www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology New Melkite Translation on line

http://www.melkite.org/PDF/LITURGY2009.pdf Nicely done.

I think the commission did an excellent job. It is interesting to note when the Royal Doors are opened, prior to the vesting, where in the Ruthenian Church the Royal Doors are opened at the end of the Prothesis.

I am very pleased the option to take the fuller usage of all three antiphons with the litanies was retained, and that the Creed and dismissals were not retranslated.

Could someone summarize any major differences between the old and new translations?

I see the "now and forever and ever" vs. "unto ages of ages" difference. It is interesting that this same phrase, in the Roman Rite is translated as "world without end." I don't really know what "world without end" means. That whole phrase is somewhat confusing to me.

Wikipedia says: [quote]"Saecula saeculorum", here rendered "ages of ages", is the translation of what was probably a Semitic idiom, via Koine Greek, meaning "forever." It is also rendered "world without end" in English, which has the same meaning./quote] From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxology

To me, "world without end" doesn't have a clear meaning of "forever," which "ages of ages" does. But whatever.

We use the "world without end" ending in my former Methodist church, too.

Alexis

I seriously doubt, whatever the intentions of the Eparchy of Newton, that this will have much effect in many parishes, certainly not in Holy Transfiguration. Since everybody sings from memory a very complete service done the way it has always been done, even rather minor changes will disrupt the flow of worship, and since nothing I have seen transcends changes of the "happy to glad" variety, I suspect people will just do what they have always done.

On a secondary note, relying on the NAB for anything is not a very good idea at any time. It is a truly pernicious translation that serious biblical scholars avoid like the plague--even Catholic ones. Ages of ages is a much better translation, unless you just want to stick with "Aeon of Aeons" (something better left untranslated). In any case, it really doesn't mean "forever", it implies something in the divine kairos, which is outside of time, as well as the cosmological concept of "ages". It's a Greek rendering of a semitism, and a cardinal rule of translation is to maintain both structure and idioms intact, unless they are totally obscure. This one isn't.

Unlike certain translators who will remain nameless, the Melkites seem to understand the use and significance of the vocative. Well done, there.

Alexis,
the main differences are summarised by Sayidna Cyrille in the forward.

The main effort was to ensure that everything, including the rubrics, followed the official Greek & Arabic texts completely.

The book is better organized for parish use than the Teal Terror. If you need ribbons to keep track of stuff, it's too complicated.

PDF copy of the Liturgy:

http://www.melkite.org/PDF/LITURGY2009.pdf

I note some points of agreement with the Ruthenian RDL:

1. Use of Theotokos rather than Mother of God.
2. Use of brothers and sisters in Christ in the petition in the Ektene.
3. Suppression of the Litany and Prayer of Catechumens if there are none present.
4. Suppression of the first Aitesis.
5. The Anaphora is mandated to be taken aloud.
6. The name of Christ is used again at the end of the dismissal.

Teal Terror... I like that. I think I'm going to start referring to it by that name.

Christ is risen!

Does anyone have idea why the following changes were made/whether or not these practices are already common among Melkites:

(1) The alternate prayer of the Little Entrance (page 45 of the PDF)?

(2) The prayer of the Thrice-Holy hymn for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom being different from that of prayer for St. Basil's liturgy (page 52 of the PDF)?

(3) The alternate response in the anaphora, instead of “Remember all men and women” (page 78 of the PDF)?

(4) The optional praying of the Prayer after communion by the people with the priest (page 92 of the PDF)?

(5) The optional use of alternative antiphon prayers on weekdays (pages 113-115 of the PDF)?

(6) The alternate prayers of the faithful (pages 155-157 of the PDF)?

(7)The alternate prayers after communion (pages 158-160 of the PDF)?

Can one of our experts please comment?

To me it seems light years ahead of the RDL.

"Who for us men and our salvation" is correct in the Creed. That alone says a lot!

In a search I found "Brethren" in 5 places, "brothers" (alone) in 4 places and "brothers and sisters" only once.

"Man" and "mankind" have been kept.

It is probably not perfect but right away anyone can see it is better then the Ruthenian bishops' Reformation.

Noted this difference- Kiss of Peace is restored among the faithful.

It is indeed considerably more literate than the RDL and consistent in its translation principles, though some of the specific choices were less than optimal. However, I suspect that in this instance, feedback will be actively solicited from both the clergy and the faithful, and will be heeded. This process seems far more transparent than some others, not to mention less coercive and authoritarian. Melkites tend to be a lot less authoritarian in any case, and I suspect that significant local variations will remain across parishes even if some iteration of this draft is adopted as the "official" version. For one thing, I am sure that they will not alter familiar versions of various hymns and chants, but will leave them in place as is, even when the words vary from the official text. Indeed, they don't seem to have any problem with varying the words from one tone to the next if it makes them fit the music better. I suspect that is why alternate versions of the troparia and kontakia have been provided--each works better with a different group of tones.