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32:
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380:, and indeed the iconographic type of the Orans was itself strongly influenced by classic representations. But the meaning of the orans of Christian art is quite different from that of its prototypes. It is possible that medieval representations of a diminutive body, figure of the soul, issuing from the mouths of the dying were reminiscences of the
371:
cultures: "...it appears that
Sumerian people might have a statue carved to represent themselves and do their worshipping for them—in their place, as a stand in. An inscription on one such statue translates, 'It offers prayers.' Another inscription says, 'Statue, say unto my king (god)..." The custom
786:
Standing facing the East is the most frequent prayer position. The person praying usually holds his or her hands outwards in the 'orans' position, which is a common
Christian position of prayer, frequently portrayed in ancient Christian art, including in Coptic iconography. At other times, hands may
415:
in the lion's den—are pictured asking the Lord to deliver the soul of the person on whose tombs they are depicted as he once delivered the particular personage represented. But besides these
Biblical orans figures there exist in the catacombs many ideal figures (153 in all) in the ancient attitude
471:
The earlier orantes were depicted in the simplest garb, and without any striking individual traits, but in the fourth century the figures become richly adorned, and of marked individuality, an indication of the approach of historic art. One of the most remarkable figures of the orans cycle, dating
661:
figures in the catacombs. The apostle Paul advised the earliest
Christians, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing" (1 Tim 2:8) and early church literature indicates the widespread practice of this prayer position. In the first through third centuries,
20:
269:. By the twelfth century, however, the joining of hands began to replace the orans posture as the preferred position for prayer. The orans posture has continued to be used at certain points in the liturgies of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox and Churches. In the
452:("He saw their souls coming out of their bodies, like virgins from the chamber"), and so also the Acts of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus. Other academic opinions, however, disagree with the metaphorical nature of the above theories; citing the large amount of female
787:
be kept down to the sides or held together as a sign of standing in humility before God. Some people choose to hold a cross in their hands as they stand in the orans position; in this case, the sign of the cross traced over the body ends with kissing the cross.
705:
pictures in the catacombs to modern
Pentecostalism), in penitential or submissive kneeling, in reverential genuflections, in the ascetical practices suggested by the apostle Paul's athletic imagery (1 Cor. 9:24-27; 1 Tim. 6:6-16; 2 Tim.
1058:
Torjesen, K. (2020). The Early
Christian Orans: An Artistic Representation of Women's Liturgical Prayer and Prophecy. In Women Preachers and Prophets through Two Millennia of Christianity (pp. 42-56). Berkeley: University of California
250:; therefore, it was the favorite of early Christians. Some scholars also assert that the deference this pose exhibits—with the outstretched hands showing a sort of submission to a religious power—is intertwined with Roman ideas of
472:
from the early fourth century, is interpreted by
Wilpert as the Blessed Virgin interceding for the friends of the deceased. Directly in front of Mary is a boy, not in the orans attitude and supposed to be the
748:
posture. The posture is explicitly directed by the presently used
Maronite Qorbono. The posture has in its origins an association with prayer. It can be found in the Old Testament. In Psalm 141 we pray:
1109:
731:
265:
at fixed prayer times in the orans position while standing. In
Western Christianity, until at least the ninth century, the posture was used by entire congregations during celebrations of the
460:. While writings focusing female leaders is rare in early Christianity, scholars look to art to provide a more holistic picture; in particular, women appearing to supervise eucharist—in
1104:
757:
We see the posture in the early Church catacomb icons as depicted here. The icon perhaps gives us the best indication of why the posture is presently used in the
Maronite Mass.
101:, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up. The orans posture of prayer has a Scriptural basis in
464:
position—in catacomb iconography leads some to propose the existence of female leadership in the church. This represents a less metaphorical lens than that of the feminine
416:
of prayer, representing the deceased's soul in heaven, praying for their friends on earth. One of the most convincing proofs that the orans was regarded as a symbol of the
662:
Marcus Minucius Felix, Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian either advised Christians to lift up hands in prayer, or at least mentioned the practice.
47:
812:
Byrum, Enoch Edwin (1904). "Ordinances of the Bible: Showing the Ordinances that Have Been Abolished, and Those Still in Vogue". Gospel Trumpet Company. p. 114.
798:
David M. Calabro, "Gestures of Praise: Lifting and Spreading the Hands in Biblical Prayer", in David Rolph Seely, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, and Matthew J. Grey (eds.),
433:
120:, being advised by several early Church Fathers, who saw it as "the outline of the cross". In modern times, the orans position is still preserved in
1003:
909:
561:
773:
301:
and Lord's Prayer. The orans gesture survived the Reformation and was preserved in the liturgy of the Lutheran and Anglican Churches.
297:, the congregation together with the priest lift up their hands in the orans posture during various parts of the liturgy, such as the
384:
as a symbol of the soul. Other theories imply a less metaphorical view, instead arguing that the heavily feminine iconography of
1084:
987:
835:
690:
650:
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504:
109:): "I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument" (NRSV).
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figures and their common characteristics, they argue that the prevalence of non-male figures indicates unacknowledged
1046:
Wilpert "Ein Cyklus christologischer Gemälde aus der Katakombe der Heiligen Petrus und Marcellinus" (Freiburg, 1891);
885:
862:
Christian women in the patristic world: Their influence, authority, and legacy in the second through Fifth Centuries,
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220:
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224:
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204:
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942:. second edition, volume 8. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 646-650. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 February 2012.
408:
230:
The biblical ordinance of lifting hands up in prayer was advised by many early Christian apologists, including
52:
1144:
755:"I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument;"
842:
This Jewish gesture of prayer was apparently adopted by Christians for private as well as communal prayer.
753:
The posture is referred to in the New Testament at 1 Timothy 2:8, in the instructions concerning prayer:
751:"Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice."
732:"Why do we extend our arms when praying the Our Father and at other times during the Maronite anaphora?"
106:
1110:
Why do we extend our arms when praying the Our Father and at other times during the Maronite anaphora?
457:
1129:
360:
31:
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Because early Christians were Jewish, they naturally lifted their hands in prayer, like the veiled
534:
412:
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The piety shows itself in the informal signing of one's body with the sign of the cross, in what
137:
40:
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428:, under torture, while his soul, in the form of a female orans, is just leaving the body. An
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or submission shown towards a deity (or the image of a deity) upon entering a temple.
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The body and society : men, women and sexual renunciation in early christianity
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254:; this encapsulates notions of family values, civic honor and charitable behavior.
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Ascending the Mountain of the Lord Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament
614:
286:
774:"Stand, Bow, Prostrate: The Prayerful Body of Coptic Christianity: Clarion Review"
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Including an orans mural from Lullingstone Roman Villa, now in the British Museum
571:
290:
270:
235:
173:
1026:
421:
324:
192:
94:
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215:). It has been argued that the gesture was adopted by Early Christianity from
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of praying in antiquity with outstretched, raised arms was common to both
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149:
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Vidit egredientes animas eorum de corporibus, quasi virgines de thalamo
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243:
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Cohick, L. H., & Hughes, A. B. "Christian Women in Catacomb Art."
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590:
356:
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157:
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calls "lifting holy hands" in prayer (a gesture stretching from the
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sheds light on the state of female involvement in the early Church.
1077: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
643:
The Mystery of the Cross: Bringing Ancient Christian Images to Life
261:, Coptic Christian believers pray the seven canonical hours of the
247:
141:
129:
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The Columbia documentary history of religion in America since 1945
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at fixed prayer times. The orans also occurs within parts of the
19:
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gesture, usually placed on the half-dome above the altar of
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represents an orans with a petition for her intercession:
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Some orans-type Eastern Orthodox icons of the Virgin Mary
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Numerous Biblical figures, for instance, depicted in the
373:
966:
Who shall lead them?: the future of ministry in America
683:
For Our Salvation: Two Approaches to the Work of Christ
81:) translated as "one who is praying or pleading", also
982:. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. p. 9.
172:, both in the Levant and in Egypt, from at least the
980:
Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities
281:see the celebrating priest prays the orations, the
246:. Christians saw the position as representing the
168:The orans posture is widespread in the art of the
1116:
821:
819:
676:
674:
672:
670:
977:
945:
476:, while to the right and left are monograms of
448:speaks of souls leaving the body like virgins:
323:The orans posture experienced a revival within
51:Christian man praying in the gesture of orant,
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634:
632:
630:
528:Orans (catacombs of Rome), first half of IV c.
816:
667:
1002:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
968:(Oxford University Press, 1 July 2005), 134.
908:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
767:
765:
311:praying in the orans posture at an event in
932:
929:(Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd, 2006), 62.
627:
1082:
1023:
825:
685:. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 76.
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183:The orans position is seen throughout the
828:The Eucharist: Essence, Form, Celebration
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955:(Columbia University Press, 2005), 347.
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219:. References in the New Testament are
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771:
1054:
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874:Lamont., Brown, Peter Robert (1988).
811:
744:This is sometimes referred to as the
711:
458:female leadership in the early church
76:
1093:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
1036:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
1010:
856:
854:
852:
850:
805:
555:Orans in Kyiv Saint Sophia cathedral
338:
160:practices of some religious groups.
39:showing a Christian woman wearing a
734:. Living Maronite. 27 November 2016
13:
1083:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
1049:
772:Dawood, Bishoy (8 December 2013).
645:. InterVarsity Press. p. 85.
335:movement of the mid-20th century.
14:
1156:
1098:
1024:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).
978:Benton, DiYanni, J. R, R (2008).
847:
830:. Liturgical Press. p. 133.
641:Couchman, Judith (5 March 2010).
1072:
826:Emminghaus, Johannes H. (1997).
579:
560:
548:
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521:
420:is an ancient lead medal in the
289:in the gesture of orant; in the
176:. It was in origin a gesture of
43:and praying in the orant posture
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27:praying in the gesture of orant
23:An early Christian painting of
867:
792:
409:Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
248:posture of Christ on the Cross
116:and can frequently be seen in
1:
951:Paul Harvey and Philip Goff,
880:. Columbia University Press.
681:Wainwright, Geoffrey (1997).
620:
864:65-88. Baker Academic. 2017.
7:
598:
10:
1161:
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367:Orans was common in early
331:under the umbrella of the
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940:New Catholic Encyclopedia
927:SCM Studyguide to Liturgy
499:which is standing in the
16:Bodily position of prayer
505:Byzantine-style churches
329:Charismatic Christianity
938:"Liturgical Gestures."
468:representing the soul.
1140:Eastern Orthodox icons
574:. First half of XII c.
507:, and facing down the
364:
320:
279:Latin liturgical rites
191:as well as in certain
59:
53:Catacombs of Domitilla
44:
28:
1135:Christian terminology
1125:Christian iconography
1090:Catholic Encyclopedia
1033:Catholic Encyclopedia
587:Inexhaustible Chalice
363:in the Orans position
346:
307:
240:Clement of Alexandria
232:Marcus Minucius Felix
217:Second Temple Judaism
91:lifting up holy hands
50:
37:Catacomb of Priscilla
34:
22:
568:Our Lady of the Sign
497:Our Lady of the Sign
333:contemporary worship
1145:Gestures of respect
424:showing the martyr
118:early Christian art
78:[ˈoː.raːns]
434:Ostrianum cemetery
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259:Oriental Orthodoxy
122:Oriental Orthodoxy
114:early Christianity
93:, is a posture or
65:, a loanword from
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45:
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989:978-0-536-41910-1
837:978-0-8146-1036-7
692:978-0-8028-0846-2
652:978-0-8308-7917-5
491:depiction on the
393:catacombs of Rome
339:Depictions in art
170:Ancient Near East
156:worship, and the
134:Oriental Orthodox
112:It was common in
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776:. Clarion Review
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207:,
203:,
199:,
140:,
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132:,
55:,
1006:)
992:.
912:)
898:.
395:—
319:.
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