www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Liturgical changes in the Paschal season

Christ is risen!

Dear in Christ Chetc:

I don't know. There is no official Johnstown "Pentecostarion." If Metropolitan Nicholas has put out a set of Paschal Directives, I have not seen it.

In Christ,
Prof. J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh

Just to confirm, the above is standard Slavic Orthodox practice. One clarification for #10 - the dismissal order for Bright Week and the subsequent weeks of Pascha are different. The priest does not say, "Glory to Thee, O Christ our God and Our hope..." during bright week, but rather sings the first half of the Paschal tropar, which the people complete. After Bright Week, the Paschal Tropar is sung three times after the priest says, "Glory to Thee, O Christ our God...". Another point that should be made is that the Resurrectional dismissal ("May He who arose from the dead...") is said at all services, including weekdays, after Bright Week and before the leavetaking.

Priest Thomas Soroka
St Nicholas Orthodox Church (OCA)
McKees Rocks, PA

I was once chided by a Greek woman who is married to a Bulgar for saying something was "Slavic Orthodox practice." She corrected me and said, "You mean NORTHERN Slavic Orthodox practice, since Southern Slavs, like Bulgarians and Serbians, may not follow that practice and they ARE Slavs."

Can anyone outline the current Greek practice for "Christ is risen" in the Liturgy?

Dave

Thanks to Professor Thompson for posting the Paschal Directives.

I will admit to being a neophyte. Now that I know what should be done, can someone explain how this differs from what used to be done.

Thanks in advance.

-- Ed

The Ruthenian Recension (shared by Carpatho-Rusins, Ukrainians, Hungarians and some Romanians) actually has its own legitimate liturgical customs. From Pascha through Thomas Sunday, at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy after �Blessed is the kingdom�� the priest would sing the Paschal Troparion three times and then the people would sing it again three times. This then changed after Thomas Sunday, but I don�t remember what the exact format is.

Unfortunately many of our legitimate Ruthenian liturgical customs have been lost and most of our liturgical books have yet to be translated into English, so we wind up following and mandating customs that belong to other liturgical recensions in place of our own. The Ruthenian usage is unique and legitimate and should be restored, not abandoned or revised.

--

Ed,

The tradition I grew up with is:

1) After �Blessed is the kingdom�.�the Paschal Troparion (�Christ is risen�.�) is sung three times (once by the priest and twice by the people) from Pascha Day until the otdanije (the day before the Feast of the Ascension).

2) The First and Second Sunday Antiphons are sung for 40 days (at one point what we know as the �Weekday Antiphons� were sung on Sundays outside of Pascha). The Paschal Third Antiphon and Entrance Hymn are sung from Pascha Day through Thomas Sunday. After that the regular verses from Psalm 94 are used.

3) From Pascha Day through the otdanije �The angel exclaimed� and �Shine brightly� are sung (with an exception for Mid-Pentecost and its otdanije as noted above) instead of �It is truly proper�.

4) The Paschal Troparion replaces �Blessed is He Who comes�.�, �We have seen the True Light�, �Let our lips be filled�, �Blessed is the Name of the Lord�, and the �Glory be� of the dismissal.

5) Royal Doors kept open for either just bright or for all 40 days.

6) The greeting �Christ is Risen!� and the response �Indeed, He is Risen!� was given before the dismissal 3 times, but the cross was held high during the greeting only during Bright Week.

7) After the final singing of the Pascha Troparion (either once or three times) we would sing �and to us He granted life eternal. Let us glorify His (third day) resurrection�. [The pew books did not have �third day� but I know some cantors who sing it in English with these words.

A Carpatho-Russian Orthodox priest friend of mine tells me that this is the way it is still done in the Johnstown Diocese and in both the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches in Europe.

Admin

Thank you, Fr. Joe. But you are beginning to sound like a broken record.

Do ACROD priests still wear Latin vestments as they did years ago? If not, when did they give them up? and why?

Joe

Joe,

ACROD priest never wore Latin vestments that I am aware of. Are you refering to clerical vesture and their use of Roman cassocks instead of Russian ones? If so, a few of the old timers still wear them as do some of ours. The majority now where Russian style, when this happened I don't know. I imagine once Metropolitan Nicholas came in it was strongly encouraged. Why? Because Russain style looks cooler of course.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Hello, Deacon Lance,

I am referring to the mid-20th century where ACROD clergy were still wearing their Latinized vestments. Just love that lace, huh? As you imply, there seems to be a gradual re-education and reform.

Some would like us to believe that "received" traditions are all OK, but anything else is wrong. If that is true, then ACROD priests should go back to wearing their lace.

We, as Byzantines, have done the same thing by no longer wearing Latin surplices and vestments. This reflects the greater reform going on in liturgy, theology, and the like. But, of course, such academics are to be deamonized. Where have we seen this before?

Joe

I think I'm a bit slow, because I don't see the corelation between lace albs and when to sing "Christ is risen" during the 40 days of Pascha. :rolleyes:

Dave

Dave,

It's that rarified air in Stroudsburg; I always feel a bit slow when I'm driving on 33.

Neil

Neil:

:p :p :p :p :p

Dave

Joe Thur,

Thanks for the compliment of thinking that I am both capable of writing with the elegant style of Father Joe and of being worthy enough to be mistaken for a priest! It is really good to know that you think so highly of me. Sadly, however, I am an ordinary layman who has neither the ability nor the education to put forth the well-reasoned study on the Holy Week and Paschal liturgical customs that Fr. Joe has provided us with. I think you might just owe Fr. Joe an apology for associating him with someone as ignorant as myself.

Regarding your question on ACROD priests wearing Latin vestments, I have never heard of such a thing. Even if they did, I�m not sure how such a practice would enter into a discussion of liturgical customs during Pascha. My position is pretty straightforward on liturgical matters. We need to 1) respect the official texts for the Ruthenian Recension researched and published by Rome, 2) rediscover authentic Ruthenian liturgical customs as they were prior to the unions with Rome and 3) work together with all the Churches of the Ruthenian Recension (Catholic and Orthodox) to renew and live our liturgical customs. I respect your disagreement with my position but mine is a legitimate position and is one held by many people in our Church.

Admin

I've always liked Jerome's methods, myself.

"Unfortunately many of our legitimate Ruthenian liturgical customs have been lost and most of our liturgical books have yet to be translated into English, so we wind up following and mandating customs that belong to other liturgical recensions in place of our own. The Ruthenian usage is unique and legitimate and should be restored, not abandoned or revised."

Mr. Administrator,

As much as I think that this may be a pointless discussion, I want to give it a try.

Why is it that you think that the Council of Hierarchs (in this particular situation which we are discussing) did not have Fr. Petras do serious research into this subject before making the recommendation that was adopted by them?

Fr. Petras' research, in fact, turned up that the APOSTOL (Ruthenian Rescension, basis of our liturgical practice--and for the Galicians too, for that matter--) lists the practices EXACTLY AS THE COUNCIL OF HIERARCHS MANDATED THEM. So, in fact, the usages of extending Bright Week practices into the rest of the Paschal season, no matter how wide-spread, are in fact not practices sanctioned by our official Slavonic books.

There are all kinds of Ruthenian legitmate variants in the Byzantine liturgical world-view. They include:

(1) dismissals for certain feasts;
(2) the text at Matins on important feasts called the "Bolharskij Pripiv," whose melody is given in all the chant collections;
(3) different practices with the refrains (pripivi) in the Canons at Matins;
(4) the non-use of "Save your people and bless your inheritance" at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts;
(5) the use of a different Hymn of Thanksgiving at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts;
(6) the use of a different Entrance Prayer by the priest at Vespers.

All (or most) of these differences are things we hold in common with the Old Ritualists, which attests to their ancient and pre-Nikonian nature.

All of these are things that are preserved (or are in the process of being restored) in the liturgical work of the IELC or the IEMC.

There are also Ruthenian usages that have grown up since the time of the Unia. Some of those are positive growth; some of those are things copied from the Latin Rite; some of those are just changes, pure and simple.

Prof. J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA

I find this topic very interesting.

Is there a "cut off" date for accepting such differences in the Ruthenian recension? For a practice that varies from other Byzantine textual traditions to be accepted does it have to predate the Unia of Brest? Unia of Uzhorod? Are there some really old books that are held up as "standards"?

When the Roman editions were being prepared, what was the deciding factor for being an authentic Ruthenian practice in contrast to a modification or deviation? How long does such a difference need to be in use for it to be considered "Ruthenian tradition"?

Dave