right|thumb|Fresco in the [[Catacomb of Priscilla showing a Christian woman wearing a headcovering and praying in the orant posture]]
thumb|An [[Lutheranism|Evangelical-Lutheran priest of the Church of Sweden praying in the Orans posture during the celebration of Mass on Easter Monday at Kungsholm Church, Stockholm (2026)]]
Orans, a loanword from Medieval Latin () 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 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.
History
thumb|left|An early Christian painting of [[Noah praying in the gesture of orant]]
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 , , , , ). It has been argued that the gesture was adopted by Early Christianity from Second Temple Judaism. References in the New Testament are , and .
In Oriental Orthodoxy, Coptic Christian believers pray the seven canonical hours of the Agpeya at fixed prayer times in the orans position while standing.
thumb|[[Reuben Morgan praying in the orans posture at an event in Zagreb, Croatia]]
The orans posture experienced a revival within Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity under the umbrella of the contemporary worship movement of the mid-20th century.
Depictions in art
thumb|left|Christian man praying in the gesture of orant, [[Catacombs of Rome#Catacombs of Domitilla|Catacombs of Domitilla, Rome]]
right|thumb|18th-century [[Byzantine art|Byzantine-style bronze panagia from Jerusalem, showing the Virgin Mary in the Orans position]]
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. representing the deceased's soul in heaven, praying for their friends on earth. One of the most convincing proofs that the orans was regarded as a symbol of the soul is an ancient lead medal in the Vatican Museum showing the martyr St. Lawrence, under torture, while his soul, in the form of a female orans, is just leaving the body. An arcosolium in the Ostrianum cemetery represents an orans with a petition for her intercession: Victoriæ Virgini … Pete … The Acts of St. Cecilia speaks of souls leaving the body like virgins: Vidit egredientes animas eorum de corporibus, quasi virgines de thalamo ("He saw their souls coming out of their bodies, like virgins from the chamber"), and so also the Acts of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus. While writings focusing female leaders is rare in early Christianity, scholars look to art to provide a more holistic picture; in particular, women appearing to supervise eucharist—in orans position—in catacomb iconography leads some to propose the existence of female leadership in the church.