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Making Prostrations on Sundays in the Orthodox Church


Q: Father, is it permitted to make prostrations before the chalice on Sundays of any other feast day?

A: According to the Church canons, we should not make prostrations on Sundays and Great Feasts. However, I know that in some churches it is allowed. I personally would abstain from this, but here we can see what the 90th rule of the 6th Ecumenical Council says on this issue:

“We have received it canonically from our God-bearing Fathers not to bend the knee on Sundays when honoring the Resurrection of Christ, since this observation may not be clear to some of us, we are making it plain to the faithful, so that after the entrance of those in holy orders into the sacrificial altar on the evening of the Saturday in question, let none of them bend a knee until the evening of the following Sunday, when, after the entrance during the Lychnic, again bending knees, we thus begin offering our prayers to the Lord. For inasmuch as we hare received it that the night succeeding Saturday was the precursor of our Savior’s rising, we commence our hymns at this point spiritually, ending the festival by passing out of darkness into light, in order that we may hence celebrate en masse the Resurrection for a whole day and a whole night”.

Source: https://osergii.wordpress.com/2015/12/09



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