When prostrations are made. How to bow down in Orthodoxy

Bows are symbolic actions that express feelings of reverence for the Supreme Being - God. They have been used in the Christian Church since ancient times. Bows should be done slowly, in accordance with the specific words of the prayer.

What is bow, varieties

A bow is a symbolic act that is characterized by tilting the body and head, which show humility and submission before the Lord.

There are several types of bows:

Great or earthly. With them, the prayer kneels and touches the ground with his head.
Small or waist. When performing it, only the head and body are tilted.

There are certain cases where bows are not required. Many also confuse concepts such as bowing and the non-Orthodox practice of kneeling. By bowing to the ground, we show our humility and reverence for the Creator of the universe. After bowing, we stand up, thereby showing that the Lord has given us everything we need to be saved.

What do the scriptures say?

The custom of bowing to the ground dates back to ancient biblical times. So Solomon prayed during the consecration of the Jerusalem temple (see: 1 Kings 8: 54), Daniel in captivity in Babylon (see: Dan. 6: 10) and other Old Testament righteous. This custom was sanctified by our Lord Jesus Christ (see: Luke 22:41) and entered into the practice of the Christian Church (see: Acts 12: 60; Eph. 3:14). It is worth remembering the verses of the psalms here ...

31:9: "Do not be like a horse, like a foolish hinnie, whose jaws need to be bridled with a bridle and bit so that they obey you."

108:24: "My knees have grown weak from fasting, and my body has lost its fat."

We see that the holy prophet and King David to the point of exhaustion made prostrations to the ground in order to be cleansed from sins and fasts with a fast that is pleasing and pleasing to God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also prayed on his knees: "And he himself departed from them to cast a stone, and, kneeling down, prayed ..." (Luke 22:41).

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote about bowing to the ground: “The Lord knelt down during His prayer - and you should not neglect kneeling if you have the strength to do it. Worship to the face of the earth, according to the explanation of the fathers, depicts our fall, and an uprising from the earth - our redemption ... "

To be baptized with an earthly bow should be:

In fasting at the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - three times.
In fasting at Matins after each refrain to the song of the Mother of God "My soul magnifies the Lord" after the words "We magnify you."
At the liturgy at the beginning of the singing "It is worthy and righteous ...".
At the end of the singing "We sing to you ...".
After "It is worthy to eat ..." or backward.
At the exclamation "Holy to the saints."
With the exclamation "And vouch for us, Master ..." before singing "Our Father".
When carrying out the Holy Gifts, with the words "With the fear of God and faith, approach," and the second time - with the words "Always, now and ever ...".
IN Great post at Great Compline, while singing "Most Holy Lady ..." - at each verse; while singing "Virgin Mary, rejoice ..." and so on. three obeisances are performed at Lenten Vespers.
During Great Lent while reading the prayer "Lord and Master of my belly ..."
In Great Lent, during the concluding singing "Remember us, Lord, when you come in Thy Kingdom," three prostrations are made.

Important notes

Bowing to the ground on Sunday causes a lot of controversy. First of all, this consists in the fact that according to the Church Charter it is forbidden to bow down to the ground on Sundays and holidays. But many liturgists say that it is always necessary to bow down before the throne, regardless of the day of the week or holiday. In addition, there is a certain practice when bowing down to the ground is replaced by bowing down. There is such a thing as Liturgy. Even John of Kronstadt spoke about bowing to the ground during the Liturgy. He said that obeisances should be performed regardless of the time of the Liturgy. It is worth doing three bows during it:

At the entrance to the throne.
In the position of the Gifts.
Immediately before communion.

But again, if you do not know when to bow to the ground at the Liturgy, you can consult with the clergy or simply observe their behavior. Since it is quite difficult to comprehend all the subtleties of performing all the rituals and rituals, you should not hesitate to ask for help, as well as consult with knowledgeable people. This will allow you to avoid unpleasant and awkward situations in the temple. Remember that any action should not be done out of necessity or duress. All actions should come from a pure heart and only with good intentions. After all, our appeal to the Lord will be heard and gifted with grace only if we have pure thoughts and sincere faith.

It all depends only on you, because with what desires we come to God, we will receive in return. It is necessary not only to ask, but also to thank. For this, prayer of thanksgiving is best suited. And be very careful that the proverb “Make the fool pray, he will break his forehead” could not be applied to you.

When you can't bow down

You cannot do great obeisances:

during the days from Christmas to Epiphany,
on Sundays,
on the days of great holidays,
from Easter to Pentecost,
on the feast of the Transfiguration, · it is forbidden for the communicants on the day of the first communion and subsequent ones.

There is also such a kind as the great fast obeisances. These are called three-fold prostrations to earth, which are accompanied by the imposition of the Orthodox sign of the cross and the reading of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is divided into three verses.

How to bow down correctly?

The priests say that the Church Rule speaks of unhurried, timely, orderly, unhurried and earnest fulfillment. Bows and knees should be performed after each repeated petition of litany or prayer. Do not do this while reading or singing. It is also not allowed to bow with the sign of the cross.

What is the right way to bow down? Before committing, you must impose the sign of the cross on yourself. After that, kneel down and bow, hands and head should touch the floor. Before you venerate the icon or crucifix, you must cross yourself twice, bow, kiss, and then cross again and bow.

Bowing down to earth in Islam

Sajda (bowing to the ground) is one of the obligatory elements of prayer. A person performing namaz, after straightening from a bow, makes an earthly bow, touching the ground with his forehead and nose, thereby expressing his respect to Allah. In each rak'ah prayer, two sajdas are performed, one after the other. If during sajdah you touch the ground only with your forehead, without touching your nose, then such sajdah is allowed, but if there is no good reason, such sajdah is makruh.

If during sajdah a person touches the ground only with his nose and does not touch his forehead, then, according to Imam Abu Hanifa, such sajdah is permissible, whereas, according to Imam Muhammad and Abu Yusuf, such sajdah is not allowed without a good reason. You cannot touch the ground with your chin or cheek during sajdah.

If a person cannot touch the ground with his forehead and nose, then he performs sajdah with a nod of his head. According to the scholars of the Hanafi madhhab, touching the ground with the palms and knees during sajdah is Sunnah, while, according to Imam Zufar, Shafi'i and Ahmad, it is fard. It is inadmissible to perform Sajdah without touching the ground with your toes.

If the place of sajdah is half an arshin (twelve fingers) higher than the place where the feet are, then sajdah will be allowed, but if this place is much higher, then in this case, performing sajdah will be unacceptable.

Due to the large number of people, it is possible to perform Sajdah on your knees or on your back in front of the prayer. If Sajdah is performed on something soft, on wool, hay or snow, if underneath it one feels a hard surface, then Sajdah will be permitted.

If the face is drowning in this, and there is no firmness, then sajdah will be prohibited. Sajda can be performed on everything that is laid on the ground, provided that it is clean. The presence of impurities in this place will not harm, provided that the impurities have no smell and volume.

Sajda is the most important element prayer and the most vivid expression of humility before Allah and His exaltation. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “A person is closest to his Lord during sajd. During sajdah make many dua ”(Muslim, Salat, 215).

Praying bows are an outward expression of the feelings of a repentant person. Bows help the person praying to tune in to prayer, they awaken the spirit of repentance, humility, spiritual contrition, self-reproach and obedience to the will of God, as good and perfect.

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

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

“The charter and original customs of our Eastern Orthodox Church they generally do not know such "kneeling", as they are now practiced in most cases, but only - bows, great and small, or otherwise - earthly and waist. Bowing to the ground is not kneeling with your head raised up, but "prostrating yourself" with your head touching the ground. Such obeisances to the ground 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 Epiphany and from the feast of Easter to Pentecost, and upon entering the temple and applying to the shrines, they are also abolished on all other holidays. when it happens all-night vigil, polyeleos, or at least one great doxology at Matins, on the days of the forefeast, and are replaced by belt ones.

Bows to the ground at the Divine Liturgy, when they are allowed according to the Rule, are laid down: 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 with the exclamation "With the fear of God and with faith, come near" and during the second appearance of the Holy Gifts before taking them to the altar with the exclamation "Always, now and forever and forever and ever."

There is also the custom (which is not accepted by everyone) to bow down to the ground at the beginning of the Eucharistic canon - immediately upon the exclamation “We thank the Lord” and upon the exclamation “Holy of Holies”.

Any other obeisances, and even more so unusual for the spirit of Holy Orthodoxy, kneeling during the Divine Liturgy is arbitrary, which has no basis for itself in the tradition and sacred ordinances of our St. Churches".

Church service is performed with many great and small bows. Bows should be performed with inner reverence and with outward goodness, without haste and without haste, and, if you are in church, simultaneously with 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 Rule. Unauthorized and untimely obeisances in the temple expose our spiritual inexperience, hinder those who pray near us, and serve our vanity. On the contrary, the bows we have done according to the rules wisely established by the Church inspire our prayer.

St. Philaret, Met. Moskovsky on this occasion says:

The Charter of the Church does not allow prostrations on Sundays, on the days of the great Twelve Great Feasts, from the Nativity of Christ to Baptism, from Easter to Pentecost.

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

“Unfortunately, in our time, really few people know about the church rules concerning kneeling, as well as that on Sundays (as well as on the days of the great Lord's feasts and throughout Pentecost - from the feast of St. Easter to the day Holy Trinity) - kneeling is canceled. A number of church canonical rules speaks of this abolition of kneeling. So Canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Councilreads:

"There are still some who kneel on the day of the Lord (that is, the resurrection), and in the days of Pentecost, so that in all dioceses everything is the same, it is pleasing to the Holy Council, but standing up to offer prayers to God."

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

“From the God-bearing, our Father is canonically devoted to us, do not bow your knees on Sundays, for the honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not be in ignorance of how to observe this, we clearly show the faithful, as if on Saturday, at the evening entrance of the clergy to the altar, according to the accepted custom, no one kneels down until the next Sunday evening, on which, upon entering, at lamp time, kneeling down, in this way we offer prayers to the Lord. For on Saturday night, receiving the forerunner of the Resurrection of our Savior, from now on we spiritually begin songs, and bring the holiday from darkness into the 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 in ignorance." Obviously, our Holy God-bearing Fathers did not consider the issue of bowing or non-bowing to the knees on Sunday to be insignificant or unimportant, as many nowadays, unfortunately, think, ignoring this rule: they considered it necessary to specify a special canonical rule to indicate exactly from what moment of worship is inadmissible. kneeling and from which it is again permitted. According to this rule, kneeling is canceled from the so-called "evening entrance" at Vespers on Saturday and 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 Holy Trinity, although it always happens on Sunday, three prayers of St. Basil the Great are recited with kneeling. These prayers are recited just after the evening entrance at Vespers, which is in full accord with the requirement of the above 90th Canon of the VI Ecumenical Council.

St. Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria and the martyr who suffered for Christ in 311 AD, whose rules are included in the generally binding church canon for all believers and are contained in the "Book of Rules", along with other rules of St. Fathers, in their 15th canon, explaining why Christians fast on Wednesday and Friday, he concludes:

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

And the great universal teacher and saint Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea of \u200b\u200bCappadocia, who lived in the IV century AD, whose rules in the number of 92 are also included in the Book of Rules and have always enjoyed special authority and respect, in the 91st canon, borrowed from the 27th chapter of his book about the Holy Spirit, “To Amphilechius”, very deeply and, one might say, exhaustively explains the whole meaning of the abolition of kneeling on the days when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Here is his full deeply instructive 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 it is not just that, as if resurrected to Christ and must seek the heavenly, standing during prayer, on the day of resurrection, we remind ourselves of the grace given to us, but also because we do this, as if this day seems to be in some way a long-awaited age. Why is it like the beginning of days, and Moses called him not the first, but the only one. And it was evening, and it was morning, the day was one (Genesis 1, 5): as if the same day would revolve many times. And so the one, which is kupno and osmiy, means this essentially single and true eighth day, which the Psalmist also mentions in some writings of the psalms, will designate for this century a future state, an endless, never-ending, endless, endless, this and ageless age ... So the Church thoroughly teaches her pets to pray in standing on that day, so that, with frequent reminders of endless life, we do not neglect the parting words to this end. But all Pentecost is also a reminder of the Resurrection expected in the age to come. For the one and first day, being sevenfold usadimented, is the seventh weeks of Holy Pentecost. Pentecost, beginning on the first day of the week, ends with it. Turning fifty times through such intermediate days, with this likeness imitates the century, as if in a circular motion, starting from the same signs, and ending with the same ones. Church statutes teach us to prefer in these days an upright position of the body during prayer, as a clear reminder, as it were, transferring our thought from the present to the future. With every kneeling and standing up, we show by action both that, as if by sin we fell to the earth, and that, as if by the philanthropy of the One who created us, the packs are called to heaven. But I will not 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 it contains, 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 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 an incongruity. what a dissonance with the jubilant chants of this day is kneeling.

To the question: "Are prostrations not established by the Charter permissible?" archbishop Averky answers:

“Unacceptable. You cannot put your 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 itself and her great Fathers? "

When applied to the Holy Gospel, the Cross, venerable relics and icons one should approach in proper order, without haste and without crowding, put two bows before kissing and one after kissing the shrine, bows must be made every day - earthly or deep waist, touching the ground with your hand. Applying to the icons of the Savior, we kiss the foot, and in the case of the half-length image - the hand, or the robe, to the icons of the Mother of God and the saints - the hand or robe; 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 may be depicted on the icon, but with a gathering of worshipers, kissing the icon is supposed to be done once, so as not to detain others and thus not violate the deanery in the church.

Before the image of the Savior, you can say to yourself the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (sinner)", or: "Without number of sinners, 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, O Lord, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection" followed by a bow.

Bows when praying, they are the external expression of the feelings of a repentant person. Bows help the person praying to tune in to prayer, they awaken the spirit of repentance, humility, spiritual contrition, self-reproach and obedience to the will of God, as good and perfect.

Bows are earthlywhen the worshiper kneels down and touches the ground with his head, and waist, bend over so that the head is at waist level.

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

“The Charter and primordial customs of our Eastern Orthodox Church do not know at all such 'kneeling' as they are now practiced in most cases in our country, but only bows, great and small, or otherwise - earthly and waist. Bowing to the ground is not kneeling with your head raised up, but "prostrating yourself" with your head touching the ground. Such obeisances to the ground 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 Epiphany and from the feast of Easter to Pentecost, and upon entering the temple and applying to the shrines, they are also abolished on all other holidays. when there is an all-night vigil, polyeleos, or at least one great doxology at Matins, on the days of the forefeast, and are replaced by belt ones.

Bows to the ground at the Divine Liturgy, when they are allowed according to the Rule, are laid down: 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 with the exclamation "With the fear of God and with faith, come near" and during the second appearance of the Holy Gifts before taking them to the altar with the exclamation "Always, now and forever and forever and ever."

There is also the custom (which is not accepted by everyone) to bow down to the ground at the beginning of the Eucharistic canon - immediately upon the exclamation “We thank the Lord” and upon the exclamation “Holy of Holies”.

Any other obeisances, and even more so unusual for the spirit of Holy Orthodoxy, kneeling during the Divine Liturgy is arbitrary, having no basis for itself in the tradition and sacred ordinances of our holy Church. "

Bows in the temple should be performed then, when indicated by the Church Ordinance... Unauthorized and untimely obeisances in the temple expose our spiritual inexperience, hinder those who are praying near us and serve our vanity. On the contrary, the bows we have done according to the rules wisely established by the Church inspire our prayer.

Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, on this occasion says:

“If standing in church, you do bows when the Church Rule instructs it, then you try to restrain yourself from bowing when this is not prescribed by the Rule, so as not to attract the attention of those praying, or restrain sighs that are ready to be rocked out of your heart, or tears , ready to pour out of your eyes, - in such an arrangement, and among a large assembly, you secretly stand before Your Heavenly Father, Who is in secret, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior (Matt. 6, 6). "

The Charter of the Church does not allow prostrations on Sundays, on the days of the great Twelve Great Feasts, from the Nativity of Christ to Baptism, from Easter to Pentecost.

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

“Unfortunately, in our time, really few people know about the church rules concerning kneeling, as well as that on Sundays (as well as on the days of the great Lord's feasts and throughout Pentecost - from the feast of St. Easter to the day Holy Trinity) - kneeling is canceled. A whole series of canonical rules speaks of this abolition of kneeling. "

So Canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Councilreads:

"There are still some who kneel on the day of the Lord (that is, the resurrection), and in the days of Pentecost, so that in all dioceses everything is the same, it is pleasing to the Holy Council, but standing up to offer prayers to God."

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

“From the God-bearing our Father is canonically devoted to us, do not kneel on Sundays, for the honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not be in the dark as to how to observe this, we will clearly show the faithful, as if on Saturday, at the evening entrance of the clergy to the altar, according to the accepted custom, no one kneels until the next Sunday night, in which, at the entrance to the lamp hour, kneeling down on our knees, in this way we offer prayers to the Lord. For on Saturday night, receiving the forerunner of the Resurrection of our Savior, from now on we spiritually begin songs, and bring the holiday from darkness into the 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 in ignorance." Obviously, our holy God-bearing Fathers did not consider the issue of bowing or non-bowing to the knees on Sunday to be insignificant or unimportant, as many nowadays, unfortunately, think, ignoring this rule: they considered it necessary to specify a special canonical rule to indicate exactly from what moment of worship it is inadmissible to worship knees and from which it is allowed again. According to this rule, kneeling is canceled from the so-called "evening entrance" at Vespers on Saturday and 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, three prayers of St. Basil the Great are recited with kneeling. These prayers are recited just after the evening entrance at Vespers, which is in full accord with the requirement of the above 90th Canon of the VI Ecumenical Council.

Saint Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria and the martyr who suffered for Christ in the year 311 (whose rules are included in the generally binding church canon for all believers and are contained in the Book of Rules, along with other rules of the Holy Fathers) in his 15th canon, explaining why Christians fast on Wednesday and heels, says:

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

Great universal teacher and saint Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea of \u200b\u200bCappadocia, who lived in the IV century, whose rules in the number of 92 are also included in the "Book of Rules" and have always enjoyed special authority and respect, in 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 whole meaning of the abolition of kneeling on the days when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Here is his fully instructive 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 it is not just that, as if resurrected to Christ and must seek the heavenly, standing during prayer, on the day of resurrection, we remind ourselves of the grace given to us, but also because we do this, as if this day seems to be in some way a long-awaited age. Why is it like the beginning of days, and Moses called him not the first, but the only one. And it was evening, and it was morning, the day was one (Genesis 1, 5): as if the same day would revolve many times. And so the one, which is kupno and osmiy, means this essentially single and true eighth day, which the Psalmist also mentions in some writings of the psalms, will designate for this century a future state, an endless, never-ending, endless, endless, this and ageless age ... So the Church thoroughly teaches her pets to pray in standing on that day, so that, with frequent reminders of endless life, we do not neglect the parting words to this end. But all Pentecost is also a reminder of the Resurrection expected in the age to come. For the one and first day, being sevenfold usadimented, is the seventh weeks of Holy Pentecost. Pentecost, beginning on the first day of the week, ends with it. Turning fifty times through such intermediate days, with this likeness imitates the century, as if in a circular motion, starting from the same signs, and ending with the same ones. Church statutes teach us to prefer in these days an upright position of the body during prayer, as a clear reminder, as it were, transferring our thought from the present to the future. With every kneeling and standing up, we show by action both that, as if by sin we fell to the earth, and that, as if by the philanthropy of the One who created us, the packs are called to heaven. But I will not have enough time to tell about the unwritten sacraments of the Church. "

When applied to the Holy Gospel, the Cross, venerable relics and icons one should approach in proper order, without haste and without crowding, put two bows before kissing and one after kissing the shrine, bows must be made every day - earthly or deep waist, touching the ground with your hand. Applying to the icons of the Savior, we kiss the foot, and in the case of the half-length image - the hand, or the robe, to the icons of the Mother of God and the saints - the hand or robe; 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 may be depicted on the icon, but with a gathering of worshipers, kissing the icon is supposed onceso as not to detain others and thus not to violate the deanery 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: "Without the number of those who have sinned, Lord, have mercy on me."

Before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, you can say the following prayer: "Most Holy Theotokos, save us"... A prayer is read before the Honest Life-giving Cross of Christ "We worship Thy Cross, O Lord, and we glorify Thy Holy Resurrection" followed by a bow.

Every believer who comes to church to be baptized and makes obeisances. It would seem that everything is clear and simple. However, as Basil the Great said:
"In the Church, everything is good and according to the order, let it be"
The sign of the Cross (i.e. the image of the sign of the cross) is a visible evidence and confirmation of our Orthodox faith.
In order to find out whether the Orthodox is in front of you or not, you just need to ask the person to cross himself, and by how he does it and whether he does it at all, everything will become clear. For “Faithful in little, and faithful in many things” (Luke 16, 10).
Outwardly, the state of prayer is manifested in the fact that a person is baptized and makes obeisances - small (waist) and great (earthly, touching the ground with knees, hands and head of the floor of the temple, the ground).
The sign of the cross is performed with the right hand.
To do this, we connect the first three fingers (fingers) together, and the other two - the ring and little fingers - bend them to the palm.
With three joined fingers (fingers) we touch the forehead, chest, right and then left shoulder, depicting a cross on ourselves, and, lowering our hand, bow.
The connection of three fingers (fingers) means our faith in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Two bent fingers (fingers) mean our faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ.
Connecting in this way fingers (fingers) we testify that Jesus Christ has two natures: He is God and man.

The sign of the Cross is usually performed with the words (words):

“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” or at any other beginning of the prayer,

and the words “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” or some other doxology and at the end of the prayer.

When a priest blesses the faithful, saying the words “Peace to all,” one must bow without making the sign of the cross.

Church service is performed with many great and small bows. The Holy Church requires bowing slowly and without fading (for example, with a hand raised to the forehead), simultaneously with all those praying in the church.

Before making a bow, you need to cross yourself and only then make a bow.

With a small bow, they bend so that the head is at the level of the belt (bow), with a great bow, you need to bow both knees and reach the ground with your head (bow to the ground).

Bows in the church should be performed when it is indicated by the Church Rule, and not out of self-will and desire ..

St. Filaret, Met. Moskovsky writes:

“If standing in church, you do bows when the Church Rule instructs it, then you try to restrain yourself from bowing when this is not prescribed by the Rule, so as not to attract the attention of those praying, or restrain sighs that are ready to be rocked out of your heart, or tears , ready to pour out of your eyes, - in such an arrangement, and among a large gathering, you secretly stand before Your Heavenly Father, Who is in secret, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior (Matthew 6, 6) "

Before the beginning of any service, you need to make 3 bows in the waist. Then, at all services, in every word; “Come, let us bow down”, on “Holy God”, on the threefold “Alleluia” and on “Be the Name of the Lord” 3 bows are performed each, only on “Alleluia” when reading the psalms, bows are not performed, but the sign of the cross is performed. In the words "Grant me, Lord," both at Vespers and Matins, 3 bows are performed each

In church practice, to be baptized with a bow in the waist:

- At the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - three times.

- At each litany petition after singing "Lord, have mercy", "Give, Lord", "You, Lord."

- At all litanies of church services (with petitions), with the exclamations: “Lord, have mercy” or “Give, Lord,” a bow is performed.

- When singing and reading prayers, then only bow is supposed to be done when the words of the prayers encourage this; for example: “let us down”, “bow down”, “pray”

- At the exclamation of a priest who gives glory to the Holy Trinity.

- With the exclamations “Take, eat”, “Drink everything from her”, “Yours from Yours”.

- At the words "Most Honorable Cherub".

- At every word "let us bow down", "worship", "let us fall down."

- During the words "Alleluia", "Holy God" and "Come, let us bow down" and with the exclamation "Glory to Thee, Christ God", before the dismissal (end of the service) - three times.

- When invoking the Lord, the Mother of God or the saints.

- In the litia, after each of the first three petitions of the litany - 3 bows, after the other two - one.

Baptized with an earthly bow:

- In the post at the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - 3 times.

- In fasting after each refrain to the song of the Mother of God "We magnify thee."

- At the beginning of the singing "It is worthy and righteous."

- After the words "We sing to you."

- After the words "It is worthy to eat"

- With the exclamation: "And grant us, Master."

–When carrying out the Holy Gifts, with the words “With the fear of God and faith, approach”, and the second time - with the words “Always, now and ever”.

- In Great Lent, at Great Compline, while singing "Most Holy Lady" - at every verse; while singing “Virgin Mary, Rejoice” three bows are performed at Lenten Vespers.

- In fasting, with the prayer "Lord and Master of my life."

-In fasting with the concluding singing: "Remember me, Lord, when you come in Your Kingdom." 3 bows to the earth are made.

Bow bow without the sign of the cross is performed:

At the words of the priest

- "Peace to all"

- "The blessing of the Lord is on you",

- "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ",

- "And may there be mercies of the Great God" and

- At the words of the deacon "And forever and ever" (after the exclamation of the priest, "For thou art holy, our God" before the singing of the Trisagion).

Baptized without bowing:

- In the middle of the six psalms in the words "alleluia" 3 times.

- At the beginning of the Symbol of Faith "I Believe".

- On dismissal "Christ, our true God."

- At the beginning of the reading of the Holy Scriptures: the Gospel, the Apostle and the Paremias.

Baptism is not allowed

- During the psalms.

- Generally while singing.

- You need to be baptized and bow down at the end of the singing, and not about the last words.

Bowing to the ground is not allowed:

On Sundays, from the Nativity of Christ to Epiphany, from Easter to Pentecost, on the feast of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (on this day, 3 earthly bows to the Cross are performed).

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

Soul and body are linked to death into a single whole. Therefore, the gracious means of the Church are aimed at healing and correcting both souls and bodies. An example of this is the Sacraments. Many of them have a material substance that is sanctified by the Holy Spirit in the rite of the Mystery and has a beneficial effect on a person. In the Sacrament of Baptism, it is water. In the Sacrament of Confirmation - myrrh. In the Sacrament of the Sacrament - 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) speak our sins before the priest.

Let us also recall the dogma of the Universal Resurrection. After all, each of us will rise bodily and appear in conjunction 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 those means that are supposed in Orthodoxy for healing and correcting not only the soul, but also the body, is deeply mistaken. After all, it is in the body that the embryos of passions often nest, and if you close your eyes and do not fight them, over time they will grow from snakes into dragons and begin to eat the soul.

It is worth remembering the verses of the psalms here ...

31:9:
"Do not be like a horse, like a foolish hinnie, whose jaws must be bridled with a bridle and bit, so that they obey you."
Indeed, often our body is just like a horse and a foolish mule, which must be bridled with a bridle of prayer, Sacraments, bows, fasting, so that in its earthly passionate race it does not fly into the abyss.

"My knees have grown weak from fasting, and my body has lost its fat."

We see that the holy prophet and King David to the point of exhaustion made prostrations to the ground in order to be cleansed from sins and fasts with a fast that is pleasing and pleasing to God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also prayed on his knees: “And he himself departed from them to cast the stone, and kneeling down, prayed ...” (Luke 22:41).

And if God did this, then should we refuse to bow to the ground?

Moreover, quite often in the Holy Scriptures, the prophets and the Savior called people proud and disgusted with God rigid-footed (translated from the Church Slavonic language - with stiff necks, unable to worship God).

Quite often you notice this in the temple. A believer, a church-going person comes: he bought candles, made the sign of the cross, bowed before the holy icons, reverently took blessing from the priest. A person of little faith enters the church: he is ashamed not only to cross himself, but even to slightly bend his head towards the icon or crucifix. Because I am not used to bowing my “I” to anyone, even God. This is what the cruelty is about.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us hasten to bow down to earth. 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 sores, 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 am no longer worthy to be called your son. " That's what bowing down is. The destruction of the personal tower of Babel, the awareness of one's own sin and the fact that without the Lord one cannot rise. 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 you cannot 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 understand that you are on the edge of an abyss filled with sins and passions, and that you will not have enough strength to rise on your own, that another minute and death, then your feet will bow before the Almighty and beg Him not to leave you.

That's what bowing down is. Ideally, this is the prayer of the publican, the prayer of the prodigal son. Pride prevents you from bowing to the ground. It can only be done by a humble person.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote about prostrations to the ground: “The Lord knelt down during His prayer - and you should not neglect kneeling if you have enough strength to perform them. Worship to the face of the earth, according to the explanation of the fathers, depicts our fall, and an uprising from the earth - our redemption ... "

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

In Great Lent, according to the established tradition, three prostrations are made after entering the temple before Calvary: that is, they made two prostrations, kissed the Crucifixion and made another one. So it is when leaving the temple. During the evening service or Liturgy, prostrations are also appropriate. At matins, for example, while singing "The Most Honest Cherubim and the Most Glorious without Comparison Seraphim ..." after the eighth canon of the canon. At the Liturgy - after singing "We sing to you, we bless you ...", because at this time the culmination of the divine service takes place in the altar - the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. You can also kneel down and while the priest comes out with the Chalice with the words "With the fear of God" to commune the people. On 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 poetry of the prayer of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian, in some other places of the services of the Holy Forty-day.

Bows are not made on Sundays, on the twelve-eighth holidays, on Christmastide (from the Nativity of Christ to the Baptism of the Lord), from Easter to Pentecost. This is prohibited by the holy apostles, as well as by the I and VI Ecumenical Councils, since on these holy days there is a reconciliation between God and 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 do earthly obeisances, voluntarily plunging ourselves into the abyss of repentance by bowing and falling into the abyss of repentance, in which the merciful God will certainly stretch out His fatherly right hand to us and resurrect us with unspeakable love and future life.

Priest Andrey Chizhenko
Orthodox Life

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