From apostolic times, Christians have been guided by general rules so that the worship of God should be ordered fittingly and reverently, and our acting in concert in church is a confession of our unanimity of Faith, and so naturally there are directions about the making of prostrations. Having said this, two things must be borne in mind. First, although in general we act in concert, within Orthodox worship there is no strait jacketting. Not everyone in church behaves in exactly the same manner. On a given day, one person might prostrate more than another, or be moved to do so at slightly different points in the service. Secondly, we must remember that some are old or infirm, and may not be able to make prostrations; we should not judge them if we see themmerely bowing on a prostration day. There are canonical and liturgical directions which deal with this subject. The full prostration is seen as a penitential act or an act of the deepest reverence, and therefore on days when the Church is celebrating festively they are in general not enjoined in church. The twentieth canon of the First Ecumenical Council specifically forbids kneeling, and thus prostrations, on every Sunday (it being the feast of the Resurrection) and on the days of Pentecost, the fifty days between Pascha and Pentecost-Trinity Sunday. In the Great Fast, prostrations are enjoined by the rubrics in the services, particularly in association with the Prayer of Saint Ephraim and the lenten verses. However, even during this penitential period of the year, no prostrations are enjoined on Saturdays or Sundays. Perhaps as a parallel to the lenten practice, it is general in most parishes not to make full prostrations on Saturdays. Read More... tokandylaki.blogspot.ca/2014/07/on-bows-and-prostrations.html
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 21:41:33 +0000
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