Seven bow beginning is a customary beginning of
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 a ...
s used by believers of
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.
Th ...
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
''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 " ...
and guardian
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 ...
. 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
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 bet ...
use a different form of seven bow beginning which uses another wording.
[It can be found e.g. in the beginning of the evening prayers]
Молитвы вечерние
(text in Church Slavonic). The Old Believer version actually contains eight bows, with the last one being done without making the
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 ...
.
See also
*
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 pr ...
References
{{Byzantine Rite
Bowing
Christian prayer