We make prostrations during Great Lent, at certain moments in services throughout the year, and in our personal prayer lives. But there are also times when prostrations are forbidden.
Let me back up. If you’re new to Orthodoxy, you might not even know what a prostration is. It’s a full bow where you go down to your knees, touch your forehead to the ground, and then rise again. It’s different from a metania (sometimes called a “little bow”), where you make the sign of the cross, bend at the waist, and touch your right hand toward the floor. Both are acts of humility and repentance, but the full prostration is more complete.
When We Don’t Prostrate
Here’s what surprises most people: we don’t make prostrations on Sundays. Ever. Sunday is the day of Resurrection, and we stand to honor Christ’s victory over death. We also don’t prostrate from Pascha (Easter) through Pentecost. That’s fifty days of no kneeling, no prostrations. The early Church decided this at the First Council of Nicaea. During that season, we’re celebrating the Resurrection so completely that even our bodies express joy.
We also skip prostrations on major feast days like the Nativity and Theophany. If you’re ever unsure during a service, just watch the folks who’ve been Orthodox for a while. They’ll know.
The Prayer of St. Ephrem
If you walk into an Orthodox church on a Wednesday evening in March, you’ll probably see everyone doing prostrations. That’s because of the Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian, which we pray during Great Lent on weekdays.
The prayer goes like this:
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We make a full prostration after each of the first three petitions. Then we do twelve metanias (those smaller bows), each time saying “O God, cleanse me a sinner.” Then we pray the whole thing again and make one final prostration. It’s physically demanding, especially if you work a twelve-hour shift at the refinery and then come to Presanctified Liturgy. But that’s part of the point. Lent isn’t just about what we think or feel. It involves our bodies too.
During Services
Outside of Lent, prostrations happen less often. You might make one when you venerate an icon, especially when you first enter the church. Some people prostrate before receiving Communion, though others make a metania instead. The rubrics (the rules for services) specify certain moments for prostrations during Vespers or Matins, but honestly, most laypeople don’t know all of them. If the priest or deacon says “Let us bow down before the Lord,” that’s your cue.
At Pentecost Vespers, we do the Kneeling Prayers. This is the first time we’ve knelt since Pascha, and it marks the end of the paschal season. Three long prayers, each followed by kneeling. It’s a beautiful service, though it comes at the end of a very long day if you’ve already been to Divine Liturgy that morning.
In Your Personal Prayers
Many Orthodox Christians include prostrations in their daily prayer rule. You might do three at the beginning of your prayers, or make them while praying the Jesus Prayer. Some people do a set number each day. I know folks who do thirty prostrations with the Jesus Prayer before bed, and others who can’t do any because of bad knees or back problems. That’s fine. God knows our limitations.
If you’re just starting out, don’t worry about prostrations yet. Learn to pray consistently first. Your priest or a more experienced Orthodox Christian can guide you when you’re ready to add them. The goal isn’t to rack up numbers. It’s to unite your body with your heart and mind in prayer, to physically express what you’re asking God to do in your soul.
And if you’re visiting an Orthodox service for the first time and you see people going down and up, down and up, don’t feel like you have to join in. Stand respectfully. Watch. Ask questions later. We’re not trying to show off. We’re just doing what the Church has done for centuries, using our whole selves to worship God.
