Moscow Patriarchate Voronezh Metropolis Rossosh Diocese. Questions, questions, questions...

25.10.2009, 11:37

***********.taday.ru/vopros/20162/185713.htmlQuestion Is it possible to kneel in the temple when the service is over? I am very embarrassed, but my soul asks for such an appeal to the Lord. pensioner
Bryansk
Answer Dear visitor of our site, the church charter provides for a certain procedure for making earthly and waist bows during worship, and also determines the periods of the church year when such bows should be refrained from. If we talk about the near future, then bowing to the ground in the Church ceased on the day of Holy Thursday (an exception is bowing at the Holy Shroud) and will resume only on the day of the feast of Pentecost, when kneeling prayers will be read for the first time at Vespers.
In general, according to the Charter, we do not make prostrations on Sundays and on the days of the Twelve Feasts.
During periods when the Church Charter does not abolish kneeling, you can kneel before the shrine and outside the time of worship.

25.10.2009, 11:39

“The second question, whether it is possible to kneel at all, can be answered: local customs and individual piety can be the determining factors here, although the prohibitions that I indicated should be remembered. The highest rule should always be mercy, and not ustavism and canonical fundamentalism Is it permissible to kneel at the Liturgy at all? Of course, many Russians, both Catholics and Orthodox, kneel during the Lord's Prayer and even during the reading of the Gospel. Some of them do this on Sundays, although this is wrong, as I have already shown. Many believers want to make great bows before the icons of their patron saints. Such a practice cannot be regulated by prescriptions, but depends on the state of mind. The rule of good form is: do not put on a show and do not annoy others with your importunate actions. "
***********.kiev-orthodox.org/site/worship/1434/

25.10.2009, 11:43

"The prohibition of kneeling and fasting on Sundays has been common in Christian literature since the 3rd century. This prohibition extended to all seven weeks of Pentecost (50 days from Easter to the week of Pentecost). This was necessary in order to express Easter joy: kneeling and fasting are associated with repentance and sorrow, not with joy, and standing is a position symbolizing the Resurrection, commemorated on Sundays and throughout the fifty days of Pentecost.In Greek, resurrection anastasis has the same root as the secular Greek verb which means to rise or stand. This early Christian tradition was eventually codified at the First Ecumenical (I Nicene) Council, canon 20 of which says: "For there are some who bow their knees on the day of the Lord and on the days of Pentecost: so that in all the dioceses everything is observed equally, it is pleasing to the holy Council to determine that they stand up to offer their prayers to God "

25.10.2009, 11:48

When I asked one priest - why on Sunday people kneel, he said - you can’t go up to everyone and say that it’s impossible. In one church in the center, a priest rudely told a woman on her knees that she should not kneel on Sunday. In another temple, the priest told the parishioners to watch what the priests were doing and do the same - be baptized - be baptized, kneel - kneel. In the Khotkovo monastery at the service on Sunday, everyone fell on their knees - one nun said - such a mental attitude, what can you do.

Pause NaPai

25.10.2009, 12:54

If I know (and even sometimes see) that the clergy are in the altar during prayer and the transubstantiation of wine and bread into the body and blood of Christ (that is, towards the end of the chorus singing "We sing to you, we bless you, we thank you ..." ) kneel on any day of the week - how can I not get up? Especially when I remember my own unworthiness to be here at all? And these are not words at all, but a call of the soul.

25.10.2009, 13:20

I, of course, will now write the purest gag, but here it is necessary, probably, to distinguish between bowing to the ground and kneeling. I mean that you don’t have to stand Easter (all the days until Trinity) long time on the knees. For example, the simplest example that the Gifts brought out was to cross oneself, bow to the ground and stand up, and not stand until the very communion, as we do at other times. At least, grandmothers have taught me to do this for a long time (and personally I have never had any complaints about grandmothers! :-)). In another way, I personally can’t combine the rules!
There are simply cases when people come to Easter, fall on their knees and clearly intend to stand like that for the entire service. And not to bend the knee, as Aleksey Vinogradov wrote, also somehow does not add up ....

25.10.2009, 16:29

1. "Bows to the earth, made by touching the head of the earth and immediately rising, have a deep symbolic meaning. They symbolize our faith that through sin we fell to earth, and through the atonement of Christ we are again called to heaven. In accordance with this, the Church establishes the days when prostrations to the earth are expressly forbidden, for they would contradict the meaning of the celebrated event.Such days are, first of all, all Sundays, all the days of Pentecost, and in general all polyeleos, that is, days before which solemn all-night vigils with polyeleos are performed.
This rule is especially firmly established for the days of Pentecost and all Sundays, which apparently corresponds to the most ancient church tradition.

25.10.2009, 16:29

2. "This is evidenced by the fact that the prohibition of bowing these days already by the first Ecumenical Council in the 20th canon extends to the entire Church. "Because," this canon says, "there are some who kneel on the Lord's day and in days of Pentecost, then so that everything would be the same in every area, the Holy Council decides that in those days one should offer standing prayers to God. in canon 90 clarifies that to refrain from bowing to the ground as a sign of honoring the resurrection of Christ follows, starting from the evening entrance on Saturday until the evening entrance on Sunday. This clarification also applies to the other days listed above. "

25.10.2009, 16:30

"Standing without prostrations, according to the explanation of St. Basil the Great, is a symbol of the future age, when the sons of the Church finally, with the help of God, conquered sin, become like angels, about whom the Church sings that they remain motionless for evil, i.e. do not succumb no temptations, they will forever remain in a righteous, blissful state, they will stand motionless in truth. Standing without bowing to the ground is a sign of the complete victory of Christ over the devil, that victory, which is especially clearly shown in the resurrection of the Lord, and will be shown even more fully after the general resurrection. On the day of the resurrection, the Church celebrates this victory and calls us not only to glorify it with verbal prayer, but also to confess it by the very way of standing in the temple.Therefore, to bow to the ground on these days is just as contrary to the whole spirit of the holiday, as if someone were present at the wedding in mourning. "

25.10.2009, 16:32

"St. Simeon of Thessalonica:" No, - he says, - there is nothing unimportant in the Church of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, and nothing in it is allowed without significance; for she is the Church of the Living Word itself; everything here has a deep meaning. How, then, can one dare, according to one's own will, to completely despise the ordinances laid as a foundation by the Word of God, and make oneself a legislator in order to destroy them? Don't you know that order is kept in everything as it is written? That God, as the God-speaking One says, is not a discordant God, but peace and order? That the order that is established in heaven is observed in the Church? ... Try not only to preserve what you received, but also to multiply what you received with holy applications and decorate it, as our fathers did. Strive for the holy statutes, so that, loving the splendor of the house of the Lord and observing the holy order, you may receive various rewards from God."

25.10.2009, 16:32

From here:

25.10.2009, 16:41

“From our God-bearing fathers, canonically devoted to us, do not kneel on Sundays, for the sake of the honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, let us not be in ignorance of how to observe this, we will clearly show the faithful that on Saturday, at the evening entrance of the clergy to the altar, according to the accepted custom, no one kneels down until the next evening on Sunday, on which, upon entering the lamproom time, bowing our knees, in this way we send up prayers to the Lord. For accepting the night on Saturday as the forerunner of the resurrection of our Savior, from here we spiritually begin songs, and bring the feast out of darkness into light, so that from now on we celebrate the resurrection all night and day” (canon 90 of the VI Ecumenical Council).
***********.pravoslavie.ru/answers/6509.htm

25.10.2009, 16:42

“Because there are some who kneel on the day of the Lord, and on the days of Pentecost: then, so that in all the dioceses everything is equally observed, it is pleasing to the holy council, that they stand and say prayers to God” (canon 20 of the 1st Ecumenical Council).

25.10.2009, 16:42

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

25.10.2009, 16:43

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

25.10.2009, 16:45

In general, as I understand it, the Patriarch of Tsaregradsky said that on Sundays and so on, you can only kneel without prayer, but not kneel.

25.10.2009, 18:59

Well, and the control question: on "It is worthy and righteous to eat," it turns out that we stand and kneel before the Virgin, and on Easter, on polyeleos holidays and on Sundays, we just stood up and got up? So what?

25.10.2009, 19:06

I personally think: if you want - get up, if you want - no. Or is there some fundamental difference? It's not a sin to kneel before the Lord, is it?...

25.10.2009, 19:20

Irin, there just comes a moment when you already want to figure out how to do it right ....... And if, for someone, this moment has not come, then it will come later. It's OK....

25.10.2009, 20:19

“How reprehensible the indiscriminate making of prostrations and the sign of the cross is evident from the Typicon or the Church Charter (see “On Bows and Prayer, the Church Law”). It explains in detail how to bow when reading the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, and at the same time, those who “do not submit to the Holy Father’s tradition, who themselves lead the art of holy prostrations, below the holy prayer understand well to pray, but bowing down to one hunched over, bowing slightly, cross themselves, nod their heads, and with their defiance, like a rite, fill the faithful from the Father of bows: below, with a prayer of the mind and soul, he prays to God, but if time hunched over he makes his vain bows, so the prayer of St. Ephraim, as if amazed, hastens to say.

25.10.2009, 20:20

Continuation "So, all prayers hurries to govern with bows, and from those imaginary countless bows, and from his insane prayer, he will rise, like a fool, lower himself the news of what he did, lower they look at the primate of the church, but otherwise they forestall, rumple like a cane shaken by the wind, in spite of the best, they want to learn below: but whoever has formed his temper, so it is affirmed to be.
***********.azbyka.ru/dictionary/15/grabbe_kak_podobaet_stoyan_v_hrame-all.shtml

25.10.2009, 20:20

Continuation "Usually in our intelligent society it is considered secondary when and how to bow; it is believed that everyone should lay them then and how he likes it. Thus, the unity of prayer is violated, it is no longer general, but individual, although the worshipers stand in the same room."

25.10.2009, 20:23

As I understand it, we are talking about the fact that the signs of the cross and bows during the service must be performed simultaneously by everyone, unanimously, and focus on the priest. And some personal things before the service. Still, maybe one of the priests will clarify this issue, it's all very complicated...

25.10.2009, 23:16

It is not always possible to focus on a priest and a deacon - they have their own prayers and actions. For example, I noticed that when a deacon censes at the iconostasis at the end of the litany, he censes and bows to the Mother of God icon, then he passes in front of the Royal Doors and censes and bows to Christ, here, under the text, the parishioners are baptized and bow, but people have taken the fashion ( including me), to bow when the deacon bows to the Mother of God. I then asked and received in response that I would bow when I myself went with the censer. Since I don’t plan to (fr)(fr)(fr) yet, I stopped.

25.10.2009, 23:23

And, by the way, our ancestors had assistants for kneeling. Now they have remained with the Old Believers. Paws and muzzle remain clean: -$
At one time, Vladyka tried to lure the Old Believers from the Pomeranians to the parish of the same faith, esssno, with the help of normal Orthodox, so at that time I sewed such a pretty little handmaid for myself and I go to Andrei of Crete with him. Even if you don’t hide in a corner, no one sees in the dark anyway, and whoever sees will figure out what’s wrong. I highly recommend!!!(Y)

25.10.2009, 23:36

Agree. Decided to do so for myself. I will study what the Church writes when it is possible and when it is impossible, for example from here:
***********.azbyka.ru/dictionary/15/grabbe_kak_podobaet_stoyan_v_hrame-all.shtml
and I will do everything exactly.

25.10.2009, 23:38

I noticed how beautifully the monks pray. Eyes closed, full concentration. They are baptized only when necessary, bows are also only when necessary, and not when Baba Masha is from the first row.

sesame

26.10.2009, 01:09

And how to behave correctly if you know that at this moment it’s not supposed to get on your knees, but the people in the temple think otherwise? the principle "like everyone else" ... maybe also wrong ... but probably less wrong than "as God puts on your soul" ...

26.10.2009, 01:17

and not when Baba Masha is from the first row.

Many people act according to this principle .... They think that Baba Masha from the first row knows for sure .... :-)

sesame

26.10.2009, 01:45

Julia, not because Baba Masha knows, but so that everyone together ... well, so that "with one mouth and one heart" and somehow manifest itself in the outside ...

26.10.2009, 03:23

Katya, I understand your idea. I didn’t mean you, but most likely myself and many beginners. I also used to think that since they do it, it means they know how to do it right and repeated it.

26.10.2009, 03:38

And then I thought that I should repeat after the priest.: -DA now I realized that I am a layman in this matter and I need to seriously study the liturgy ....

Details Created: 14.09.2015 11:34

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

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

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

However, we digress.

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

bows

There are three types of bows:

1. Simple bowing of the head;

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

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

According to the rules church charter during worship, all three types of bows are used in appropriate cases. At what time - which ones, we will now tell:

head bow

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prolonged bowing of the head

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

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

AND. While reading the Holy Gospel.

Belt bow

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

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

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

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

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

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

D. After singing Most Honorable Cherub.

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

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

Z. Before singing Creed(on Liturgy).

AND. Before reading Apostle(on Liturgy).

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

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

M. At the beginning of the prayer Our Father.

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

Earthly bows

Earthly bows are canceled:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

kneeling

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

A. During the transfer of the shrine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. At the beginning of singing Creed;

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

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

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

When to be baptized, when to bow...

The road to the temple

When going to church, it is best to mentally pray, for example, to read the 50th and 90th psalms and other prayers. There is a special prayer for this:
I will enter Your house, I will bow to Your holy temple in Your fear. Lord, instruct me in Thy righteousness, for the sake of my enemy, correct my path before Thee: as if there is no truth in their mouths, their heart is vain, their throat is open to the grave, their tongues are lying. Judge them, O God, that they fall away from their thoughts; according to the multitude of their wickedness, forgive me, as if I had grieved Thee, Lord. And may all who trust in Thee rejoice, rejoice forever, and dwell in them, and those who love Thy Name glory in Thee. Like you bless the righteous, Lord, like a weapon of good will crowned us.
This prayer is read by the clergy when they enter the altar. It is good for every believer to read this prayer before entering the temple.
Before entering the temple, you should reverently cross yourself and bow (you can three times). According to the ancient practice, you can bow to the ground, that is, kneel down and touch the ground with your forehead. But now half-length bows are most often used, earthly bows can only be found here and there in monasteries.
Entering the temple, you must also make a bow (or three), then go to the icon lying in the middle of the temple (festive) and venerate it.
Even if there is a miraculous icon or relics in the temple, we first kiss the icon of the feast, which lies on the lectern in the middle of the temple, and then we go to other icons.
When we bow at the entrance to the temple, it is good (although not necessary) to say:
God, cleanse me, a sinner.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me.
We also leave the temple after the end of the service.

Behavior during worship
During worship, we must stand reverently in one place and pray. Walking around the temple, talking, especially talking about extraneous topics, laughing is not accepted. Mobile phones should be turned off or set to vibrate. It is not customary to talk on a mobile phone in the temple, except in extreme cases.

Great entrance. During the procession of the clergy, it is not customary to kneel. We can only bow our heads reverently.

How to venerate a shrine
The surest practice is to cross yourself twice and make a bow before venerating the shrine. Then kiss (reverently) the shrine and once again cross yourself and make a bow from the waist.
This is how the Charter prescribes to venerate the shrine. So always, for example, do the clergy.
When kissing a shrine, if there is a queue behind us, we should never freeze in front of it. Having kissed, we retreat and give way to others. We pray for our needs while we stand in line.

Special cases
In Great Lent, the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian. Today it is supposed to make 3 bows to the earth during the prayer, then 12 bows from the waist, saying: “God cleanse me, a sinner,” then, after the prayer is read again, already in its entirety, – another earthly bow. Until the 17th century, all bows were earthly.

The most common mistakes
One of the most common mistakes – this is when people cross themselves and bow during the Litany of the Catechumens (during the Liturgy). These petitions were created for people preparing for the Sacrament of Baptism. Because the baptized people are not catechumens, then these words are not addressed to them, and therefore it is not allowed to be baptized and bow during this litany. Also, you do not need to bow your head at the words: Catechumens, bow your heads to the Lord.

Priest's blessing
According to ancient tradition, we receive the blessing of a bishop or priest by folding our palms crosswise (right on top of left). After that, we kiss the blessing right hand. Before receiving a blessing, we are not baptized.
When accepting a particle of antidoron, an icon, some kind of shrine from a priest (or bishop), we also fold our palms crosswise and kiss the hand that gives us a shrine.

Prostrations before the Shroud. Parishioners can always have an idea of ​​when to be baptized, when and how to bow, if they observe the clergy.

Attached to the icons
It has already been said that, when kissing a shrine, we must make two bows, then kiss the holy image or relics of the saint of God, and then cross ourselves again and bow.
When we kiss an icon, we cannot kiss it on the face. It is familiar and irreverent. We kiss the Christ Child (if He is in the Arms of the Mother of God) on the leg, if we have a half-length image of Christ in front of us, we kiss the Hand or the edge of the robe.
We kiss the Mother of God on the Hand or on the shoulder; saints – in hand.
We kiss the image of the head of John the Baptist on the hair, but, again, not on the face.
Even if the icon depicts several holy faces, we must always kiss the icon once.

Question answer:

In our temple, pious parishioners kneel while singing the Cherubic Hymn. Is it necessary to do so?
I said that we kneel when the shrine is carried out. At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, this is the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, at other times it may be an icon or relics. At the usual Liturgy during the Great Entrance, which takes place already at the end of the Cherubic chant, ordinary bread and wine are transferred, which only later become a shrine. So it's not okay to kneel.

In our church, during the Great Entrance, the priest overshadows the worshipers with the Chalice. You said that there was plain wine in the Chalice at that time. Should you tilt your head?
We said that every time the Chalice is overshadowed on us, we must make the sign of the cross and bow from the waist. That's right.
In practice, at this moment, believers do not make the sign of the cross, but simply worship. This is a very common tradition that has become almost the norm. That's how you can do it. But still, it is more correct to bow before the Chalice, first making the sign of the cross.

Is it necessary to kneel while singing the “Most Honorable Cherubim” at the All-Night Vigil?
We kneel while reading or singing prayers, when we are called to this by the exclamation of the deacon: "Kneel down, let us pray."
In the case of the chant "Most Honorable Cherub" there was no such exclamation. So you don't have to kneel.

I once saw that when the priest said "Peace to all!", Some parishioners folded their palms like a boat, as if receiving a blessing in them. Is it possible to do so?
It is impious self-discipline when the laity, with the general blessing of the clergyman, fold their palms and then kiss them. We said that with the blessing of the priest (or bishop) you just need to 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 decrees and the Ecumenical Councils forbid this, 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.

People who don't go to church daily services(I repeat, this is not a sin. Busy man can be understood), I would recommend taking on the feat of prostration in private prayer at home 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,” is a 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 permitted 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 appears for the last time at the Liturgy with the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ in his hands in the Royal Doors and transfers it from the throne to the altar (the 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 the Most Holy Theotokos, since it is believed that She resides in the temple at that time 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 the troubled waters of the outer world and the inner heart with his 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