Genuflection

Genuflection (or genuflexion), bending at least one knee to the ground, was from early times a gesture of deep respect for a superior. In 328 BC, Alexander the Great introduced into his court-etiquette some form of genuflection already in use in Persia. In the Byzantine Empire even senators were required to genuflect to the emperor. In medieval Europe, one demonstrated respect for a king or noble by going down on one knee, often remaining there until told to rise. It is traditionally often performed in western cultures by a male making a proposal of marriage. Today, the gesture is common in the Christian religious practices of the Anglican Church,Lutheran Church,Roman Catholic Church, and Western Rite Orthodox Church.

The Latin word genuflectio, from which the English word is derived, originally meant kneeling rather than the rapid dropping to one knee and immediately rising that became customary in Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

In Christianity

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. Its role declined somewhat in the late 20th century. Those for whom the gesture is difficult, such as the aged, are not expected to perform it.