Orans

Orans, a loanword from Medieval Latin orans (Latin: [ˈoː.raːns]) translated as "one who is praying or pleading", also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, 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 1 Timothy 2 (1 Timothy 2:8): "I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument" (NRSV).

It was common in early Christianity and can frequently be seen in early Christian art, 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 Oriental Orthodoxy, as when Coptic Christian believers pray the seven canonical hours of the Agpeya at fixed prayer times. The orans also occurs within parts of the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies, Pentecostal and charismatic worship, and the ascetical practices of some religious groups.

The orans posture is widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East, both in the Levant and in Egypt, from at least the Late Bronze Age. It was in origin a gesture of supplication or submission shown towards a deity (or the image of a deity) upon entering a temple.

The orans position is seen throughout the Old Testament, in Isaiah as well as in certain Psalms (such as Psalm 134:2–3, Psalm 28:2, Psalm 63:4–5, Psalm 141:2, Psalm 143:6). It has been argued that the gesture was adopted by Early Christianity from Second Temple Judaism. References in the New Testament are 1 Timothy 2:8, and Hebrews 12:12–13.

The biblical ordinance of lifting hands up in prayer was advised by many early Christian apologists, including Marcus Minucius Felix, Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian. Christians saw the position as representing the posture of Christ on the Cross; 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 pietas; this encapsulates notions of family values, civic honor and charitable behavior.

In Oriental Orthodoxy, Coptic Christian believers pray the seven canonical hours of the Agpeya 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 Eucharist. 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 Catholic Church, Masses in the Latin liturgical rites see the celebrating priest prays the orations, the Eucharistic Prayer, and the Lord's Prayer in the gesture of orans; in the Maronite Church's Holy Qurbana, the congregation together with the priest lift up their hands in the orans posture during various parts of the liturgy, such as the anaphora and Lord's Prayer. The orans gesture survived the Reformation and was preserved in the liturgy of the Lutheran and Anglican Churches.

The orans posture experienced a revival within Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity under the umbrella of the contemporary worship movement of the mid-20th century.

Orans was common in early Sumerian 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 of praying in antiquity with outstretched, raised arms was common to both Jews and Gentiles, 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 orans as a symbol of the soul. Other theories imply a less metaphorical view, instead arguing that the heavily feminine iconography of orans sheds light on the state of female involvement in the early Church.