In such churches, those who wish to receive communion will come forward and kneel at the altar rail, sometimes making the sign of the cross and cupping their hands (right over left) to receive the bread, then crossing themselves again to receive the chalice.
Anglicans believe that Christ is present in both the bread and wine. Once you have communed return to your seat. You are invited to kneel and pray, listen to the music, or sit silently.
Bread and wine are brought to the holy table (also called 'the altar'), the priest prays the Eucharistic Prayer, and everyone says the Lord's Prayer together. The community then receives the consecrated bread and wine.
Kneeling is well-established as an important expression of adoration of the Eucharist—and so the Church requires us to kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer and for the “Behold the Lamb of God...” As St. Augustine, taught: “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it.”
It reminds the priest that they, like Christ, are called to be a humble servant of all. We tend to kneel during the Confession and Absolution, the Eucharistic prayer (after the Sanctus), and for the post-Communion prayer. Many people also kneel when they return to their pew after reception of the sacrament.
There was a trend in the 1960's-1990's for Catholics to stop kneeling at Mass. Most churches removed the communion rail, and some even removed the kneelers in the pews. This trend came from a mistaken theology that lost the sense of Christ's real presence in the Holy Eucharist.
Catholic services do often require congregants to move from sitting to standing to kneeling and back; while as a visitor there's no need to kneel, it is considered polite to stand when others are unless not physically capable.
Kneeling indicates and promotes the adoration necessary before receiving the Eucharistic Christ. From this perspective, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger assured that: "Communion only reaches its true depth when it is supported and surrounded by adoration" [The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), p. 90].
The Vatican is saying that, while uniformity of posture is a good thing, individuals are still free to sit or kneel after Communion depending upon their personal preference. You are free to sit or kneel the moment you return to your pew or at any time until the congregation stands for the prayer after Communion.
When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant.
Anglicans are part of a “communion” of churches and don't have a central authority. Generally speaking, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered the “first among equals” and the English monarch still retains a symbolic role. Catholics firmly hold-up the authority of the pope, who is the successor of St. Peter.
It has been said that the Anglican Communion rests on the three pillars of Faith, Reason and Tradition. The unique strength of Anglicanism lies in our attempts to hold in balance these three aspects of our belief.
While the Anglican and Catholic churches are more similar, they differ in various ways. For instance, the Catholic church embraces hierarchy in the church while the Anglican church does not. Also, Catholic priests do not marry while Anglicans do.
This practice is an outward sign of reverence, honor, and for God alone, worship. There are no rules regulating this gesture and most of us do what we learned to do in the parish where we grew up. Some people bow at the processional cross, some bow at the altar.
Monastic life contributed to the encroachment of the pews since monks and some other clerics sat in “choir,” – a choir pew area between the people in the assembly and the altar. They would against opposite walls, facing each other, a style still seen in monastic settings.
The Bible speaks of bowing in prayer, kneeling on one's face before God, standing, sitting and walking. The most important thing isn't the position of the body but the condition of the soul. If the heart is attuned to God, one can pray in any posture imaginable.
A: Right is right. 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” (No. 274).
Kneeling is the ultimate posture of submission and surrender. In the Catholic Church we genuflect and kneel to indicate, by bodily attitude, a total submission of our minds and hearts to the true Presence of Christ. It is an exterior manifestation of the reverence inspired by His Presence.
If the Blessed Sacrament is present, and if you are just going to walk around the church but not sit down (i.e.: you are there to do the stations of the cross), you should genuflect on one knee when passing directly in front of the altar.
It's a sign of respect, and can also be a wordless symbol for the Resurrection. Catholics may sit while the two readings from the Old Testament and from the New Testament Epistles are read; but we always stand for a reading of the Gospel, in which are found the words of Christ himself. Kneeling is a sign of humility.
In some Orthodox cultures, crossing one's legs is taboo and considered to be very disrespectful.
Both men and women need to cover their knees and upper arms. Visitors are prohibited from wearing sleeveless tops, and low-cut shirts. Shorts or bottoms that end above the knee: Women, If you are wearing a skirt, dress, or pair of shorts then make sure they end below the knee at least.
Genuflection, typically on one knee, still plays a part in the Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Western Rite Orthodox traditions, among other churches; it is different from kneeling in prayer, which is more widespread.
Non-Catholics and those of us “raised” Catholic should abstain from taking Communion as a sign of respect. You can remain seated as others leave their pews and line up, or, if you accidentally find yourself following the herd to the altar, simply cross your hands over your heart.