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 generally do not know such "kneeling", as they are now practiced with us in most cases, but only - bows, great and small, or otherwise - 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 completely abolished by the canonical rules of our Holy Orthodox Church in Sundays, Lord's holidays, in the period between the Nativity of Christ and Theophany and from the feast of Easter to Pentecost, and at the entrance to the temple and veneration to the shrines, they are also canceled in all other holidays, when there is an all-night vigil, polyeleos or at least one great doxology at Matins, on the days of forefeasts, 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 arbitrary, which 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 wisely established by the Church rules give wings to our prayer.
St. Philaret, Met. Moscow on this he says:
“If standing in church, you make bows when the Church Charter orders 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, nowadays very few people really know about church rules relating to 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 of the Holy Trinity) - kneeling is canceled. 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 in all the dioceses everything is the same, it is pleasing to the Holy Council, but it is worthwhile to offer prayers to God.”
The Sixth Ecumenical Council in its 90th Canon found it necessary once again to resolutely reaffirm 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 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 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, in which, upon 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 A.D., whose rules are included in the universally binding for all believers church canon and are 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 AD, 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 they had risen with Christ and should 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 this day seems to be in some way desired century. 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. . Thus, 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 straight position bodies during prayer, 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.”
One must delve into the meaning of this ecclesiastical decree in order to understand how much deepest meaning and edification, 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 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 by day - earthly or deep waist, touching the earth 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 Mother of God and saints - a hand or a 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 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 Honest Life-Giving Cross They read the prayer to Christ “We worship Your Cross, Vladyka, and Holy Sunday We praise yours, ” followed by a bow.
This question, despite its seeming simplicity and formality, is, in my opinion, rather complicated, since most people (and there is nothing reprehensible in this!) come to church only on Sundays and the Twelfth or Great Feasts (except for the services of Great Lent).
This, of course, due to work and family employment is quite understandable and normal. Thank God that a modern Christian, with the speeds and technologies of the current world, fulfills this main necessary minimum.
It is known that on Sundays, the time from Easter to Vespers of Pentecost, from the Nativity of Christ to the Baptism of the Lord (Christmas Day) and on the Twelfth Feasts, prostrations to the earth are prohibited by the Charter. This is evidenced by St. Basil the Great in his letter to Blessed Amphilochius. He writes that the holy apostles forbade bending the knee at all and making prostrations on the aforementioned days. The same was approved by the canons of the I and VI Ecumenical Councils. That is, we see that the highest church authority - the apostolic decrees and conciliar reason - bows to the earth on these days are not accepted.
Why is this?
The holy supreme apostle Paul answers this question: “Already carry the servant. But a son” (Gal. 4:7). That is, the prostration of the earth represents a slave - a person who has fallen into sin and on his knees begging for forgiveness, in deep humble and repentant feelings repenting of his sins.
And the Resurrection of Christ, the entire period of the Triodion of Color, the small Easters of ordinary Sundays, Christmas time and the Twelfth Holidays - this is the time when “Already carry the slave. But a son,” that is, our Lord Jesus Christ restores and heals in Himself the image of fallen man and restores him in filial dignity, again introducing him into the Kingdom of Heaven, establishing a New Covenant-union between God and man. Therefore, bowing to the ground during the periods of the aforementioned holidays is an insult to God and, as it were, a rejection by a person of this restoration in sonship. A person making a bow to the ground, on a holiday, seems to say to God words that are opposite to the verses of Divine Paul: “I don’t want to be a son. I want to be a slave." In addition, such a person directly violates the canons of the Church, established by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the apostolic canons and the Ecumenical Councils.
I personally heard the opinion that, they say, often a layman does not go to church for everyday worship, then let him do prostrations at least on Sunday. I cannot agree with this. Since the apostolic ordinances and Ecumenical Councils forbid it, and the Church, with God's help, stands in obedience. In addition, the custom of kneeling in the temple at one's own will is also strictly prohibited.
For people who do not go to church for daily services (I repeat, this is not a sin. You can understand a busy person), I would recommend taking on the feat of prostration in the cell home prayer on weekdays. How much someone will bear, so that over time it also does not become an unbearable burden: five, ten, twenty, thirty. And who can - and more. Set a standard with God's help for yourself. Bowing to the ground with a prayer, especially with Jesus: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" - very useful thing. But, as they say, everything has its time.
At the Sunday Liturgy, prostration is done in two places of worship. The priest in the altar in front of the Throne also puts them approximately and semantic. The first moment: at the end of the singing “We sing to Thee”, when the culmination of the Eucharistic canon and the entire Divine Liturgy takes place, the Holy Gifts are transubstantiated on the Altar; bread, wine and water become the Body and Blood of Christ. The second point: when taking out the Chalice for the communion of believers, since the priest before communion in the altar also makes a prostration. In the period from Easter to Pentecost, these earthly prostrations are replaced by waist ones. No more prostrations are made at the Sunday Divine Liturgy or Liturgy in the other period indicated above.
If you dear brothers and sisters, are at the Liturgy of a weekday, then bowing to the ground is allowed by the Charter in the two cases already mentioned, as well as at the beginning of singing “Worthy and Righteous”; the end of the prayer "It is worthy to eat", or the meritor; at the end of the Liturgy, when the priest proclaims “Always, now and forever,” when the priest last time appears at the Liturgy with a Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ in his hands in royal doors and transfers it from the throne to the altar (a symbol of the Ascension of the Lord). At the evening divine service, prostration to the earth is allowed (at Matins), when the priest or deacon leaves the altar with a censer after the eighth ode of the ordinary canon and proclaims in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary on the iconostasis, “Let us exalt the Theotokos and Mother of Light in song.” Next, the song of the Monk Cosmas of Maium “The Most Honorable Cherub” is sung, during which it is also customary to kneel because of love and reverence for Holy Mother of God, since it is believed that at this time She resides in the temple and visits all those who pray in it.
Let us, dear brothers and sisters, strive to observe the Rule of the Church. He is our golden fairway in muddy water outside world and the inner heart with its emotions and sensuality. On the one hand, he does not allow us to deviate into laziness and negligence, on the other hand, into the delusion and spiritual delusion of "vital holiness." And along this fairway, the church ship sails to the Kingdom of Heaven. Our work on board is grace-filled obedience. After all, all the holy fathers placed it and valued it very highly. After all, by disobedience the first people fell away from God, and by obedience we are united with Him, seeing the example, of course, of the God-man Jesus, Who was obedient to death and even death on the cross.
Priest Andrei Chizhenko
Search line: bowsRecords found: 50
Hello, less than a year I sinned a while ago, which I deeply regret. I went to church and confessed, the priest accepted my confession and remitted my sins. After that, for 40 days I myself prayed to the earth in the morning and in the evening. But time runs and I never forgave myself. Can I be forgiven, forget my act? What do i do?
Natasha
Hello Natasha. Do not look for peace and oblivion, it is impossible. You can only get relief and strength for later life. Judge for yourself - sin damages our very nature, like a bodily wound that leaves a mark, a scar, and sometimes like the loss of an arm, leg, eye. It is naive to expect new hand will grow back. Christianity gives us crutches and prostheses instead of lost limbs, and the hope of returning them again, if not in this life, then at least in eternity. Keep a small rule of repentance, so that it is not visible to anyone, but always reminds you not of the sin itself, but of the severity of its consequences. This rule will teach you humility. While the desire to get rid of remorse at all costs is aimed at acquiring a completely different property, which is not useful to us. God help you.
Priest Alexander Beloslyudov
Hello. It so happened that I took Communion, and then after the service I wanted to stay and help in the Temple of God. My help was in cleaning the candlesticks and mopping the floors. She did it with pleasure. But later I learned that on this day you can’t even make prostrations to the Lord, spit out saliva, and also wash in the shower, take a bath ... Not like washing the floors! I was somewhat upset and would like to know if in fact all this cannot be done after Communion? Or is it all prejudice? Thank you for your reply. Save you Lord.
r.b. Tatyana
Hello Tatiana! The day of Communion is a special day for the Christian soul, when it unites with Christ in a special, mysterious way. As for the reception of the most honored guests, we clean and put the whole house in order, and leave all ordinary affairs, so the day of Communion should be celebrated as great holidays, devoting them, as far as possible, to solitude, prayer, concentration and spiritual reading. Do not be embarrassed that you helped in the temple on this day: it is still a good thing, but from now on try to spend the day of communion in silence and silence. As for the custom of not making prostrations after Communion and not kissing the priest's hands, its non-observance is not a sin. Schiegumen Parthenius points out: “We should also mention here the exaggerated caution of some after Communion. They try not only not to spit for the whole day after communion, which, of course, is commendable, but they also consider food waste, if it has been in the mouth, to be considered sacred, and therefore they even try to swallow inedible, and that cannot be swallowed (fish bones, etc.) trying to burn on fire. We do not find such extreme strictness anywhere in the Church Charter. It is only required to drink after communion and, after rinsing the mouth with the drink, swallow it so that any small grain does not remain in the mouth - and that's all! The “superstructures” invented on this issue have absolutely no echo in the Church Charter.”
Priest Vladimir Shlykov
Christ is Risen! Please tell me, during the period from Easter to the Trinity, prostrations are not made, and when you read prayers, after reading the kathisma in the Psalter, there is a prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, how to read it during this period?
Love
Love, Truly Risen! Prayer of St. We read Ephrem the Syrian only during Great Lent, and now it is not necessary to read it. Earthly bows from Easter to the Holy Trinity do not. Usually we do not bow to the ground in church, but at home, so as not to embarrass anyone, if you wish, then you can bow to the ground after reading the kathismas as much as you want.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Is it necessary to bow to the ground when taking out the Communion Chalice on Sundays and holidays during the Easter week?
Svetlana
Svetlana, there are prostrations not only of repentance, but also of gratitude. Before the Chalice, we bow to the ground, even if we do not receive communion. On Easter, bows to the earth are not done, until the feast of the Holy Trinity, but before the Chalice, you can make a bow of gratitude to the earth. Although there is a tradition not to do prostrations at all on Easter days, even before the Holy Gifts. I think you do not need to highlight yourself, as you can mislead others. If you really want to - bow down mentally, the Lord will see you anyway.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Christ is Risen! Tell me, please, from what date can you make prostrations?
Vlad
Vlad, Truly Risen! On the feast of the Holy Trinity, three big prayers. From this moment the earthly prostrations begin. But I want to tell you that at home you can still bow to the ground, if the soul asks, there is nothing terrible in this.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Hello Father Victorin! Many thanks You for the answer. I also want to ask you about the Psalter. When is it necessary to make prostrations when reading the Psalter? Are they performed when reading prayers after "Glory"? Explain to me, please, everything in more detail. Many thanks. God bless you.
Valentine
Valentine, prostrations are not made while reading the Psalter. They can be done after reading all the kathismas of that day, i.e., for example, you have read one or two kathismas today, and at the end of the whole reading, you can make prostrations to the ground as much as you want, as much as you can. It is best to determine your own measure for each day, not too much, but not too little to do every day the same number bows. I think you can assign yourself 5-10 prostrations daily, but no more is needed.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Hello! 1. Say, in the morning and evening rule how many bows should be given, and after each prayer, or after certain ones? 2. Is it possible to read the Psalter and drink holy water with prosphora at home on the days of women's uncleanness, or is this not allowed?
Photinia
Photinia, bows can be done at home as much as you like, but practice shows that it is better to do no more than 10 per day to start with. It is better to do a little, but regularly. In the morning, do no more than 10, and in the evening, 3 bows are enough for the night. During female impurity, you can pray, read the Psalter, but you don’t need to drink Holy water and eat prosphora - this is a Shrine, and you need to be treated with reverence.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Good afternoon, fathers, tell me, please, during the Liturgy, when are prostrations made? Holy gifts are brought out twice, the first time they are shown and taken away, and the second time for communion. I watched the parishioners and did not understand anything. As I understand it, if I take communion myself, then I bow to the ground, and if not, then bow down?
Natalia
Natalia, it's good to make prostrations, but they must be timely. The first time the Cup is taken out at the Liturgy during the Great Entrance - the bow to the earth is not done, it can be made half-length. The second time the chalice is taken out, already consecrated, before communion, and Christ Himself is present in the chalice, and of course, it is necessary to bow to the ground before Christ Himself, even if we do not take communion.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
You are absolutely right, thank you very much, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I've got one more question. I heard that on Sunday and Saturday evenings, bowing is not allowed. Is it so? And why? Thank you in advance.
The word "beat" means 100-600 bows, we don't say that now, and it's rare for anyone to do that now. Imagine that you will do as many bows every day as Christians did before us - I think in this case, Saturday and Sunday will seem like a real weekend to you! A similar statute was precisely with this and connected. Weekdays are days of repentance, days of work, and Sunday and Saturday are the days of holidays, when indulgences are given both bodily and spiritually, therefore bows will be canceled on these days. But since we do not follow these rules, it is not a sin to make a dozen prostrations at home even on holidays and Sundays. In addition, there are bows of repentance, and there are bows of gratitude. If there is a desire, then no more than a dozen bows can be made as a thankful expression.
Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)
Hello. I have this question. I want to get married, is it necessary to get married by the priest to whom I confessed? And one more question. I have a terrible sin, I went to confession for the first time, told in tears, excitedly, I am very receptive, and the priest really pressed me with my act. I understand that he is right. But after confession, he imposed a penance on me: for a month to read a prayer and make obeisances, for 3 months now I have not been able to do it, the work does not allow me to do prostrations every day, even at night, since the schedule is such. What to do? And yet, after confession, I could not come to my senses for a long time, long time was depressed. I'm afraid to go again, although it is necessary after the completion of the penance. I'm afraid of this emotional decline. I'm waiting for answers to questions. Thank you in advance.
Anna
No, Anna, any priest can marry you. And as for penance, you need to meet again with that priest and ask for its mitigation, you really have difficult circumstances.
hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
Hello! Tell me, please, at the Liturgy, when the priest says that the catechumens bow their heads and that they pray, what should the baptized do at this moment? Do I need to bow my head (of course, I want to do this, but it seems that it is proposed to make it catechumens)? And I don't understand when it is necessary to make prostrations? They say that they are not made on Sundays and are not made after Great Lent. In a word, I got confused, because in the temple who kneels during the Eucharistic canon, who stands straight, who bows to the ground at the words "Holy to the Saints", who does not ... Tell me how to do it right? With best regards!
Andrey
The baptized do not need to bow their heads at the litanies for the catechumens. In the period from Easter to the Trinity and on Sundays, it is really not supposed to bow to the ground, they are replaced by waist ones.
Deacon Elijah Kokin
Hello, father. If you can, please clarify this question. Is Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ a reward or is it medicine and help for a Christian? For me, even the morning and evening rule is incredibly hard work, to say nothing of the most difficult preparation Before Communion, it can be very difficult to pray with attention, and if this does not work out, irritation, indignation, murmuring comes, and the whole prayer goes down the drain, so that you have to leave it so that it is not defiled. I understand that prayer is important and that it is the root of everything, but prayer does not work, and this is a big frustration. But conscience does not allow to read the text coldly and detachedly, and it is clear that this will not be a prayer. As a result, it turns out that prayer is like drill or hard labor, and if this is nevertheless overcome, then Communion is like a reward. But, perhaps, after all, this is not a reward, but on the contrary, the Body and Blood of Christ are given to us to help us overcome difficulties, but then there is a contradiction here, in order to receive this saving help, a person needs to do hard work without any help, so that only then to receive it when the labor has already been overcome. What then comes first, labor for the sake of Communion or Communion for the sake of help in labor? Tell me how to think about this, what will come to your heart on this issue? Save me, God!
Alexey
Dear Alexei, you are lost in the three pines because you have the wrong concept of the sacrament, because it is not a medicine and not a reward. The root of this word is “part”, and we are all members of the church, separate parts of one whole, that is, the Body of Christ, and He is the head of the Church. Thus, through the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we are united with God and with the fullness of the Church. Most importantly, Communion is the foundation of our future life and therefore cannot be regarded as medicine or a reward. In ancient times, people were mostly illiterate and did not have books, but nevertheless they prepared for the sacrament by taking simple prayers and tributes. Tell your confessor about your problem and determine your own with him. prayer rule which is within your power.
Priest Alexander Babushkin
Good evening. God save you. 1. A year in the temple, I confess, I take communion. There is a desire and need for a spiritual father, how to find (select) him? 2. My son has been very ill since childhood, in a group. He is 21 years old, how to reason with him about faith? You won't drive with a stick, will you? 3. Why don't they pay 10 in churches? 4. The attitude of Orthodoxy towards biometric passports? 5. My father completely lost his memory after a stroke, how can I help as much as possible? 6. In addition to confession, what is it possible and how to properly pray for sin for those killed in the womb? Very grateful.
Nikolay.
Nikolay, about choice spiritual father repeatedly and even extensively written on our website, just be curious. The main meaning is that you need to feel a response and understanding from that priest, as well as his gift of consolation in relation to yourself.
In relation to the son - and you can drive with a stick. You are a father, use your authority, superiority, willpower and convictions. With a son, you can behave more firmly.
The third question is about tithing, I understand? Well, why, there are people even now, and there are many of them, who give a tenth of their income to the temple.
Biometric passports and other electronic means of accounting, according to the Church's understanding of the problem, do not in themselves carry any mystical content. But they bring us closer to total control, which is in the hands of any world dictator, and, of course, the dictator of dictators - the Antichrist.
On the fifth question, you need to contact the doctors, as far as I know, in modern medicine eat effective methods memory recovery, but they require constant practice and exercise.
And in sins, including those mentioned by you, it is necessary, first of all, to repent. However, nothing prevents you from taking on some small feat with the blessing of the priest - prayers or prostrations, or fasting - in memory of these sins, as a penance, so that they will never be forgotten.
hegumen Nikon (Golovko)
I live in the world. I pray for the rosary. And as I refrain, the demon overcomes prodigal passion. What prayers to read against this demon?
Sergius
Hello Sergiy! To pray with a rosary, you need the blessing of a priest. If you have one, then bow to the ground during prayer. And also in the fight against this passion it is necessary to confess. Here is one of the prayers against fornication (the prayer of Macarius of Optina): "O Mother of the Lord, my Creator, You are the root of virginity and fadeless color purity. Oh Mother of God! Help me, a weak carnal passion and a painful being, for Yours alone and with You Your Son and God have intercession. Amen".
Help you Lord!
Priest Vladimir Shlykov
At the weekend I went to Verkhoturye, to the St. Nicholas Monastery, where I took communion. And then we stopped at the Holy Intercession Monastery, where they bowed to the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" and the relics of Cosmas of Verkhoturye. And only then did she remember that after communion one should not bow to the ground. How to be?
Hope
Hello Hope! I advise you to bring repentance at confession.
Priest Vladimir Shlykov
Hello, I am 13 years old, already like 2, or maybe less, for a year I repent very strongly before the icon, the fact is that I have VERY VERY VERY bad thoughts come, you can’t even imagine, and all the time when these thoughts come, I run to the icon and kiss it, and touch it with my hand, and pray that the Lord will forgive me for everything because I talk about Him and about others like that (to myself, in my mind) and call everyone names, and so on for 5-10 minutes, I even do this at school, only not with an icon, but simply look at the ceiling or ahead, and some have already begun to suspect me of this. Please help, even when I go to a stop, I pray 3 times, I can’t anymore, I’m tired, I even wanted to give up Christianity so as not to harm anyone, but I’m afraid the Lord will get angry and take my parents and family away, help , what should I do? Thank you in advance.
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. Particularly replete with kneeling Lenten services. When a special bell rings, you need to kneel down.
At home, 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 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.
An attempt to understand the meaning of temple worship for the majority of believers ends with the assimilation of a symbolic-pictorial interpretation of the service. Unfortunately, it was precisely this, being the least meaningful, that turned out to be the most popular and widespread in the Orthodox environment.
The assimilation of such a perception of worship finally confirms many in the mystical nature of the Christian service. This actually leads to a total passive contemplative attitude towards worship and the life of the Church in general.
One can be endlessly surprised that people who know the sequence by heart all-night vigil and liturgy (there are many such people), often do not understand the content and meaning of what is happening in the altar. But no one ever explained it to them!
What kind of common ministry, what catholicity can we talk about if the people of God are not able to participate in what is happening? If participation is only superficial and formal? If the believer never hears the main semantic and prayerful part of the divine service at all in his life (!), since the main thing is expressed in the so-called "secret" prayers? Can there be a perception of the service other than the mystery?
Of course, to myself, otherwise the mumbling will begin in the temple. For this, there is a primate in the Church (bishop or priest), who aloud voices the common prayer. But while he is "silent", and the people even more so. The priest performs the function of language in a single body.
Contemporary church obeisances
In theory, it cannot be that the tongue says one thing, the heart feels another, and the head does not understand at all what it was thinking about. But as we see in the church, everything is possible. It is interesting for me to ask a question to experienced parishioners (I will note experienced ones): when the deacon proclaims “Let us pray to the Lord for the honorable gifts brought and consecrated”, what are you praying for at that moment. After all, they are still baptized, bowing. The answers are not encouraging.
We have no (almost no) unanimous, let me say intelligent, liturgy. What a treasure is hidden there, but it is here, on the surface, and few people are interested in it. All attention is focused on the external side of the liturgy, which in itself says practically nothing about the essence of the Eucharist.
If priests shared this treasure with people, it would be much better. but what to do if the priest himself does not see this treasure or perceives himself as a shaman or priest, for only they can be initiated into “mysterious and inaccessible” prayers. In relation to the Liturgy, we have a passive-contemplative attitude
Saint Theophan said well:
Quote: The truth was brought to earth by the Lord and the Holy Spirit, who fulfilled the apostles on the day of Pentecost - and she walks the earth. Her guides are the mouths of the priests of God. Who among them shuts his mouth, he blocks the way to the truth, asking for the souls of believers.
That is why the souls of believers languish in not receiving the truth, and the priests themselves must feel languor from the truth, which, without receiving an outcome, torments them. Relieve yourself, priest of God, from this burden, emit streams of Divine words, to your own joy and to the revival of the souls entrusted to you. When you see that you yourself do not have the truth, take it: it is in the holy writings; and, being filled with it, forward it to your spiritual children: just do not be silent.
Preach, for this is what you were called to. End of quote. Bishop Feofan. Thoughts for every day of the year according to church readings from the word of God, Edition of the Moscow Patriarchate, Moscow, 1991, p. 139.
Yes, that is how it is printed in the watch book now. However, it should still be noted that these instructions are not some kind of dogma, but are purely advisory in nature. These rules have changed in the history of the Church. In particular, they do not correspond to the statute on bows that existed in Russia 300-400 years ago.
Prostration in Orthodoxy
Prostration in Orthodoxy
Our great saints Sergius of Radonezh, Joseph Volotsky, St. Philip and others adhered to other, more ancient rules about prostrations. The current rules on bowing are of a later origin, which arose during the synodal period, when the Russian Church in the ritual side was subjected to strong Western influence.
In particular, this includes the abolition of prostrations on Sundays and holidays; this abolition did not exist in the Ancient Church. And kneeling, which often occurs in our churches, is already a pure borrowing from Catholicism; in Orthodoxy, only bows to the ground and the position of “fallen prostrate” were accepted, but not standing with a straightened body.
The local council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971 removed all prohibitions from the ancient rites that the Old Believers, including our brothers of the same faith, preserved. Now in the Church there are very good trend studying their experience and returning to a number of ancient forms - for example, in icon painting (canonical icon), in singing (znamenny chant), etc.
I think that is why it is also interesting to study their charter on prostrations, preserved from the time of Holy Russia, which reflects a deeply pious attitude to worship. I think it will be interesting for everyone to familiarize themselves with this charter, here are excerpts from it:
First of all, it is necessary to say that all bows, waist and earthly, praying together, according to the instructions of the Church Charter, and not when anyone pleases. Bows must be done earnestly and sedately, without excessive fussiness, or deliberate slowdown in movements.
If, according to the Charter, the bow is made with the sign of the cross, you should first cross yourself, so that for the body of the person praying, and not only for his clothes, it was tangible, and then bow, in the belt or in the ground, according to the specific moment of the service.
Prostrations rely on a handkerchief, a deliberately stitched rug, to keep the hands clean. Bowing to the ground, you should first put the hand rest in front of you, then cross yourself and bow: put the outstretched palms of both hands on the hand rest, both side by side, at the same time bending your knees and tilting your head to the ground so much that your forehead touches the hands on the hand rest.
Prostrations at the Liturgy
Prostrations at the Liturgy
You should not spread your elbows and knees to the sides or make any knock when bowing. In passing, we note that in the ancient Orthodox Church there was no custom to pray on your knees, there is no such custom in the Old Believers. This custom came to the New Believers from the Catholic West.
It cannot be called good in any way, for the Lord Jesus Christ, before His voluntary suffering for the human race, showed us in the Garden of Gethsemane an image of prayer: “Fall on your face, praying” (Gospel of Matthew, credit 108.).
Warriors, "swearing" i.e. mocking the Lord during His Passion, they made a mockery “bowing down on the knee before Him” (Gospel of Matthew, part 112). It is clear which of the gospel examples corresponds to the Orthodox custom, and to which, the Catholic one.
Now let us present in full the Charter on prostrations, according to patristic church tradition.
At the prayer to the Holy Spirit "King of Heaven", when it is read (or sung) at the beginning of any following, without bowing, we are protected by the sign of the cross, and in Great Lent at the end of it - a bow to the ground, with the sign of the cross.
On the "Trisagion": "Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortals, have mercy on us" (three times), three bows. Only when this prayer is sung at the end of the Great Doxology at the All-Night Vigil, as well as at the Liturgy before the reading of the Apostle, (or when it is sung in other cases according to the Rule), there are no bows.
At the Lord's Prayer "Our Father", a bow from the waist at the end of it, when it is sung at the Liturgy and before dinner; in all other cases there is no bow.
On "Come, let's bow", three bows. And besides this, when in psalms, verses and troparia there are the words: “I bow”, “I bow”, “we bow”, “we bow”, “we bow”, “worshiping”, “worshiping” and “worshiping”, they always bow from the waist . On “Hallelujah”, when she happens to be “glory” behind any psalm, like this: “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, glory to You, God”, three times, three bows to the belt, except for “Hallelujah” among the “ex-psalms” without bows.
At the prayers “Vouchee, Lord, in this evening we will be preserved without sin” at Vespers and “Glory to God in the highest” (at the beginning) at Vechernitsa and Matins, three bows from the waist.
Worship on Sundays
Worship on Sundays
When a priest or a deacon pronounces a special litany, on one of the petitions ending with the words “all of you,” three waist bows are relied upon (at the beginning of the singing “Lord, have mercy”, 12 times; in other cases, it happens 40 and 50 times); when the service is performed without a priest, instead of a special litany, “Lord, have mercy” is sung forty times, and also instead of “diligent prayers” for litia (going into the porch for the All-Night Vigil, Sunday and some other services), the same prayer is sung 40, 30, and 50 times. In all these cases, three bows are preserved, also at the beginning of the singing "Lord, have mercy."
Before the prayer, dismissal, at Vespers and Matins, and at the Prayer Service, starting with “The Most Honorable Cherub”, and at the Liturgy and the Mass, with “It is worthy to eat”, “Glory”, “and now”, “Lord have mercy” twice, “Lord bless, ”always four bows, at Vespers, Matins and Molebens all are half-length, and at the Liturgy and the Mass, the first bow is always earthly.
To the “Most Honorable Cherub”, when this prayer happens in the middle of any study (for example, when praying for dinner), there is always a bow from the waist.
At the beginning of the Midnight Office, at the prayer “Glory to Thee, our God, Glory to Thee for all kinds of sake,” they are protected by the sign of the cross without bowing once; and at the next prayer, “God, cleanse me a sinner,” three bows to the waist.
After the first and last magnification of the holiday, during the festive Matins (usually performed in the evening), the bow is always earthly.
Kissing the icon of the feast after magnification, the Gospel on Sunday Matins and the Holy Cross on the feasts of the Cross have a special order.
