The Seven-Bow Beginning as a Means to Approach Prayer #

“Prayer is the breath of our soul,” says St. Macarius. How long can one remain alive without breath? Not long at all. In the same way, our spiritual life, if not refreshed and sustained by prayer, quickly weakens, withers, and dies. This is why the holy Apostle exhorts us not only to pray frequently—as often as possible—but even unceasingly: “Pray without ceasing, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.” For this very reason, the Holy Church has appointed a sevenfold cycle of daily prayers, in order to maintain, as much as possible, the spirit of its children in a continual disposition of prayer.

Judging by this, one would think that for a Christian there is nothing easier or more convenient, more delightful and pleasant, than prayer—just as for a child, there is nothing more joyful than conversing with his father and mother. And yet, in practice, we feel otherwise. The weight of the flesh burdens the soul and pulls it downward when it longs to rise upward. The cares of life bind the heart to the earth when it would like to visit its heavenly home.

Everyday interactions and conversations, our daily duties and encounters, scatter our mind among thousands of distractions, preventing it from gathering itself, from lifting up—even for a brief moment—to the Father of lights, to breathe, as it were, the fresh air of heaven. It seems that the entire arrangement of our life is such that we whirl constantly, like in a vortex or whirlwind, until body and soul are exhausted, until reason and feeling are clouded.
Thus, the first task often becomes the last; what is easy becomes hard, what is pleasant becomes burdensome—so that, even when we manage to steal away an hour to devote to prayer, we do not know how to begin, or what to say, or how to continue.

To help us in this matter—which is so vitally important and necessary—our caring Mother, the Holy Church, has established the initial prayers. In order that we may make the most of the time—so precious to us and, by necessity, so brief—and that, torn out of the whirlpool of vanity, we may succeed in gathering our thoughts and directing them to the essential matters of prayer, the Holy Church, guided by the Spirit of God, sets forth the contents of sacred prayer at the beginning in brief verses that, nonetheless, contain every type of prayer: petition, thanksgiving, and glorification.

According to the Church’s rule, before performing one’s personal prayer rule at home or taking part in public worship, we are to begin with the seven-bow introduction. It is said as follows:

• With the first ordinary bow, say: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

• With the second bow: “Thou who hast created me, O Lord, have mercy on me.”

• With the third: “Beyond measure have I sinned, O Lord, forgive me.”

Following these three short petitions, each accompanied—during fasts—by full prostrations to the ground, a hymn of thanksgiving is read in honor of the Mother of God, who served in the work of the redemption of the human race:

“Becometh it truly to bless thee, O God-bearer, the all-hallowed and most immaculate mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim, more glorious indeed than the Seraphim, who undefiled bare God the Word, the very God-bearer, thee do we magnify.”

This sacred hymn is always accompanied by a full prostration—even on feast days. A grateful person, whom Christ set forth as an example to others, always falls down in worship to thank God. “One of them,” says the Gospel, “when he saw that he was healed, turned back with a loud voice, glorifying God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.” (Luke, Chapter 17, Gospel Reading 85)

After the hymn “It is truly meet,” a doxology in honor of the Holy Trinity is read. That is, with the fifth bow, the words are said:

“Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.”\

With the next bow: “Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

And with the final, seventh bow: “Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, bless.”

These last three bows are made with waist-deep bows during ordinary times and with full prostrations during fasting seasons.

To bring together everything that has been said and prayed up to this point—and to guard us against distraction—the Holy Church finally gathers all the prayers of the Seven-Bow Beginning into one brief prayer.

All the earlier petitions are refracted through it, like rays of the sun, passing once again through the attention of the praying person, illuminating his consciousness with their light. This final prayer brings to remembrance the whole work of redemption, calls to mind the Cross—the instrument of salvation—the angels, the saints, and all those who make up the Church for whom Christ suffered on the Cross. This final prayer, called the dismissal prayer (отпуст), is said as follows:

“O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the sake of the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, by the power of the precious and life-giving Cross, of the holy guardian angels of us all, and of all Thy saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou art good and the Lover of mankind.”

A full prostration is made, but without the sign of the Cross.

Being the opening portion of the Church’s divine services, the Seven-Bow Beginning is especially important in that, through its influence, we may bring our thoughts and feelings into harmony with the thoughts and feelings of the Church itself. Through this beginning, we are more easily able to unite our hearts with the hearts of all our brethren, forming one fragrant and pleasing censer to be lifted up to the Heavenly Altar. And by entering through these short prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and glorification, we step into the spiritual atmosphere of the Church’s universal prayer—always well-pleasing to the Heavenly Father.

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From the journal “The Truth of Orthodoxy,” St. Petersburg, 1907, No. 3