed according to the charter, are laid: at the end of the singing “We sing to You” (at the moment of the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts), at the end of the singing “It is worthy to eat”, at the very beginning of the singing of “Our Father”, during the appearance of St. Gifts at the exclamation "Come with the fear of God and faith" and during the secondary appearance of the Holy Gifts before taking them to the altar at the exclamation "Always, now and forever and forever and ever."

There is also a custom (which is not accepted by everyone) to bow to the ground at the beginning of the Eucharistic canon - immediately after the exclamation "We thank the Lord" and with the exclamation "Holy to the Holy."

All other bows, and even more so, kneeling during the Divine Liturgy, which is not characteristic of the spirit of Holy Orthodoxy, is an arbitrariness that has no basis for itself in the tradition and sacred institutions of our Holy Church. Churches".

The church service is performed with many great and small prostrations. Bows should be made with inner reverence and with outward pomp, slowly and slowly, and, if you are in the temple, at the same time as other worshipers. Before making a bow, you need to overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross, and then bow.

Bows in the temple should be performed when it is indicated by the Church Charter. Unauthorized and untimely prostrations in church denounce our spiritual inexperience, interfere with those praying near us, and serve our vanity. And on the contrary, bows, created by us according to the rules wisely established by the Church, inspire our prayer.

St. Philaret, Met. Moscow on this he says:

“If, standing in church, you bow when the Church Charter commands it, then you try to restrain yourself from bowing when it is not required by the charter, so as not to attract the attention of those who pray, or you hold back sighs that are ready to burst from your heart, or tears ready to pour out of your eyes - in such a disposition, and among a large congregation, you secretly stand before your Father in Heaven, Who in secret, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior (Matt. 6, 6).

The Charter of the Church does not require prostration on Sundays, on the days of the great twelve feasts, from the Nativity of Christ to Epiphany, from Pascha to Pentecost.

Archbishop Averky (Taushev) writes that Christians should observe the Rules of the Holy Church:

“Unfortunately, in our time, very few people really know about the church rules regarding kneeling, as well as the fact that on Sundays (as well as on the days of the great Lord’s feasts and throughout Pentecost - from the feast of St. Pascha to the day Holy Trinity) - kneeling is cancelled. A number of ecclesiastical canonical rules speak of this abolition of kneeling. So Canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Council reads:

“Because there are some who bow their knees on the day of the Lord (i.e., Sunday), and on the days of Pentecost, then so that everything is the same in all the dioceses, it is pleasing to the Holy Council, but it is worthwhile to offer prayers to God.”

The Sixth Ecumenical Council in its 90th Canon I found it necessary to once again resolutely confirm this prohibition to kneel on Sundays, and justified this prohibition by the fact that this is required by the “honor of the resurrection of Christ”, that is, that bows, as an expression of a feeling of repentant sorrow, are incompatible with the festive celebration in honor of such a joyful event like the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Here is the rule:

“From the God-bearing Fathers, our Fathers are canonically devoted to us, do not bow your knees on Sundays, for the sake of the honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not remain in ignorance of how to observe this, we will clearly show the faithful, as on Saturday, at the evening entrance of the clergy to the altar, according to the accepted custom, no one kneels until the next evening on Sunday, in which, after entering the luminary time, bowing our knees, in this way we send up prayers to the Lord. For on Saturday night, accepting the forerunner of the Resurrection of our Savior, from here we spiritually begin songs, and bring the feast from darkness into light, so that from now on we celebrate the Resurrection all night and day.

This rule is especially characteristic of the expression: "Let us not be ignorant." Obviously, our God-bearing Fathers did not consider the question of bowing or non-bending the knee on Sunday to be insignificant or unimportant, as many, unfortunately, now consider, ignoring this rule: they considered it necessary to indicate exactly from what moment of worship it is unacceptable kneeling and from what it is again allowed. According to this rule, kneeling is canceled from the so-called "evening entrance" at Vespers on Saturday until the evening entrance at Vespers on Sunday. That is why there is nothing surprising in the fact that at Vespers on the first day of the Holy Trinity, although it always happens on Sunday, the three prayers of St. Basil the Great are read with kneeling. These prayers are read just after the evening entry at Vespers, which is in full accordance with the requirement of the above 90th canon of the VI Ecumenical Council.

St. Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria and a martyr who suffered for Christ in 311 AD, whose rules are included in the church canon, which is obligatory for all believers, and is contained in the “Book of Rules”, along with other rules of St. Fathers, in his 15th canon, explaining why Christians fast on Wednesday and Friday, concludes by saying:

“We spend Sunday, like a day of joy, for the sake of the Risen One on it: on this day we have not even bowed to the knee.”

And the great universal teacher and Saint Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who lived in the 4th century A.D., whose rules in the amount of 92 are also included in the Book of Rules and always enjoyed special authority and respect, in the 91st rule, borrowed from the 27th chapter of his book on the Holy Spirit, “To Amphilechius” very deeply and, one might say, exhaustively explains the full significance of the abolition of kneeling on the days when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Here is his fully edifying explanation of this ancient church custom:

“Standing prayers we do in one from Saturdays (that is, on Sunday), but not everyone knows the reason for this. For not only, as if we have risen with Christ and are supposed to seek the things above, by standing during prayer, on the day of resurrection, we remind ourselves of the grace bestowed on us, but also because we do this, as if this day seems to be some kind of a longed-for age. Why is it like the beginning of days, and Moses called him not the first, but one. And there was, he says, evening, and there was morning, one day (Genesis 1:5): as if one and the same day turned around many times. And so the one, which is rich and osmous, means that essentially one and true eighth day, which the Psalmist mentions in some writings of the psalms, will mark the coming state in this age, a day that does not stop, non-evening, without succession, never-ending, this and ageless age. . So, the Church thoroughly teaches her pupils to pray standing on that day, so that, with frequent reminders of an endless life, we do not neglect parting words to this repose. But the entire Pentecost is a reminder of the Resurrection, expected in the next century. For the one and the first day, being sevenfold sevenfold, is the seven weeks of Holy Pentecost. Pentecost, beginning on the first day of the week, ends with it. Turning fifty times through similar intermediate days, it imitates the century in this likeness, as if in a circular motion, starting from the same signs, and ending on the same ones. Church statutes teach us to prefer in these days the direct position of the body during prayer, as a clear reminder, as if moving our thoughts from the present to the future. With every kneeling and rising, we will show by action both that by sin we have fallen to the earth, and that, as if by the love of God who created us, we are again called to heaven. But I won’t have enough time to tell about the unwritten Sacraments of the Church.”

It is necessary to delve into the meaning of this ecclesiastical decree in order to understand how much of the deepest meaning and edification is in it, which in our time many do not want to use, preferring their own wisdom to the voice of the Holy Church. The general decline of religious and church consciousness in our days has led to the fact that modern Christians have somehow ceased, for the most part, to feel Sunday as a day of joy, like Easter, which we celebrate weekly, and therefore do not feel what incongruity, what a dissonance with the jubilant chants of this day is kneeling.”

To the question: “Are prostrations to the earth not established by the Charter permissible?” Archbishop Averky answers:

“Unacceptable. One cannot put one's own wisdom above the mind of the Church, above the authority of the Holy Fathers. …What right do we have to act contrary to the voice of the Universal Church? Or do we want to be more pious than the Church herself and her great Fathers?”

When applied to the Holy Gospel, the Cross, holy relics and icons one should approach in due order, slowly and without crowding, put two bows before kissing and one after kissing the shrine, bows must be made in the day - earthly or deep waist, touching the ground with your hand. When kissing the icons of the Savior, we kiss the foot, and with a half-length image - the hand, or riza, to the icons of the Mother of God and the saints - the hand or riza; to the icon of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands and to the icon of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist - we kiss the hair.

Several sacred persons can be depicted on the icon, but when there are congregations of worshipers, it is supposed to kiss the icon once, so as not to detain others and thereby violate the decorum in the temple.

Before the image of the Savior, you can say the Jesus Prayer to yourself: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner (sinner)”, or: “I have sinned without a number, Lord, have mercy on me.”

Before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, you can say the following prayer: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

Before the Honest Life-Giving Cross of Christ, they read the prayer “We worship Your Cross, Master, and glorify Your Holy Resurrection” with a subsequent bow.

Man is a being of a dual nature: spiritual and bodily. Therefore, the Holy Church gives a person saving means, both for his soul and for his body.

The soul and body are bound together until death. Therefore, the grace-filled means of the Church are aimed at healing-correcting both the soul and the body. An example of this is the Sacraments. Many of them have a material substance that is sanctified by the Holy Spirit in the order of the Sacrament and has a beneficial effect on a person. In the Sacrament of Baptism, it is water. In the Sacrament of Chrismation - myrrh. In the Sacrament of Communion - the Body and Blood of Christ under the guise of water, wine and bread. And even in the Sacrament of Confession, we must materially (verbally) pronounce our sins before the priest.

Let us also recall the dogma of the Universal Resurrection. After all, each of us will resurrect bodily and appear in union with the soul at the Judgment of God.

Therefore, the Church has always shown special concern for the human body, considering it the temple of the Living God. And a person who does not pay attention to all the means that are supposed in Orthodoxy for healing-correction not only of the soul, but also of the body, is deeply mistaken. After all, it is in the body that the germs of passions often nest, and if you close your eyes to them and do not fight them, over time they will grow from snakes into dragons and begin to eat the soul.

Here it is useful to recall the verses of the psalms ...

31:9:
“Do not be like a horse, like a foolish hinny, whose jaws need to be curbed with a bridle and a bit, so that they submit to you.”
After all, often our body is just like a horse and a silly hinny, which needs to be curbed with a bridle of prayer, the Sacraments, bows, fasting, so that it does not fly into the abyss in its earthly passionate run.

“My knees were exhausted from fasting, and my body was deprived of fat.”

We see that the holy prophet and king David made prostrations to the ground to the point of exhaustion in order to be cleansed of sins and fast with fasting that is pleasant and pleasing to God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also prayed on his knees: “And he himself departed from them as a stone was thrown, and knelt down and prayed…” (Luke 22:41).
And if God did it, then should we refuse to prostrate?

Moreover, quite often in the Holy Scriptures, the prophets and the Savior called people proud and turning away from God stiff-necked (translated from the Church Slavonic language - with stiff necks, unable to bow to God).

Quite often you notice this in the temple. A believing church person comes: he bought a candle, crossed himself, bowed before the holy icons, reverently took a blessing from the priest. A person of little faith enters the temple: he is ashamed not only to cross himself, but even to slightly bend his head towards the icon or the crucifix. Because I'm not used to bowing my "I" to anyone, even God. This is where cruelty lies.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us hasten to make prostrations. They are a manifestation of our humility and contrition of heart before the Lord God. They are a sacrifice pleasing and pleasing to God.

The prodigal son, covered in ulcers, rags and scabs, returns home to his father and falls on his knees before him with the words: “Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” That's what an earthly bow is. The destruction of the personal tower of Babel, the realization of one's own sin and the fact that one cannot rise without the Lord. And, of course, our Heavenly Father will hasten to meet us in order to restore us and accept us into His love. Only for this you need to cast aside your "ego", self-conceit and vanity and understand that without God it is impossible to even take a step correctly. As long as you are filled with yourself and not with the Lord, you will be unhappy. But as soon as you realize that you are on the edge of an abyss filled with sins and passions, and that you yourself do not have enough strength to rise, that another minute - and death, then your feet will bow before the Almighty and you will beg Him not to leave you.
That's what an earthly bow is. Ideally, this is the prayer of the publican, the prayer of the prodigal son. Pride prevents you from making a prostration. It can only be done by a humble person.

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) wrote about prostrations to the ground: “The Lord fell on his knees during His prayer - and you should not neglect kneeling if you have enough strength to perform them. By worship to the face of the earth, according to the explanation of the fathers, our fall is depicted, and by rising from the earth, our redemption ... "

You also need to understand that you cannot reduce the number of prostrations to the ground to some kind of mechanical gymnastic exercise and not strive to perform an immoderate feat of kneeling. Less is better, better quality. Let us remember that prostration is not an end in itself. He is a means for acquiring the lost communion with God and the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit. Bowing to the ground is a penitential prayer that cannot be offered carelessly, inattentively and in a hurry. Get up, cross yourself correctly and slowly. Get on your knees, put your hands on the floor in front of you and touch your forehead to the floor, then get up from your knees and straighten up to your full height. This will be a real earthly bow. During its performance, you need to read some short prayer to yourself, for example, Jesus or "Lord have mercy." You can also turn to the Most Holy Theotokos and to the saints.

In Great Lent, according to the established tradition, three bows to the earth are made after entering the temple in front of Golgotha: that is, they made two bows to the earth, kissed the Crucifixion and made one more. The same is true when leaving the temple. During the evening service or the Liturgy, prostrations to the ground are also appropriate. In the morning, for example, when singing "The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim without comparison ..." after the eighth ode of the canon. At the Liturgy - after singing "We sing to you, we bless you ...", since at this time the culmination of the service takes place in the altar - the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. You can also kneel and while the priest comes out with the Chalice with the words "With the fear of God" to commune the people. During Great Lent, kneeling is also done at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in certain places, indicated by the ringing of a bell, during the priest's versification of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, and in some other places of services of the Holy Forty Day.

Bows to the earth are not made on Sundays, on Twelve Feasts, on Christmas time (from the Nativity of Christ to the Baptism of the Lord), from Easter to Pentecost. This is forbidden by the holy apostles, as well as by the I and VI Ecumenical Councils, since on these holy days there is a reconciliation of God with man, when a man is no longer a slave, but a son.

For the rest of the time, dear brothers and sisters, let us not be lazy to make prostrations to the ground, voluntarily plunging ourselves with a bow-fall into the abyss of repentance, in which the merciful God will surely stretch out His paternal right hand to us and resurrect and raise us, sinners, with unspeakable love for this and future life.

Priest Andrei Chizhenko