WHY DO WE MAKE PROSTRATIONS?

In the writings of the great hesychast bishop Theoliptos of Phildelphia (+1322) he admonishes his spiritual children. “Do not neglect prostration. It provides an image of man’s fall into sin and expresses the confession of our sinfulness. Getting up, on the other hand, signifies repentance and the promise to lead a life of virtue. Let each prostration be accompanied by a noetic invocation of Christ, so that by falling before the Lord in soul and body you may gain the grace of the God of souls and bodies.”

The importance of prostrations, from Theoliptos’ point of view, is far more spiritual than physical. In bending our knees we assume an attitude of humility before the God to whom we offer our prayer. Kneeling, then touching our forehead to the ground, we acknowledge our sinfulness; we create a living image of our fall into sin. Our very posture represents a confession of that state, a calling to mind of our spiritual poverty, of our susceptibility to passions of greed, lust, anger and malice. As we make our descent in body and in spirit, we confess as well the Name above every name, the Name that “upholds the universe,” as the Shepherd of Hermas expresses it, and upholds our personal world as well: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Then, as we rise to our feet, this confession both of Christ and of our sinfulness becomes a bodily symbol, a virtual promise, that change will occur in our life. We commit ourselves to repentance, to a turning from the old Adam to the new. The inner transformation signified by this gesture of course does not come about as a result of our prostrations, and not even as a result of our decision to repent. Like every aspect of our Christian life, this transformation—the power to act upon our commitment—is a gift of grace that comes down “from above, from the Father of lights.”

This passage from the Epistle of James (1:17), however, needs to be read in its context, expressed so well throughout the letter: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith [alone] save him?... Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith… For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.”

When we consider ascetic disciplines such as fasting and prostrations, it is essential that we remember words like these. Those disciplines can indeed work an inner transformation, by purifying and directing our mind and spirit toward “the one thing needful” (Lk 10:42). But they are never ends in themselves. As the Holy Fathers teach repeatedly, they exist for the sole purpose of leading us to Christ, who alone heals our brokenness, forgives our sin, and draws us into eternal communion with God and with one another.

PROSTRATIONS ARE A BIBLICAL POSTURE OF PRAYER

In the Old Testament, when the people “fell on their faces” in the time of Moses and Aaron, they were doing prostrations. And the book of Revelation records angels and elders falling on their faces before God.

For the average Orthodox layperson today, prostrations are most associated with the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. We recite this throughout Great Lent, prostrating ourselves after each clause:

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.

WHAT DAYS DO WE MAKE PROSTRATIONS

For laypeople, Great Lent is the major season of prostrations. In addition to the three of them in the Prayer of St. Ephraim, during the first week of Lent the penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete includes many, many prostrations.

There are specific times not to make prostrations, such as on certain feast days. Also, during the Divine Liturgy, Orthodox tradition instructs the faithful to refrain from kneeling in prayer between Pascha and Pentecost. We also don’t do prostrations on Sundays, in honor of the Resurrection.
In some churches prostrations are made on Saturdays; in others they are not.

The guidelines for prostrations outside of the sanctuary will undoubtedly vary from parish to parish, country to country. As always, consult the priest if you are uncertain. As a general rule of thumb in unfamiliar circumstances—do as the other parishioners do unless they are clearly violating Holy Tradition (e.g., prostrations on Sundays). You should endeavor not to call attention to yourself, or have a "super-correct" attitude when it comes to matters like this, judging others who "do not do it right."
The pattern in Great Lent is that