When you can not do kneeling bows. How to bow down according to the rules? On the Sign of the Cross in Orthodoxy: Power, Meaning and Essence

In 2001, the All-Russian Regency Congress was held, which restored the tradition that had been interrupted in 1916. Along with important choir and statutory problems, the issue of bowing in church during worship was also considered.
Everything in the temple should be "according to order and good manner", where there is no place for self-willed erroneous opinions.
I will begin a brief review of this topic.
Bows are of three types:
SMALL (throwing) with and without the sign of the cross
WAIST
EARTH

SMALL BOW WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
-applied in all cases of expressing a prayerful feeling and appeal. For example, when passing by the altar, the temple, at the request of the litanies, while singing "Alleluia", "Holy God", when the words of prayers encourage this ("let's bow", "fall down", "Let's pray").

A SMALL BOW WITHOUT THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
1. When worshipers are censing (moreover, the bow is AFTER, and not during the censing: at the time when the deacon or priest censes you, you stand straight); overshadow them with candles; when they bless with a hand or a cross (the last about the cross is news to me).
2. When a clergyman burns the whole temple incense. At the same time, only those worshipers, by whom the censer passes, turn to face him. And even more so do not turn their backs to the altar.
3. When proclaiming
- BOW YOUR HEADS OF THE LORD
- PEACE TO ALL
- BLESSING OF THE LORD ON YOU...
- THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS ​​CHRIST...
4. On the Cherubic Hymn at the Great Entrance, at the exclamation: ALL OF YOU ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS... At this moment I pray within myself: Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom! Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom! Remember me, Holy One, in Your Kingdom!
5. While reading the Gospel (standing straight, with his head bowed, as if listening to Jesus Christ Himself).
6. At the Paschal greeting of the priest censing with the cross at the words:
- CHRIST IS RISEN!
Answering:
- TRULY IS RISEN!

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS WITHOUT A BOW
1. When reading the Creed in words:
"...God the Father, the Almighty...", "And in the One Lord Jesus Christ...", "And in the Holy Spirit...".
There are discrepancies here, for example, St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov was instructed to cross himself only on "I believe ...".
2. When pronouncing words:
"by the power of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross ...".
3. At the beginning of the reading of the Apostle, proverbs.
4. When leaving in words:
"Christ our true God ...", and a bow after the end of the vacation, in the last words.
5. At the beginning of the Six Psalms 3 times in the words "Glory to God in the highest ...".
6. At the words of the troparion "Save, Lord, Thy people ...", etc.

BOW BOW
Waist bows are deep (to the ground - by hand) and shallow (to the waist).
Apply:
1. At the entrance to the temple and exit from it (3 times in front of the altar).
2. At the exclamation "Blessed is our God ...".
3. At the exclamation of a clergyman who gives glory to the Holy Trinity.
4. With exclamations:
- Yours from Yours.
- Holy to the Holy (3 bows!)
5. When pronouncing words on "Honest":
- ... We magnify the Existing Mother of God.
6. To the exclamation:
- Glory to Thee, Christ God, our hope, glory to Thee!
7. At the beginning of the great doxology at Matins ("Glory to God in the highest").
In modern tradition, the custom of kneeling is increasingly entering, although the Charter suggests throwing.
8. After singing the first half of the Cherubic Hymn, at the great entrance, during the exit of the clergy (meeting the Holy Chalice).
9. Before reading and after reading the Gospel in the words "Glory to you, Lord, glory to you."
10. After "It is worthy to eat" - we do not make a prostration, due to the fact that the prostration preceded the Holy Mysteries.
Holy Mysteries - earthly, Mother of God - belt

EARTH BOW
Bows to the earth - bows, “to bring the head of the power to the ground” (Tipikon), they believe when worshiping the greatest shrines; on the days of fasting and the most important and mysterious moments of worship. And in the first and last cases, the value of the calendar period is not taken into account.

So, during the singing of “We sing to you” in the Eucharistic canon (as a guide for the parishioners - approximately during the singing of “and we pray to Thee, our God”), a terrible and glorious MOMENT of the OFFERING of the Holy Gifts takes place. According to the teachings of the Church, from that moment on the Holy Throne is no longer bread and wine, but the Most Pure Body of Christ and His Most Pure Blood, and the priest is prostrated before this Shrine.

“….THIS MOMENT OF THE DIVINE LITURGY IS THE BASIS OF THE ALL LIFE OF THE WORLD, this is the axis of the wheel of life…
This moment is terrible: the whole being of a person, all his feelings, thoughts, his whole being must prostrate himself before this manifestation of philanthropy and the mercy of the Redeemer, -

this is how Holy Martyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) writes about this great moment.
The bow to the earth is laid here in any calendar period, including Easter.
One can only be perplexed and mourn when, in such crucial moment the people do not fall on their faces, and at the exclamation "Holy to the saints" almost everyone bows to the ground when it is inappropriate here.
(That's exactly what's going on.)

The priest makes bows from the waist (3 bows are required), standing near the Throne, and the people prostrate themselves, standing in the temple ... This can only be explained by ignorance, misunderstanding of what is happening during the service.

An earthly bow to the communicant is obligatory, including on Easter at the appearance of the Holy Gifts at the exclamation “Come with the fear of God and faith ...”.

EARTH BOW in Great Lent.
Examples of the obligatory use of prostrations:
- at Great Compline when proclaiming:
"Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners"
"God, cleanse us sinners and have mercy on us";
- at Lenten Vespers
while singing "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice",
"Glory: to the Baptist ... Christ ...", and now: "Pray for us ..." (on each sling everyone makes one earthly bow,
after "Under Your mercy ..." - one belt;
- on the pictorial, at the end of the singing of the beatitudes, three times are sung:
"Remember us, Lord, when you come into Thy Kingdom", Remember us, Vladyka...", "Remember us, Holy One...".

EARTH BOWINGS: COMMON ERRORS
The most common MISTAKE is the widely accepted opinion THAT IT IS NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE EARTH BOWINGS IN THE TEMPLE:
- on Sundays, on the days of Christmastide, from Easter to Pentecost, on the Twelve Feasts. Bows in these cases cease from the evening entrance before the feast to “Vouchee, Lord ...” at Vespers on the very day of the feast or its giving;
- also on the days of Passion Week after reading the prayer “Lord and Master of my life” for the last time before Pentecost, the exceptions are bows at the Shroud; and on the twelfth feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, bows are made before the Cross.
In fact, the Charter never forbade prostrations.
All these instructions of the Charter require detailed consideration. Most often they rely on the expression of the Rule of the 20th First Ecumenical Council, which reads: and in the days of Pentecost; then so that in all dioceses everything is equally observed, it is pleasing to the holy Council, but worthily they offer prayers to God. Canon 90 of the Sixth Council of Constantinople also speaks of non-bending the knee from Saturday at the entrance to Sunday at the entrance to Vespers. But, paying attention to the words "kneeling down", for some reason they miss the words "let them worthily offer prayers to God." However, this is important, because "kneeling" is NOT EARTHLY bowing, but a LONG KNEELING Prayer. At the time of the Councils, such was, for example, a pure litany. On weekdays, its severity and significance was manifested not only in the threefold repetition of “Lord, have mercy!”, but also in the propitiatory, repentant position of the body, namely: kneeling. Such prayer really reduced the festivity of the day.
Pointing to the expression of the Lenten Triodion (Great Wednesday Evening): “And the abies practice the usual bows completely in the church. In cells, even before the Great Heel, they forget that, according to the terminology of the book compiled in the East, the Lenten Triodion, the Church means NOT a TEMPLE, but the MEETING OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY for prayer. The cell does not mean a separate room in Russian monasteries, occupied by one person, but a small group of monks, headed by an elder or simply an older brother, appointed from the hierarchy of the monastery. THUS, here we are talking about the abolition of ORGANIZED prostrations led by a priest (in a temple) or an elder (in a cell).
No more mention is made of prostrations to the ri Triod and the Typicon. However, everyone agrees that only prostrations are performed before the Shroud. Therefore, the above rule does not apply to prostrations in general, but only to a certain group of them (organized).
Three more indirect points can be cited.
1. According to the testimony of the old inhabitants of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the elders in the Lavra said: “And if on the brightest day of Easter the Lord Jesus Christ appears to us, we will fall at His feet or, bowing from the waist, we will say: “Forgive me, Lord, according to the Charter no more is required"?
2. The Old Believers, of course, have no equal in matters of observance of ritual norms and rules. According to the katavasia of the 9th song, a great bow is laid, which means a bow to the ground.
3. During the consecration, which took place during the period of Pentecost, the protege, after each encirclement around the Throne, bows to the ordaining hierarch.
Thus, a one-time prostration, expressing extreme reverence and an enthusiastic or repentant state of mind, cannot be forbidden by anyone, anything and ever.
In addition, it can be added that penance prostrations are made even in Svetloye Christ's Resurrection.
All this is celebrated not in order to force everyone to prostrate on Sundays, but in order to moderate the ardor of those who preach the opinion that those who prostrate during the above periods commit the sin of almost sacrilege.

(If the Lord grants and we will live, we will continue; I am doing a digest in more detail, because they asked me to mention where, what and why.)

OTHER COMMON ERRORS
When a deacon or priest is censing at the "Lord," "Most Honest" and others, only those worshipers who are passing by the censer (see above) bow their heads. AT this case a mistake is “seeing off” the censer, that is, turning like a sunflower after the sun (it happens that those praying in a fit of inappropriate piety describe a complete turn around themselves, turning their backs to the altar).
At Vespers at the entrance, when the priest, having venerated the icon of the Savior, blesses the priest-bearer (by this releasing him), the people coming to the temple do not need to bow their heads. The same rule applies to the small entrance to the Liturgy.
When a deacon or priest is incense from the pulpit on “Lord, I have called”, “Most Honest”, etc., first - the incense of the left and right kliros, then - the people. Also on the polyeleos, the priest censes the forthcoming clergy, then the right and left kliros, and only then the forthcoming people. Here it is necessary to bow the head, and not to bow indiscriminately in all directions.
ON THE "HOLY TO THE SAINTS" THERE IS NO EARTHLY BOW, BUT THREE (!) DEEP WAIST BOW ("Misal Book").
It is not necessary to be baptized at the great entrance (in the middle of the Cherubic Hymn), since there are no actions that encourage this, and only in the words of the clergyman “all of you Orthodox Christians”, you should bow your head. At this time, the upcoming ones are overshadowed by the Holy Chalice.
About the mistakes on the litanies about the catechumens - here, I believe, everyone understands, it is unnecessary to speak. We listen and act according to the words.
When the Holy Gifts are taken away, there is no bow to the earth to the exclamation “Always, now and forever ...”, but a waist bow, as this is inappropriate. It is assumed that many (and in ancient times - all) are communicants, and uniformity in prostrations is supposed in the Church. (Here it’s personal: I can’t help bowing down to the earth before the Chalice, if, trouble, trouble, I didn’t take communion. Well, I can’t.)
In Great Lent, at Vespers, to the exclamation: “Wisdom, forgive (i.e., LET'S STAND STRAIGHT). The light of Christ enlightens all.” There is no prostration (This is clear from the translation), but throwing without the sign of the cross. (Here it’s personal: after all, the prostration is indicated everywhere, and from the translation “let’s forgive” - it seems to be absent).
This tradition requires study, here are quotes from the discussion of this issue:
“According to the order of rank, there is only getting up. That is, the rank itself does not provide for any bow, lower than throwing.
"According to the breviary - also no bow, even a tiny one."
“I believe that all the various adorations at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (especially during kathismas) are brought in.”
“Neither in Byzantine, nor in ancient Russian, nor in modern Greek practice is there a bow here. So, probably, really - folk art.
“At this moment under discussion in other Orthodox Churches, bowing is not done. Of course, there is no logic in it, especially now. Previously, the archdeacon brought light from outside. The bow could appear when the primate began to do it.
N.D. Uspensky, a professor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, wrote: “Christ the Savior Himself called Himself the light of the world (Jn. 8:12). The quiet light of the evening lamp reminded them of the One about whom the evangelist wrote: “There was a true Light, which enlightens every person who comes into the world” (John 1, 9). The lamp burning in the prayer meeting vividly reminded those present of the spiritual presence with them of Christ, who promised to be where two or three are gathered in His name (Matt. 18:20).
And one more thing, from the "God's Law for Gymnasiums of 1872":
“... historically, during the days of Great Lent, those who were preparing for baptism, during the appearance and fall with a lit candle, as a sign of the grace-filled light that they would receive in baptism, bowed to the ground.”
“After the Cherubim, three bows should be without the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. For Russians, this is like an ornament (and Father Mikhail Zheltov admitted this).”
“Although not always, one must keep in mind the practice of other Churches, otherwise it is only with the Russian one, one can seriously make a mistake.”
“Regarding the three prostrations with the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the question is clear. There is no such prayer. However, if the priest simply makes three earthly bows, then no one will follow his example. Although the very prayer of Ephraim the Syrian “speaks in itself”, and not, as is customary today, in a spoken manner.
On the issue of "The Light of Christ" everything is clear. In general, according to the meaning, there is no bow, but a deacon's exclamation follows, calling to get up. That is, there is still a special attitude to the moment.

SIXOPSALMI.
IT IS NOT ALLOWED TO BAPTIZE AND BOW TO BE BAPTIZED ON the Six Psalms. The Six Psalms are six selected psalms from the Psalms read at the beginning of Matins. After the first three psalms, which make up the first article of the Six Psalms, when the words "Glory ... and now ... Alleluia ..." are pronounced, the signs of the cross and bows are not performed, as the Charter provides for in other cases. Elder Paisios of Athos, answering the question why we do not sit down for the Six Psalms, says: “Because it SYMBOLIZES THE TERRIBLE JUDGMENT. Therefore, it is good if during the Six Psalms the mind goes to the hour of the Last Judgment. The Six Psalms takes 6-7 minutes (many saints indicate that God's judgment on us will take exactly the time of reading these six psalms). After the first article, we are not even baptized, because Christ will come now not to be crucified, but to appear to the world as a Judge.”

BOWINGS AT THE LITURGY (not given above, according to the statutory notes of Schema-Archimandrite Dionysius (Lukich), pre-revolutionary steward of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra).
To the exclamation “Blessed is the Kingdom…” no obligatory prostration is accepted.
On the "Trisagion" - small bows, as well as on "Thy Cross ...".
In St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), in Volume V, “Offering to Modern Monasticism,” we read that on the ektiny at the first petition and at the exclamation with which the serving priest concludes the ektiny, one bow is supposed to be bowed from the waist. There is also the opinion of Bishop Athanasius (Sakharov), who said that at the supplicatory litanies we worship for each petition, since each of them speaks of the most necessary for our life.

WORSHIP OF ICONS
We apply to the icons like this: two waist bows, then we apply to the icon.
If there are several icons, then after two waist bows we apply to several icons (by seniority). Starting from the second - to each with the sign of the cross, after which the third bow is made.

If we go to the ANOINTING, then, after venerating the icons, we approach the priest, accept the anointing, step back and make the third half-length bow towards the altar and a small bow (we bow our head) without the sign of the cross to the upcoming priest (turning in his direction).

* Spiritual and educational publication "On bowing during worship", based on the materials of the 1st All-Russian Regency Congress (July 17-21, 2001, Moscow Region), 4th edition, 2015, approved for publication by Ed. Council of the Belarusian Ex. Mosk. Patr. Decision 519 dated 10/18/2011. The editorial staff of the final document was prepared by the steward of the Holy Trinity Ioninsky Monastery, Archimandrite Spiridon (Written).

Prostrations on Sunday

Bowing to the earth on Sundays is not prescribed by the charter (canon 20 of the 1st and 90th canon of the 6th Ecumenical Councils).

Kneeling is not an Orthodox custom that has spread among us only recently and borrowed from the West. Bow is an expression of our reverent feelings for God, our love and humility before Him (archim. Cyprian Kern).

Question:

Although there is general rule that prostrations on Sundays and holidays are canceled, but many consider it necessary to prostrate at the liturgy at the following points:

a) at the consecration of the Holy Gifts, at the end of the singing “We sing to you”;

b) when taking out the Holy Gifts for Communion (especially for those who approach them); and

c) at the last appearance of the Holy Gifts at the end of the Liturgy.

Are these earthly prostrations permissible?

Answer of Archbishop Averky (Taushev): Invalid.

One cannot put one's own wisdom above the mind of the Church, above the authority of the Holy Fathers.

The First Ecumenical Council, with its 20th canon, and the Sixth Ecumenical Council, with its 90th canon, clearly and definitely forbid "kneeling" on the "day of the Lord" (Sunday) and "on the days of Pentecost" (from Easter to the feast of Pentecost in during this entire period of time every day), and such a high authority for us as the great ecumenical teacher and St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea Cappadoma, in his 91st canon clearly and intelligibly explains the reason for this, referring it to the "sacraments of the church", and the canon rule of Hieromartyr Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria, accepted by the whole Church, directly testifies that on Sunday "we did not even bow the knee."

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 itself and its great Fathers?

The founder of our Russian Church Abroad, His Beatitude Metropolitan Anthony, who even when he was Archbishop of Volyn and Zhytomyr issued a letter to his flock about this, did not kneel on Sundays and Lord's holidays, and our present First Hierarch His Eminence Metropolitan Anastassy.

Question: If kneeling during prayer brings you closer to God than standing prayer, and more acquiring God's mercy, then why don't those who pray on the Lord's day and in the period from Pascha to Pentecost do not kneel? And where does this custom in the churches come from?

Answer: Because we must always remember two things: our fall into sin, and the mercy of our Christ, thanks to which we were raised from the bottom of our fall, and therefore our kneeling for six days (week) is a symbol of our fall. But the fact that on the day of the Lord we do not kneel is a symbol of the Resurrection, thanks to which we - by the mercy of Christ - were freed from our sinfulness, as well as from death, put to death through Him.

This custom dates back to the time of the apostles, as Blessed Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons and martyr, says about it in his essay “On Pascha” (but), where Pentecost is also mentioned, about which it is said that we do not kneel on this day, because it is equal to it in its value and for the same reasons as the day of the Lord.

The custom of not kneeling on Sunday and during the entire Paschal time until Pentecost is “one of the original apostolic traditions,” common to both East and West, but now preserved only in the East.

But we (as it was established for us) on the day of the Lord's Resurrection alone must refrain not only from this, but also from all kinds of anxiety and duties, postponing everyday affairs in order not to give place to the devil. We also act during Pentecost, which is distinguished by the same solemnity of mood. Be that as it may, who will doubt to bow before God every day, at least at the first prayer with which we meet the day? In fasting and vigil, no prayer can be performed without kneeling and other rites expressing humility. For we not only pray, but also ask for mercy, and give (praise) to the Lord God.

Although the reason for the prohibition on kneeling may vary somewhat from one father to another at different times, the basic concept always remains the same: the unity of body and soul is such that the position of the former must be in complete agreement with the inner state of the soul, which changes at different moments.

On the day of the Lord we pray standing, expressing (them) the certainty of the future age. On other days, on the contrary, we kneel, thus remembering the fall of the human race.

Rising from our knees, we proclaim to everyone about the resurrection given to us by Christ, which is celebrated on the day of the Lord.

Bow- a symbolic action, bowing of the head and body, expressing humility and before.

There are bows great also called earthly, - when the worshiper kneels and touches the head of the earth, and small, or waist, - waist worship of the head and body.

Small bows are performed at all temple and home prayers. On, when the priest's hand, a small bow is made without the sign of the cross.

Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow:
“If, standing in church, you bow when the church charter orders it, try to restrain yourself from bowing when it is not required by the charter, so as not to attract the attention of the worshipers, or hold back sighs that are ready to burst from the heart, or tears ready to spill out of your eyes - in such an arrangement, and among a large assembly, you secretly stand before your Heavenly Father, even in secret, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior ().

priest Andrey Lobashinsky:
“It seems to me that the difference, the peculiarity of Orthodox Christianity, is precisely the fact that it does not bring people to their knees, but, on the contrary, raises them from their knees. It is in rebellion from the knees that the essence of Christianity consists. When we kneel, we testify that we are falling, that we are sinners. Sin brings us to our knees. But when we rise from our knees, we say that the Lord forgives us and makes us His beloved children, beloved sons and friends.
In the Gospel, Christ tells the disciples: "And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." These words are confirmed by all spiritual experience. Orthodox Church. Of course, first of all, here we have in mind spiritual freedom, inner liberation. But in external manifestations - and Christianity constantly emphasizes the connection between internal and external - the same thing is observed. If we look carefully at all church statutes, church regulations, we will see that kneeling is, in fact, a non-Orthodox tradition.”

This is the simplest example, but it is also puzzling: if the parishioners do not know the meaning of the simplest litany, then what significance is attached to other, more complex, moments of the service, what meaning is put into them, what is the general level of understanding of church rites?

What can we say about indifference to sacred statutory norms, when, for example, not only ignorant laity, but also pastors and monks neglect the canonical rite of temporary abolition of prostration and kneeling. But such restrictions are not an external formality. "Do not kneel" at certain moments of St. refers to the norms of the "sacramental and liturgical life of the Church". Everything in the Orthodox ritual carries a deep theological and ascetic meaning, here the mysterious inner interaction between soul and body is touched upon. Since not only the mind, but “the whole soul-body being of a person participates in worship,” the adequacy of each movement is important. Hence the special symbolic language of gesture, which “the Church has included in worship as an organic part of prayer”, both bows and kneeling belong to it - “a voiceless language where the word is replaced by movement”. Therefore, meaningful performance of ritual actions and strict adherence to the canonical order is so important.

Violation of the rank of prostrations is far from a trifle. Is this not a sign of the emasculation of church life, the emergence of a cult of ritual belief, when the service turns into "empty external actions" or, worse, when they are given a false ritual superstitious meaning. The Fathers warn that "without deepening one's knowledge in this area, a person can easily fall into a habit that deadens and devastates." So that spiritual life does not degenerate into meaningless ritual, “it is necessary to constantly grow in the knowledge of God and not allow the liturgy to become a detail of our pious life. Precisely because it became mass instead of liturgy, a deep crisis was experienced by all of us.

Deep churching allows you to get closer to smart doing.

Notes

Announced - those to whom it was announced, i.e. taught, the teaching of the Church, people who believe in Christ and are preparing for the sacrament of baptism.

Prayer for the catechumens.

Some modern pastors speak in the sense that it is permissible for a Christian to deliberately bow his head while praying for the catechumens, thereby, as it were, showing his humility. One venerable archpriest, who acted in this way, confessed, responding to the bewilderment of his flock, that he bows his head during this prayer out of humility, since he considers himself “in matters of dogma” to have barely begun “the process of categorization”, and “in life by faith – who have not yet begun this process.” But confusion remains. When they do something that is not due to the order of worship, thereby attracting general attention to themselves, then a simple question arises: is it necessary to demonstrate one’s humility to others, is this not contrary to the very spirit of humility, does it not turn into its opposite? Another, no less respectable pastor believes that “although we are baptized, we are not churched enough, and we do not act according to the grace of baptism,” on this basis, they say, “you can put yourself in the ranks of the catechumens and lower your head.” Here another question arises. Of course, we are all unworthy of the title of Christian, it is useful to realize this, but is it worthy of a Christian to imagine himself deprived of the inherent grace of baptism? Not to mention the fact that a person who is insufficiently churched cannot in any way be equated with an unbaptized person, for this it would be necessary to renounce dogmatic consciousness. In addition, according to this logic, in a minute, at the exclamation of “announcement, go out,” you will have, for the sake of humility, to imagine yourself leaving the service, and at the exclamation of “the tree of faithfulness ... let us pray to the Lord”, you will already need not only to remember that we are baptized, but to imagine yourself and churched, and "acting according to grace." Otherwise, how can one receive communion if one “places oneself in the ranks of the catechumens”?.. Is such a game of fantasy appropriate during the service, instead of realizing the true sign of liturgical actions and symbols? The symbolism here is not a decor, but a strong means of spiritual influence, it is dangerous to distort it with an arbitrary game of the mind. Orthodox asceticism forbids the praying mind to admit precisely imagination, calls to fight with it, and not to cultivate it. Humility, on the other hand, as a living feeling of one's depravity and insignificance, as a sincere recognition of oneself as the worst among people, has nothing in common with self-hypnosis and pretense.

Typicon, on the basis of the Canonical Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council No. 90, which is confirmed by the charter of St. (right. No. 91) and other decrees, imposes a categorical ban on prostrations and kneeling on Sundays and holidays and at certain moments of worship (Cherubic, Six Psalms, Most Honest, Great Doxology). It is significant that this statutory prohibition is not the fruit of a human invention, but received from above. Back in the III century. it was given by God in revelation through the angel St. : "From Sabbath evening to Sunday evening, as well as on the days of Pentecost, they do not kneel." The history of the Orthodox monastery ... T. 1. S. 238.

Novikov N.M. Jesus Prayer. The experience of two millennia. The teaching of the holy fathers and ascetics of piety from antiquity to the present day: a review of ascetic literature in 4 volumes. Vol.1. Chapter "Mystery of Sacraments". pp. 80-83. Novikov N.M.

Man is a spiritual and physical creation. The position of the body in prayer affects the soul, helping to tune in the right way. Without labor it is impossible to reach the Kingdom of God, to be cleansed of passions and sins. The bow of the earth is a body that promotes humility, patience and contrition inner man before the Creator. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself prayed on his knees, and even more so we should not neglect such a useful spiritual exercise. It is important to know how to bow to the earth correctly, according to the canons of the Church.

Earthly prostrations are not permitted by the Church:

• in the period from the Resurrection of Christ to the Day of the Holy Trinity;
• from the Nativity of Christ to Epiphany (Holy days);
• on the days of the twelfth holidays;
• Sunday days. But there are exceptions when the prostration is blessed at the liturgy on Sunday: after the priest’s phrase “Having changed by Your Holy Spirit” and at the moment of taking the Chalice with the Holy Mysteries of Christ from the altar to the people with the words “Come with the fear of God and faith”;
• communion day to evening worship.

In all other periods, prostrations are made, but it is not possible to list these cases because of their multitude. It is important to adhere simple rule: during worship, follow the priests and repeat after them. Lenten services are especially replete with kneeling. When a special bell rings, you need to kneel down.

AT home environment you can bow to the ground at prayer on any day, except for periods when it is not blessed by the Church. The main thing is to observe the measure and not overdo it. The quality of bows is more important than their quantity. Also, in Orthodox practice, it is unacceptable to pray while kneeling for a long time, this is practiced in the Catholic Church.

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

Earthly things should be done slowly, with attention and concentration. Stand up straight, reverently cross yourself, kneel down, put your palms in front, and touch your forehead to the floor. Then stand up straight from your knees and repeat if necessary. It is customary to make a bow with a short prayer, for example, with Jesus, "have mercy" or in your own words. And you can also send a word to the Queen of Heaven or the Saints.

It is important to understand that prostration is not an end in itself, but a tool for gaining lost communion with God and the beneficial gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the answer to the question "How to bow to the ground?" will consist in the correct repentant disposition of the heart, filled with the fear of God, faith, hope for the inexpressible mercy of the Lord to us sinners.

For what purpose do believers make prostrations and when should they be done?

Priest Athanasius Gumerov answers:

Bows are symbolic actions that express our various feelings for God: repentance and humility, reverence and awe, exultation and praise, thanksgiving and joy. The need to bow before the majesty and holiness of God is an essential property of the spiritual nature of man. Patriarch Abraham, in the person of three wanderers, bowed to the one God: “Vladyka! if I have found favor in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant” (Gen. 18:3). The prophet Moses, bowing down before the Lord, prayed for forty days and forty nights for the people who had sinned (Deut. 9:25). The prophet Ezekiel, at the sight of the glory of the Lord, fell on his face (2:1). Saul, on the road to Damascus, when a light from heaven shone on him, fell to the ground in trembling and horror (Acts 9:3-6). The holy myrrh-bearing women, having met the resurrected Christ, joyfully “clung to His feet and worshiped Him” (Matthew 28:9). When the vision of Heavenly Jerusalem was opened to the seer John the Theologian, he saw how “twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever” (Rev. 4:10).

People have been worshiping God since ancient times. Christianity, having revealed to the world the fullness of the revelation of God as an all-perfect Spirit, raises people to a new level, teaching them to worship God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). Therefore, bodily symbolic action is only significant when accompanied by reverently prayerful inner worship.

The decrees of the Ecumenical and Local Councils and the definitions of the holy fathers, which are included in the Book of Rules, cancel kneeling only on Sunday and on the days of Holy Pentecost: Canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Council and Canon 90 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Here are the definitions in full:

— « After all, there are some who bow their knees on the day of the Lord, and on the days of Pentecost: then, so that in all dioceses everything is equally observed, it is pleasing to the holy cathedral, but standing up they say prayers to God”(20th canon of the 1st Ecumenical Council).

— « From our God-bearing fathers, canonically devoted to us, do not kneel on Sundays, for the sake of the honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not be in ignorance of how to observe this, we will clearly show the faithful that 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, on which, upon entering the lamproom time, bowing our knees, in this way we send up prayers to the Lord. For accepting the Sabbath night as the forerunner of the resurrection of our Savior, from here we spiritually begin songs, and bring the feast out of darkness into light, so that from now on we celebrate the resurrection all night and day.”(90th canon of the VI Ecumenical Council).

These decrees are supplemented by the 10th canon of St. Nicephorus the Confessor, Patriarch of Tsaregrad: “On Sundays and throughout Pentecost, bows should not be made, but you can only kneel, kissing St. icons”(Rules of the Orthodox Church, M., 2001, vol. II, p. 579). As we can see, the holy fathers distinguish between kneeling (prayer on the knees) and bowing as a symbolic action without prayer (before the holy Gifts, throne, icons, holy relics). The above rule of St. Nicephorus means one-time prostrations (without prayer), and resolutions I and VI Ecumenical Councils talk about praying on your knees. Consequently, the rules do not cancel prostrations on all holidays (including the Twelfth), except for Sundays and the days of Holy Pentecost.

The Monk John the Prophet assigned 49 prostrations to one brother to fight temptations. He asked: “Should I do earthly prostrations on Pentecost, or not?”. The elder’s answer: “But you were already told about prostrations on the ground at Pentecost at another time that you need to put them only in your cell” (St. Barsanuphi the Great and John. Guide to Spiritual Life. Answer 95). Rev. John Cassian the Roman, describing the life of the Egyptian monks, says: "The Egyptians do not kneel and do not fast from Saturday evening until Sunday evening, as well as throughout Pentecost" (Scriptures. Book 2, ch. 18th). There is no mention of other holidays.

Why of all the holidays only on sunday kneeling is cancelled? This explains St. Basil the Great in the work "On the Holy Spirit", an extract from which amounted to the 91st canon rule: "On the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday], we pray standing straight, but not everyone knows the reason for this. For not only how resurrected with Christ and obligated to seek higher ones, on Sunday, by the direct position of the body during prayer, we remind ourselves of the grace bestowed on us, but we also do this because this day, apparently, is, as it were, an image of the age we are expecting. days, in Moses it is not called the first, but the one. For it is said: there was evening, and there was morning, one day; because the same day returns many times. Therefore, he is also one and the eighth, representing himself really one and truly the eighth day, which the psalmist mentioned in some of the inscriptions of the Psalms (Psalms VI and XI), that is, that state that will follow the present time, that unceasing, non-evening, unchanging day, that never-ending and ageless age. of necessity, the cove teaches his pupils to pray standing up on this day, so that with frequent reminders of an endless life, we do not neglect to provide ourselves with parting words for repose in it. But the entire Pentecost is a reminder of the resurrection, expected in eternity. For that one and first day, multiplied seven times by the number seven, makes the seven weeks of holy Pentecost; because, beginning with the first day of the week, it also ends with the same, according to the fifty-fold circulation of similar, middle days between them. Why likewise imitates the century, as if in a circular motion, beginning with the same signs and ending with the same signs. On this very Pentecost, church statutes taught us to prefer a straight position of the body in prayer, with this clear reminder, as it were, moving our mind from the present to the future. But even with every kneeling and rising from the earth, we actually show that through sin we fell to the earth, and by the love of Him Who created us, we were called to heaven. (Rules of the Orthodox Church, M., 2001, vol. II, pp. 471 - 72).

So, it is quite clear why not on every holiday, even a great one, kneeling and bowing are canceled. Because the Feast of the Resurrection foreshadows our stay in the Kingdom of Heaven. Standing prayer is a sign of the complete victory of Christ over the devil.

Matthew Vlastar in the Alphabet Syntagma writes: “All Pentecost is a reminder of the revolt expected in the next century. Therefore, Basil the Great, who composed the touching prayers for the coming of the Holy Spirit, is more elegant than all, as befits a theologian, commanding the people to slavishly kneel in the time when these prayers are recited in the church, thus testifying to the power of the divine nature of the Holy Spirit, and did not establish these prayers to be read at the third hour (ninth after midnight) of Sunday and the fiftieth day after Pascha, i.e. at the hour at which The All-Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. For it is indecent to think that the one who depicted the mysteries of the Spirit and betrayed the rite of this Church violated the advantages of Sunday and the fiftieth day from Pascha, full of great mysteries. For this reason, he ordered to read these prayers in the evening of the same day, at such a time when this, the most elegant of all, day ends, that is, Pentecost, and the second day (Monday) begins, for the beginning of every day is considered from the the first hour of the first in the afternoon."

In some monasteries of the Russian Empire, for the uniformity of the behavior of the brethren in the temple, their charters on prostrations were introduced (“if the rector pleases”). One of these experiences is summarized in the work of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) "Rules of external behavior for novice monks" (Complete collection of creations, M., 2003, vol. V, pp. 14 - 15). In considering this work carefully, it must be remembered that it never claimed to be a canonical document. This experience could differ from the practice of other well-known Russian monasteries.