Genuflection & Prostration
The body itself prays: a bent knee, a brow to the floor, reverence made flesh
These are bodily acts of reverence before the altar, the sacrament, icons, or in penitential prayer, including bending the knee and bowing to the ground. The traditions practice them differently: full prostrations are characteristic of the East, especially during Lent, while genuflection is a Western custom, and many Protestants minimized such gestures. An early canon of Nicaea even forbade kneeling on Sundays, marking the day's festive character.
How it traveled
- The Canons of the Council in Trullo; Often Called The Quinisext CouncilConstantinople (Istanbul) · 692applies
Key passages(8)
The Canons of the Council in Trullo; Often Called The Quinisext Council · The Ecumenical Councils
The First Ecumenical Council: The First Council of Nice · The Ecumenical Councils
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
On Baptism. · Ethical
The Canons of the Council in Trullo; Often Called The Quinisext Council · The Ecumenical Councils
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin