Byzantine Spirituality

[Thom18]

I wanted to start a separate thread from the one I made concerning the Liturgy to ask some questions regarding Byzantine spirituality. I have some books I ordered, and just finished the first part of the Light for Life series (which seemed mostly a general overview- though perhaps the best I’ve read- of the Catholic faith in general), but before I can finish the others, I have some questions.

1. The rosary is the most important private devotion I have, but doesn’t have a major presence in the Easter church, from what I can tell. Would you consider the rosary to complement Byzantine spirituality in any way, or is it a good prayer, but one which would be “alongside” the Byzantine tradition rather than “within”?
2. After visiting a Byzantine parish for a second time, and having someone speak to me about iconography, I’m genuinely fascinated in them. How do you meditate with them?

Also, if I were to choose one to bring back to school with me, is there anything that might help me decide which to get?

1. How might I begin to “live” as a Byzantine if I wanted to explore the possibility of changing my sui iuris church? At the same time, I don’t want to ignore any responsibilities to the Latin rite.

Also, how would this affect my discernment?

1. Freebie. Anything you think would be useful for me to know.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Would you consider the rosary to compliment Byzantine spirituality in any way

“Compliment” is praise given to a person. Example: You compliment me on my hat.

“Complement” is different (see: Complement | Definition of Complement by Merriam-Webster)

 

[Thom18]

That’s what I get for typing it out on my phone.

 

[Justin_Mary]

Freebie. Anything you think would be useful for me to know.

I think it’s important (for any spirituality) to live in rhythm of the Church. Follow the seasons of the liturgy for starters, then follow along with the feasts, memorials, & solemnities. Get to know the Saints.

Live the liturgy

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The rosary is the most important private devotion I have, but doesn’t have a major presence in the Easter church, from what I can tell. Would you consider the rosary to complement Byzantine spirituality in any way, or is it a good prayer, but one which would be “alongside” the Byzantine tradition rather than “within”?

I’m not EC, but I can tell you that the Manual of Indulgences offers the same plenary indulgence for reciting the Eastern prayers to the Blessed Mother “Akathistos” or “Office of the Paraclesis” that it does for reciting the Marian rosary. The requirements are the same for both types of prayers, in that you must say either the Rosary or the Eastern prayer out loud in a church or oratory, or out loud in a family group or other group of the faithful. So it seems that the Church regards these Eastern prayers the same way as it regards the Western Marian rosary.

The Manual goes on to say that in Eastern churches that do not pray the Akathistos or Office of the Paraclesis, you can get the same plenary indulgence for “other similar exercises in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as established by the patriarchs.”

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Personally, I don’t see a problem with the Rosary because Our Lady asked everyone to pray the Rosary in Her apparitions at Fatima.

The Byzantine equivalent would be a chotki (prayer rope) which is used when praying the Jesus Prayer. I like the simple version:

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

There’s different versions of it (just the Holy Name: “Jesus”, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” etc.)

Re iconography: One of my RO cousins is an iconographer. She must fast & pray for 40 days before she can even start an icon. Her pastor must bless her and all her materials (paint, wood, gold leaf etc) and then she can start an icon.

Every iconographer MUST follow the rules of iconography. An iconographer can’t do whatever they feel like doing. Every color has meaning too:

Red - Martyrdom, the Holy Cross, human nature
Gold - Glory of Heaven
Green - Life
Blue - Divinity
Purple - Kingship of Christ; Queenship of Mary
Black - Sin, death, the evil one

That’s just a sampling.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Thank you, TB!

 

[Thom18]

Thom18:

Freebie. Anything you think would be useful for me to know.

I think it’s important (for any spirituality) to live in rhythm of the Church. Follow the seasons of the liturgy for starters, then follow along with the feasts, memorials, & solemnities. Get to know the Saints.

Live the liturgy

Are you aware of a resource for following along?

 

[dvdjs]

How might I begin to “live” as a Byzantine if I wanted to explore the possibility of changing my sui iuris church? At the same time, I don’t want to ignore any responsibilities to the Latin rite.

Particpate in the services. Pray the prayers.

The rosary is the most important private devotion I have, but doesn’t have a major presence in the Easter church, from what I can tell. Would you consider the rosary to complement Byzantine spirituality in any way, or is it a good prayer, but one which would be “alongside” the Byzantine tradition rather than “within”?

There are some who think that any sharing across traditions is bad, even though the barrier to sharing is arguably an artifact of schism and not natural to the Church. From my perspective, knowing that the rosary was prayed by the heroes and martyrs of the Greek Catholic Church during its violent suppression in Eastern Europe, removes all doubt about the is use in the East.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

In terms of the chotki/prayer rope being the Eastern equivalent of the rosary: Yes and no. It’s the equivalent in the sense it originally developed to replace participation in the Hours for those who either were unable to attend, or who couldn’t read.

In terms of content and emphasis, however, the chotki and the rosary are very different (apart from the fact that the Holy Name is a central feature of both). The recitation of the Jesus Prayer (or other short formula) done on the chotki is not meant to be an exercise in discursive meditation on some aspect of the Lord’s life. Rather, it’s primary purpose is to gather our scattered “thoughts” (logismoi) and focus them on the presence of our Lord within us.

The rosary, on the other hand, is meant primarily as an aid to discursive meditation on the life of our Lord and His Mother. This, of course, may lead to the gathering of our scattered thoughts and focusing them on the presence of our Lord, but that’s not its primary end.

The one does not necessarily exclude the other, and both are good. However, the Eastern/Byzantine equivalent to the rosary in its primary sense is the Akathist and Paraclesis.

The visions of Our Lady of Fatima ought to be taken within their context. First of all, they’re private revelation, and no Catholic is bound by them. Secondly, I can’t help but think that, had our Lady appeared to a few shepherd children in Ukraine or in the Trans-Carpathian mountains, perhaps she would’ve told them to pray Paraclesis or the Akathist daily since that would’ve been in keeping with their tradition… just something worth pondering.

 

[Justin_Mary]

Are you aware of a resource for following along?

For the Roman rite there is the Missal, the Magnificat, & the Liturgy of the Hours apps like iBreviary, Universalis, & Laudett bring all of them to your phone.

I don’t know of any but I imagine there are similar resources for the Byzantine rite.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

@Thom18 I forgot to mention in my previous post: If you’d like what amounts to a Byzantine equivalent to the rosary, try looking into the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos. It supposedly predates the rosary, and some speculate that the rosary had its origins in this prayer rule. In recent history it was popularized in Russia by St. Seraphim of Sarov.

 

[DeniseNY]

The Eparchy of Parma has an app you can download, and it includes Eastern Reflections

Byzcath.org is also great. For example:

http://www.byzcath.org/

 

[dvdjs]

let me give you an example that I think might help you to get my point.

This example is interesting.

It presupposes that the rosary is a replacement for something else, rather than being added.
I think that, in practice, that may not be the case. One beautiful feature of the rosary is that it can be done without ceasing. One does not have to have memorized long materials, to have printed materials, to have trained cantors etc. People can just do it, individually, or in full participation in a group. The only replacement I have seen is the rosary in some places as been chanted in place of the third hour before liturgy. I have also heard molebens employed in the same ways. And probably for the same reason - they are more conducive to participation - ie they are more the work of the people.

BTW, in America we have a tradition of individualism. Thus, for people who don’t find that is what they want at Thanksgiving - that includes me - there is nothing the least bit wrong with having something that works better.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Also check out God With Us Online:

Homepage - God With Us

There’s a 3-webinar series coming up this Wednesday and the next 2 Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. EST if you have questions).

You have to pre-register for the webinars. Hopefully you can look at past webinars (the first one was on Byzantine spirituality, btw ).

I have to get ready for Liturgy (today is Theophany!), so I’ve got to go. Back later.

 

[ziapueblo]

Are you aware of a resource for following along?

Check out the weekly Byzantine lectionary Sunday Gospel Reflections here:

ZP

 

[Thom18]

Also check out God With Us Online:

https://godwithusonline.org/

There’s a 3-webinar series coming up this Wednesday and the next 2 Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. EST if you have questions).

You have to pre-register for the webinars. Hopefully you can look at past webinars (the first one was on Byzantine spirituality, btw ).

I have to get ready for Liturgy (today is Theophany!), so I’ve got to go. Back later.

Thanks- I’ll definitely register.

I just returned from Liturgy myself. Slightly more confusing than last time, but beautiful nonetheless.

 

[George720]

In terms of content and emphasis, however, the chotki and the rosary are very different (apart from the fact that the Holy Name is a central feature of both). The recitation of the Jesus Prayer (or other short formula) done on the chotki is not meant to be an exercise in discursive meditation on some aspect of the Lord’s life. Rather, it’s primary purpose is to gather our scattered “thoughts” ( logismoi ) and focus them on the presence of our Lord within us.

Good post (#9) - Nice to see someone who gets the difference between ‘discursive’ meditation - eg the use of the imagination to re-create in oneself the holy lives of the faith - and that of hesychastic prayer - eg prayer which concentrates the nous from all thoughts and images and turns it toward God…

This is one of the defining differences in the discipling of the inner lives of the Eastern vs the Western praxes of the Faith… I remember reading on CAF many years ago the instructions for praying the Stations of the Cross, which begins: “IMAGINE YOURSELF at each of the Stations, FEELING what Jesus felt, EXPERIENCING what these moments must have been for Him…” etc etc…

Such an exercise in ‘meditation’ in the EOC would be caught early by one’s Spiritual Father, if the person had one and he knew about it, and be redirected… Imaginative prayer for us is to be avoided… I am personally persuaded that this is the reason that Paramahansa Yogananda did not try to instruct monks in the EOC, and had nothing good to say about them, but praised highly the Stigma Saints of Europe and called them holy…

After visiting a Byzantine parish for a second time, and having someone speak to me about iconography, I’m genuinely fascinated in them. How do you meditate with them?

The people depicted are friends who care about you and hear your prayers and requests to them… You can silently have a conversation with them… You will find their answers to you in events that unfold after such conversations, sometime across years… But greeting these holy folks as you enter into places of worship, or wherever you see one, is just a good thing to always do…

Epiphany Services call…!!

geo

 

[Vico]

… just finished the first part of the Light for Life series (which seemed mostly a general overview- though perhaps the best I’ve read- of the Catholic faith in general), but before I can finish the others, I have some questions. …

Note that in Light for Life: Part Two - The Mystery Celebrated, that the table on page 42 with the Twelve Great Feasts of the Year is missing Pentecost. The full list is shown below.

1 September 8, Nativity of the Theotokos
2 September 14, Exaltation of the Cross
3 November 21, Presentation of the Theotokos
4 December 25, Nativity of Christ
5 January 6, Theophany
6 February 2, Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
7 March 25, Annunciation
8 Sunday before Pascha, Entry into Jerusalem or Flowery/Palm Sunday
9 Forty Days after Pascha, Ascension of Christ
10 Fifty Days after Pascha, Pentecost
11 August 6, Transfiguration
12 August 15, Dormition of the Theotokos

The Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29th is not included, but is important and is preceded with a penitential period beginning eight weeks after Pascha.

 

[dvdjs]

Another point you mentioned is that people should participate. Yes, indeed, especially in an individualistic context. From my experience, you can - and maybe should - teach people to sing the hours, etc. E.g. in the Transcarpthian region (Uzhgorod Greek Catholic Church sui iuris), it’s a common practice for lay people to sing the whole (or almost the whole) vespers and matins.

I am not sure what you mean by “almost the whole”. But the participation that you describe for vespers and matins - and for the hours - requires extensive memorization, access to prospers, and leaders practices in chanting them. That is increasingly possible with internet resources - yet chanting of the hours in EO churches - even the opening trisagion prayers - is normally done by a reader only.

On the other hand, anyone, or any group can, on the spot, chant the rosary. That, I think, is why it is popular.