On Inattention During the Divine Services

One of the things that folks often mention when they’re making their confession is inattention during the divine services. So, I thought I would use this month’s column to talk about that important subject.

If we want to be focused during the services, one thing we can do is prepare adequately. And even if we can’t do all the prayers that the Church encourages us to do leading up to the Divine Liturgy, we can at least avoid over-stimulation from media. For example, if we stay up late Saturday night to watch an exciting movie and then read the paper or check out our favorite web-sites before we leave for Church—and then listen to music or text our friends right up to the very moment that we get out of the car and walk into the nave, then we’ll probably spend most of the Liturgy processing all those experiences and all that information instead of attending to what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are trying to say to us. Another thing we can do is spend more time in the Divine Services. In fact, one of the main reasons why our services are so long is because the Church understands that it takes most of us a good while just to relax and calm down before we can ever get around to actually praying. A good rule of thumb that works for most people is one hour in the Divine Services equals about two minutes of genuine interaction with the Most Holy Trinity. Of course, that two minutes can be lifechanging and world-changing. However, if we never actually spend a full hour in the Divine Services, then we’ll never experience that two minutes of authentic prayer. So, the more time we invest in the services, the more focused we will be.

But what if you have an infant or a small child, and you’re constantly in and out during the Divine Liturgy? What if you are an usher or a chanter or you sing in the choir? Does that mean that you’re never going to be able to really communicate with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Of course not, because there is a special grace that accompanies each of those roles. Folks who are raising young children or helping with the service are performing important tasks, and the Most Holy Trinity is going to make sure that they get what they need while they are doing their jobs. But we’re not going to receive any special grace if we just wander in and out of the nave because we’re bored or because we don’t like to be still.

Still another thing we can do to stay focused during the services is to be honest about who we are. For example, if we are concerned about our health or stressed about our job or anxious about a family situation, it’s not going to do any good at all to pretend like we’re not thinking about those issues. But rather than just obsess over those things, we should turn them into prayers. And there are lots of ways to do that: we can light a candle for each of those problems when we first go into the nave; we can make the sign of the cross or make a metania every time one of those subjects pops up in our mind; we can touch the priest’s vestments during the Great Entrance and attach all those topics to his intercessions; we can raise all of those issues up to the Most Holy Trinity when the deacon elevates the Holy Gifts over the altar. It may take quite a while and a lot of effort, but, eventually, we will clear all that stuff out of our hearts, and then we will be able to hear what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are saying to us.

Worship is hard work—there’s no doubt about it. But it is the most important work that we do all week long, because it’s how we are getting closer to the Most Holy Trinity, it’s how the people we love are going to get closer to the Most Holy Trinity, and it’s how this world is being transformed through the love of the Most Holy Trinity. And the more attentive we are during at that work, the more those incredibly important goals will be realized.

Source: The Voice in the Wilderness: The Parish Newsletter of St. John the Forerunner Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

How One Should Pray In Church

Orthodox Christians have received from the Holy Fathers and observe the following practices throughout the world:

     1. Entering the church one makes the sign of the Cross three times, accompanying each with a little bow* and says:

"Thou hast created me, O Lord, have mercy."
"O God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
"Countless times have I sinned, O Lord, forgive me."

     2. Then, having bowed to those on the right and the left, one stands in one's place and listens to the psalms and prayers read in church. One does not say prayers of one's own choosing or read any from prayerbooks, lest one be judged by the holy Apostle Paul for having forsaken the assembly of the Church (Heb. 10:25).      3. Great and little bows should not be made according to one's pleasure but according to the regulations of the holy apostles and fathers, namely: at the Trisagion ("Holy God..."), "O come let us worship," and the threefold "Alleluia," one makes the sign of the Cross three times and three little bows. This is also done during the reading of "Vouchsafe, O Lord," and again at the beginning of the Great Doxology (Glory be to God on high...") and after the priest says, "Glory to Thee, Christ God, our hope." At every exclamation of the priest and also when the reader chants, "More honorable than the Cherubim..." one ought to make the sign of the Cross and a lesser reverence. On ordinary days great bows are made during the Liturgy:
     a) at the beginning of "It is meet and right..."
     b) at the end of "We sing unto Thee..."
     c) at the end of the hymn to the Holy Virgin, "It is meet and right to bless thee..." or its substitute;
     d) at the beginning of the Lord's prayer;
     e) when the Holy Gifts are brought forth for Communion;
     f) at the words "Always, now and ever..."
     At Matins of Vigil a great bow is made at "The Theotokos and Mother of the Light let us magnify..."
     4. On Sundays, from Holy Pascha until Trinity Day, from the Nativity of Christ until Theophany, and on feasts of the Transfiguration and the Elevation of the Holy Cross (on which last only three great bows are made to the Cross), the Holy Apostles utterly forbid kneeling and great bows, concerning which St. Basil the Great wrote to the Blessed Amphylochius. The First and Sixth Ecumenical Councils have also thus ruled, for Sundays and other feasts of the Lord serve as a reminder of our adoption by God, according to the Apostle: "Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son" (Gal. 4:7): for the reverences propoer to servants are not becoming to sons.
     5. Orthodox Christians do not kneel at their own pleasure, but rather at the words of the priest (or deacon), "Again and again on bended kneels..." do they kneel; the customs of kneeling at will and of striking one's breast with the hand come from the Western heretics and are not permitted in the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians, in accordance with Church rule, make great bows at the appointed times, bowing to the ground and standing upright immediately.
     6. In church, whenever the faithful are blessed with the Cross or Gospel Book, with an icon or the chalice, they make the sign of the Cross and bow the head. When they are blessed with candles, the hand, or are censed, Orthodox Christians ought not to make the sign of the Cross but only bow the head. However, during the week of Holy Pascha when the priest censes with the Cross, all make the sign of the Cross and answer, "Truly, He is risen!" In this way then ought we to distinguish between the reverences due holy things and those which are due to persons, even if they be of priestly rank.
     7. When receiving a blessing from either a priest or a bishop, a Christian kisses the right hand of him who bestows the blessing and does not make the sign of the Cross. It is not proper to kiss the left hand of clergy, for this is a Jewish usage, but the right hand from which we have received the blessing.
     8. According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the sign of the Cross is to be made in the following manner: the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are joined at their tips and the other fingers folded across the palm. We then touch the forehead, breast, right and left shoulders and make a slight bow. Of those who sign themselves with all five fingers, or who bow before finishing the Cross, or simply wave their hand in the air or before their breast, St. John Chrysostom says: "The devils rejoice at these mad gestures." On the other hand, the sign of the Cross, properly made with faith and reverence, terrifies the devils, lessens the sufferings caused by sins and calls down divine grace.

RULES FOR BOWS AND THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
SIGN OF THE CROSS WITHOUT BOWS:      1. At the middle of the Hexapsalm, at the triple Alleluia, three times.
     2. At the beginning of the Creed.
     3. At the dismissal -- "Christ our true God..."
     4. At the beginning of a reading from Holy Scripture: Gospel, Apostle or Old Testament Lesson.

SIGN OF THE CROSS WITH THE LITTLE BOW:
     1. When entering or leaving a church -- three times.      2. At every petition of the litanies.
     3. At the exclamation of the priest giving glory to the Holy Trinity.
     4. At the words, "Take, eat..." "Drink ye all of this..." "Thine own of Thine own..." and "Holy Things for the holy!"
     5. At the words, "Higher in honor than the Cherubim..."
     6. At the words, "Let us worship...", "We worship...", "We adore...", and "We fall down before..."
     7. During "Alleluia," "Holy God," "O come, let us worship," and "Glory to Thee, Christ God," before the dismissal the sign of the Cross with the little bow is made three times.
     8. During the first and ninth odes of the canon, at the first refrain to the Lord, the Mother of God or the Saint.
     9. After each stikhira -- at which time the choir which has finished singing makes the sign of the Cross.
   10. During the Litiya, at each of the first three petitions we sign ourselves and bow three times; after the remaining two petitions we sign ourselves and bow once.

SIGN OF THE CROSS WITH THE GREAT BOW (PROSTRATION):
     1. During fasts, when entering and leaving church -- three times.      2. During fasts, at each "...we magnify thee" in the refrain to the Canticle of the Mother of God (Magnificat).
     3. At the beginning of "It is meet and right to worship the Father..."
     4. After the "We sing unto Thee..."
     5. After the hymn to the Mother of God or its substitute.
     6. At the exclamation, "And grant us, O Master...", introducing the Lord's Prayer.
     7. When the Holy Gifts are brought forth for Communion and again after Communion.
     8. During the Great Fast at Great Compline during the singing of "Most holy Mother of God..." and at each of its several accompanying petitions; at Vespers, at the end of "Virgin Mother of God rejoice," and the two hymns following.
     9. During fasts at the end of each section of the prayer "O Lord and Master of my life..."
   10. During fasts, at the three concluding petitions -- "Remember me, O Lord, when..."

LITTLE BOW WITHOUT THE SIGN OF THE CROSS:
     At the words:      1. "Peace be to all."
     2. "The blessing of the Lord be upon you..."
     3. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
     4. "And may the mercies of our great God..."
     5. When the deacon exclaims, "And unto the ages of ages" (after "For Thou art holy, O our God...").

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS IS NOT TO BE MADE:
     1. During psalms.      2. Generally, while singing.
     During litanies by the choir which will make the responses.
     Making the sing of the Cross and bows are allowed after singing, not during the concluding words of a given piece.
     Prostrations are not allowed on Sundays; from Nativity through Theophany; from Pascha until Pentecost Sunday; on the feast of the Transfiguration; and on the feast of the Elevation of the Cross (except the three prostrations of the Cross).
     Prostrations cease with the entrance during Vespers of the feast and are not resumed until after "Vouchsafe, O Lord..." during Vespers on the day of the feast itself.

 * In this article the terms poyasny/zemnoy poklon have been translated as little/great bow. The little bow is made by bending from the waist until the fingers of the extended right hand touch the ground; the great bow, by kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground (Trans. note).

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Source: Orthodox Life, Volume 26, Number 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1976), pages 24-27.

Why Orthodox Christians Stand During Divine Services

by Rev. G. S. Debolsky

   In performing divine services in a manner like the saints, whom the God-inspired prophets Isaiah, Micah, Daniel and St. John the Theologian saw "standing in the heavens next to the throne of God" (Isaiah 6:2; I Kings 22:19; Daniel 7:10; Apocalypse 7:11), Christians similarly should not sit during divine services, but stand.

     The custom that Orthodox Christians stand during prayer and church services is not only a representation of spiritual service in the Heavenly Church, but also in the Church of the Old Testament.
     In the description of the blessing of Solomon's temple it is said: "The Levites and all the singers, being arrayed in white linen and having cymbals and psalteries and harps stood at the east end of the altar (II Chronicles 5:12); "All the congregation of Israel stood" (II Chronicles) 6:2).
     Another example from the Bible occurs in the description of the reign of Josaphat. In order to protect his homeland from the Ammonites and the children of Moab, he "stood in the congregation of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their littles ones, their wives, and their children" (II Chronicles 20:5, 13).
     Ezra and Nehemiah, speaking of the services of the Jews after the Babylonian captivity, say: "And they set priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David, King of Israel" (I Ezra 3:10); "And the Levites stood according to their rank and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God, and the Levites caused the people to understand the law; and the people stood in their place" (Nehemiah 9:4, 5; 8:7; also Matthew 6:5).
     To stand during prayer was thus a customary rule among the Jews, as is proven in their writings. In the manner of the Heavenly and the Old Testament Church, Orthodox Christians have maintained their custom, since apostolic times, of standing during divine services. The correctness of such a practice is evident from New Testament scripture, where we find the words of Christ: "When ye stand praying" (Mark 9:25), and in apostolic tradition, where it is often proclaimed: "Let us stand well."
     Christians, according to the apostolic teachings, all had to stand during the reading of the Gospel and the "Liturgy of the Faithful." During other readings and homilies some would stand, others would sit. Tertullian, in the year 190 A.D., mentions the practice of standing during services. He says: "Some, in preparation for prayer, throw off their cloaks, and some think it their duty not to stand, but to sit, and we are not to imitate these. It is especially improper to pray while sitting at the very time that a multitude of angels stand before the face of the Lord in fear and trepidation; sitting shows that we are somehow praying unwillingly, carelessly, in a lazy manner." Blessed Augustine, when discussing standing in church, says: "Moved by fatherly love, I have advised those who have an affliction of the legs, or are burdened by other sickness, that they should sit quietly and listen attentively during lengthy readings. But now even some of our healthy daughters think that they should do this all the time..... Even worse, they engage in idle talking, not listening themselves, nor allowing others to listen. Thus, I ask you, noble daughters, and implore you with fatherly concern, that none of you should sit during readings or homilies, unless a profound weakness of the body forces you to do so."
     In the early works of the Holy Fathers a reverent attitude during services was shown to be an important and sacred duty. In one such writing it says: "One must stand and not look around, nor lean against a wall or pillar, nor stand with a cane, nor shift one's weight from one foot to the other."
     To stand before God and His holy saints during the church service is the only acceptable posture for the faithful, both for the ones who are serving, and the ones praying, for does a servant sit before his master? The faithful are all servants of the Lord, redeemed by His blood (Luke 17:10; I Cor. 6:19, 20).
     The entire life of an Orthodox Christian, according to the Scriptures, should be a continuous spiritual uprightness and attentiveness toward God. The Apostle Paul says: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith" (I Cor. 16:13); "Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth" (Ephes. 6:14); "Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved" (Philippians 4:1). If a Christian must always stand on guard spiritually over his salvation, then he must do so even more during the divine church services, which serves as an expression and an enrichment to private everyday service to God. If the spirit of the ones serving and praying strives toward the Highest, will it not also lift up the body which is subject to it? Standing during church services shows us to be humble servants, ready, attentive, and willing to serve God. Not unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, the faithful, standing and becoming fatigued during services, themselves symbolically become offerings to God, as the Apostle says: "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).

Source: Orthodox Life, Volume 33, No. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 1983), pages 48-49. An excerpt from the book The Concern of the Orthodox Church for the Salvation of the World by Rev. G. S. Debolsky. Translated from the Russian by Maria Naumenko.