to sit in chairs or on benches in the back or along the sides of the church. In the diaspora some churches have pews. While prostrations and kneeling are prescribed during some occasional vespers, matins, or other special services through the church year, these are an expression of penitence and deep compunction and so restricted almost exclusively to Lenten services. For instance, at the Lenten presanctified liturgy during the Lord's Prayer all people, clergy and laity, prostrate or kneel. In contrast, on Sundays and from Pascha to Pentecost, kneeling is prohibited in accordance with the First Council of Nicaea's decree "that prayer be made to God standing". Bowing and prostrating A bow in the Eastern Orthodox Church consists of a person making the sign of the cross and then bowing from the waist and touching the floor with their fingers. This action is done extensively throughout all Orthodox services and is a fundamental way that the Orthodox express their reverence and subservience to God. For instance, at the culminating point of the consecration of the Eucharist all the Orthodox make a bow while saying "Amen". Bows are used more extensively in Lent than at any other time. Three bows are done when entering an Orthodox church and a series of bows are performed when venerating the central icons in the nave. A prostration in the Orthodox tradition is the action in which a person makes the sign of the cross and, going to his knees, touches the floor with his head. Prostrations express to an even greater degree the reverence evinced by a bow and both are used as tools to train the mind in reverence of God through the obeisance of the body. A prostration is always done upon entering the altar (sanctuary) on weekdays. They are used in the most profusion during Lent. Greetings and blessings Even as Orthodox venerate and do reverence to icons and the church building as being physical objects filled with divine grace so too they greet one another. Traditionally this is done whenever or wherever Orthodox meet one another but in common usage the traditional greetings between lay people are usually done in ritual contexts (during services or such activities). Orthodox greetings are, just like the veneration of icons, expressions of love and reverence for the person being greeted. Greetings between lay people of equal rank are done by the parties grasping one