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Seven Bow Beginning
Seven bow beginning is a customary beginning of prayers used by believers of Byzantine Rite when praying alone. This beginning is prayed just before one starts to pray any other private prayers. It consists of seven parts. It begins with the prayer of the publican and contains also some other short prayers - e.g. to Theotokos and guardian angel. The structure of the seven bow beginning is as follows: "O God, be merciful...", "O God, cleanse me...", "Having created...", "I have sinned...", "My sovereign, most holy...", "O Angel, my holy Guardian..." and "Holy Apostle...". After each of these short prayers a bow is made. This beginning can be found e. g. in the order for reading canons and akathists when alone. Old Believers use a different form of seven bow beginning which uses another wording.It can be found e.g. in the beginning of the evening prayersМолитвы вечерние(text in Church Slavonic). The Old Believer version actually contains eight bows, with the last o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells. Prayer can take a variety of forms: it can be part of a set liturgy or ritual, and it can be performed alone or in groups. Prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. Today, most major religions involve prayer in one way or another; some ritualize the act, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours are very long and complicated, lasting about eight hours (longer during Great Lent) but are abridged outside of large Monastery, monasteries. An iconostasis, a partition covered with icons, separates Sanctuary#Sanctuary as area around the altar, the area around the altar from the nave. The Sign of the cross#Eastern Orthodoxy, sign of the cross, accompanied by bowing, is made very frequently, e.g., more than a hundred times during the Divine Liturgy#Byzantine Rite, divine liturgy, and there is prominent veneration of icons, a general acceptance of the congregants freely moving within the church and interacting with each other, and distinctive traditions of liturgical chanting. Some traditional practices are falling out of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pharisee And The Publican
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (or the ''Pharisee and the Tax Collector'') is a parable of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 18:9–14, a self-righteous Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, is contrasted with a tax collector who humbly asks God for mercy. This parable primarily shows Jesus teaching that justification can be given by the mercy of God irrespective of the receiver's prior life and that conversely self-righteousness can prohibit being justified. Further coming as it does in a section of teaching on prayer it demonstrates the need to pray humbly. It immediately follows the Parable of the Unjust Judge, which is also about prayer. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the ''Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee'' commemorates the parable and begins the three-week pre-Lenten Season. Narrative To some who trusted in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went to the temple to pray, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theotokos
''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer" – but these both have different literal equivalents in Greek, Μήτηρ Θεοῦ and Θεοφόρος ("Who gave birth to one who was God", "Whose child was God", respectively). The title has been in use since the 3rd century, in the Syriac tradition (as ) in the Liturgy of Mari and Addai (3rd century)''Addai and Mari, Liturgy of''. Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. Oxford University Press. 2005. and the Liturgy of St James (4th century). The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 decreed that Mary is the ''Theotokos'' because Her Son Jesus is both God and man: one divine person from two natures (divine and human) intimately and hypostatically united. The title of Mother o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, and servants of God. Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies, which vary by religion and sect. Some angels have specific names (such as Gabriel or Michael) or titles (such as seraph or archangel). Those expelled from Heaven are called fallen angels, distinct from the heavenly host. Angels in art are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty. They are often identified in Christian artwork with bird wings, halos, and divine light. Etymology The word ''angel'' arrives in modern English from Old English ''engel'' (with a hard ''g'') and the Old French ''angele''. Both of these derive from Late Latin ''angelus'', which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ''angelos'' (literally "messenge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poklon
The different kinds of bows one could encounter at an Eastern Orthodox service are shown in the drawing below. Strict rules exist as to which type of a bow should be used at any particular time. The rules are very complicated, and are not always carried out in most parishes. Old Believers are generally much more punctilious about bows in comparison with the official Orthodoxy. # The first type is a 'head-only bow'. This type of bow does not have its own assigned usage, but can be used only instead of a 'belt-low bow' (2) in some situations, such as when one cannot make a lower bow because of too many people in the church or for back problems. People also should keep standing in this position during reading of Gospels and some other important periods of the service. # 'Belt-low bow' (поясной поклон) can also be called an 'ordinary bow', since it is the most widespread type of bow. Most bows during the Eastern Orthodox service are of this kind. However, sometimes, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canon (hymnography)
A canon ( el, κανών, kanōn) is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine ''odes'', based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and Song of Zechariah from the New Testament. The canon dates from the 7th century and was either devised or introduced into the Greek language by St. Andrew of Crete, whose penitential ''Great Canon'' is still used on certain occasions during Great Lent. It was further developed in the 8th century by Sts. John of Damascus and Cosmas of Jerusalem, and in the 9th century by Sts. Joseph the Hymnographer and Theophanes the Branded. Over time the canon came to replace the , a vestigial form of which is still used on several occasions and which has been incorporated into the performance of the canon. Each canon develops a specific theme, such as repentance or honouring a particular saint. Sometimes more than one canon can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akathist
An Akathist Hymn ( el, Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The name derives from the fact that during the chanting of the hymn, or sometimes the whole service, the congregation is expected to remain standing in reverence, without sitting down (ἀ-, ''a-'', "without, not" and κάθισις, ''káthisis'', "sitting"), except for the aged or infirm. During Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christian religious services in general, sitting, standing, bowing and the making of prostrations are set by an intricate set of rules, as well as individual discretion. Only during readings of the Gospel and the singing of Akathists is standing considered mandatory for all. History The Akathist is also known by the first three words of its ''prooimion'' (preamble), ''Têi hypermáchōi strategôi'' (Τῇ ὑπερμάχ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666. Resisting the accommodation of Russian piety to the contemporary forms of Greek Orthodox worship, these Christians were anathematized, together with their ritual, in a Synod of 1666–67, producing a division in Eastern Europe between the Old Believers and those who followed the state church in its condemnation of the Old Rite. Russian speakers refer to the schism itself as ''raskol'' (), etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart". Introduction In 1652, Patriarch Nikon (1605–1681; patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652 to 1658) introduced a number of ritual and textual revisions with the aim of achieving uniformity between the practices of the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Nikon, having notice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sign Of The Cross
Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with the right hand, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of the Trinitarian formula: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." The use of the sign of the cross traces back to early Christianity, with the second century ''Apostolic Tradition'' directing that it be used during the Minor exorcism in Christianity, minor exorcism of baptism, during ablution in Christianity, ablutions before praying at fixed prayer times, and in times of temptation. The movement is the tracing of the shape of a cross in the air or on one's own body, echoing Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, the traditional shape of the Christian cross, cross of the Christianity, Christian crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion narrative. Wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usual Beginning
The usual beginning is the series of prayers with which most Divine Services begin in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Normal form The usual beginning starts with a blessing by the priest, which is usually: *Blessed is our God, always now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. However, if there is no priest, the reader says: *Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Then, the reader continues: *Amen. lory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!ref name="[]" group=note>The portion in brackets is sometimes omitted. *[O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every sin, and save our souls, O Good One!] *The Trisagion: Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us ''(three times, everyone making a bow at the waist each time)''. *Glory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowing
Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many European countries. It is also used in religious contexts, as a form of worship or veneration. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering the head such as in Indonesia, and in many cultures several degrees of the lowness of the bow are distinguished and regarded as appropriate for different circumstances. It is especially prominent in Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan, where it may be executed standing or kneeling. Some bows are performed equally by two or more people while others are unequal – the person bowed to either does not bow in return or performs a less low bow in response. A nod of the head may be regarded as the minimal form of bow; forms of kneeling, genuflection, or prostration which involves the hands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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