Language of the Divine Liturgy

[5Loaves]

Some will use a mixture in a single liturgy.

Some still use occasional responses in a traditional language. (For the Russian, Ukrainian and Ruthenian Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, that traditional language is Church Slavonic.)

For example, on Easter, the call-response:
Celebrant: Christ is Risen!
All: Indeed He is Risen!
C: Christos Voskrese!
A: Voistinu Voskrese!
C: Christ is Risen!
A: Indeed He is Risen!

Likewise, some parishes integrate other languages into repeated prayers.

For example, during the hours, there’s a block of 40 “Lord Have Mercy!” prayers.
We use:
10x Hospodi Pomiluij
10x Kyrie Eleison!
10x Señor ten piedad!
10x Lord have mercy!

When the curtain opens in our Russian parish there’s never any telling what will come out of Father’s mouth-- Old Church Slavonic or English, not usually Arabic initially, but Arabic does often pop up at some points in the Liturgy from his Melkite connection.

Similar to what you’ve said here, Aramis, for the Pascha greeting we proclaim in English, OCS, Arabic, and probably some Greek, and similarly with the /Kyrie Eleison!/Lord have mercy!/Hospodi Pomiluij/Yā Rabbu rḥam. When our elderly Brother chants the hours he may do the entire thing, or most parts, in OCS.

I’m always especailly pleased when Father begins DL in OCS. My own skill in OCS is I think limited to these usual greetings, (along with Mnohaja l’ita/God grant you many years! which we always sing in both English and OCS). But I know the DL so I know what he’s praying and I feel a special bond with our ancestors when I hear the OCS prayed.

The OCA parish I go to also mixes OCS and English in services. I don’t recall typically hearing any other language there, except perhaps at times Kyrie Eleison which seems to be used universally in all Catholic and Orthodox churches at times.

The Greek Orthodox proto cathedral festal services I’ve gone to have been in Greek with a second reading of the Gospel in English, and if there is a homily it is repeated in English. The Our Father is in English, and if it’s DL the prayers before communion (I believe O Lord and I confess…) are in English. They do have Greek school there, tho I don’'t know how many families have their children enrolled these days.

 

[Aramis]

I’m always especailly pleased when Father begins DL in OCS. My own skill in OCS is I think limited to these usual greetings, (along with Mnohaja l’ita/God grant you many years! which we always sing in both English and OCS). But I know the DL so I know what he’s praying and I feel a special bond with our ancestors when I hear the OCS prayed.

You are not the only one. We’ve a bunch of ethnic Ukrainians (more so than ethnic Carpethians), and when we do start into OCS, we get some emphatic singing!

Only about 5 of us, save for those mentioned routines, but we put our hearts into it!

The OCA parish I go to also mixes OCS and English in services. I don’t recall typically hearing any other language there, except perhaps at times Kyrie Eleison which seems to be used universally in all Catholic and Orthodox churches at times.

The OCA parishes I’ve been to, the liturgy has been in Russian Church Slavonic (slightly different pronunciations, some spelling differences in Cyrillic), with the occasional repeated verse done in English.

 

[ciero]

You are not the only one. We’ve a bunch of ethnic Ukrainians (more so than ethnic Carpethians), and when we do start into OCS, we get some emphatic singing!

Only about 5 of us, save for those mentioned routines, but we put our hearts into it!

The OCA parishes I’ve been to, the liturgy has been in Russian Church Slavonic (slightly different pronunciations, some spelling differences in Cyrillic), with the occasional repeated verse done in English.

What’s the difference between Old Church Slavonic and Russian Church Slavonic, I have never heard of the later and have been to Russia many times.

 

[Aramis]

What’s the difference between Old Church Slavonic and Russian Church Slavonic, I have never heard of the later and have been to Russia many times.

Russians generall don’t speak of the differences, only “outsiders” do. Russians generally think their Church Slavonic is the same as everyone else’s… in the same way people generally don’t say they speak American English versus Brittish English.

Russian’s Church Slavonic is slightly different in pronunciation from the Ukrainian and Dalmatian dialects; the letter ѣ is pronounced differently from the Ukrainian (je vs i), г is sometimes pronounced differently. It’s Russified Old Church Slavonic. It’s more obvious in the latinski renderings.

Ukrainian Church Slavonic is the dialect used in the UGCC and Ruthenian Catholic churches.

Dalmatian Church Slavonic is apparently falling out of use since Vatican II; it’s another local dialect derived from Old Church Slavonic, but is written in Glagolitic rather than Cyrillic, and used for the Roman Rite, rather than the Byzantine.

All are localized dialects derived from Old Curch Slavonic.

The wikipedia entry notes the major differences.