Prostration of Grace for Saints: An Orthodox Christian Perspective

Prostration (ስግደት) is a profound demonstration of reverence and submission, symbolizing humility and devotion. When directed towards God, it signifies an act of worship where one humbly acknowledges his divine power and complete control over everything. In Orthodox Christianity, prostration of grace (የጸጋ / የአክብሮት ስግደት) is a practice where individuals express reverence and honor to saints while reserving ultimate worship for God alone.

In 1 Samuel 28:14, Saul bows before Samuel, demonstrating respect and deference to an esteemed figure. “እርሱም፦ መልኩ ምን ዓይነት ነው? አላት። እርስዋም፦ ሽማግሌ ሰው ወጣ፤ መጐናጸፊያም ተጐናጽፎአል አለች። ሳኦልም ሳሙኤል እንደ ሆነ አወቀ፥ በፊቱም ተጐነበሰ፥ በምድርም ላይ እጅ ነሣ።” Similarly, in 2 Kings 2:15, the sons of the prophets prostrate themselves before Elisha, recognizing the spirit of Elijah upon him. “ከኢያሪኮም መጥተው በአንጻሩ የነበሩት የነቢያት ልጆች ባዩት ጊዜ፦ የኤልያስ መንፈስ በኤልሳዕ ላይ ዐርፎአል አሉ። ሊገናኙትም መጥተው በፊቱ ወደ ምድር ተደፉ።” Biblical accounts like these showcase prostration as an indicattion of reverence towards honored individuals.

Additionally, in 1 Chronicles 21:21 Orna bows before David. “ዳዊትም ወደ ኦርና በመጣ ጊዜ ኦርና ተመልክቶ ዳዊትን አየ፤ ከአውድማውም ወጥቶ ዳዊትን እጅ ሊነሣ በምድር ላይ ተደፋ::” Similarly in Daniel 2:46 King Nebuchadnezzar bowed before Daniel, displaying acts of respect towards influential leaders.“የዚያን ጊዜም ንጉሡ ናቡከደነፆር በግምባሩ ተደፍቶ ለዳንኤል ሰገደለት፥ የእህሉንም ቍርባን ዕጣኑንም ያቀርቡለት ዘንድ አዘዘ።”

Additional narratives further illustrate prostration's significance as a sign of respect and honor. In Genesis 33:1-8, Jacob prostrates himself before Esau during their reconciliation, emphasizing humility and deference. “…እርሱም በፊታቸው አለፈ፤ ወደ ወንድሙም እስኪደርስ ድረስ ወደ ምድር ሰባት ጊዜ ሰገደ:: … ሴቶች ባሪያዎችም ከልጆቻቸው ጋር ቀርበው ሰገዱ፤ … ደግሞም ልያና ልጆችዋ ቀርበው ሰገዱ፤ ከዚያም በኋላ ዮሴፍና ራሔል ቀርበው ሰገዱ።” Likewise, Acts 10:25 portrays Cornelius humbling himself before Peter, showing reverence for Peter. Peter responded to Cornelius by clarifying that this act should not be seen as an act of worship. The Church understood Cornelius prostration as a prostration of respect.“ጴጥሮስም በገባ ጊዜ ቆርኔሌዎስ ተገናኝቶ ከእግሩ በታች ወደቀና ሰገደለት።”

Furthermore, in Revelation 3:9, the symbolic imagery of prostration is utilized to convey acknowledgment and honor, symbolizing respect and love towards John the theologian. “እነሆ፥ አይሁድ ሳይሆኑ፦ አይሁድ ነን ከሚሉ ነገር ግን ከሚዋሹ ከሰይጣን ማኅበር አንዳንዶችን እሰጥሃለሁ እነሆ፥ መጥተው በእግሮችህ ፊት ይሰግዱ ዘንድ እኔም እንደ ወደድሁህ ያውቁ ዘንድ አደርጋቸዋለሁ።”

In conclusion, through the act of prostration of grace (የጸጋ/ የአክብሮት ስግደት), Orthodox Christianity emphasizes the importance of expressing reverence and respect to saints and revered individuals, while always maintaining the practice of reserving ultimate worship solely for God.