Is it not an old church pratice during the liturgical recitation of the Our Father? And if so, what is wrong wih bringing it back for the liety?

I have been told that I am wrong for practicing it.

My interest is not charasmatic but tradition. As I have also been told I am doing it from a Charasmatic point too. Not true.

Dear Stivvy,

If you are in a latin mass, you are wrong in assume the oran posture. It is not prescripted in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, because it would not suit ocidental mentality. In other hand, if you are in a Divine Liturgy is perfectly convenient to do it, and indeed doing it opening the arms as largely as possible.

Thank you. I am of the Byzantine Rite. Do you know of any liturature or website explaining it from an Eastern tradition standpoint?

Hi Stivvy, What is Oran posture means?

Dear Stivvy,

Certainly, Eastern Christians can and do hold out their arms, without making an unnecessary show of it, during prayer, especially the Our Father.

Early iconography of Christians at prayer show them holding up their hands and arms in this manner.

St Seraphim of Sarov is often portrayed holding up his arms while kneeling in prayer before his icon of the "Joy of all Joys."

Alex

dear Stivvy:

in the Byzantine Rite, the Orans posture is, as you know, not very common - even the presbyters don't do it very much (e.g. mostly at the last Priestly prayer of Access (No is is worthy) and at the Our Father (and at the Great Doxology too I think). Laity seem to mostly pray with their arms at their sides.

Whereas it seems to be (from what little I know) the normal prayer posture for Latin priests, e.g. they do it during their Anaphora.

What would interest you is that in the Coptic rite, it is the normal prayer posture for the laity. E.g. when laypeople pop in to church for a quick prayer, or when they first come in for a Divine Service, up go the forarms and assuming the Orans posture, they do their prayers!

My guess is that they retained the ancient Jewish mode of prayer (whilst other rites lost it).

Herb

Same question? Getting confused on what this "oran posture" is supposed to be? Some mention "easterners" praying in this manner and I was thinking they meant the posture Muslims and even some Chaldeans, etc. use during worship with forearms extended and the palms held up. Then I see references to the hands extended upward with the palms facing away. Looked up "Oran posture" in Google and other than 2 "blogs" found nothing at all. Did however find out that Oran is a city in Algeria and several towns in the US are named after it.

Orans:

Hey, Stivvy, you had already asked it in the past:

"Oran Posture during Our Father"
http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/71997/page/7/fpart/1

My question this time has to do with the use of it in the early church. I brought it up months ago to get opinions of its use.

Again, I am looking at it from the standpoint of the early church and why it went away and why can't it be brought back. It is very meditative and proper in my opinion.

It was mentioned here that it is the hold out your arms slightly with palms up.

I found it mentioned like this once



Very appropriate for the Our Father.

I am simply looking for historic examples of its use. We see it in much of the icons and symbols of our fore-fathers.