Psaltiki Journal 03

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T H E P S A LT I K I J O U R N A L
V O L U M E , I S S U E . S U M M E R
Mount Athos Cover
Contributors
Te a capella nature o music in the Christian Church.
Saint Maximus Conessor (VIIth Century) Mystagogy
What do the divine songs symbolize?
Psaltiki, Inc. The Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award
Te second recipient o the
Award, the Rev. Deacon John Efhymios Aendoulis.
P.B. Paschos Logos & Melos
Prayer, poetry, the Psalter and the origins o ecclesiastical hymnography.
8/20/2019 Psaltiki Journal 03
Elder Porphyrius Kasokalyvitis Regarding Spiritual Reading and Eccle- siastical Chant
Saintly advice on the value o spiritual reading and the Church’s chant tradition.
Konstantinos erzopoulos Kanons in the Great Compline
Discussing the use o canons in the Great Compline during the Great Fast.
ables or the year 2011 in both the new-style and old- style calendar traditions.
P: O J — Editor: Rev. Dr. Konstantinos erzopoulos, email: [email protected]; Editorial Assistant: Tomas Carrol. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 149161, Orlando, FL 32814. Psaltiki, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the State of Florida dedicated to the advancement of the Psaltic Art in America and its study around the world.
Copyright Statement: All “content” of this publication (including but not limited to all documents, programs, and images on this page and related pages of the Psaltiki Web Site, www.psaltiki.org) is protected by U.S. and international copyright law under one or more of the following copyrights, or other copyrights to content of particular pages of this site.
ISSN 1946-7532. Copyright © 2008 Psaltiki, Inc. and the Authors. Email: [email protected]
All Rights Reserved. Te copyright holders provide the content online as reference material for educational or cultural
purposes. Te content is provided “as is” without any warranty whatsoever. Commercial use of the content is prohibited except by express, written license.
For submission requests, contributors should supply three copies of their transcript. All transcripts should be double spaced with generous margins. Footnotes and indented quotations should also be double spaced. Electronic submissions should be in the .rtf format with an accompanying .pdf. Te editors will consider all typescripts as quickly as possible. All musical examples, tables, images and diagrams should be written on separate sheets and identified by captions. For general matters of style and spelling contributors should consult the Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed. by the Modern Language Association. Upon acceptance for publication, Psaltiki will request a short biography of the author, as well as any contact information that the contributor wishes to be included with the article. Te Journal requires contributors to obtain clearance for any copyright materials reproduced in their articles. Te fact that the Journal appears primarily online, with a downloadable print version may further complicate the issue. When in doubt seek advice. All accepted articles will be archived within the Psaltiki site in their .html and .pdf forms. Articles must be submitted in English, although they can also be simultaneously posted in Greek, German or Russian versions supplied by the author.
P saltiki, Inc. is a non-profit organization promoting
the advancement and perpetuation o the Psaltic Art, better known as Byzantine and post-Byzantine chant and Hymnology.
Psaltiki supports the chant heritage and tradition through the creative initiating o educational projects, the development o various multimedia, online resources, publications, recordings, as well as financial gifs in support o worthy projects, individual scholars,
researchers and musicians engaged in exemplary activitiesand endeavors related to Psaltiki’s purpose.
σπερ γρ τ τς ψυχς νοματα γνωρζομεν κα σημανομεν δι’ ν προφρομεν λγων, οτως, τς πνευματικς ν ψυχ ρμονας τν κ τν λγων μελδαν σμβολον εναι θλων Κριος, τετπωκεν μμελς τς δς ψλλεσθαι, κα τος ψαλμος μετ’ δς ναγινσκεσθαι.
Just as we make known and signiy the thoughts o the soul through the words we express, so too the Lord wished the melody o the words to be a sign o the spiritual harmony o the soul, and ordained that the canticles be sung with melody and the psalms be read with the canticles.
—Saint Athanasius the Great ( -), Letter to Marcellunus.
Helen Petriti-Stratigos Memorial Fund
I M—H P-S (Aegina: November 8, 2010) Memorial Fund Established. At the
amily’s request, the Helen Petriti-Stratigos Memorial Fund has been established in order to perpetuate her heartelt love or the Church’s chant heritage.
We pray or the eternal rest and repose o the servant o
God, Helen, a long-time resident o Sausalito, CA. To donate visit:
www.psaltiki.org/stratigos/
2011 Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award Recipient
T R. D J E Ais the recipient or the 2011 Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award. He is a Master o Divinity student in his final year o studies at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School o eology (Brookline MA). Endowed with a keen interest in the Psaltic Art, Fr. John was a double- major at UCLA, where he studied Ethnomusicology and History, graduating in 2003.
www.psaltiki.org/athos/
Mission
Psaltiki is dedicated to education, empowering, and connecting the next generation o chanters in America.
We are dedicated to enriching and inorming the present environment o psaltic culture in America in order to enhance and cultivate a spirit o excellence worthy o this great musical inheritance and the spiritual benefits it provides via the Orthodox liturgical lie, the arts and beyond.
All projects are geared toward the advancement o the Psaltic Art, its application, appreciation, preservation and perpetuation by ocusing on at least one o the ollowing core areas:
1. Education,
2. Visibility, and 3. Psaltic Community.
Established in the year 2007 and receiving 501(c)(3) classification in 2008, Psaltiki, Inc. is presently in its plenary first phase. In this phase the organization looks toward oundational development and strategic planning. Psaltiki is studying the prospects o providing educational services by utilizing the electronic mediums available
today.
Today, Byzantine chant is a rapidly vanishing sacred art orm in America. Unortunately, past generations o chanters have not lef behind a new generation o pupils. For various reasons, the Church has not developed a ormal educational system to ensure the continuation o
our Byzantine chant heritage. Partial, inadequate, piece- meal solutions have not resulted in the needed creation o a sustainable educational plan that could be ruitul in supplying the Church with a continuous, renewable source o personnel to carry on this all-important ministry and great spiritual heritage.
It is not that the talent and desire do not exist. Whenever people o musical aptitude are exposed to Byzantine
chant, they are ofen ascinated and desire to explore.e aural tie with our ancient Christian roots and this uniquely Orthodox art orm is spiritually uplifing and inspirational. Unortunately, teachers are nowhere to be ound. In our seminaries instruction is aimed toward the practical, non-specialized needs o preparing the clergy, who are not necessarily musically inclined. Due to financial, linguistic, and geographic obstacles, schools o chant do not exist in America and have not been integral
to the American Orthodox experience. Sel-help resources abounding on the Web usually assume a certain level o amiliarity and knowledge o the chant tradition and are not designed to produce chanters or provide a complete educational experience. Past attempts to transpose the chant corpus into Western Notation have ofen either over-simplified or distorted the melodies to the point where they are unrecognizable, awkward and uninspired, ailing to bring about the desired results. In
short, no viable means exists to successully introduce and train chanters and readers to serve the liturgical needs o the Church.
At Psaltiki we believe it is time to re-order and re-imagine how one can learn this rich Orthodox liturgical heritage. In harmony with the Book o Psalms o the Prophet- King David, the hymnographic and chant heritage o the Orthodox Church stands at the very center o its spiritual
and liturgical lie. e Church has always lived in a mystic link between earth and heaven using the Divine Services to raise the aithul to the eternal reality o the heavenly Church triumphant. Her divine poetry and chant are important partners in this process o anagogy—raising the hearts o the aithul to the Lord. Along with the beauty o the Church’s architecture, the oil lamps burning beore the holy Icons, the vestments, readings and the scent o incense, the words o the divine hymns—logos— and melodies o the sacred chants—melos—point the aithul to the eternal reality which the earthly eye has not seen, nor ear heard (Isaiah 64.4; 1 Corinthians 2.9).
e story o our Orthodox hymnography is one at the heart o our liturgical lie, one richer and more surprising than we have been told. Beginning with the earliest
known Christian hymn written with ancient Greek Hypolydian musical notation in a late third century papyrus ragment (Oxyrhynchus No. 1786), Orthodox chant notation continues to develop its unique orms. Soon afer the Iconoclastic period in the eighth century, new orms o Byzantine chant notation emerged with the compilation o the Oktoechos hymnbook o Eight Modes by Saint John o Damascus. e musical tradition continued to grow, providing the Church with master
composers hundreds o years beore the Classical musical tradition even began in the West, including such notable figures as Romanos Melodus, Xenos Korones, Joannes Glykys, Joannes Koukouzeles, and others. e chant tradition was passed down through the centuries in the Church, both East and West (although it would take a different course in the West). rough the work o the ree Teachers, Gregorios, Chourmouzios and Chrysanthos, in 1814 the tradition finally reached its
present notational orm, commonly reerred to as the New Method.
For many Orthodox Christians in America, basic questions concerning the venerable art o Byzantine liturgical chant abound: What is Byzantine chant, and where does it come rom? What purpose does it serve, and how did it take on its present orm, style, and unique sound? How can I learn when I have no teacher? While
interest is on the rise, resources to learn this ancient art orm and assure its continuation in America are inadequate. Psaltiki is dedicated to these needs.
Psaltiki relies on volunteers and donations o money, materials and services to create and conduct its projects.
We look orward to your participation!
www.psaltiki.org
CONTRIBUTORS EVERETT FERGUSON (“Lifing our Voices”) is Proessor o Church History Emeritus at Abilene Christian University. He is the recipient
o numerous academic and scholarly honors and a member o the Council o the association internationale d’etudes patristiques and past president o the North American Patristics Society. In 1998 he was presented with a estschrif, Te Early Church in Its Context: Essays in Honor of Everett Ferguson (Leiden).
Dr. Ferguson has been co-editor o the Journalof Early Christian Studies.
P.B. PASCHOS (“Logos and Melos: Chapter wo”) is Distinguished Proessor Emeritus o Byzantine Hymnography in the School o Teology o the National and Kapodistrian University o Athens, Greece. A prolific author, his publication Logos and Melos (Athens 1999) is a practical pre-introduction to the study o the Byzantine liturgical hymnography o the Orthodox Church based on his course lectures.
ELDER PORPHYRIUS KAFSOKALYVITIS
(“Regarding Spiritual Reading and
Ecclesiastical Chant”) was born in 1906 on the Island o Evia. By the age o ourteen the young Porphyrius—then still known by his baptismal name o Evangelos—had dedicated himsel to strict asceticism and prayer as it was practiced at the hermitage o Saint George at the Skete o the Kasokalyvia, in the “desert” at the →
southern tip o Mount Athos. His counsels to literally thousands o aithul who were blessed to receive his spiritual guidance have proven to be a treasure o practical spirituality or the contemporary soul.
KONSTANTINOS TERZOPOULOS (“Kanons in the Great Compline”) is a Greek Orthodox Priest on the Island o Aegina, a theologian and published scholar in the fields o Byzantine Chant and Liturgy. He is the Executive Director and co-ounder o Psaltiki, Inc., the author
o Πρωτοψλτης τς Μεγλης κκλησαςΚωνσταντνος Βυζντιος (Athens 2004), the upcoming annotated translation with an introduction o the Protheoria of the Biolakes ypikon, a recipient o the 2011 Music & Letters Journal Award and currently preparing a critical edition o St Anastasius Sinaita’s Homilia de sacra synaxi.
LIFTING OUR VOICES
B Y E V E R E T T F E R G U S O N
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D days at Harvard, I lived in the same dormitory with a Greek Ortho-
dox student who was a graduate o the University o Athens and a candidate or the master’s o theology degree at Harvard. I asked him i it was correct that the Greek Orthodox churches did not use instrumental
music in their public worship. He said, “Yes.” Ten, I inquired as to the reasons why. His reply was most interesting to me: “We do not use instrumental music because it is not in the New estament, and it is contrary to the nature o Christian worship.” He stated my case or unaccompanied church music better than I could.
In elaborating my reasons or deending a cappella music in the public worship o the church, I would
like to apply a method o approach that I have ound helpul in considering disputed matters o Christian practice. Tis methodology involves three steps: . an analysis o the New estament evidence, . a testing o one’s interpretation o the New estament by the testimony o church history, and . a consideration whether there is a doctrinal or theological reason that explains or gives meaning to the biblical and historical
evidence. New estament Evidence
According to the New estament evidence, instrumental music was not present in the worship o
the early church. Singing incontestably was present in the corporate lie o the early Christians ( Corinthi- ans :; Colossians :; Ephesians :), and this was rooted in the practice o Jesus with His disciples (Mark
:). But there is no clear reerence to instrumental music in Christian worship in any New estament text.
We may note in passing that the New estament passes no negative judgment on instrumental music per se. It makes neutral reerences to playing on instruments (Matthew :), uses instruments or illustrations—with unavorable connotations it may be noted ( Corinthians :; :) and compares the
heavenly worship to the sound o instruments—
Tis article is adapted rom Everett Ferguson’s book, A C M I P W, which is being reissued in its third edition by
Star Bible Publishing. Used by permission.
February , G A, pgs. -.
P: O J thanks the author or permission to use this article.
L I F T I N G O U R V O I C E S
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probably under the influence o Old estament and temple practice (Revelation :). Te situation is simply that instruments are not reerred to in the church’s worship.
estimony o History
I n J. W. McKinnon’s doctoral dissertation, Te Church
Fathers and Musical Instruments [Columbia Univer- sity, ], later summarized in his article “Te Mean- ing o the Patristic Polemic against Musical Instru- ments” [Current Musicology , Spring, , pp. -], McKinnon presents inormation about the history o instrumental music in the church. His studies put the introduction o instrumental music—first the organ— even later than the dates ound in reerence books. It
was perhaps as late as the th century that the organ was played as part o the worship service. Tis makes instrumental music one o the late innovations o the medieval Catholic church. And that was only in the Western branch o Christendom, not in the Eastern Orthodox branch, which we have seen still today does not use an instrument in worship—except or con- gregations under the influence o Western churches.
Even in the West, the acceptance o instrumental music has not been uniorm. Te Reormed and Anabaptist branches o Protestantism eliminated the instrument as a Catholic corruption and only came to reaccept it— and then not uniormly—about the time instruments were being introduced into churches o the Restoration Movement. Tus, to abstain rom the use o the instrument is not a peculiar aberration o a rontier Ameri-
can sect; this is easily the majority tradition o Chris- tian history. Virtually no one has said it is wrong to worship a cappella, whereas many have thought instrumental music in worship is wrong. A cappella music is truly the ecumenical ground to occupy.
Te church’s nonuse o instrumental music is in contrast to the surrounding religious world. Any nonuse o instrumental music was not in the same
category with nonuse o loud speakers. Instrumental
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music was available and was part o the surrounding religious practices. Pagan religions used instruments to accompany their sacrifices and to arouse the emotions o their worshipers. Te instruments accompanied song. I the church were going to reject instrumental music because o its association with pagan worship,
song should have been rejected too. Te temple cult o the Old estament also employed
instrumental music as an accompaniment to its sacrifices. Here, indeed, we may have a clue to the nonuse o instrumental music in Christian worship. When the Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial cult were abolished, naturally its accompaniments were too. Tus, the incense that accompanied the offering
o animal sacrifices became a symbol o the prayers o the saints (Revelation :), but there is no reerence to literal incense used in early Christian worship and several reerences in early Christian literature explicitly disowning it. Similarly something external and mechanical like instrumental music was superseded by the songs o praise.
Historical evidence makes it most unlikely that use o
an instrument is implied in the term psallo, the Greek term or “music,” in the New estament and shows that the absence o clear reerence to instrumental music in the church’s worship in early days was not accidental. It was not mentioned because it was not there, not because there was no occasion to reer to it. Tere is no time when we can point to an original use o instruments in the church being abandoned.
Te Nature o Worship
hus ar, we have seen that the testimony o church history and the circumstances o New estament
times point to a negative conclusion on the use o instrumental music in early Christian worship. Was there some reason, other than cultural or sociological, or the absence o instrumental music in early Christian worship? We turn now to the doctrinal or theological
aspect o our study. It seems to me that this is the really
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conclusive consideration on which a decision about our practice today must be made. I would argue that a cappella music is more consistent with the nature o Chris- tian worship. It is really the nature o Christian worship that determined early Christian practice and should determine our practice.
Worship is what we offer to God. Te important thing in Christian worship is not our uplif, what pleases our senses, o what we find aesthetically satisying. Instrumental music may put me in a certain mood, may stir my heart, and may stimulate high sentiments (as well as lower or lesser sentiments), but my eelings are not my worship. Instrumental music perormed by someone else cannot be something I offer to God.
Our worship is to be determined by what is rational,
spiritual and verbal, not by what is emotional, aesthetic or sensual.
Worship is grounded in our relation to God, as creature to the Creator. Tat means we must come beore God on His terms. Te gifs we offer are those He appoints. Instrumental music was an act o worship
and not an aid in the Old estament. It was a separate act. Playing an instrument is doing something different rom singing. o offer mechanical music would require explicit authorization rom God.
When Paul was conronted with disorders in the worship assembly o the church at Corinth, he invoked the standard o what “edifies the church” to govern the conduct o the worshipers ( Corinthians :,
, , , , ). What goes on in the assembly must be intelligible, understandable. Rational, spiritual,
vocal music corresponds to this criterion. “[E]ach one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done or edification” ( Corinthians : ). It is difficult to conceive o instrumental music contributing to the biblical meaning o edification, building one up in the aith.
It is more likely to interere with the purposes o edification than to contribute to them.
Te type o vocal praise that evolved in the synagogue and the early church made instrumental music irrelevant. It is only the instrumentally conceived music o modern times that makes us think differently. It is no wonder, thereore, that historians and interpreters o church music agree that a cappella
singing is the purest and highest type o church music. Many quotations could be assembled on this theme. Historians may not agree on an exclusive stand, but they do agree that this is the classic orm o church music. I should not be understood as saying that just because the singing is unaccompanied it measures up to these standards o Christian worship—as ediying, spiritual, and an appropriate offering o man to God.
I am simply saying that vocal music is best fitted to express the nature o Christian worship.
Conclusion
We are on good historical and theological grounds to engage in a cappella music in our public wor-
ship. Tis is sae, ecumenical ground that all can agree is acceptable. Instrumental music cannot be confirmed as authorized in the text o the New estament. It did
not exist in worship until centuries afer the New estament was written. Vocal music is more consistent with the nature o Christian worship.
Neither side o the instrumental music controversy has had a monopoly on Christian love and humility, and neither side has reason or pride. My hope is that we can go beyond our recent history o bitterness and unite on the original undivided ground o the
Restoration Plea. Tis should not be done out o the spirit “one side is right and the other wrong.” But let us be New estament churches—in practice and in attitude, in loyalty to the Bible, and in the exercise o Christian reedom.
D. E F is Proessor o Church History
Emeritus at Abilene Christian University. He is the recipient o numerous academic and scholarly honors and a member o the Council o the Association internationale d’etudes patristiques and past president o the North American Patristics Society. In he was presented with a estschrif, E C I C: E H E F, (Leiden). Dr. Ferguson has been co-editor o the J E C S.
Prayer and Poetry
I to all how the earliest poetry o every civilization is religious. Tis is a reflection o
their metaphysical roots, to which they return with love at every difficult or joyous moment, sometimes to receive strength and at other times to rest upon the Creator’s
bosom, to give thanks, to gloriy, to communicate with him, to open unto him their heart—whether it be ull o pain or joy. And that is where the song begins, the Ode to the Beloved o one’s heart. With the word [logos] one can only speak, but one can chant with their heart, one can sing. Tis communication with God we call prayer . Tis very prayer a) can be personal, private, which is usually a lyrical word, an expression o joy, sorrow, supplication
or petition or doxology, which proceeds with prose or rhythmic words rom man’s soul to its Creator and Fashioner. Prayer b) can also be an expression o a religious community or group, in which case— according to the tradition preserved in the histories o civilizations—they are hymns clothed in music, which are ofen accompanied by religious dances when sung. In these cases the poetry helped the music and music the
poetry in order to produce a synthetic orm o sacred art, which would express the soul o the religious people at their liturgical gatherings. O course, there have existed and do exist hymns that were simple verses, without a hint o genuine literary creativity and without the ability to touch the spiritual chords o man through sentimental means; these hymns, as is natural, disappeared and were slowly lost, covered by silence. Even when they do
emerge rom their silence, they employ the specialized philologist or linguist or that era, but not the religious or liturgical gathering. Conversely, poetry that pulsated with the esoteric power and intellectual elation in the hearts o men, hearts that wrestle or redemption, struggle to reach perect repentance and to approach the paradise o salvation and theosis, that poetry, with is divine Byzantine melody, became the inseparable companion
o the aithul at all their liturgical gatherings. But that poetry also became the reuge o each one separately, in
P.B. Paschos is distinguished emeritus professor of Byzantine Hymnography in the School of Teology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His publication L M is a practical pre-introduction to the study of the Byzantine liturgical hymnography of the Orthodox Church based on his introductory course lectures. Te Psaltiki Online Journal is proud and blessed to have the author’s permission to publish
this practical guide in Englishtranslation.
L O G O S A N D M E L O S
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their personal hour o great sorrow or joy. “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms” (James :).
Hebrew Poetry

he religiousness and reverence o the Hebrew people is most clearly etched throughout all their literature.
In the Old estament we ollow almost all the stages o their spiritual lie, their experiences, their transitions, their joys and sorrows. Especially in the poetic books o the Old estament, that wealth o varied eelings and emotions o the Hebrew people are expressed and which break out in hymns o wonder, thanksgiving, and gratitude to Yahweh. Te infirmity and sinulness o weak man and God’s greatness and omnipotence are
revealed. From these contrasts and parallels effortlessly comes the hymn o praise to the redeeming God, who, afer a ew or much trial give redemption and salvation to the righteous, while punishing and chastening the unrighteous and “lawless.”
I one excludes Job, where we have epic and dramatic elements, i not even tragic, the rest o the poetic books o the Old estament are lyrical . It has been remarked by
specialists how in this lyric poetry belong the ollowing orms: hymns, vow, thanksgiving, various odes or canticles, elegy, parable, allegory, apothegm, testament, proverb, enigma and silos [satire] (c. T. Borea, Hebrew poetry , “Analekta,” , Athens , pp. ff.). In the majority o the poetic books o the Old estament, their lyric elements are incorporated with historic elements in a characteristic way, ofen giving the ultimate impression
o a didactic and gnomic poetry. Te same holds true or a good part o the historic and prophetic books, but even more so, o course, or the Deuterocanonical books read ofen the estal vespers services throughout the liturgical year (Wisdom o Solomon, Sirach, etc.).
Te Psalter
F rom the simple and less artul in orm ancient
Hebrew poems we reach the first period odevelopment, the years o King David. With David
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and his psalms we enter the second period the poetry’s development, which is simultaneously the colophon o its glory. David and Solomon are its master composers. All later Hebrew poets continued or imitated their poetic art, with either more or less competence.
Te themes o Hebrew poetry are joy, sorrow, love,
anger, lament, repentance, and most o all the eeling o dependence on God. Especially in the Psalter of David the religious elements become more intense and deep. For this reason the Psalms became the liturgical book o Hebrew worship par excellence. Te shape and content o the Psalms compete to see which will reach the height o perect first. Tis marriage o beautiul aesthetic orm and rich, vital content make or the basic characteristics
o every high orm o poetry. Origins of Ecclesiastical Hymnography
No matter the theme being addressed and no matter how it is sung, the poetry o the Psalter always
contains at its depth a religious hue, i not a deep and clear spirituality. For this reason it never ceased to be used liturgically in the Jewish Synagogue, even afer Christ’s appearance. It is not strange, then, that the first
Christians “rom the Hebrews” continued to use the Book o Psalms in their worship, which, according to Saint Athanasius the Great, “contains even the emotions o each soul, and it has the changes and rectifications o these delineated and regulated in itsel” ( A Letter to Marcellinus: .). Te Fathers o the Church see in the Psalms the voice o the Messiah speaking prophetically to His people and the chosen people to
their Messiah. Saint Basil the Great does not hesitate to call the Book o Psalms “the Voice o the Church” (Homily on Psalm : .). Tis is the case because the main creator o the Psalter, David, enters the center o the new Church’s worship, as emphasized by Saint John Chrysostom:
And everyone offers him with their mouth instead o myrrh. In the churches there are vigils, and David
is first and middle and last. In the singing o morning
hymns David is first and middle and last. In the tents at uneral processions David is first and last. In the houses o virgins there is weaving, and David is first and middle and last. What a thing o wonder! Many who have not even made their first attempt at reading know all o David by heart and recite him in order. Yet it is not only in the cities and the churches that he is so prominent
on every occasion and with people o all ages; even in the fields and deserts and stretching into uninhabited wasteland, he rouses sacred choirs to God with greater zeal. In the monasteries there is a holy chorus o angelic hosts, and David is first and middle and last. In the convents there are bands o virgins who imitate Mary, and David is first and middle and last. In the deserts men crucified to this world hold converse with God, and David is first and middle and last. And at night all
men are dominated by physical sleep and drawn into the depths, and David alone stands by, arousing all the servants o God to angelic vigils, turning earth into heaven and making angels o men” (On Repentance: .).
In agreement with contemporary witnesses, the religious poetry o the Psalms had not only penetrated the liturgical lie, but also all the other moments o
personal lie o the first Christians—whenever one needed to express his aith, either alone or with others.
Based on inormation supplied by contemporary witnesses, and especially the Apostle Paul, later researchers note that parallel to the use o the Psalms, other hymns and ode began to be employed. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians contains a representative passage, which is repeated in Ephesians (:-): “Let the word
o Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. :). Many interpret the terms in this passage as being synonymous; however, we should accept that, as the term “ psalmos” came to be exclusively used over time to denote the Psalms o David, the term “hymnos” must have reerred to early Christian songs
o worship (P.K Christou, Θεολογικ Μελετματα ,
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μνογραφικ, Tessalonike , pp. ff.). O course, other interpretations o these terms can be rom various researchers; among them, Egon Wellesz stands out. In his A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography (nd ed., Oxord , pp. ff.) he maintains that in accordance with the character o the east a psalm reers
to either a simple recitation or elaborate cantillation o one o Psalms o David. A hymn is a poetic text with initially a character o praise, like those preserved in the New estament. In this case the music can be simple or advanced. Finally, the spiritual odes were songs o the melismatic type, exultant songs o praise, which passed rom the Synagogue into the Christian Church (c. K. Metsakes, Bυζαντιν μνογραφα, vol. , Tessalonike
, pp. ff.). Notwithstanding the interpretation o these terms, the irreutable truth remains, that during the first Christian centuries the aithul elt the strong need to express their aith not only to God, in general, but also to the Christ-Savior and Holy Spirit, to the Holy rinity, and new hymns are composed or this purpose.
Certainly, when the various groups o heretics would compose their own hymns with beautiul melodies,
appealing rhythms and meters, but with heretical content, the Church would analogous hymns with even better rhythms or use in the new common worship, requiring melody, rhythm and meter in order to be attractive to the believers. Tis the Church did out o its concern to maintain the Orthodox aith (A. Phytrakes, “ κκλησιαστικ μν ποησις,” Epostemonike Epeteris tes Teologikes Scholes tou Panepistemiou Athenon, -
, p. ff.). Witnesses rom the first Christian centuries (Pliny, Justin, and others) we can assume that the first Christian hymns were written to be chanted during the celebration o the holy Eucharist (E.G. Pantelakes, “Α ρχα τς κκλησιαστικς ποισεως,” Teologia , , p. ff.), as well as or other worship gatherings. But we will say more about those hymns below (Chapter ..c). •
BY PSALTIKI, IN C.
P a n a g i a G l y k o p h i l o u s a : 1 3 - c . p a n e l i c o n ( 1 2 2 x
7 3 . 5 c m . )
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S P, I. is the proud sponsor o the H W M A A
(www.psaltiki.org/athos/ ), established to provide the opportunity or a student o Byzantine Chant to spend Holy week in a Mount Athos monastery.
Te purpose o the Award is to allow students o theByzantine chant tradition to come into contact with the living psaltic heritage in one o its most traditional settings, the Monastic Republic o Mount Athos. Te Award is geared toward providing access to artistic excellence and reinvigorating the chant tradition in America, where most students o this traditional art orm do not have the opportunity to witness the chant in its native liturgical
setting. Te Recipient: Fr. John E. Afendoulis
Psaltiki is delighted to announce the recipient, the newly-ordained Rev. Deacon John Efhymios
Aendoulis. He is a student in his final year o the Masters o Divinity program at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School o Teology in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Endowed with a keen interest in the chant heritage o
our Church, Fr. John was a double-major at UCLA, where he studied Ethnomusicology and History () beore enrolling at Holy Cross. He as also conducted independent research with Pro. Maria Alexandru (Aristotelian University o Tessalonike).
With God’s help, Fr. John will be spending Holy Week at the Sacred Monastery o St. Xenophon on Mount Athos, all expenses paid by Psaltiki, thank to our generous
financial supporters. Psaltiki also expresses its gratitude to the Geron Abbot Fr.
Alexios and his brotherhood or receiving our recipient.
Te Sacred Monastery of Saint Xenophon, Mount Athos
his year’s hosting monastic community is the Sacred Monastery o Saint Xenophon. Te year marked
the monastery’s first millennium o existence. radition places a certain Hosios Xenophon who was also a senator on the site as early as the th century; however, the
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Psaltiki is a nonprofit
organization, tax exempt under Section (c)(), based in Orlando, Florida whose mission is to provide educational resources toward the promotion and advancement of Byzantine Chant.
Psaltiki is dedicated to educating, empowering and connecting the next generation of chanters in America in order to enhance and cultivate a spirit of excellence worthy of this great liturgical music inheritance.
www.psaltiki.org
Saint Demetrius: 11th-c. mosaic icon (136 x 73 cm.)
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monastery’s documented history begins in the th century, when the then abbot o the community, another Xenophon, attains unding to build the first katholikon (main Church) next to the existing chapel o St. Demetrius. He dedicated this Church to Saint George the Great Martyr and trophy-bearer. Te Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Comnenos is the monastery’s first beneactor.
Like many o the older monastery’s on Athos, the Katholikon is a monument to -century Byzantine Church architecture and art. Te original mosaic floor is still in place, as are the th-century Christian columns and the marble panels o he th-century templum. Te iconography and wall rescoes are rom the th and th centuries.
Te new, Great Katholikon was built in the th century, is adorned by eight domes and a marble iconostasis sculpted by a
certain Antonios Litra o the Island o inos. Housed in the sacred alter o the Great Katholikon is the amous Xenophon icon o the Panagia Keharitomene, the beautiul panel icon o the All-holy Virgin Mary and Teotokos that adorns the ront page o this article.
Te present Abbot, the Archimandrite Alexios came to Xenophon on Athos with a small group o athers rom the Meteora in Central Greece to assist the then elderly remnant o athers that had
persisted at the monastery afer the Second World War. In those thirty-some years the brotherhood has continued to grow and is one o the most vibrant monastic communities on Mount Athos.
Te Xenophon brotherhood has a long tradition o dedication and cultivation with regards to our Psaltic heritage. Only two years afer Abbot Alexios arrived at Xenophontos with his small brotherhood o athers rom the Meteora, a group o German musicologists produced an album containing live recordings rom the Paschal
vigil. It appeared as an Archiv Produktion in , “Easter on Mount Athos: the celebration o the night beore Easter.” Since then the recording has been re-released as a with additional tracks rom the Services o the Holy Passion.
Psaltiki is humbled by their participation in our program o psaltic renewal.
Past Recipients
In the year the Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Awardwas received by another Holy Cross seminarian, Mr. George
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Livaditis. A native o Corpus Cristi, exas, at that time he was in his final year in the Master o Divinity program. He is presently working at the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Brooklyn, New York.
He spent Holy Week (April -)
in the Sacred Monastery o Simonopetra.Te hospitality and Christian agape shared with George during those most holy days o the Orthodox liturgical year lef a lasting impression. Tis is most evident in his reflections that have been published in the previous Volume o the Psaltiki Online Journal (www.psaltiki.
org/journal ), “Pascha on Simon’s Rock:a personal reflection on my Holy Week experience in an Athonite monastery” (Vol. , No. . Fall-Winter ).
George arrived on the Saturday o Lazarus and stayed through to uesday o Bright Week. Te video below was created using photos and audio files he brought
back with him!Click here to see a VIDEO glimpse of George’s visit to
Mount Athos! http://youtu.be/yoTDxZsJKqc
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Saint George the Great Martyr:
11th-century mosaic icon (136 x 65 cm.)
Te Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award
Psaltiki, Inc. provides transportation to and rom the select Athonite monastery or Holy Week, as well as
securing the invitation rom the monastery to the successul recipient o the Award. ransportation includes air travel
to Tessalonike, Greece rom Boston MA, as well asexpenses or transportation rom the Tessalonike airport to Ouranoupolis, the port or Mount Athos. A paid hotel reservation awaits the recipient there. Te next morning the Diamoneterion (official visa to enter Mount Athos) must be attained rom the Office or Pilgrims and departure on reserved transportation rom Ouranoupolis to Daphne or the specific monastery commences.
Te successul recipient need only obtain a valid passportor international travel, as well as the necessary paperwork needed to enter the Monastic Republic o Mount Athos; details Psaltiki provides. Te recipient is also expected to respect all monastery etiquette and rules during their
visit. Psaltiki also asks they submit an article about their experiences to be published in the Psaltiki Online Journal .
A Final Word
O course, there is only one more word lef to say. Psaltiki would love to have your help to make this and other
projects a reality. Financial underwriting was proudly provided by B
or this year’s Award. Please keep Psaltiki, Inc. in your prayers and i the good
Lord leads you, visit our Web site and send a tax-deductable gif today.
God’s blessings, always!
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REGARDING SPIRITUAL READING
AND ECCLESIASTICAL CHANT
B Y E L D E R P O R P H Y R I U S K A F S O K A LY V I T I S
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Elder (Geron) Porphyrius was born in on the Island o Evia. By the age o ourteen the young Porphyrius—then still known by his baptismal name o Evangelos—had dedicated himsel to the strict
asceticism and prayer as it was practiced at the hermitage o Saint George at the Skete o the Kasokalyvia in the “desert” at the southern tip o Mount Athos.
Soon afer his arrival at the Kasokalyvia he was tonsured a monk and received the
name Nikitas. At age twenty- one he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood and received the name he would become known by, Porphyrius.
Gifed with the ability to see prayers and discern souls, Porphyrius quickly attained a name or being a charismatic spiritual ather conessor and guide. His reputation brought many people to him in search o spiritual guidance. Afer a number o parishes on Evia, he ended up at the Chapel o Saint Gerasimos at the Polyclinic in Athens, where he would remain or thirty
years—rom -. In the ’s Elder
Porphyrius laid the oundations or a monastery Church in Milesi, Attica. Plagued with illness throughout his lie, the Elder
eventually returned to the Kasokalyvia—the monastery o his repentance—but on one o two visits back to the Milesi monastery, on December , , the Elder Porphyrius reposed in the Lord.
His counsels to literally thousands o aithul who
were blessed to receive his spiritual guidance have proven to be a treasure o practical spirituality or the contemporary soul. It seemed beneficial to translate into English some o the Elder’s advice regarding spiritual readings and the ecclesiastical chant or the present offering.
Te excerpts that ollow were translated rom the publication Γροντος Πορφυρου Καυσοκαλυβτου, Λγοι περ πνευματικς ζως (Crete: Holy Monastery Chrysopigi, & ).
Trough spiritual readings your soul will thrive and will be sanctified without great difficulty
D in your lie? Read the Holy Scripture; go to Church; approach Christ;
love Him. Be attentive at the divine services, orthros, hours, vespers, compline, etc., because the Saints write their words. Tey are holy words, words o adoration
toward Christ and our all-holy Mother o God. I give great emphasis to these things. Read each word clearly,
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Geron Porphyrius o the Kasokalyvia is counted among the bright lights o the
spiritual firmament o the GreekOrthodox Church that has shown itsel in the last century.
Te excerpts that ollow were translated rom the publication Γροντος Πορφυρου Καυσοκαλυβτου· Λγοι περ πνευματικς ζως
(Crete: Holy Monastery
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with meaning, great desire and intimate devotion. I something makes an impression on you study it again privately. We write the book within us and we possess it whenever we need to recall it in order to deepen our understanding. Study it or a little while and write it inside yoursel. I you love the words they captivate
you. Tey contain treasures. When you chant the kanons do not just say the words,
but relish them. In this way you will be sanctified quickly, without realizing it. And when you read the Psalter, read each word clearly, one by one. I only I could hear someone read the Psalter clearly! Oh, I would sit there in order to not miss a word. Tat is how I learned the Psalter, listening in Church. Te Gospel,
however, I learned by section, memorizing verse by verse.
Te kanons and troparia contain treasures
Ireceived great benefit rom reading the Psalter and the kanons; I learned not only to read, but whatever
advice I give I learned rom there. Te kanons and troparia contain treasures. In them we find the ways o the Saints, how they loved Christ and triumphed
over evil. Tey have equal value with the books o Saint Isaac, Saint Ephraim, and the others. Teophanes, the Damascene and other Saints wrote the kanons to the Saints. Tey praised the Saint whose ways they knew and showed us the means o repentance. Te hymnographers were Saints. Tey included their own sentiments.
Tis is why I say to you, pay attention to the kanons,
the troparia, etc. Give yoursel over to them with your soul. Savor them. Study them. I pray you come to love them like I did. Really, I never get enough o them; I relish in recalling them all, reciting them, chanting them. I received much rom the kanons rom my youth. I loved the troparia so much that afer hearing them once or twice I learned them by heart.
But learning them by heart is not the goal. Te aim is
to understand them, deepen your understanding and
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receive benefit. We study and memorize the kanons o the Saints, Holy Scripture and the books o the Fathers not to delude ourselves and be amazed at ourselves, recounting the number o books we have read and the number o verses we know by heart, not even in order to expand our knowledge, but we read them in order to
learn them and put them into practice with the ear o God.
Te Fathers write their texts and troparia with the Holy Spirit; this is why they create masterpieces. Teir composition is prayer. Each word is engraved, placed in such a way as not to be unnecessary. Like the builder who wants to create an edifice, paying attention to each stone that he will place, watching the lacing o the
wall so it does not all, the one who writes with prayer writes in good order, with harmony, because that harmony exists in his soul. Whoever lives something, lives it, is intertwined with it and writes it effortlessly. Tere is great benefit to whoever reads it, hears it, and is moved by it.
Tere is, however, one danger. I we are not careul, we can hear them or chant them in a routine manner.
We need to say them and hear them. We ofen hear the same thing many times and become bored; we grow tired o them and then comes the reaction. Ten we eel no benefit, no joy. Despair begins and the devil does not miss the opportunity or evil. For this reason, give attention to every word. Tis needs holy ardor, commitment.
I love the iambic kanons
Ilove the iambic kanons! John o Damascus has very lofy meanings. What good is culture? Here we
have the Spirit o God. Tere is one line I really love, where it says, “And now they humbly pray or the regeneration…” (Νν ποτνιται τς παλιγγενεσας). I believe it is in the iambic kanon, in the second verse, third troparion o the Ninth Ode. Find it now.
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Listen, so you understand. It is one manner o doxology, prayer to God. O old, when something unpleasant occurred, they would shave their head and cover it with ash, wept and mourned when they grieved. Like what happened with David when he sinned. He did something similar to show his contrition. We have comparable phenomena in the
New estament also. In ancient Greece “Potnia” was a leader o the Maenad women. Have you heard o the Maenads? Tere are the Maenads, Bacchae, and Eumenides. Te Maenads in ancient Greek religion were ecstatic women in Kithaeron pines and worshiped Satan in an orgiastic manner. Te “Potniadae” would bring themselves to a satanic renzy. Te poet uses these words, but with another meaning. Te word
“renzy” is used by us Christians also, but with a completely difference meaning. Tere is a great difference. Tere, in idolatry, it occurs with satanic energy. Here, with a divine energy. Tere, Satan destroys in order to enslave a soul; here, the Grace o God comes to inspire, to sanctiy, and to create a leap in the soul.
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Πθου τετευχς κα Θεο παρουσας
χριστοτερπς λας ξιωμνος,
νν ποτνιται τς παλιγγενεσας,
νμεις, χραντε, προσκυνσαι τ κλος.
e people that delights in Christ has attained its desire, Being counted worthy of the coming of God,
And now they humbly pray for the regeneration that gives life. O undefiled Virgin, grant them the grace,
To worship Christ in His glory.
And they humbly pray for the regenerations that gives life.
O undefiled Virgin, grant them the grace. To worship Christ in His glory.
νν ποτνιται τς παλιγγενεσας ς ζωοποιο τν χριν δ, Παρθνε,
νμεις, χραντε, προσκυνσαι τ κλος.
Okay, this is very important. It is a manner o prayer, doxology, and devotion. “Others mocking said, these men are ull o wine” (Acts :). Did they not say this about the Lord’s disciples on the day o Pentecost?
Tere is another troparion that talks about the
Bacchae, too; find it.
Tis one, too, is important like the other, the previous
one. It has another meaning, though. It shows what the idolaters did with the idols. But “the snares” it speaks o has the meaning that Christ delivers man rom the snares o sin, set by Satan. Let’s see; is that how it works? “Tough hast overthrown by Tine almighty power, the fierce sin that raised its head in wanton pride, and raged with blasphemy throughout a world gone mad. Tose whom in times past it dragged
down, today Tou hast delivered rom its snares, O
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Τν γριωπν, κρατς γαυρουμνην σεμνα βακχεουσαν, ξοιστρουμνου Κσμου καθελες, πανσθενς μαρταν. Ος ελκυσε πρν, σμερον τν ρκων
Σζεις δ σαρκωθες, κν Εεργτα.
ough hast overthrown by ine almighty power
e fierce sin that raised its head in wanton pride, And raged with blasphemy throughout a world gone mad. ose whom in times past it dragged down, today ou hast delivered from its snares, O Benefactor, who of ine own will hast taken flesh.
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Beneactor, who o Tine own will hast taken flesh.” Te “snares” are the nets. He set them ree. Tey were caught there, enslaved. Tey were stuck in the nets. oday He rees them. Now you have come and reed those who were beore ensnared in the nets by Satan.
Tink about how learned Saint John o Damascus
was! He knew about the worship o the idolaters, how they worshiped their gods. Since when would we know these details so well?
Music sanctifies man bloodlessly
Byzantine music is very beneficial. Tere should be no Christian who does not know Byzantine music.
We should all learn. It has a direct relationship with the soul. Music sanctifies man bloodlessly, without
difficulty. You become a Saint rejoicing. Harmony exists in man’s soul. In our primordial
spiritual state this harmony existed. For this reason we say some people have charisma. Tis is because they are simple and primordial comes out. We were in harmony, but now we have allen into disharmony and we are happy in it. Do you see these pans people play today? Tey try to make harmony, but it is hard to call
this harmony. Tis, o course, has an effect on their psyche because they are conused by the harmony they think they hear. Tey enjoy the disharmony they hear. Am I saying this right?
We now have the unnatural, the impostor. Tis is what man acquired in the orest. Te “pans” agitate because they cultivate the deceptive. While the other one, possessing the primordial, authentic harmony
is delighted and gratified in it and displeased by the “alsetto.”
Byzantine music is very simple when the soul is enamored by it. What benefit this harmony is to the soul! Te one who knows music and has humility also acquires the Grace o God. He may start to anger, to explode, but he is araid o the disharmony because all sinul conditions are not within the score o harmony.
In this way, a little at a time he comes to hate evil and
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to embrace virtue, which is harmony. All the virtues possess harmony. You cannot have anxieties i you have harmony. You can live in joy. I you see that some dark cloud is coming on the horizon o your soul, there is a troparion that says that even this darkness becomes a hymn to God. Te same power that came to disturb
you and would have devoured you is changed; it is as i you snatch the same power and sanctiy it.
Tere was once one who had a demon, King Saul, and David would go and chant and the demon would leave. He would go with the psalter—the psalter was a musical instrument. When the noonday demon o melancholy would seize him David would go and play the psalter and the demon would leave him.
Where are all those seeking treatment or depression? When they learn Byzantine music and see the dark cloud coming to overwhelm them, wham!, they chant a doxastikon and the darkness that comes to overcome you in spiritual melancholy becomes a hymn to God. I believe this. I believe it completely. I tell you that a musician who loves music and who is pious came transorm his difficulty into a musical composition
or a song. In this way, instead o crying and being suppressed offers a doxology to God. I tell you, this is how I believe it; this is how I see it. It does not matter i one is ten years old or fifeen or twenty or even thirty years old. Everyone has the inclination rom within. We all have it, i only we awaken it; it is enough to love the art.
When you sing, however, i you do not have the Spirit
o God the temptation o vanity comes and will trip you up. Tat joy, that rejoicing that I tell you o does not come. Jumbles o egotism come instead. Music, this holy thing, is supposed to paciy and harmonize. You cannot think o persons with music. You must be in time, in meter. Many were lost because o music. Many souls stumbled, became ill rom conceit.
Over there in the desert my Elders didn’t tell me to
learn music. I wanted to. I didn’t learn, though, I was deprived o that knowledge. It is good to chant in the
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desert because you are unaffected. In contrast, when you go to Church you have the entire congregation on your mind; you may be looking at the icons, but you may also be thinking that everyone is listening to you and your ego grows. Te musician can ofen lose his concentration and quality o perormance; the spirit
o egotism snares him. His mind may wander where it should not; a lot can happen. But you will say, “Should we shun music because it puts us into temptation?” No. We should learn music to enter into the spirit o Christ.
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KANONS IN THE GREAT
COMPLINE K O N S TA N T I N O S T E R Z O P O U L O S
Whilst hymning thine Offspring, we all praise thee, O Theotokos (23rd Oikos of the Akathistos); 17th-century wall painting in Church of Hagia Kyriake, Paliachora, Aegina Island (Photo is © K. Terzopoulos)
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From Monday to Tursday in the first week o the Great Fast o the Orthodox Church the Great
Kanon o St Andrew o Crete (circa -) ound in the riodion hymnbook is divided into our parts chanted in the Great Apodeipnon (Compline), either directly afer the doxology or at the beginning
immediately afer Psalm . Te question is ofen raised as to which kanons should be done in the five weeks o the Great Fast that ollow. Te ollowing is a discussion o this liturgical circumstance, offering historical context to the use o the kanon genre o hymns in relation to the special veneration reserved or the Mother o God and Teotokos inherited rom Byzantium.
Tis point o departure will be utilized in order to preace some practical matters regarding the liturgical unction o the Compline Services, both Great and Small. In the process a word on the service’s theological interpretation as it has come down to us through the Church’s mystagogical tradition is offered, a review o it’s liturgical rubrics (taxis) and, finally, a pointed discussion on the diataxis in the ancient typika and
so-called Biolakes ypikon o the Great Church as it relates the use o kanons in the Compline. Te present contribution concludes with an addendum in the orm o tables listing the kanons to be used in the Great Compline Service rom the second to the sixth week o the Great Fast or the year , one or the New Style and one or Old Style calendars.
S G S C:

R eerences in the New estament to daily prayer devotions (Ac. :, :, :; Rom. :; Col. :)
occasionally mention particular times o prayer, such as midday, περ ραν κτην (Ac. :), night, τ νυκτ (Ac. :, ) and midnight, κατ τ μεσονκτιον (Ac. :). Te Didache clearly speaks o prayer three times
Te Διδαχ also known as Te eaching of the welve Apostles is a late first or early second century Christian text referenced by Eusebius in the fourth century and recently re-discovered in by Philotheos Bryennios, Greek
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a day in chapter , section : τρς τς μρας οτω προσεχεσθε. Afer St Constantine the Great prayers in the Churches would be conducted at particular, designated hours. Even ascetics in the Syrian and Egyptian deserts around Palestine would develop a mix o communal offices within the ramework o
their ceaseless prayer, according to the ancient Pauline admonition to “pray constantly” ( Tess. :; Rom. :).
Although uniormity cannot be asserted in either the east or the west, by the end o the ourth century psalmody afer the evening meal and beore sleep can be attested to in a number o important sources. In his list o suitable hours or prayer St Basil the Great relates
in Te Long Rules (Q. .), “Again, at nightall, we must ask that our rest be sinless and untroubled by dreams.”
Even though the earliest reerences to this psalmody beore bed comes out o both the urban and Egyptian monastic traditions, the office would eventually make its way into the cathedral order. A common trait not only among the eastern orms, but also in the west, is the use o the th Psalm. Te Sixth Hour
usage is possibly associated with verse , “nor or the mishap and demon o noonday,” and the Compline usage with verse , “thou shalt not be araid or the terror by night.” Te th Psalm was also one o the three Psalms used in a liturgical relative o the Great Compline office, the cathedral Pannychis; it was Orthodox Metropolitan of Nicomedia. Cf. Cyril Charles Richardson et al., Early Christian fathers (Library of Christian classics; London: SCM Press, ) at - .
Jean-Paul Audet, La didache : instructions des apotres (Etudes bibliques; Paris: Gabalda, ) at ..
Paul F. Bradshaw, Early Christian worship : a basic introduction to ideas and practice (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, ) p. at -.
S. Basilius and M. Monica Wagner (r.), Ascetical Works, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari (Te Fathers of the church, a new translation; New York: Catholic University of America Press, ) at .
Paul F. Bradshaw, Daily prayer in the early church : a study of the origin and early development of the divine office (Alcuin Club collections; London: Published for the Alcuin Club by SPCK, ) x, p. at , -, . On the patristic interpretation and significance of Psalm to the theme of night protection, see Joannes Chrysostomus, ‘Ανος δς τ Δαυδ, νεπγραφος παρ βραοις. Ψαλμς [In Psalmum xc]’, in J.-P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Cursus Completus (series Graeca) (; Paris, ), -.
Konstantinos Terzopoulos
is a Greek Orthodox Priest on the Island of Aegina, a theologian and published scholar in the fields of Byzantine Chant and Liturgy. He is the Executive Director of Psaltiki, Inc. and a recipient of the Music
& Letters Fund award.
No hymn can recount the wealth of thy great compassion (Oikos 20 of the Akathistos); 17-th c wall painting from Hagia Kyriake Church, Paliachora, Aegina Island; © K. Terzopoulos
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chanted antiphonally with the rerain Φλαξν με, Κριε. Other Psalms in the Great Compline also allude to the night, specifically Psalms , , and :
Be angry, and sin not; eel compunction upon your beds or
what ye say in your hearts. Psalm :
In peace in the same place I shall lay me down and sleep.
Psalm :
I toiled in my groaning; every night I will wash my bed,
with tears will I water my couch. Psalm :
How long shall I take counsel in my soul with grievings in
my heart by day and by night? How long shall mine enemy
be exalted over me? Psalm :
Look upon me, hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten mine
eyes, lest at my time I sleep unto death. Psalm :
Into Ty hands I will commit my spirit. Psalm :
In addition to the psalms, arranged in sets o three,
the Great Compline—considered to be the more ancient o the two offices—is also punctuated with especially beautiul specimens o early and middle Byzantine psalmody and hymnography. Te antiphonal singing o verses rom the Prophet Isaiah (chapters and ) with the τι μεθ μν Θες — For God is with us rerain is well known and beloved to the aithul. Possibly one o the oldest hymns is the σματος
φσις — Te bodiless nature of the Cherubim, an eleven- syllabic poem which has been preserved in a papyrus rom the sixth century—London, British Library Papyrus No. .
Ioannes M. Phountoules, Παννυχς ( edn., Κεμενα λειτουργικς ; ; Tessalonike: [s.n.], ) p.
Phountoules alludes to origins sometime between the th and th centuries in Ioannes M. Phountoules, Λογικ Λατρεα (Tessalonike: Patriarchal Institute of Patristic Studies, ) at .
Paul Maas, ‘Ein frühbyzantinisches Kirchenlied auf Papyrus’, Byzantinische Zeitschri , (), - at -, Paul Maas, Frühbyzantinische Kirchenpoesie: Anonyme Hymnen des V-VI Jahrhunderts
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Te most common names or this office appear as πδειπνον or ποδεπνιον. Tis means, literally, aer dinner . Te word compline in English is derived rom the Latin completorium, possibly reerring to the completion o the day. Some manuscripts will also reer to the office as κολουθα τν προθυπνων, which
reveals the service’s clear correlation with sleep, as opposed to being a thanksgiving or the evening meal. As such its character is more o a private devotion and not always numbered among the “seven praises” (Ps. :) o daily prayer.
A H G C
I n his treatise On Prayer , the last of the great
Byzantine mystagogues, St Symeon Archbishop ofTessalonike relates the following regarding the office of Compline.
During Great Lent—both in the large monasteries and
everywhere—it is sung separately afer Vespers and the
meal, which takes place only once a day. [i] Compline o
Great Lent, which is called “Great Compline,” is [ii] divided
into three sections as a type o the Holy rinity and or
the propitiation o our sins… [iii] the psalms and prayerso Compline are penitential and conessional, seeking
orgiveness and propitiation, and or us to pass the night
unmolested and unpolluted by satanic antasies, and to
arise with zeal and eagerness at the time o the Midnight
Office and Matins.
[iv] Te so-called “Small Compline” is termed so because
it is brieer and one service, not divided into three sections
like the other. It is recited daily, and its psalms are the same as the main ones o Great Compline. [ii] Tey are three as a
type o the Holy rinity. Te most holy Creed is also recited
as a conession o piety, and “It is worthy…” because o the
incarnation o the Divine Word and the intercession o the
Mother o God. In accordance with the patristic tradition,
(Bonn: Marcus & E. Weber’s Verlag, ) , Leo Schrade, Wulf Arlt, and Higini Anglès, Gattungen der Musik in Einzeldarstellungen : Gedenkschri Leo Schrade (Bern ; München: Francke, ) v.
Phountoules, Λογικ Λατρεα at -, Ioannes M. Phountoules, Λειτουργικ Α´: Εσαγωγ στ θεα λατρεα (Tessalonike, ) at -.
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afer the Creed we invoke the Mother o God and the angels
and saints to intercede with God or us, as we invoke them
in the Great Church, since it is essential in many respects to
invoke those intercessors and helpers who are closer to God
and have reedom o access and power.
Afer that the prayer o the risagion is recited, being the
start, middle, and end o all services, plus “Lord, have
mercy” orty times, or the sanctification o the hours and
days o our lie—as also according to custom the invocation
o the Mother o God as more honored than the Cherubim
takes place so that she may keep and protect us under the
shadow o her wings… [iv] You know that out o penitence
Kanons are sung with Compline in the evenings, as also the
Great Kanon and Kanons o the Teotokos, and the Service
o the Akathistos every Friday evening—both in the holy monasteries and by many others.
Just as St Basil revealed almost ten centuries earlier in his Long Rules, the Compline office’s ancient purpose can still be detected in the above description: [iii] sinless and untroubled rest. St Symeon’s description offers a distinction between [iv] the Small Compline or the entire year and [i] the Great Compline reserved
or ast days, especially the Great Fast, [ii] the triold rinitarian structure o each, and, finally, [v] the use o Kanons. He makes special mention o the Great Kanon o St Andrew o Crete (th c.), as well as the Akathistos.
St Mark o Ephesus (d. ) also attests to two Compline offices, a longer one during the Holy Fast and a shorter one or the rest o the year. Both,
however, are characterized as the last service o the day, as we go off to sleep, offering even the rest o our body
Archbishop of Tessalonike Symeon, Saint, reatise on prayer : an explanation of the services conducted in the Orthodox Church (Te Archbishop Iakovos library of ecclesiastical and historical sources no. ; Brookline, Mass: Hellenic College Press, ) xi, p at -.
Cretensis Archiepiscopus S. Andreas Hierosolymitanus, ‘Magnus Canon’, in J.-P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae cursus completus (series Graeca) (; Paris, ), -.
C. A. rypanis, Fourteen early Byzantine cantica (Wiener byzantinistische Studien; Wien: Böhlau, ) at -.
G K

he oldest extant monastic typikon from the year , Messina manuscript gr , also makes
a distinction between the Compline in the Great Fast and that for the rest of the year; however, another special kind of Compline described for use on Friday nights can also be detected. Tis unique office used in place of or in conjunction with the Compline receives a unique name, πρεσβεαν, that is, intercession. Te other interesting element is the direct rubric stating, “On Friday evening we do not chant apodeipnon in the Church, but the presbeian, and not only in this Great Fast, but on all Fridays throughout the year, unless a feast of the Lord impedes.” Quite interesting is the rubric calling for the use of two, unnamed, specific kanons:
Ατη τξις τς πρεσβεας γνεται τν λον χρνον.
Εδναι δ δε, τι β´ καννες εσν φωρισμνοι, ος
ψλλομεν ν τατ· ες ες χον δ´, κα λλος ες χον πλ. δ´. Κα τν μν να ψλλομεν τ μι παρασκευ, τν
δ τερον τ τρ, ποιοντες ατος τροπρια γ´. ε γρ
οτως ψλλομεν ατος κατ κολουθαν. ταν δ τχ
χος τς κταχου χος δ´ πλ. δ´, ττε ο τηρομεν
τξιν, λλ τν καννα ψλλομεν το νεσττος χου
κν προεψλθ τ παρελθοσ παρασκευ. Κα γνεται
τροπρια δ´, κα νρξας χορς τν δν λγει Δξα κα νν. Ες δ τν θ γνονται πντε, νευ το ερμο, κα τ
νω δ τν ερμν. Κα λγει νρξας χορς τς θ´· Δξα, κα λλος· Κα νν.
Ephesius Metropolita Marcus Eugenicus, ‘ξγησις τς κκλησιαστικς κολουθας [Expositio Officii Ecclesiastici]’, in J.-P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae cursus completus (series Graeca) (; Paris, ), - at -.
Miguel Arranz, Le ypicon du Monastère du Saint-Saveur à Messine: Codex Messinensis Gr , AD . Introduction, texte critique et notes (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, ; Roma: Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, ) li + .
Ibid., at .-.. Ibid., at .-. Ibid., at .-.
Te indication or the use o two specifically dedicated kanons alternating between mode our and its plagal immediately conjures the thought that may have reerence to the anonymous kanon o the Small Paraklesis in mode IV plagal, Πολλος συνεχμενος πειρασμος, and the kanon or the east
o the Annunciation ( March) in mode IV, the main east o the Virgin Mary, used today also or the Office o the Akathistos and attributed to Joseph the Hymnographer, νοξω τ στμα μου. A urther similarity includes the Psalm – Θες Κριος — apolytikia — supplicatory kanon unit, which is also imitated in the contemporary Paraklesis office structure. While these speculations are most certainly
anachronistic, the only truly scientific line o inquiry would have to depend on research in the manuscript tradition o both typika and hymnographic manuscript sources o Constantinopolitan providence, which would be a worthy line o investigation. Nevertheless, the similarity with the alternating Great and Small supplicatory kanons o the -day August ast period o the Orthodox Church is a tempting analogy and

Another uniting action is the term παρκλησις (which means supplication) used or a special service on Friday o the first week o the Fast in the typikon o the Evergetis monastery ounded in the eleventh century in Constantinople.
Although research is lacking in this area and no “salutations to the Mother o God” in the Compline are
Orthodox Eastern Church, ρολγιον τ Μγα, ed. Bartholomaios Koutloumousianos Of Imbros (Venice: Hellenikou typographeiou tou Hagiou Georgiou, ) at -.
Josephus Hymnographus, ‘Ες τν μνον κθιστον τς περαγας Θεοτκου Κανν ´’, in J.-P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae cursus completus (series Greaca) (; Paris, ), -.
Arranz, Le ypicon du Monastère du Saint-Saveur à Messine: Codex Messinensis Gr , AD . Introduction, texte critique et notes at .-.
Te fact that the th Ode of the Small Paraklesis kanon contains troparia, as does Joseph’s kanon in all modes is another interesting detail needing further investigation.
Aleksei Dmitrievsky, [Opisanie liturgicheskikh" rukopisei, khraniashchikhsia v" bibliotekakh" pravoslavnago Vostoka], vols. (I: ypika, Chast'; Kiev, ) at .
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reerenced in any sabaïtic typika, it seems that these witnesses may possibly serve as Byzantine precedents or the present Greek usage on Fridays in the Great Fast o combining segments o the Akathistos with the Small Compline.
In the cathedral typikon, also known as the asmatic
office, the place o the Compline Service is taken by another service reerred to as pannychis, and whose especially appropriate prayers have been preserved in the important th-century Barberini gr. euchology. St Symeon also reers to its use during the first week o the Great Fast in his description o the asmatic office directly quoted above. Te oldest extant complete typikon o the Great Church and its asmatic
office, the th-century Holy Cross manuscript No. , already makes mention o the use o a kanon, the
Great Kanon o St Andrew according to Mateos, in its rubric or Monday in the first week o the Great Fast, while also emphasizing the custom or the solemn celebration o
the Pannychis at the outset o the great Fast, “unto the cleansing and remission o our sins, and that the Lord our God save rom the coming judgment”:
Δε δ εδναι τι δι λης τς
βδομδος α συνθεις πννυχοι
στσεις πιτελονται ν τ
Τυπικο) [Symbole (inspecio Solemnitatis)], /July-September (), - at -.
Phountoules, Παννυχς. Orthodox Eastern Church, Stefano Parenti, and Elena Velkovska,
L’Eucologio Barberini gr. : ff. - (Bibliotheca “Ephemerides liturgicae” Subsidia; Roma: C.L.V.-Edizioni Liturgiche, ) xliv, p. at -.
J. Mateos, Le typicon de la Grande Église: Ms. Saìnte-Croix, no. , Xe siècle. Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes, vols. (Orientalia Christiana Analecta -; Rome, -).
Ibid., at II .-.
Ruins of the Byzantine Palace of Porphyrogenitus at Blachernae (photo, public domain)
Κριος Θες μν λυτρσηται μς τς μελλοσης
κρσεως.
While the th-century typikon o

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