Genuflection - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Genuflection bending at least one knee to the ground, was from early times a gesture of deep respect for a superior. In 328 BC, Alexander the Great introduced into his court etiquette some form of genuflection already in use in Persia. In the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

even senators were required to genuflect to the emperor. In medieval Europe, one demonstrated respect for a king or noble by going down on one knee. It is often performed in western cultures during a proposal of marriage

Proposal of marriage

A marriage proposal is an event where one person in a relationship asks for the other's hand in marriage. If accepted, it marks the initiation of engagement. It often has a ritual quality, sometimes involving the presentation of an engagement ring and a formalized asking of a question such as "Will...

.

The Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

word genuflectio, from which the English word is derived, originally meant kneeling

Kneeling

Kneeling is a human position in which the weight is distributed on the knees and feet on a surface close to horizontal.The position of kneeling may be assumed for practical reasons and for reasons of social or religious custom.- Practical reasons :...

rather than the rapid dropping to one knee and immediately rising that became customary in Western Europe in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

Genuflecting to a bishop

From the custom of genuflecting to kings and other nobles arose the custom by which lay people or clergy of lesser rank genuflect to a prelate and kiss his episcopal ring

Ecclesiastical ring

An ecclesiastical ring is a finger ring worn by a clergyman, such as a Bishop's ring.-Historical antecedents:St. Clement of Alexandria says that a man might lawfully wear a ring on his little finger, and that it should bear some religious emblem—a dove for the Holy Spirit, a fish for Christ or an...

, as a sign of acceptance of the bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

's apostolic authority as representing Christ

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...

in the local church.

Genuflecting before the bishop of the diocese to which one belongs was treated as obligatory in editions of the Caeremoniale Episcoporum earlier than that of 1985.

In the same period, the clergy genuflected when passing before the bishop of the diocese when he presides at a liturgical

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

ceremony. But the officiating priest, as also all prelates, canons, etc., were dispensed, and substituted a bow of the head and shoulders for the genuflection.

The present Catholic liturgical books exclude genuflecting to a bishop during the liturgy: "A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

until the beginning of the Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

Vigil." But outside of the liturgy some continue to genuflect or kneel to kiss a bishop's ring.

Genuflection to the Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...

, especially when arriving or leaving its presence, is a practice of the Latin Rite Catholic Church only, a comparatively modern replacement for the profound bow of head and body that remains the supreme act of liturgical reverence in the East.

Only during the later Middle Ages, centuries after it had become customary to genuflect to persons in authority such as bishops, was genuflection to the Blessed Sacrament introduced. The practice gradually spread and became viewed as obligatory only from the end of the fifteenth century, receiving formal recognition in 1502. The raising of the consecrated Host and Chalice after the Consecration in order to show them to the people was for long unaccompanied by obligatory genuflections.

The requirement that genuflection take place on both knees before the Blessed Sacrament when it is unveiled as at Expositions (but not when lying corporal

Corporal (liturgy)

The Corporal is a square white linen cloth, now usually somewhat smaller than the breadth of an altar, upon which the chalice and paten, and also the ciborium containing the smaller hosts for the Communion of the laity, are placed during the celebration of the Eucharist .-History:It may fairly be...

during Mass) was altered in 1973 with introduction of the following rule: "Genuflection in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, whether reserved in the tabernacle

Church tabernacle

A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....

or exposed for public adoration, is on one knee."

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal

General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal —in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani —is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969...

lays down the following rules for genuflections during Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

Three genuflections are made by the priest celebrant: namely, after the showing of the host, after the showing of the chalice, and before Communion. Certain specific features to be observed in a concelebrated Mass are noted in their proper place.

If, however, the tabernacle with the Most Blessed Sacrament is present in the sanctuary, the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers genuflect when they approach the altar and when they depart from the sanctuary, but not during the celebration of Mass itself.

Otherwise all who pass before the Most Blessed Sacrament genuflect, unless they are moving in procession.

Ministers carrying the processional cross or candles bow their heads instead of genuflecting.

The Tridentine Mass

Tridentine Mass

The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...

requires more numerous genuflections to the Blessed Sacrament during Mass.

Other genuflections in the liturgy

Genuflection or kneeling is prescribed at various points of the Roman Rite

Roman Rite

The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...

liturgy, such as after the mention of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

' death on the cross in the readings of the Passion during Holy Week.

A genuflection is made before the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday

Good Friday

until the beginning of the Easter Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...

.

A genuflection is made at the mention of the Incarnation

Incarnation (Christianity)

The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...

in the words et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est ("by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man") in the Creed

Creed

A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...

on the solemnities of Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

and the Annunciation

Annunciation

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...

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In the Tridentine Mass

Tridentine Mass

this genuflection is made on any day on which the Creed is recited at Mass, as well as at several other points:

at the words et Verbum caro factum est ("and the Word became flesh") in the prologue of the Gospel of John, which is the usual Last Gospel
Last Gospel
The Last Gospel is the passage from the Gospel according to St. John in chapter i, verses 1 to 14 inclusive, where Jesus is described as the Logos. It is so named because it is part of the concluding rite of the low Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite....

, as well as the Gospel for the third Mass on Christmas.
at the words et procidentes adoraverunt eum ("and falling down they adored him") in the Gospel for the Epiphany, Matthew 2:1-12
during the Tract said on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
at the end of the Gospel for Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent, John 9:1-38, at the words et procidens adoravit eum ("and falling down he adored him")
during the Epistle on Palm Sunday , at the words ut in nomine Iesu omne genu flectatur caelestium, terrestrium et infernorum ("that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth")
during the Alleluia before the Sequence Veni, sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Sancte Spiritus, sometimes called the "Golden Sequence," is a sequence prescribed in the Roman Liturgy for the Masses of Pentecost and its octave, exclusive of the following Sunday...

during the Octave of Pentecost
during the Epistle on 3 May, the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, the same as for Palm Sunday
during the Epistle on 14 September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the same as for Palm Sunday
in the votive Mass of the Holy Ghost, during the Tract or Alleluia, which is the same verse as during Pentecost
during the Epistle of the votive Mass of the Passion of the Lord, Philippians 8-11, the same words as on Palm Sunday
during the votive Mass for Deliverance from Mortality, which has the same Tract as mentioned above during Lent

In the Maronite Catholic Church, there is an evocative ceremony of genuflection on the feast of Pentecost

Pentecost

Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

. The congregation genuflects first on the left knee to God the Father

God the Father

God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...

, then on the right knee to God the Son

God the Son

God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...

, and finally on both knees to God the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

.

Some Anglicans and Lutherans also genuflect during their worship services.

Genuflecting to a bishop

Genuflection to the Blessed Sacrament

Other genuflections in the liturgy

See also