"Where Do We Sit?"

Q: I recently attended a wedding at St. Elias. The first thing that I noticed was...there were no pews. Where was I going to sit?  Why is it that St. Elias has no pews?

A:  This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the part of visitors to St. Elias Parish. It seems that most of us have grown so accustomed to fixed seating in the form of benches with backs aligned in rows throughout the nave of the church that we are astounded when we enter a place of worship and find they are not there.

Posture during prayer in the Byzantine tradition:

The most usual posture of the believer is to stand facing the East with arms and hands either by the side of the body, or crossed saltire over the chest. Standing is a posture of respect. It reminds us that each and everyone of us who have been baptized into Christ’s death, have also been baptized into his resurrection. Standing is the posture of the resurrected. There is a general prohibition against kneeling from Pascha to Vespers on Pentecost Sunday, and at that Vespers there is a special service of kneeling. We pray in Christ as His Body with Him as the head of the Body. Christ is raised, and by standing our posture says we are united with Christ in His resurrection. We have been raised with Him, so we stand.

During the weekdays of Great Lent it is the custom to make prostrations and at certain points of the Divine Services to kneel. This posture symbolizes an attitude of penance and repentance. In the Latin rite, as also with some of the Protestants, kneeling can be a sign of adoration. However, adoration in the Byzantine tradition is exemplified by making the sign of the cross and bowing from the waist. When entering the church, we do this thrice; we do this before kissing an icon; we do this when we approach to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion; when we move before the Holy Doors; etc.

Sitting is permitted during readings from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and the Acts of the Apostles. Yet, we stand for the reading of the Gospel. Of course if there is a real need to sit during church services, this is allowed and no one should make a judgment about another’s posture. The benches located about the periphery of the nave and narthex are there for those who have a genuine need to sit. When seated a person should try if possible to keep both feet on the floor and one’s hands on one’s legs just above the knees. Sitting in church is a somewhat formal posture for even while sitting, we should exhibit bodily our respect and reverence.

It should be kept in mind that postures in church involve the whole body of worshipers. Worship in the Body of Christ is not determined by the individual but by the traditional practice of the whole assembly. Look at the priest, look at the deacon and generally speaking take your cue for posture from them.