My wife is wondering, out of curiousity, not disrespect, why does the Church apply different rules between the east and the west (latin) in regards to whether one stands with a humble bow of the head during Concencration (as in the East) and kneel during Concencration in the west? Anotherwords, if kneels in the west, why can’t he/she kneel in the east?
Again this question is not out of rebellion, just sincere curiousity.
The Melkite Catholic Church is a typical, liturgically Byzantine, church. We usually celebrate the liturgy of John Chrysostom and occasionally the Liturgy of St. Basil. These are distinct liturgical traditions from what ended up becoming normative in the Latin world. So for starters, we are celebrating a different liturgy. We stand because it is the way in which Roman-Byzantines showed respect and honor.
The tradition of kneeling for the consecration and the reception of the Eucharist became the normative practice in the Latin world substantially later, during the Middle Ages (13th c., maybe later), when kneeling was a way of demonstrating one’s fealty and submission. They have never been part of the Byzantine liturgical practice.
We do have occasions in some liturgies during which we, not so much kneel, but prostrate. These various forms of kneeling (any getting down on one’s knees) are directly penitential postures for Byzantines.
salaam.
p.s. when I visit a Latin liturgy, I follow the practices of the congregation in almost all things (though, Byzantines do bring their children forward to receive Eucharist, usually, even when attending a Latin service…this can sometimes lead to awkward moments if you have not warned the priest appropriately in advance, but that is not really relevant to this post). Point being, you follow the practices of the community with which you are celebrating during that liturgy.
p.p.s. you might get more and better feedback in the Eastern Catholic forum.
