This question came up in the thread on the Our Father and I wondered if it could be elaborated upon. We were recently informed that at the very end of the liturgy we would be asking God for many blessed years rather than many happy years.

In the Our Father thread it was difficult to tell which had been in more common use previously, and I was curious if commenters could shed some light here on that question. Which is the older use, blessed or happy, and which was the more common? Or was it one of those local customs where some churches used the one English term and some the other, with no rhyme or reason behind it?

I will withhold my own view of this change. I sin enough, and will forgo writing uncharitably for once.

In the 1940's, the prayer books published a opposite page translation in English of the Divine Liturgy.

"Many years, benevolent years (x2)- In health and salvation, many years, benevolent years."

Rev. Julius Grigassy's "My Little Prayer Book"(Moj Molitvennik)
c. 1944.

But this was for a referrence only, as liturgies in English did not take place until after the 1964-65 Liturgical Commission was formed to make the first standardized English liturgy for the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church.

"Many benevolent years"!

Ung

Ung...some parishes celebrated the Divine Liturgy in English prior to the 64-65 Liturgical Commission...

Job,

It was very limited. Archbishop Sheen and Exarch Nicholas Elko held the first public English Pontifical Divine Liturgy in the late 1950's at Mt. Macrina, Uniontown. But "mandated" English liturgies didn't happen until around 1968-1969 with the establishment of the Ruthenian Metropolia under Metropolitan Stephen.

Ung

The 3 posts that had preceded this post were off topic, and have been split into a thread of their own. I remind posters to keep threads on topic.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator

Merry Christmas from Florida...
I remember singing "blessed years" in the '50's. The Slavonic is "blahaja l'ita," Blessed years. The second line is "in health and happiness" -- "nas dravije -- to your health." It doesn't make good grammatical sense to say "...many happy years/ in health and happiness..."
At any rate, Happy and Blessed Christmas season to all, and many happy new years to come!
Andy

"Blahaja l'ita" means neither "happy years" nor "blessed years"; it means "good years.

Blahyi is the normal Church-Slavonic adjective for "good".

Fr. Serge

..."Good" is good! Thanks, Fr. Serge!
Andy