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How many out there enjoy the experience of at least parts of the liturgy in Old Slavonic? Growing up i remember the deep spiritualityof the hymmns and was sad when I realized how many of them I had forgotten. I went to Mass last week in Ftmyers Florida and they sang one song in Slovak....how beautiful!!!!!

Welcome to Byzcath, ProudByz!

A while ago we had a poll about how many parishes use Old Slavonic. Sadly the numbers appear to be rather low.
To see a thread on the subject of Slavonic usage:
https://www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001786#000001

I wish there was at least permission to use Slavonic more often in the liturgy. I know the push for vernacular started some 50 years ago, followed by the approved 1965 translation and music followed now 40 years later with new revisions to the translation, resetting the new translation to the original music rather than simplifying it. With all that, one might hope that the Slavonic would have survived at least partly used, but alas, no, it was pushed out of the way as too 'old world'.
I feel that there is still a place for Slavonic in Liturgical use; while the vernacular should be emphasised, the Slavonic shouldn't be put to pasture. <sigh>

Steve

Steve I totally agree with you. I'm just waiting for someone to come along now and bash old Slovanic. Maybe i should time this.

-Katie g

Permission from who? The parish council, the bishop or God? why does permission have to obtained from anyone to serve in any language?

We still use it. Not the whole Liturgy, but parts of it, hymns being sung in Slavonic as well. But I don't go to the Ruthenian Church, I go to the Ukrainian. We have many parishes that have Ukrainian Liturgies, but we don't use Ukrainian, just Slavonic in my parish. If it is a recited Liturgy, we don't use Slavonic at all.
The thing that gets me is the Ruthenian parishes I attend from time to time don't even sing Mnohaya Lita in Slavonic, which is probably one of the easier Slavonic hymns to remember. No worries though...
Even though they sing in English, the level of singing by the congregation is AWESOME.

Since I can think of no earthly reason to bash Church-Slavonic, I must beg to be excused from that particular exercise.

But if it's any consolation, I would like to insist that by far the best way to support Church-Slavonic (or any other language one wishes to support) is to use that language and learn that language. One starts by using what little one knows, and simultaneously strives to increase one's knowledge.

Invest a few dollars in the excellent English-language grammar of Church-Slavonic available from Jordanville. LEARN THE ALPHABET. The alphabet isn't that much of a challenge and until one has learned the alphabet, it is difficult to expect to be taken seriously. Get some good CDs of various services, then get a book and follow the services on CD. It can be done.

By the way, Slovak and Church-Slavonic are two quite different languages (somewhere on the forum there is a link which enables one to down-load the Divine Liturgy in Slovak, should one wish to see the difference).

Church-Slavonic is a beautiful and enjoyable language. I wish you every success with it.

Incognitus