www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology The Passion Week Services and Current Reforms

incognitus posted:
> the changing of the vestments from dark to
> light is done during the chanting of "Arise, O
> God, and judge the earth", which replaces the
> Alleluia after the Epistle at the Holy Saturday
> Vespers and Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil. If
> done well, the changing of the vestments is
> very effective.

I fully agree; however, this is a local custom and I know of no where where both it is done and where "Come, receive the light ... " is also sung, so I discounted the former in my reply earlier today.

Photius

Dear Photius,
In response to your post, I also don't know of anyplace that features both the changing of the vestments at the Holy Saturday Divine Liturgy and the chanting of "Come, take ye the light . . ." just before the midnight Procession. But the "Come, take ye the light . . ." chant, while certainly pleasant, is a much more recent element. In Greece, during "Arise, O God, and judge the earth . . ." the priest goes about the temple scattering bay leaves - the yayades are very anxious to catch the bay leaves before they fall to the floor and will use them in cooking all year round, considering that in this fashion whatever dish is cooked is also blessed. In America, I've often encountered a custom of scattering, not bay leaves, but cut flowers.

Incognitus

Dear Incognitus,
In an earlier post, I also noted that "Come, take ye the light . . ." is a recent element; the best I can tell, it was introduced in the 18th century or later.
As for the custom of scattering bay leaves, I've heard of it but never witnessed it, leading me to think it's a local custom in parts of Greece ... any comments or elucidations? While I generally attend a Russian Church, I have attended the Holy Saturday Liturgy at the local GOA Temple, at a nearby GO (Ephaimite) monastery, and at several monasteries in Greece.

Photius

This is an interesting discussion and I would like to add my thoughts.

There seems to be an assumption by many that the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil on Holy Saturday is the Byzantine equivalent to the modern Roman Catholic Easter Vigil. I believe that such a conclusion is premature and possibly the product of looking at the Divine Services through Western eyes. I suggest that what is needed is for our Church to put aside such an assumption (at least as a starting point) and to take a fresh look at the history.

While I don�t have the resources to undertake such a history, I will offer another possible conclusion in the hopes that it might spur interest in patiently preserving these services as they are until such time as we have an accurate history, and can respect and cooperate with the possible future evolvement of the Holy Week services across the entire Byzantine Church.

Some thoughts:

The Hymns of Vespers � A combination of they hymns of Holy Saturday and the Resurrection. The inclusion of the hymns of expectation for Holy Saturday seem to suggest that this service belonged to the waiting of Holy Saturday and not the joyful celebration of the accomplishment of the Resurrection as fact on Pascha.

The Readings � The fifteen readings are a last minute review for the catechumens before they are baptized. They seem to focus especially on the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist in light of the Resurrection.

George Barrios in �Scripture Readings in the Orthodox Church� gives us an overview from which I�ll take a few excerpts (some are loosely paraphrased):

First Lesson � Genesis 1:1-13: �[T]he first three days of Creation are symmetrical with the death of nature which signaled the death of Christ, till he would rise from the tomb on the third day.�

Second Lesson � Is 60:1-16: �A prayer for light after darkness� not the light of creation but the uncreated light�.�

Third Lesson � Ex 12:1-11: �OT prescriptions for the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, a type of the sacrifice of Christ�. [T]he ritual meal�the reality of the Christian Eucharist.�

Fourth Lesson � �[T]he entire book of Jonah, a figure of the entombment and the Resurrection.�

Fifth Lesson � Joshua 5:10-15: �The crossing of the Jordan and entrance into the Promised Land. Eating manna. The Resurrection of Christ and the Christian Eucharist over his body and blood belong in a new order of things which transcend the merely historical.�

Sixth Lesson � Exodus 13:20 � 15:19: �The crossing of the Red Sea�. Liberation from bondage wrought by an act of God.�

Seventh Lesson � Zeph 3:8-15: �anticipation of the messianic kingdom�.

Eighth Lesson � 1 Kings 17:8-24: �a miraculous resurrection, typifying the Resurrection of Christ. � Yahweh, not Baal, is the Lord of life.�

Ninth Lesson � Isaiah 61:10-11 to 62:5: �Future glory�. What had been a prophetic vision will, through the Cross and Resurrection, become reality.�

Tenth Lesson � Gen 22:1-18: �[A]nother type of passion: the sacrifice of Isaac.�

Eleventh Lesson � Is 61:1-9: �Jesus had inaugurated his public ministry by reading this lesson in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk 4:16-21).�

Twelfth Lesson � 2 Kings 4:8-37: �Elisha and the resurrection of the son of the Shunammite.�

Thirteenth Lesson � Isaiah 63:11 � 64:5 �a psalm commemorating Yahweh�s high feats in favor of his people� �for thou O Lord art our father!��.

Fourteenth Lesson � Jer 31:31-34, LXX 38:31-34: �the new pact � shall not be written� on tablets of stone� but upon their heart.�

Fifteenth Lesson � Daniel 3:1-88 �their call upon all creatures to join in their hymn of praise.�

Epistle at the Basil Liturgy � Romans 6:3-11: �Know you not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? � As Christ was raised up from the dead�even so also should we walk in the newness of life.�

Gospel at the Basil Liturgy � Matthew 28:1-20: �Fear not! I know you seek Jesus the Crucified: he is not here, he is risen as he said.�

Now, I quoted all this for a reason. To Barrios analysis let�s add the final part of the Gospel (verses 19 & 20): �Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." The point I am recommending for consideration here is that since the Old Testament lessons and the Epistle are a last minute review for the catechumens before they are baptized, and since they focus especially on the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist in light of the Resurrection, that the Gospel could also have been chosen not specifically as the first announcement of the Resurrection at a Paschal Vigil, but rather as the final and preeminent lesson of the command from Jesus to his disciples to baptize all nations. It seems possible that the whole of this service (in whatever combinations of Vespers and Liturgy there have been in history) is geared to the Baptism of the catechumens so that they might fully participate in the Feast of the Resurrection, which was yet still to come.

The changing from dark to white vestments � Surely the white vestments are a symbol of the Resurrection. But in this case could they primarily be the symbol of the white baptismal garment? Could the rubric to change from dark to white vestments have taken on its symbol of the proclamation of the Resurrection only after public baptism was no longer the custom? I can easily imagine the newly baptized Christians robed in their white baptismal garments and standing before the deacon proclaiming this Gospel, and seeing it not primarily as an announcement of the Resurrection but more so as a new commissioning to these newly baptized to go forth and proclaim Christ to all nations.

�Morn not for me� (the Ninth Ode sung instead of �It is truly proper�) and �The Lord arose as out of a sleep� (the Communion Hymn) � The text and music for these is anticipatory, even mournful. They seem to be a reflection of the historical reality of the Resurrection, not as part of the new proclamation belonging to the feast.

Finally, this Vespers and Basil Liturgy does not have an equivalent of the Paschal �Theme Song� (the troparion �Christ is Risen!�).

To restate my original hypothesis: the services of Holy Saturday (the Vespers and Divine Liturgy) were historically primarily geared towards baptizing the catechumens and that this service was never the Byzantine equivalent of the modern Roman Catholic Easter Vigil.

I will note again that I am not saying that the Holy Week services should never change or develop. They will. I am saying that any change of these services in the Ruthenian Church should be accomplished together with the entire Byzantine Church (Catholic and Orthodox), taking into consideration the legitimate customs of the Ruthenian Recension.

Admin,

I agree completely that this Liturgy was primarily a Baptismal Liturgy, with the Resurrection theme being secondary and muted, for the true Paschal Vigil is indeed Matins.

My only recommendation concerning this Liturgy is that it be moved to the late afternoon/early evening and scheduled so that their is only short interval between it and Matins so those who wish to attend both may do so without having to make two trips and those who do not want to attend both can choose which service they would rather attend. Also, if there are baptisms to be done do them at this Liturgy.

Fr. Deacon Lance

In practice, I find that I need a good rest between the end of Vespers and Basil and the beginning of the Midnight Paschal Vigil (which actually begins around 11:30 PM but I need to be in Church earlier).
In some parishes, one finds the outrageous custom of expecting the priest to spend all day Holy Saturday going from house to house in order to bless the Paschal table. If he does such a thing, he is guaranteed to have no voice at midnight. On the other hand, it is not ridiculous to ask him to visit a few sick people. But better to do this on Bright Monday, after the priest has had a good sleep and will not be in danger of imminent collapse.

Incognitus

Father Deacon Lance,

Why do you make such a recommendation?

If this Holy Saturday Vespers and Divine Liturgy was historical primarily a Baptismal Liturgy, what justification is there for simply moving it �as is� and making it into the first 2/3 of the Paschal Vigil? The structure of the service assumes that numerous individuals will be baptized. I see no pastoral benefit for simply moving this service to the evening and making it the larger part of the Paschal Vigil.

This Vespers / Basil Liturgy / Paschal Matins combination has driven members of my own family away. My mother�s favorite service has always been Pascha Matins, and she has always loved visiting the parish I belong to for the Matins and Chrysostom Divine Liturgy (the parish custom for 30 years). But at her own parish they follow the mandated Vespers / Basil Liturgy / Pascha Matins combination and it is over 3 � hours. When they first started this service she said she would never go again. It took a week of convincing her that it is OK to time things to arrive just for the Matins portion. She has done that the past two years but has told me that as she is going in for Pascha Matins large numbers of the people are leaving because of the extreme length of the service, even before the first �Christ is Risen�. How anyone can consider such an untraditional combination of services to be pastoral is beyond me.

I recommend sticking with the custom of Pascha Matins + Chrysostom Liturgy in places where it has been the tradition. Yes, many parishes have the custom of celebrating Pascha Matins on Saturday evening and the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. There is nothing wrong with simply continuing this custom. Given the celebratory character of these services it seems highly more pastoral to use (or introduce) this combination (which is pretty much the standard across the Byzantine Churches) instead of creating something new from something that was probably never primarily paschal in nature.

What kind of celebration is it for those who cannot manage the 3 � hours for Vespers / Basil Liturgy / Pascha Matins and leave before the first �Christ is Risen� (or any joyful melody of Pascha) because the kids can�t take it anymore?

Here at the parish I belong to they have now rejected the Vespers / Basil Liturgy / Pascha Matins format in favor of a 6 PM Vespers and Basil and then a 9 PM Matins and Chrysostom Liturgy. But here�s the problem. Ten years ago the late night Matins and Chrysostom Liturgy was the only evening / nighttime service. It used to attract over 350 people (the church does not hold this many people so this meant standing room only with people standing in the vestibule and even outside). Now the Vespers / Basil Liturgy attracts about 60 people and the Matins / Chrysostom Liturgy attracts about another 100 people. The church is not even half filled for the first service. The missing 200 people are not coming on Sunday instead of Saturday night. In what way is this good? [My questions are rhetorical. No answer is expected.]

The traditional Holy Week works. It should be preserved until all of Byzantium decides to make a change.

Admin

Admin,

Please reread my post, I am not for conjoining Vesperal St. Basil with Matins, it is simply to long and unfair to both the clergy, cantors, elderly and little ones. Again I propose celebrating it in late afternoon/early evening and having an interval of 1/2 hour to 1 hour interval between the end of Vesperal St. Basil Liturgy and Paschal Matins. I had never heard that some places were doing Matins then St. John Liturgy. That seems all right to me as well. In my own parish, where we do have Saturday Evening Liturgy, Holy Saturady is the only Saturday we don't have an Evening Divine Liturgy. We have St. Basil Liturgy in the morning and Matins in the evening and then two Liturgies Sunday morning (we normally have only one on Sunday) to accomodate the increased attendance.

As to mandated Vesperal St. Basil + Matins, I assume this only the Eparchy of Passaic, as I know of no parish in the Archeparchy that does this combination. It is certainly not pastorally sound in my opinion.

Fr. Deacon Lance

If we're going to "talk Typikon" (it's like "talk turkey" but probably more fattening ) then I think it would be good to look at the time specified in the St. Sabbas typikon for the Vesperal-Liturgy (quoted in the OCA annual rubrics book and the "Abridged Typikon" from St. Tikhon's). If I remember correctly, this service is to begin at the "10th hour of the day" or around 4:00 PM. Of course most everybody starts it earlier, but the Typikon still gives a time.

Then again, the "10th hour" is ultimately when the bishop-hegumen-proistamenos/predstojatel says so. :p

However, I would guess that these specified times are a bit approximate; people back then didn't have watches, clocks, Palm Pilots, cell phones, etc. These days, though, we don't all live near the church, we can't just listen for the bell (or wooden clapper as the case may be ); we run on real time.

And thank God for watches!

Dave

Father Deacon Lance,

Thanks for your post.

The Vespers / Basil Liturgy / Matins is, I believe, the mandated order in at least two of our Ruthenian eparchies. It is expected that soon it will be mandated as the only service for Saturday evening (in imitation of the Roman Easter Vigil). The ability to celebrate Vespers / Basil Liturgy separately from Matins and then join the Matins to the Chrysostom Liturgy is a concession.

The celebration of Pascha Matins and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is pretty much the universal custom about all Byzantines (Greek, Russian, you name it) for over 1,000 years. The Ruthenians were always the exception. Almost all of the Byzantine Churches celebrate the Matins / Chrysostom Liturgy at midnight. Here in Virginia by concession the Matins and Liturgy used to begin at 11:00 PM (since it was necessary for the priest to also celebrate two additional liturgies on Sunday morning to accommodate the crowds).

Admin

Administrator,

Please elaborate on the above exception. Also, can you offer any citation other than anecdotal evidence?

Tony

Tony,

I only have the knowledge of talking to people during the past years. It seems that the Ruthenians (at least those in the Carpathian Mountains) often celebrated Paschal Matins as a single service when celebrated on Saturday night and together with the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom when celebrated either at dawn or on Sunday morning.

If you were to suggest that this custom was recent (say, the last 200 or 500 years) and that the Ruthenians had previously followed the custom of celebrating Matins and the Chrysostom Liturgy at or about midnight I would not be surprised.

If you are suggesting that the midnight Matins and Chrysostom Liturgy is not the custom in the majority of the Byzantine Churches (Orthodox and Catholic) I would be surprised as it is the custom of the Russians, Greeks and Antiochian Orthodox parishes here in greater Washington, DC and pretty much everywhere else I have visited. I am not a scholar (and don�t play one on tv) but in my limited reading on this subject it seems that the midnight Matins + Liturgy service is typical and has been typical for at least the past 1,000 years.

You are the one at the seminary with access to an excellent library. Are there any comprehensive English-language histories on the customs of Holy Week and Pascha? Do they suggest that in recent times something different was the norm? Has the OCA mandated a Vesper / Basil / Matins as the new Paschal Vigil?

Admin

Going back to Dave's recent post, he is right about the start time of the Vesperal Liturgy-the 10th hour of the day, or 4:00 PM. The Typikon then goes on to say that the ecclesiarch/ustavshchik must make sure that the service is to end no later than the seocnd hour of the night-8:00 PM. Then is the priest on duty distributes a light supper to everyone (small loaf of bread, flask of wine, and seven or eight figs or dates), and the reading of the Acts of the Apostles commences. Then "when the hour arrives, the ecclesiarch strikes the big one" and the Midnight Hour begins. Then follows Matins and the Divine Liturgy, though the Typikon does not state specifically that one follows the other, though the Liturgy is to be said before 9:00 AM (as is the case, incidentally with the Nativity and Theophany Liturgies).

This of course, is the ideal situation, but to me it is the best. Here one has the Holy Saturday Liturgy at the correct time, and the Matins/Liturgy complex at the traditional time, but still there is a long period of rest ( at least 3-3.5 hours) between the services. If one cannot attend the whole complex of services, he still can come at Midnight for the Resurrectional Matins and the Liturgy. If one wants to go to both of th eLiturgies, he need not make two trips.

In Christ,
Adam

A serious problem: people need to share both in the Resurrection Orthros and in the Paschal Divine Liturgy. If we do Orthros on Saturday evening and Liturgy on Sunday morning, we are guaranteed that many people will NOT share in both. However, if we start the complex at midnight and have it timed to end the Divine Liturgy a bit before 3 AM, years of experience tell me that the Church will be full and will stay that way (especially if the priest does not bless the foods until after the Divine Liturgy - sneaky of me, I know). Try it; it works.

I am quite willing to concede that the Vespers with Basil is the older service (Saint John of Damascus did his work in the eighth century; much of Vespers and Basil clearly comes from an earlier period). But that does not prove that Saint John of Damascus was an idiot. If we will serve Vespers and Basil at 4 PM or so, over time we will gather some faithful who come to appreciate the service (I've even known Baptisms to take place at it). But if we are going to do the 15 readings (as is my invariable custom), we need people who can understand them and make the connections.

Incognitus

With all respect to 'incognitus', I think 4 p.m. is too late, and doesn't allow enough time for all that has to be done after this service, and before Paschal Matins. It is a major service, and you also need enough time to "recover" after it. The Greeks tend to start it at dawn, ...too early. Can't we compromise? 9 or 10 a.m. is ideal, pastoral, and a middle path between either extreme.