I grew up the youngest of seven kids in an Irish Catholic family. To this day, I don’t know if I ever genuflected correctly in church, if I was supposed to genuflect (as a girl), and why we did it. Today, going to funerals and weddings of family members, I’m still lost as to whether it’s appropriate, significant, or necessary. But it is clearly an act of worship before celebrating Christ’s sacrifice, so it’s time to learn more about it.
According to Merriam-Webster, one meaning is “to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship.” Often one will genuflect before entering a pew to sit down or before communion at the altar. If you’ve never seen someone genuflect, picture it like a step-back lunge where the front leg knee briefly touches the ground. Sometimes people will do the sign of the cross on their chest at the same time. Most important for certain denominations is the genuflection before the cross where it is present in the church (carried in, up at the altar, etc.).
Besides places of worship, there are other occasions when people genuflect to show respect. Genuflection has become synonymous with a marriage proposal, as the man “gets down on one knee” to ask for his fiancee’s hand in marriage. While it can be a sign of humility and respect, it’s more likely a sign of love and the desire to maintain the proposal tradition. Certainly, in countries with royalty, genuflection may still be a practice. In England, however, women curtsey, and men bow their heads before their royal highness.
To answer this question, one must understand what makes a church liturgical.
Justin Taylor explains in his Gospel Coalition article, “When used in the context of a church gathering, “liturgy” refers to the “work” or ministry of exaltation and edification for which God gathers his people—or better, that God himself performs in and through his people.” It’s the order of the service, which owes its origins to the Old Testament and God’s instructions for worship in the temple, at home, and during special feast days.
For example, the Episcopal church follows the Book of Common Prayer format for the order of its service. There is a processional where the cross is carried in. Then a series of 3 readings and a psalm, followed by a sermon, prayers for others, a corporate confession of sin, and a weekly Eucharistic service to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Then the cross is carried out. Some prayers remain the same week to week, and the three Bible readings are the same ones read in a particular week at every Episcopal church (the lectionary).
While someone used to a non-denominational church may say that they don’t like liturgy because it is too rote to say the same things and the same prayers every week with millions of others around the world, I have two things to say. First, anything can become rote—including the Lord’s Prayer. But God’s word is “living and active.”
If we ask the Holy Spirit to shine a light on a portion of the service, reading, or prayer, He will do that. I’m amazed at how often I feel I’ve learned something new from the same confessional prayer, for example. Second, portions of the liturgy vary from week to week—the readings and the psalm. I would say that, depending on the non-denominational church, more scripture may be read at a liturgical service.
Examples of liturgical churches are the Roman Catholic Church and some mainline Protestant churches such as the Lutheran, Anglican, and Greek Orthodox churches. Genuflection is an act of worship at some point in the services of all these traditions.
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, “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 until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.”
The Most Blessed Sacrament refers to the Eucharist, or the sharing the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ.
The terms Anglican and Episcopalian are sometimes used interchangeably, and while they have a connection, they are two distinct denominations.
According to the Gospel Coalition, the Anglican Communion is the third-largest international Christian family of churches, with congregations in more than 165 countries. The Anglican Communion shares history with the Protestant Reformation. It began when Henry VIII separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, becoming the leader of the Church of England.
The Anglican Communion grew as the faith was spread throughout the British Empire. The Book of Common Prayer is the “tie that binds the Communion together.”
There are two subgroups of the Anglican Communion: the Episcopal Church, which initially was an American branch of the Anglican Communion, and the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA). The ACNA was formed by churches in the U.S. and Canada that had differences with the Episcopal Church.
Like the Catholic tradition, congregants in the Anglican and Episcopal churches may genuflect where the Blessed Sacrament is stored before administration to the people. The celebrant and other ministers may genuflect while preparing the Eucharist and its prayers.
Also, like the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church states, “Genuflection has also been associated with veneration of the cross at the Good Friday liturgy…and with the affirming of the Incarnation in the Nicene Creed.” It was officially introduced into the Mass in the fourteenth century.
Eastern Orthodoxy resulted from separating from the Catholic church in 1054, an event better known as the Great Schism.
I’ve never studied the Eastern Orthodox Church, but a Greek Orthodox congregation is in my old neighborhood. Once a year, they would allow non-orthodox people to come and stand in the back of the church (there was a wall of glass between the back and the sanctuary) and look at their icons. We went once, and I could tell there were likely rules in this church that I had never experienced growing up Catholic.
“A Guide to Church Etiquette” from the Greek Orthodox Direct Archdiocesan District-Holy Trinity St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York explains many church etiquette and conduct rules. Reading through, there don’t appear to be rules about genuflection. There is much more emphasis on standing during certain portions of the service. There are opportunities to be prostrate (kneeling and putting the forehead on the floor).
When I was young, we got instruction on genuflection and were watched by our parents to see that we did it right and with the right attitude. As I’ve gotten older and have gone to various churches for various services, I see very few people doing it (those that do are the old-school folks). Perhaps because it is quick and can be done without thinking.
As I was writing this, I realized I needed to take the plank out of my own eye. I don’t have the right attitude about genuflecting. We often kneel at church, but there is something about “bowing the knee” to the cross as it is carried in or bending the knee at the altar. It seems humbling to me, especially if I stay in this position, honoring my Savior, who did much more than bend a knee for me.
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Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).