Happy New Year!

[bpbasilphx]

On the Byzantine Calendar 1 September starts the Ecclesiastical New Year, at least for the Menaion cycle of Saints.

But after Matins today, I finished with the strongest feeling that this Office needs a thorough revision. “Hip, hip, hooray for the all-American red-blooded Byzantine Emporer and squash all those Persians” is the gist of a lot of it.

What do you think?

 

[5Loaves]

On the Byzantine Calendar 1 September starts the Ecclesiastical New Year, at least for the Menaion cycle of Saints.

But after Matins today, I finished with the strongest feeling that this Office needs a thorough revision. “Hip, hip, hooray for the all-American red-blooded Byzantine Emporer and squash all those Persians” is the gist of a lot of it.

What do you think?

Well, I can’t speak to that suggestion , but Happy New Year back at you! I wasn’t able to go to an Eastern liturgy today, but participated in New Year’s Vespers last night which brought me to tears, of joy, several times.

 

[roselily]

On the Byzantine Calendar 1 September starts the Ecclesiastical New Year, at least for the Menaion cycle of Saints.

But after Matins today, I finished with the strongest feeling that this Office needs a thorough revision. “Hip, hip, hooray for the all-American red-blooded Byzantine Emporer and squash all those Persians” is the gist of a lot of it.

What do you think?

Very glad to know today it is a New year on the Byzantine Calendar.



“Hip, hip, hooray for the all-American red-blooded Byzantine Emporer and squash all those Persians”
Who was it?
What does it mean?

 

[Aramis]

“Hip, hip, hooray for the allAmerican redblooded Byzantine Emporer and squash all those Persians”
Who was it?
What does it mean?

It essentially means that the propers for 1 sep are very, uhm, “ProEmpire”…

1 The Beginning of the Church Year (“Indiction”). The First Ecumenical Council (325) decreed that the Church’s year should begin on September 1. The lunar month corresponding to September on the Jewish calendar was the beginning of the civil year (cf Exodus 12:2); it was at this time that our Lord Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth and read the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…to proclaim ‘the acceptable year of the Lord.’ (Isaiah 61:12; Luke 4: 1621).

Our venerable father Simeon the Stylite and his mother. Simeon lived near Antioch in Syria. He was a monk, who lived for many years standing atop a column, hence he received the nickname "Stylite.” His life and admirable conversation were remarkable. (459)
**Day of Supplication for the Environment. **Patriarch Demetrios I made September 1 a day of special prayer and supplication for the environment. An office for this day was composed by the late monk Gerasimos of the Skete of Little Saint Anna on the Holy Mountain; it is from this office that the Troparion given here was taken. The translation is by Archimandrite Ephrem Lash.
Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God of Miasena.
**The holy martyr Aeithalas, **who suffered in Persia. (380)
The forty holy women martyred with their instructor, Ammon the deacon, during
the time of the emperor Licinius at Heraclea in Thrace (313).
The holy martyr Callista and her two brothers, Evodius and Hermogenes, who were martyred in Nicomedia. (309)
**The just Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord. **When the hand of Moses was placed on him, he was filled with the spirit of wisdom. He led the people of Israel after the death of Moses through the Jordan River to the promised land.

**Troparion of the New Year **- Tone 2
O Lord, maker of the universe, who alone has power over times and seasons, bless this year with your bounty, preserve our country in safety, and keep your people in peace, save us through the pray’rs of the Theotokos. You became a column of endurance and rivaled the forefathers, O holy one, becoming like Job in your sufferings and like Joseph in your trials, like the bodiless angels, though you lived in the flesh.

**Troparion of Simeon the Stylite **- Tone 1
O Simeon, our holy father, intercede with Christ our God that he may save our souls. Lord and Savior who as God brought all things into being by a word, establishing laws and governing unerringly to your glory, at the pray’rs of the Theotokos, keep secure and unharmed all the elements which the earth together, and save the universe.

**Troparion of the Synaxis of the Theotokos - **Tone 7
Rejoice, O woman full of grace, evervirgin Theotokos, harbor and protectress of the human race. The Savior of the universe received flesh from you, for you are the only one to be both mother and virgin, forever blessed, forever glorified. Intercede with Christ our God that he may grant peace to the whole world.

**Kontakion of the New Year **- Tone 2
O Creator and Master of time and eternity, God of all, O merciful One, bless the course of this year, and in your boundless mercy, save all those who worship you, our one and only Master, and who cry out to you in fear: O Savior, grant a happy year to all people.

**Kontakion of Simeon Stylites - **Tone 2
You looked to heaven and became like an angel. You made of your pillar a fiery chariot. Now that you are among the angels, join them in praying to Christ that he might save our souls, O Father.

**Prokeimenon of the New Year - **Tone 3 (Psalm 146: 5, 1):
Great is our Lord and great is his power. His understanding is beyond measure.
Verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good. May praise delight our God.

**Alleluia **- Tone 4 (Psalm 64: 1, 12a)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
***Verse:***To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.To you we pay our vows, you who hear our prayer.
Verse: You crown the year with goodness.

**Communion Hymn **(Psalm 64: 12a)
You crown the year, the year with your goodness.
Refrain: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

That should help explain…and that is whats in the “sanitized” Ruthenian Menaion. Note that the troparia for the various martyrs of the day are omitted from the American-Ruthenian English Menaion… and the pro-Imperial stance is not present in the propers, per se, but the festal saints are mostly martyrs… 45+ of them!

Monastics might add the troparia for the various martyrs, too…

 

[misterdasher]

It essentially means that the propers for 1 sep are very, uhm, “ProEmpire”…

That should help explain…and that is whats in the “sanitized” Ruthenian Menaion. Note that the troparia for the various martyrs of the day are omitted from the American-Ruthenian English Menaion… and the pro-Imperial stance is not present in the propers, per se, but the festal saints are mostly martyrs… 45+ of them!..

Could you be a bit more explicit? (I believe you, I’m just not familiar enough with the tradition to pick up on the nuance.)

Also - and possibly worth starting a separate thread - could you explain “sanitized”?

Thanks!

 

[Diak]

Happy New Year 7518 to all !!!

 

[Aramis]

Could you be a bit more explicit? (I believe you, I’m just not familiar enough with the tradition to pick up on the nuance.)

Also - and possibly worth starting a separate thread - could you explain “sanitized”?

Thanks!

The Ruthenian propers are considered to be questionable by many, since a “political correctness” approach was used on the liturgy and the menaion retranslations for the 2006 release.

The specific elements that are pro-imperial/anti-persian can be seen in the saints listing.
Aeithalas - murdered by persians.
Callista and her two brothers, Evodius and Hermogenes - just shortly pre-imperial, persecuted in Lineaus’ capital… a captial later claimed by COnstantine, prior to moving to new rome, aka Constantinople/Byzantium/Istanbul/Nova Roma
the 41 martyrs in Heraclea. Again, lineaan period persecution… persecutions ended by Constantine.

The imperial references in some menaion editions are more explicit.

 

[misterdasher]

Ah! Thank you.

I have observed the to-and-fro over the RDL on more than one forum.

My wife and I first attended our Byzantine Catholic parish when she was converting from a Protestant sect, trying to figure out the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. (She says she read too much of the Bible to stay Protestant. She took St. Jerome as her patron when she entered the Church at our wedding.) They were still using the red book, with the filioque pasted over by a white rectangle of paper.

Now we attend … more regularly. By which, I mean that we fulfill our “Sunday obligation” and other Holy Days of Opportunity there (my wife went to the pierogi-dropping on Monday night), had our 15-month-old chrismated recently (he likes kissing the icons, lighting his candle, and grabbing Father’s hem during the Great Entrance, but he’s still getting used to receiving the Eucharist), and I’m joining what amounts to the choir while my wife is being drawn into the women’s group there. The congregation sings “Theotokos” for “Mother of our God”, “mankind” for “us all”, and adds the “anthropos” back into the Creed by inserting “men” between “for us” and “and our salvation”. Nothing like a little sensus fidelium (I don’t know the Greek - or even Church Slavonic ) to make this Latin revert feel like he’s found his orthodox home…

Thanks again for the clarifications.

Many years –

 

[Cluny]

You can find the full service in the Orthodox recesion here:

anastasis.org.uk/sep-int.htm

It STILL needs some kind of adaptation to modern realities!

 

[roselily]

It essentially means that the propers for 1 sep are very, uhm, “ProEmpire”…

That should help explain…and that is whats in the “sanitized” Ruthenian Menaion. Note that the troparia for the various martyrs of the day are omitted from the American-Ruthenian English Menaion… and the pro-Imperial stance is not present in the propers, per se, but the festal saints are mostly martyrs… 45+ of them!

Monastics might add the troparia for the various martyrs, too…

Oh, Aramis, Then truly how very beautiful those tones are!

Troparion of the New Year - Tone 2
O Lord, maker of the universe, who alone has power over times and seasons, bless this year with your bounty, preserve our country in safety, and keep your people in peace, save us through the pray’rs of the Theotokos. You became a column of endurance and rivaled the forefathers, O holy one, becoming like Job in your sufferings and like Joseph in your trials, like the bodiless angels, though you lived in the flesh.

Troparion of Simeon the Stylite - Tone 1
**O Simeon, our holy father, intercede with Christ our God that he may save our souls. Lord and Savior who as God brought all things into being by a word, establishing laws and governing unerringly to your glory, at the pray’rs of the Theotokos, keep secure and unharmed all the elements which the earth together, and save the universe.
**
Troparion of the Synaxis of the Theotokos - Tone 7
Rejoice, O woman full of grace, evervirgin Theotokos, harbor and protectress of the human race. The Savior of the universe received flesh from you, for you are the only one to be both mother and virgin, forever blessed, forever glorified. Intercede with Christ our God that he may grant peace to the whole world.

Kontakion of the New Year - Tone 2
**O Creator and Master of time and eternity, God of all, O merciful One, bless the course of this year, and in your boundless mercy, save all those who worship you, our one and only Master, and who cry out to you in fear: O Savior, grant a happy year to all people.
**
Kontakion of Simeon Stylites - Tone 2
**You looked to heaven and became like an angel. You made of your pillar a fiery chariot. Now that you are among the angels, join them in praying to Christ that he might save our souls, O Father.
**
Prokeimenon of the New Year - Tone 3 (Psalm 146: 5, 1):
**Great is our Lord and great is his power. His understanding is beyond measure.
Verse: Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good. May praise delight our God.
**
Alleluia - Tone 4 (Psalm 64: 1, 12a)
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Verse:To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.To you we pay our vows, you who hear our prayer.
Verse: You crown the year with goodness.

Communion Hymn (Psalm 64: 12a)
You crown the year, the year with your goodness.
Refrain: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

[roselily]

Ah! Thank you.

I have observed the to-and-fro over the RDL on more than one forum.

My wife and I first attended our Byzantine Catholic parish when she was converting from a Protestant sect, trying to figure out the difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. (She says she read too much of the Bible to stay Protestant. She took St. Jerome as her patron when she entered the Church at our wedding.) They were still using the red book, with the filioque pasted over by a white rectangle of paper.

Now we attend … more regularly. By which, I mean that we fulfill our “Sunday obligation” and other Holy Days of Opportunity there (my wife went to the pierogi-dropping on Monday night), had our 15-month-old chrismated recently (he likes kissing the icons, lighting his candle, and grabbing Father’s hem during the Great Entrance, but he’s still getting used to receiving the Eucharist), and I’m joining what amounts to the choir while my wife is being drawn into the women’s group there. The congregation sings “Theotokos” for “Mother of our God”, “mankind” for “us all”, and adds the “anthropos” back into the Creed by inserting “men” between “for us” and “and our salvation”. Nothing like a little sensus fidelium (I don’t know the Greek - or even Church Slavonic ) to make this Latin revert feel like he’s found his orthodox home…

Thanks again for the clarifications.

Many years –

Yes, it is how lovely your post!
May God bless you and your family.

 

[Diak]

The congregation sings “Theotokos” for “Mother of our God”, “mankind” for “us all”, and adds the “anthropos” back into the Creed by inserting “men” between “for us” and “and our salvation”. Nothing like a little sensus fidelium (I don’t know the Greek - or even Church Slavonic ) to make this Latin revert feel like he’s found his orthodox home…

Your idea of sensus fidelium notwithstanding, the actual letter of promulgation from the Ruthenian Council of Hierarchs states unequivocally that the 2007 Liturgikon and accompanying pew books are to be the “sole text” in use in the Metropolia. I’ll quote Metropolitan +Basil from the Decree of Promulgation of January, 2007:

From this date forward this is the only text to be used in churches and other places of the Byzantine Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh…

.

 

[Cluny]

The congregation sings “Theotokos” for “Mother of our God”, “mankind” for “us all”, and adds the “anthropos” back into the Creed by inserting “men” between “for us” and “and our salvation”.

Would any purpose be served by pointing out that the Greek word “anthropos” (as well as the equivalent Slavonic “chellovek” and Latin “homo”) mean “human being,” as opposed to the gender specific “anir”, “muzh”, and “vir”?

 

[misterdasher]

Your idea of sensus fidelium notwithstanding, the actual letter of promulgation from the Ruthenian Council of Hierarchs states unequivocally that the 2007 Liturgikon and accompanying pew books are to be the “sole text” in use in the Metropolia. I’ll quote Metropolitan +Basil from the Decree of Promulgation of January, 2007: .

My remark about the sensus fidelium was a bit tongue-in-cheek. I’ll eschew commenting on the difficulty of conveying the sense of one’s remarks faithfully in an electronic message board, since that would be a little over-the-top…

In all seriousness, however, and as an adult revert from agnostic secularism back into the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, I am not unaware of multiple ironies in my situation. Perhaps that could be a separate thread: “Ironies in your conversion to a Byzantine Church”.

As I confessed in a previous post in this thread, I have observed the arguments over the RDL in various places. In thanking Aramis for his explanation of his remark about the propers, I provided a snapshot of our parish life at this stage in my family’s journey East. I hadn’t meant to divert the thread from the New Year to digressions over the RDL.

I suspect that people at our parish do things the way they do them because that’s what they’re used to. As near as I can tell, everybody sings. There’s a stack of green books by the door, but the only people who use them are the cantor (who uses at least half a dozen other books, too), the couple that helps out with the Spanish liturgy, and new people, like me and my wife. Most people don’t even pick up the propers, let alone a green book. I suspect that everybody (except the new people, like my family) is just used to doing things the way they’ve always done them. I’m not aware of any deliberate disobedience. In fact, I’ve heard people talk about how much nicer the green books are than the old red books.

Perhaps an example will illustrate my point: when I would encounter new Mass settings in Latin parishes, I still knew all the words, such that I never considered opening a missalette just to keep up with minor variations in phraseology. But please observe my use of words and phrases like “suspect,” “near as I can tell,” “observed.” I’m not claiming any expertise in Byzantine cultural norms. As I indicated, I’m one of the very few people who pick up a green book. But that’s because I’m trying to fit in. Everybody else already fits in. They already know, for example, whether homoousious is pronounced “consubstantial” or “of one essence” or “one in essence” or “one in being” or “of the same essence”.

Please accept my apologies for any confusion I have caused. It was not my place to cast aspersions on fellow parishioners, nor to express doubts about their fidelity and obedience, particularly when such was not my intent!

Begging your forgiveness –

 

[misterdasher]

The congregation sings “Theotokos” for “Mother of our God”, “mankind” for “us all”, and adds the “anthropos” back into the Creed by inserting “men” between “for us” and “and our salvation”.

Would any purpose be served by pointing out that the Greek word “anthropos” (as well as the equivalent Slavonic “chellovek” and Latin “homo”) mean “human being,” as opposed to the gender specific “anir”, “muzh”, and “vir”?

Probably not, but I understand your exasperation. My sympathies are with both sides of that debate. Translators are in an unenviable position.

On the one hand, you are correct: anthropos, homo, etc., all mean, in English, “human”. On the other hand, in modern English, “mankind” or “men” is the English word closest in translation to “homo” or “anthropoi”. “Human” tends to be used as an adjective, e.g., “human nature”. However, in the last generation or so, the use of “human being” for “men” or “mankind” has become a popular alternative.

Consider, for example, how cumbersome I Timothy 2.4 sounds when anthropoun is translated that way: “God desires that all humans should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” Substituting “humanity” for “humans” might sound better, but it might also be too generic, since St. Paul goes into specifics.

I wasn’t trying to get into that discussion, at any rate. I was, I think, being too casual, or “flip”, in the description you quoted. I used the word “substitute” because that’s how it looks to the casual observer. In context, however, I suspect that what’s really going on is that many people are so used to saying “you, truly the Theotokos, we magnify,” that they still say it.

As I indicated previously, I’m sorry for accidentally hijacking the thread. I’ll go back into observer mode now…

Um, Happy New Year (and happy Nativity of the Theotokos) –

 

[Cluny]

No problem.

I know with my own limited experience with translating liturgical texts (a task not unlike translating the Bible) and setting texts to traditional chants just how tricky and pitfall-laden this exercise is.

Certain of the Stichera before Nativity refer to Our Lady as a cow (“a young heifer comes with a fatted calf”). Should such be translated literally? Or paraphrased to get rid of a possibly insulting figure?

 

[misterdasher]

I know with my own limited experience with translating liturgical texts (a task not unlike translating the Bible) and setting texts to traditional chants just how tricky and pitfall-laden this exercise is.

Certain of the Stichera before Nativity refer to Our Lady as a cow (“a young heifer comes with a fatted calf”). Should such be translated literally? Or paraphrased to get rid of a possibly insulting figure?

Charming! And quite a compliment in some cultures.