I have just listened to a broadcast of a "Vesperal Divine Liturgy" (RDL) from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma. I don't know how to begin to comment without getting myself banned. I will sleep on it and try again tomorrow.

My only question is, why did you waste electricity and brain cells listening to that disaster.

'cos you can't make any worthwhile comment unless you have experienced it ?

I can easily think of topics upon which I could offer quite worth-while comments without having experienced the topic in question personally. I have no desire to land in Hell, but I'm quite capable of commenting on why the place should be avoided and how one should go about seeking one's ultimate destination Elsewhere!

Just yesterday I was preaching about Saint Brendan the Navigator and the religious significance of the seafaring Irish monks of the sixth century. I myself have never ventured upon the Atlantic Ocean in a leather boat, nor do I intend to. But the people seemed to find my sermon worth-while. However, it was probably not as worth-while as Saint Brendan's monastic and ascetic accomplishments.

Fr. Serge

On Sunday, 17 June, I listened to a broadcast of Vesperal Divine Liturgy celebrated at the Byzantine Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Parma, Ohio, on Saturday, 16 June.

It is nice to see an Eastern Catholic church undertaking some form of outreach. I was also pleased to note that there was a deacon participating in the service (an all too rare occurrence). One could also hear other people in the singing background � it is always good when people gather to pray.

Here endeth the praises. If you do not like negative comments and/or are easily upset or offended then please read no further.

I wish I had recorded the broadcast, as it was not easy to listen to the service and follow along in the books I have. I may try to do so next week.

First I will comment on the service, then the 'performance'.

I missed the initial vozhlas, tuning in during the third �Come, let us worship...�. Psalm 103 was not chanted. Next came the Litany of Peace, then the Lamp-lighting Psalms. I believe all Psalm verses were chanted, but I'm not sure that 10 stichera were sung. (My apologies � I had some difficulty following along, and I also could have had more reference materials laid out before me.) Then we had the Entrance/�O Joyful Light�, the Saturday evening Prokeimenon, a Small Litany, then the Trisagion and the Divine Liturgy portion of the service. It took less than 15 minutes to get to this point.

The Prokeimenon and Alleluia were with verses. I note that after the Epistle, though the 'celebrant' addresses the 'lector' with �Peace be to you reader�, the usual reply of �And with your spirit� is not in the text, nor was it sung. Why?

There were three (?) extra petitions for Father's Day inserted during the Litany of Fervent Supplication. It is a normal practice to insert special petitions here, but these were all rather lengthy and, in my opinion, a bit over the top. The service progressed as per the RDL*. A rather short setting of the Cherubic Hymn was sung and the Great Entrance began almost immediately upon its conclusion. The Hymn was not nearly long enough to cover the priest's prayers and actions at this point in the Liturgy. One does not know if these were curtailed or if the 'awkward silence' was cut from the broadcast.

The Liturgy continued as per the RDL*. The Ambon Prayer sounded like the normal one, not one of the ones Fr. David Petras is attempting to resurrect. The saints of the day were were mentioned in the Dismissal.

At no point in the broadcast could one hear the bells, or even chains, of a thurible. The entire service as broadcast (sans Communion) was 50 minutes.

Now on to the performance, or execution (no double entendre intended) of the service.

Cathedrals are meant to be shining examples of 'good practice' and where one should be able to find the best of everything (or close enough to it). If this is true in the BCC, the quality of the service I heard means I will make every effort not to attend a service in a Byzantine Catholic parish � I am not a masochist!

I fully realise that poor performance is not legislated for in the RDL, but there is a connection.

The singing was atrocious. There is no other way to put it. The priest and deacon were 'OK', but if the MCI had anything to do with training the cantor then they have a lot to answer for! No person in a leadership position should be singing �Lo-ho-hord have mercy� or �A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-men�. To say this grates on the ear is an understatement. Added to this he was nearly always flat. All three of the main players did a fairly good job of staying in different keys throughout the service. This gives the impression not of a unified service, nor of people praying together, but of different groups of people who happen to be praying at the same time and place.

Many texts were stumbled over, as if being read for the first time. Also, texts were rushed. Someone would start at a normal pace, pick up speed toward the end of the prayer, then drop down to a normal speed for the next one.

I have, on occasion, heard the priest's silent prayers taken audibly. If this broadcast presented the way it is to be done in the BCC then I am convinced they should never, ever be heard aloud. They weren't chanted but read/declaimed in such a sing-song way as to sound as if one were performing on stage or children. I gained nothing spiritual from the revelation of these secret prayers. Although it sounds well nigh impossible, they put me off the service even more!

A second, more competent, cantor appeared after Communion, and one could easily hear people trying to sing along, but the original cantor soon returned.

If the BCC sticks to the RDL and everything else given above, and continues to broadcast such, they will definitely see an increase in conversions � to other Churches. According to legend, when Prince St. Volodymyr's emissaries attended a Divine Liturgy at Hagia Sophia in Constantinople they were not sure if they were in heaven or still on earth. If they had attended the service at St. John in Parma they would have had no doubt that they were not in heaven. If they had to experience it repeatedly they might even have thought they were elsewhere.

Yes, these words are harsh, but they are not written out of malice. They are the reactions of someone who has experienced good liturgy and who has listened to something quite the opposite.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.



* I have two versions of the RDL in my possession: the 2004 draft which appears in Fr Serge Keleher's analysis of the RDL and a 2005 draft with musical settings but none of the celebrant's �silent prayers�.

How does one have a "draft" of a liturgy that has already been approved?

Mary

Put simply I'm interested in liturgics (not just the Divine Liturgy, but also the Divine Office and para-liturgical services). I've collected service books of various Orthodox and Eastern Catholic jurisdictions along with Roman Catholic, Coptic, Armenian, and even some Protestant books.

I have seen the 'theory' of the RDL - the text - and I wanted to hear it in 'practice'. In all honesty I'd rather attend another 4 hour Coptic service (and that was mostly in Arabic, a language I do not understand).

Mary,

I do not (yet) have a copy of the RDL as officially promulgated 6 January 2007, just earlier, draft, versions.

For the liturgicon see bottom:
http://www.patronagechurch.com/Liturgicon_2006/2007%20Liturgy%20-%20Music.htm

specifically
http://www.patronagechurch.com/Liturgicon_2006/Chrysostom/Liturgy.htm

For "peoples" book and music:
http://metropolitancantorinstitute.org/Publications2.html

Thanks. I just haven't had a chance to print them yet.

My question is directed over and above your sequential exposure to the liturgy, and is not a criticism of your use of the term "draft"....

The curious thing is that it has been stated several times in this Forum that the liturgy was approved by Rome before Metropolitan Judson died and that NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN CHANGED SINCE THEN.

That would mean that after the approval from Rome there would be no future "drafts" of the approved liturgy...see what I mean?

Mary

Mary,

That is a different topic and not necessarily pertinent to this particular thread, though it is a valid point! Do we not already have a thread on this particular aspect of the RDL project?

Not that I know of. I've asked the question directly and Father David answered directly that there have been NO changes to the liturgy since it was approved by Rome...not one word has been changed.

I cannot at the moment remember in what topic heading that question arose, but it is not the only place where it was mentioned.

I just hope to keep that question alive because I don't believe the answer...at least not yet.

Mary

KO63AP,

Obviously you must have listened to the radio broadcast of the Vesperal Liturgy on WHKW, 1220 AM, out of Cleveland, OH. The broadcast from St. John�s in Parma has been on the radio (different stations from time to time) for many years. I�ll be tuning in next week, maybe you starting this thread will be good for ratings?!

Monomakh

The blessing is for the reader only. Many times the reader is responding with "an to your spirit" while the Alleluia is being sung. I had never heard the reply to "Peace be to you reader" sung (chanted) by the reader or the congregation in any of the BCC, OCA , AOA, Russian Catholic or ACROD parishes I have visited over the years. Most often the reader responds "and to your spirit" in a low voice, audible but not projected.

This particular exchange between priest and reader has had the priest part in most texts but rarely the reader's response. I would guess it is to keep the exchange a private one.

As to 10 stichera, the RDL book only shows three stichera (for Sunday), however a cantor could add the remaining seven to complete the celebration.

Was this a live broadcast or prerecorded and edited for a time slot on radio? Also, was the homily broadcast? If not, that will also cut down the airtime.





Now given that earlier in the review you were more dispassionate, it seems that now you turn less than charitable. Perhaps this was the first time they had broadcast their liturgical services? True not all cantors are perfect, at least they are willing to make the effort and face the slings and arrows of perfectionists listening to the broadcast. Does your own parish provide such radio outreach as a comparison? Why do we as a church focus so much of our energy on negative aspects?

Is this broadcast available via internet?