Bows to the Ground and Waist Bows #
Bows in the divine services are a visible sign of reverence for the Lord, the Mother of God, and all His saints. In Old Rite prayer practice, as in the pre-schism Russian Church, there are three types of bows. This is how it is described in the pre-schism book The Son of the Church and in the later Red Ustav:
“Three types of bows are named: the first is the usual bow, that is, down to the chest or navel; then the medium bow, that is, to the waist; and the third is the great bow, that is, to the ground.
When it is time to make bows to the ground, do not strike your head on the ground or bang it against the church floor, nor at home either, but only bend the knees and lower your head deeply, though not to the ground, but place it upon a prayer rug (podruchnik). And both hands, brought together from your heart, place gently upon the prayer rug, and do not stick your elbows out… thus do we make bows, and together we all bow in unison, and likewise rise together, watching the superior.”
In addition to this ground-level bow, called the “great bow,” there also exist prostrations (metánia) — that is, ground bows performed quickly, one after another, which do not require lowering the head all the way to the prayer rug.
Bows during Great Lent #
During Great Lent, in the daily services, almost all of the aforementioned bows are performed to the ground. Exceptions to this rule are the beginning of Vespers (up to “Vouchsafe, O Lord, in this evening…”) and of Compline (up to “Glory to God in the highest…”) on Sunday evenings of Great Lent, and the beginning of weekday Matins (up to the first “Glory” in the kathisma) — in all these cases, bows are made to the waist.
There are also additional bows during Lent. Chief among them are the seventeen bows to the ground with the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, “O Lord and Master of my life…,” prescribed at the end of every church service in Great Lent. However, at Sunday Vespers (on the eve of Monday) and during festal services (with the Polyeleos) during Great Lent, this prayer is shortened to just four bows to the ground, and at the end of festal Lenten Matins, to three.
At the Great Compline served in church during Lent, after the reading of the Creed (“I believe in one God”), the following refrains are sung twice alternately by the choirs: “O Most Holy Lady God-bearer, All-Merciful Mistress, pray to God for us sinners,” and others — with bows to the ground. After each refrain, the choir and those praying on the right or left side of the church perform a bow to the ground. During this time, the opposite choir and side of the congregation do not bow. Thus, for each refrain there is effectively one bow, but performed in parts: first by one half of the church, then by the other.
During Lenten Polyeleos services, and when a festal All-Night Vigil begins with Great Compline (such as for the feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Theophany, and the Annunciation of the Most Holy God-bearer), all of the aforementioned bows are to the waist — but the sequence of them, as described above, remains unchanged. After the refrains “O Most Holy Lady…,” during Great Compline, the Trisagion (“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal…”) follows, at which three bows are made, always to the waist.
The Waist Bow:
The Metania:
The Bow to the Earth:
All bows during the Midnight Office on the Monday of the first week of Great Lent, as well as bows during the Saturday and Sunday Lenten services, are also to the waist, according to the Ustav. Beginning with Vespers on Friday evening, prostrations are omitted—except for the special bows that are observed throughout the year, already mentioned above.
Throughout all of Great Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on certain feast days that fall on weekdays during Lent, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated (though unfortunately not in every parish). According to its structure, this service resembles Vespers, and its spiritual essence is one of intensified and especially fervent prayer to God. The moment which most vividly expresses this essence outwardly is the chanting of the verse by the deacon or reader on the ambo: “Let my prayer arise in Thy sight as incense, and the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.”
When this Psalm verse is sung for the first time, the entire church makes a prostration to the ground without the sign of the Cross, and both choir and faithful lie “upon their faces, praying.” The order of bows that follows resembles the previously described custom at Great Compline with the refrains “O Most Holy Lady God-bearer, All-Merciful Mistress…” When, following the deacon, the leading choir (usually the left) sings “Let my prayer arise,” the corresponding half of the church (left) rises and offers the prayer standing. Then the deacon chants the next verse, and the opposite choir (usually the right) sings “Let my prayer arise…” again. At that point, the right side of the congregation rises together with the choir, while the left side once more bows to the ground and remains bowed until the singing concludes. This alternating prayer of the right and left halves of the church is repeated five times. (During the final “Let my prayer arise…,” everyone prostrates during the first half of the verse and then stands at the second half.)
After the last repetition, the entire church, together with the priest, makes three prostrations with the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. All other bows during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts are also prostrations.
It must be noted, however, that there are exceptions to this rule. When the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served on a Friday, the Vespers—which is part of that Liturgy—includes only waist bows, because it is already part of the Saturday service, and prostrations are not performed on any Saturday during Great Lent. The Liturgy proper (beginning with “Let my prayer arise”) still pertains to Friday, and thus includes prostrations, as explained above. This same rule for distinguishing between waist bows and prostrations also applies when the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated on the eve of a feast day during Great Lent, on which prostrations are not permitted according to the Ustav (e.g., on the eve of the Annunciation of the Most Holy God-bearer).
Waist bows are also performed during services of needs held in Great Lent—such as funerals, molebens, anointing services (soborovanie), and the beginning of confession.
The Ustav on Bows
At the prayer to the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King,” when it is read (or sung) at the beginning of any service: one does not bow, but makes the sign of the Cross. However, during Great Lent, at its conclusion, one makes a prostration with the sign of the Cross.
At the Trisagion prayer: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us” (three times) — three bows are made. Only when this prayer is sung at the end of the Great Doxology during All-Night Vigil, or at the Divine Liturgy before the reading of the Epistle (or in other cases as specified by the Ustav), are bows omitted.
At the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father,” a waist bow is made at the end when the prayer is sung at Liturgy or before meals. In all other instances, no bow is made.
At the chant “O come, let us worship,” three bows are made. In addition to this, whenever in psalms, stichera, or troparia one encounters the words: “I bow,” “I worship,” “we bow,” “we worship,” “let us bow,” “as we bow,” “those who bow,” and “to them that bow” — one always makes a waist bow.
At “Alleluia,” when it follows the Glory after a psalm, as in: “Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God” (repeated three times), three waist bows are made — except during the “Alleluia” within the Six Psalms, where no bows are made.
During the prayers “Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin” at Vespers, and “Glory to God in the highest” (at the beginning) at Compline and Matins — three waist bows are made.
When the priest or deacon recites the fervent litany, then at one of the petitions ending with the words “let us all say,” three waist bows are prescribed (at the beginning of the chant “Lord, have mercy” 12 times; in other cases, it may be 40 or 50 times). When the service is conducted without a priest, instead of the fervent litany, “Lord, have mercy” is sung 40 times, and also in place of the “fervent supplications” at the Litiy (procession to the narthex during All-Night Vigil, Sunday, and other services), the same prayer is chanted 40, 30, or 50 times. In all these cases, three bows are also made at the beginning of the chant “Lord, have mercy.”
Before the final prayer of dismissal at Vespers, Matins, and Molebens, starting with “More honourable than the Cherubim,” and at the Divine Liturgy and Obednitsa, beginning with “It is truly meet,” “Glory,” “Both now,” “Lord, have mercy” (twice), and “O Lord, bless,” there are always four bows: at Vespers, Matins, and Molebens all are to the waist, while at the Liturgy and Obednitsa the first bow is always to the ground.
At “More honourable than the Cherubim,” when this prayer is recited in the middle of a service (for example, during a prayer before supper), a waist bow is always made.
At the beginning of the Midnight Office, at the prayer “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee for all things,” one makes the sign of the Cross once without a bow; and at the following prayer “O God, cleanse me a sinner,” three waist bows are made.
After the first and final magnification of a feast during festal Matins (usually celebrated in the evening), a prostration to the ground is made.
At the chant “Glory to Thee, O Lord” before and after the reading of the Gospel — one bow to the waist.
At the first irmos of the first and ninth odes of every canon — a waist bow is made.
After the katavasia of the eighth ode of the canon at Matins — a waist bow.
At Molebens, after each katavasia of every ode — a waist bow is made, and at the thrice-repeated “Lord, have mercy” that follows the katavasia — three waist bows.
At the hymn of the God-bearer, “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” which is sung at Matins before the ninth ode of the canon, a waist bow is made at each refrain “More honourable than the Cherubim,” and on the sixth, final refrain — a prostration to the ground.
In all cases when, according to the Ustav, the hymn “My soul doth magnify the Lord” is not sung, then waist bows are made at the irmoi of the ninth ode of the festal canon.
After the hymn to the God-bearer “It is truly meet,” or its replacement hymn (Zadostoynik), a prostration to the ground is always made.
Bows at the Divine Liturgy #
In addition to the general bows, there are also specific bows prescribed during the Divine Liturgy, which is celebrated almost daily throughout the year. These are listed below.
At the Gospel Entrance, a waist bow is made with the prayer: “Glory, O Lord, to Thy Cross and Resurrection.”
At the Great Entrance, after the first part of the Cherubic Hymn has been chanted, three bows are made in the following order. At the first exclamation of the priest, “The Lord God remember all of you…,” a waist bow is made with the prayer: “Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” At the second exclamation, “May the Lord God remember all of you…,” again a waist bow is made with the prayer: “Remember me, O Master, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” At the third exclamation, “The Lord God remember all of you…,” a prostration to the ground is made with the prayer: “Remember me, O Holy One, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”
If the priest serves with a deacon, bows are made only at the priest’s exclamations. However, if a hierarchical service is being celebrated, then no bow is made at the priest’s third exclamation; instead, the ground prostration with the above-mentioned prayer is made at the bishop’s final exclamation, which ends with the words: “…and all Orthodox Christians may the Lord God remember in His kingdom, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.”
At the exclamations of the priest or bishop — “Take, eat: this is My Body…,” “Drink of it, all of you: this is My Blood…,” and “Thine own of Thine own, we offer unto Thee…” — a waist bow is made with the Jesus Prayer.
At the exclamation, “Especially for our most holy, most pure…,” a prostration to the ground is made with the prayer: “O Most Holy Lady, God-bearer, save us.”
At the exclamation, “With the fear of God and with faith draw near,” a waist bow is made with the Jesus Prayer.
A similar bow is made at the exclamation, “Always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages,” with the prayer: “Glory, O Lord, to Thy Ascension.”
At the exclamation, “Let us pray to the Lord,” before the ambon prayer, a waist bow is made with the prayer: “Lord, have mercy.”
At the chant, “Blessed be the name of the Lord from henceforth and forevermore,” three waist bows are made. These bows are also prescribed when this chant is sung at All-Night Vigil and during the Obednitsa (at the conclusion of the Hours, when there is no Liturgy).
When a bishop serves, then according to the Ustav, he blesses the faithful with the dikirion and trikirion (the double and triple candlesticks). In response, the faithful make a prostration to the ground (without the sign of the Cross), which may be accompanied by a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.”
When the bishop or priest, at the conclusion of the Liturgy, blesses the faithful with the altar cross during the dismissal, a waist bow is made with the prayer: “Glory, O Lord, to Thy Precious Cross.” The book The Church Son reminds: “After the dismissal, when you approach the Cross, examine your conscience also, that you may be worthy.” When the clergyman blesses each person individually with the life-giving Cross of Christ, he should say the prayer: “By the power and protection of Thy Precious and Life-Giving Cross, preserve him (her), O Lord.”
The faithful, approaching the Cross, having “examined their conscience,” make the sign of the Cross over themselves (without a bow) and recite the prayer: “I believe, O Lord, and I bow before Thy Precious and Life-Giving Cross, for upon it Thou hast wrought salvation in the midst of the earth” (The Son of the Church, chapter 59). (It is more correct, however, in those parishes where it is the custom to make a waist bow first [without the sign of the Cross], then cross oneself while saying: “I believe, O Lord, and I bow….” In this case, the worshiper’s actions more fully correspond to the meaning of the prayer.) One kisses the Cross first (specifically the right foot of the Savior, as previously mentioned), and then the hand of the clergyman holding it. However, if one has received Holy Communion at that Liturgy, he does not kiss the priest’s hand, but only the Cross of Christ.
A waist bow, without the sign of the Cross, should also be made whenever the celebrant proclaims: “Peace be unto all,” while the faithful respond silently, together with the singers: “And to thy spirit.”
In some parishes, the faithful also make a waist bow (without the sign of the Cross) when the Royal Doors are opened during the service. This is fitting and proper behavior in the house of God and should be observed in every church.