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

So we got this letter from the Eparchy - seems Metropolitan Judson (of blessed memory) wanted to find out what the "original" customs were during the Paschal season, so the theological types dug through the old, old Old Slavonic books, and came up with something. Then God called Met. +Judson to the Home Office.

So it's the Liturgical Commission now.....

Anyway, we were given a chart (and offered the multi-page full document) outlining where and when we were to take "Christ is Risen" and where we should replace it with whatever comes during the non-Paschal part of the year.

Of course, it doesn't match ANY of the liturgical resources the average parish has - we cantors have books festooned with Post-It Notes. Father put the letter from the Eparchy in the bulletin to explain why we were doing it.

We are following the directive (sometimes obedience is a real pain) but there's not anybody I've met who is at all happy about it. It rather feels like joy is being rationed - after Bright Week, the "volume" gets turned down significantly.

I remember reading something a few years ago that spoke against "creeping Paschalism."

I am trying to understand why this change was necessary, and how it is at all "pastoral."

Anybody else out there?


Sharon

Dear Sharon,

If we are to be consistant, we should then keep the Holy Doors open until the Ascension. But we don't. Bright Week is a special time unto itself. I take it that "creeping Paschalism" was/is the drawing out of the Bright Week traditions throughtou the rest of the season. If you study the post-festive seasons of other major feastdays (other than the Feast of Feasts), you will see that the season gradually diminishes. "Creeping Paschalism" has somewhat made the post-festive season of Pascha go out with a bang. Everything one day "Christ is Risen!"; the next day ... nothing.

Regarding obedience: First, many or most cantors are not ordained. We are simply volunteers. There is no reciprocal relationship between volunteer cantors and their bishops who will not officially recognize their ministry. I am unaware of any recent cantor receiving directives from his bishop to serve at a parish. I am also unaware of any cantor, male or female, signing a promise of obedience.

Cantor Joe Thur

Joe,

We serve out of love, not because of a signed contract. However, our pastors are in a relationship of obedience (hopefully out of love) to our bishops, and they are also in charge of the parish and the liturgy. Hopefully we follow the priest's lead in singing the Liturgy.

Formally or informally, volunteer or pro, with or without vows or contracts, there is obedience involved. Of course in America "obedience" is a dirty word, so let's call it "cooperation" shall we?

(And Pascha is the biggest feast of all.....)

Mebbe what bugs me the most is that it just sort of dropped out of the sky one day, with no warning, and no accompanying resources.

Dunno.

Ruminating.

Sharon

Dear Sharon and Joseph,

I think this is a very important issue and would love it if you could fill in my ignorance here!

What ARE the rules that have been given by the bishops - and what SHOULD they be?

I do the office daily now and wouldn't want to be making any more unnecessary mistakes than I already do.

Not that anyone in my home church would really notice . . .

Alex

Cantor J. Thur wrote:

"Dear Sharon,

If we are to be consistant, we should then keep the Holy Doors open until the Ascension. But we don't. Bright Week is a special time unto itself. I take it that "creeping Paschalism" was/is the drawing out of the Bright Week traditions throughtou the rest of the season. If you study the post-festive seasons of other major feastdays (other than the Feast of Feasts), you will see that the season gradually diminishes. "Creeping Paschalism" has somewhat made the post-festive season of Pascha go out with a bang. Everything one day "Christ is Risen!"; the next day ... nothing."

I'm wondering if this is all part of the "New Liturgy" that we've been hearing so much about and waiting for Rome to approve, so that the bishops can promulgate it?

What about fasting? We go back to fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays after Bright Week. In the "Old Way" shouldn't we have not fasted at all until Ascension? Do the new instructions state that we go back to kneeling after Bright Week instead of at Pentecost? Or maybe standing, to sitting and then kneeling? Gradually diminishing right? ;-) But then again, Pascha, I mean Easter, is NOT any other feast. It is the Feast of feasts. By It's nature It breaks all the rules, no?

These changes haven't hit Passaic yet. Wonder what we're waiting for?

Christos Voskrese! errr, ahhh, maybe not. (Do I go back to "Slava..." now?)

John,

No, this isn't the revised Liturgy, which, incidentally Rome HAS sent back, and it's been waiting on the Bishops since.

Sharon

Dear John,

You make excellent points!

The Oriental Churches do NOT fast at all during the fifty-day period until Pentecost and then during Pentecost week.

I've always thought fasting during this period is "liturgical nonsense" since we are still singing "Christ is Risen" in Church.

Alex

Let me echo Alex's question. What exactly are the changes? When should (and shouldn't) "Christ is risen!" be proclaimed?

-- Ed

I hope we all serve out of love. I was only throwing in a little factoid many tend to ignore. The Eparchy of Parma stipulates that a widowed deacon can remarry. Though this can be disputed, I wonder if such a formal statement will be challenged when a widowed deacon contemplates marriage again AFTER ordination? I certainly hope not to reduce ministry down to a 'signed contract,' but having the eparchy put in writing what it claims to offer is a good thing. Some expectations tend to change at whim. An oral agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on.

Then what exactly was the question? If you don't have a problem with obedience, even out of love, then just do it. As for our priests having a relationship of obedience, one should also have in mind their signatures promising not to get married. How many clerics would keep celibacy for the love of their bishops? If our bishops would only accept their clerics oral promise of loving obedience, then there would be no need for a signed promise of celibacy to uphold a foreign practice, would there?

I apologize if I am making a mountain out of a molehill. But reality is reality. Bishops DO send directives to their clergy, both major and minor orders. I brought up the issue of obedience because the existing relationship between volunteer cantor and bishop is radically different from the relationship between ordained cantor and bishop. In most case, 99.44% of the time, their exists absolutely NO relationship between volunteer cantor and bishop. The relationship between an ordained cantor and his bishoop expects bishops to educate, commission, and salary its cantors. But if bishops aren't willing to do this anymore, than how loving are they towards an often neglected ministry? The dismal state of the cantorship today is a reflection of a church leadership that basically GAVE UP on one aspect of our church traditions and ministries.

Now, we are trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again ...

Should obedience be filled with so much pain and unhappiness? Your post sounds like it was written in despair; hence my reply. I was confused.

Synergy (or Cooperation) is a good word. It is an aspect of Theosis, something we should all be striving for. But what stipulates one aspect of the reciprocal relationship between bishop and cleric is a promise of obedience, not a promise of cooperation. Monks make vows of obedience to their superiors, not vows of cooperation. Volunteers make neither a promise nor a vow of obedience.

I understand how serving out of love is a noble thing. It is the goal of all ministry. Unfortunately, we all hear of stories whereby noble clerics got screwed by their superiors. Church officials can play games too. This is quite unfortunate.

But interesting things can and do happen when pastors are allowed to make up their own tests and grade their own papers. An ordained cantor owes his obedience to his bishop just as a priest. But what if the pastor decides to rid of our traditions and introduce foreign traditions? An ordained cantor, who sees the church services take on inorganic growths before his very eyes, can bloody scream to the bishop to bring the pastor of the assigned parish to task.

With volunteer cantors, your word doesn't mean squat. Period.

Obedience out of love becomes blind obedience for fear of being booted from the cantor stand without recourse. I've seen it happen a number of times. Good cantors replaced by their pastors not because of a lack of ability or skill, but because a more compliant cantor was found. Without good order from above, chaos can reign even between vying cantors.

The letter was written and sent by our bishop's syncellus of the liturgy like other letters sent in a timely fashion (i.e., instructions on the Feast of the Annunciation). This time around, it was sent properly instead of being dished out on Lazarus Saturday with no accompanying letter, date stamp, ...

Joe

Joe,

Definitely no despair. Just trying to get my head around it.

Love is an act of will. Obedience is an act of will. Liking something or not liking something don't necessarily enter into the equation, but it's part of the inconvenient messiness of being human.

toddling off to try & deal with that humanity...

Sharon

Oops - sorry, one more thing.

Admin, I don't have a copy of the "changes" (I gave mine to Father, who probably got bitten by the Change of Address bug in one form or another) but I'll try to find one & plug the data in here soon.

Sharon

Sharon,

Like the ol' saying out here in the Midwest, "Its not the humidity that bothers me, but the humanity." Keep your chin up. Its something I have to work on too.

I often wonder how Ezra did it.

God bless,
Joe Thur

The Paschal Directives state the following:

(1) After the Invocation at the beginning of the service (whatever service), "Christ is risen" is sung three times. This is done until the leave-taking of Pascha, inclusive.

(2) The First and Second Sunday antiphons are taken every day of Pascha till the leavetaking, inclusive.

(3) The Paschal Third Antiphon is sung on Pascha and every day of Bright week, along with the Paschal "entrance hymn"

(4) From Thomas Sunday till the leavetaking of Pascha, the Sunday Third Antiphon is sung.

(5) From Pascha through the leave-taking of Pascha (with the exceptions of Mid-Pentecost and the leave-taking of Mid-Pentecost), the verse "The angel exclaimed..." and the Irmos "Shine in splendor..." replace "It is truly proper..."

(6) On Pascha and during Bright Week, "Christ is risen" replaces "Blessed is He who comes..." at the Invitation to Communion.

(7) From Paschal through the leave-taking of Pascha, "Christ is risen" replaces "We Have Seen the True Light."

(8) On Pascha and during Bright Week, "Christ is risen" replaces "Let Our Lips Be Filled."

(9) On Pascha and during Bright Week, "Christ is risen," sung 3 times, replaces "Blessed Be the Name..."

(10) From Pascha through the leavetaking of Pascha, "Christ is risen from the dead..." replaces "Glory to the Father..." in the dismissal.

(11) On all Saturday evenings and Sundays from Pascha through the leave-taking of Pascha, on all the days of Bright Week, and on Mid-Pentecost and the leave-taking of Mid-Petecost, the priest exchanges the Paschal Greeting 3 times with the faithful. After that, the troparion "Christ is risen from the dead" is sung 3 times, and concluded with the phrase "and to us he granted life eternal. Let us bow before his resurrection on the third day!"

It should be noticed that, by doing things this way, it lines up the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia with standard Slavic Orthodox practice.
To discern this, please investigate OCA or ROCOR publications of the Divine Liturgy which all use these rubrics.

Not agreeing or disagreeing with the changes, but living with them because the Council of Hierarchs signed off on them, and they have never been repealed (and, in fact, are included in the new Liturgikon).

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

Professor and all,

XB!

Is this the practice in the ACROD as well?

Dave

Thank you for posting them - my pastor is out of town & it would have been at least 'til next week 'til I could 'a done it.

Sharon