Prostrations, bows and postures guidelines

General note

Please, follow the practice of your parish and take these rubrics as mere guidelines.

Here we present two main rubrical sources: Устав Богослужінь and Dolnytsky's Typicon. The former overrides the latter.

The bold and italics markings as well as headers are not present in the original and are added for ease of understanding.

From Устав Богослужінь

A bow and crossing with no bow

(Paragraph 11) A bow (or "a small bow", "an inclination"): we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross and incline the head and shoulders slightly. We do not extend the hands to the knees or even to the ground. It is made either before or after making the sign of the cross, and in the following cases:

a) once, when:
- passing by the iconostasis or the holy table;
- entering the sanctuary or leaving it;
- approaching the holy table or departing from it;
- standing before the holy doors to read;
- at the beginning of each service;
- when mentioning the Most Holy Trinity in prayer;
- when receiving the priest’s blessing;
- when prescribed by the rubrics.
b) three times:
- at “Holy God” and “To Your Cross, O Master”;
- at “Come, let us worship”;
- after the final “Alleluia, glory…”;
- during fasting periods, according to the prescriptions.

One should also make the sign of the holy cross upon oneself, but without inclining the head and shoulders, at the beginning and end of the reading of the Gospel.

The deacon, likewise, should show his reverence with a slight inclination of the head and shoulders before the priest when he leaves the sanctuary for the litanies or when he returns to it.

A prostration

(Paragraph 12) A prostration (or "a great bow"): we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross and fall to the ground with the whole body. It is made only during Great Lent and at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

From the Typicon

More details on bows

This is overridden by the new rubrics given above, but can provide more context.

Neither the Greek nor the Slavonic Typika specify the form of a great or a small bow. However, according to custom it is as follows: one who makes a great bow falls to the knees and touches the ground with the forehead. One who makes a small bow does not fall to the knees nor touch the ground with the forehead, but, having made the sign of the cross, reaches down with the right hand to the ground, or only to the knees, as prescribed by the Synod of Lviv in Title V, “On the Divine Liturgy,” in the prayers before the iconostasis before the Prothesis. One reaches to the ground with the right hand when bowing before the Holy Mysteries; only to the knees when bowing before holy icons or during various prayers. However, our people in these regions do not have the custom, when bowing, of extending the hand to the ground or to the knees, but simply, making the sign of the cross, bow deeply before the Holy Mysteries, and less deeply in other circumstances. We consider, however, that during the small Lenten bows one should reach the hand to the knees, since throughout the year at the Trisagion and at “Come, let us worship” bows are made without reaching the hand to the knees.

On standing and sitting during Vespers

Our simple people have the commendable custom of always standing during the services; all others should also stand at Vespers:

During the censings.
From the beginning until the opening Psalm (Psalm 103).
During the chanting of the first two verses of the Psalm “O Lord, I have cried’.
From “Glory… both now…’ of the stichera at “O Lord, I have cried’ until the end of the prokeimenon.
At “Vouchsafe, O Lord’.
At the final Lytia prayer (“O most merciful Master’); moreover, at this point we bow our heads. The same applies also to the silent prayer of the Ektenia, “Let us complete.”
From the Song of Simeon “Now, O Master’ until the end of Vespers.

On standing and sitting during Matins

At Matins one should not sit, but stand:

at the very beginning;
at “God is the Lord” and at the troparia that follow;
at the Megalynarion (“We extol You”) and at “The Angelic Choir”; from the prokeimenon until the canon;
at the Song of the Theotokos;
at the first two verses of the Psalms of Praises (148-150);
from “Glory… both now…” of the Praises stichera until the ektenia “Have mercy on us, O God”;
at the dismissal.

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