www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Uncanonical services as supplementary spiritual nourishment

Dear Cantor Joseph,

Yes, it is horrible, but I think it is important.

That "us versus them" issue was the basis of a paper I once wrote on Vatican II and it still fascinates me.

You are a Cantor, so you are already a bit removed from us liturgically unlettered laity .

I would say that a number of paraliturgical and uncanonical services and devotions are as popular as they are because the laity feels that they "belong to us" and are "our domain in which we are the masters."

The Divine Office is still seen as the preserve of priests, to a large extent, in both Catholic and Orthodox circles.

Unless the Church gets off its butt and starts to teach the laity a thing or two in this regard, that's the way things will continue to be.

Alex

Alex,

Excellent argument for restoring the canonical services!

Joe

Friends,

Part of the problem I think is in the complications involved in attempting Vespers or Orthros with out any formal training. Trying to figure out what troparia, stichera, etc. to take or how to combine them can be very hard even for those who are supposed to know what they are doing. Another problem is those who want restoration have an all or nothing attitude, and I am not accusing anyone here. I think a more modest approach would be successful, at least in my own Metropolia. Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Sat and First and/or Third Hour before Sunday Liturgy would be a good start in my estimation. And then from here the people could be taught how to do Vespers and a Little Hour as a daily prayer rule either alone or without a priest.

In Christ,
Subdeacon Lance

You bring up a good point, Lance. At one parish I assist at we started with the Little Hours before Liturgy, and, thanks to God, we will be starting Saturday evening Vespers on the first Saturday of August. Please pray for me since we still have much music to teach.

Alex, I taught a course with Deacon Thomas Stadnik at the Stamford diaconal program last year which was basically a "Typikon for Dummies" (obviously no insult intended, just referring to the guide book series) approach to the order and texts. We started with Vespers and candidates who had not seen many regular services outside of the Divine Liturgy. Perhaps something like this in a short "how to" format would be helpful.

Dear Cantor Joseph,

That's right - no if's, and's or butt's!

Alex

I'm not sure I follow you here, Joe. Has something been said to centralize the "Mass"? I don't believe this hasn't come up yet. I don't see how communal prayer having developed within the tradition such as the Akathist and Molebens fit into this statement. If anything, although stopgap and not strictly in accordance with the Typikon, these paraliturgical devotions have in a way retarded complete minimalization to "daily Mass" in Byzantine churches.

The disuetude regarding cathedral usage needs to be considered. Any good situational analysis needs to take into account how one got there to determine where one should go. It's interesting that Joe brings up Alexander Schmemann of blessed repose. He had some interesting things to say about the demise of cathedral usage as well and the need to look at the current Typikon with regard to parochial needs and usage rather than monastic.

Molebens and Akathists are not a "waste of time" at least to many people considering the attendance at these both in the US and Europe. We can theorize and peruse conjecture, but the parish reality in the short term is that while restoring the cycle of the Horologion according to the Typikon is badly needed, these supplemental services and expressions of popular devotion will likely stay on the radar screen. We at some point have to address this and can not simply dismiss popular devotion which has had its own development since early times.

Nothing can be removed without replacement, or it leaves a vaccuum. Good liturgical catechesis, liturgical development of cantors, readers, servers, deacons, etc. all have to happen in order to restore the cycle of the Horologion. If grass-roots movements within the parishes occur to have Vespers, Matins, Hours, etc. eventually the hierarchy will have to respond. Getting some priest bought into this will also be a task to be reckoned with. We have to replace the preminence of popular devotion with a love and desire to pray the Divine Praises in order to elevate the Praises to the point of eminence.

Talking about this is OK, but eventually we have to do something on the parish level if we want to restore Vespers and Matins and at least start on the road to recovery of the Horologion and Typikon.

I go back to my "both and" statement. While the foundation of Byzantine regular liturgical life should be based on the Horologion/Typikon, there is no strict prohibition in the Typikon for legitimate development of paraliturgical devotion within the tradition. I'll point out that most of the more "vostochnik" monastic Horologia such as Jordanville contains Akathists, rules for reading Canons, etc.

As with most things, the restoration of the riches of the Horologion and Typikon have to occur in the home and parish first. Without that no number of decrees from the Eparchies, Metropolias, Patriarchs, or the Eastern Congregation will likely change anything drastically. How long since the Decree on the Eastern Churches since II? Since Orientale Lumen? Since the publication of the Ordo? The Instruction? How many Greek Catholic parishes have adopted Vespers and Matins? Probably single to low double digits in North America.

Dear Revered Subdeacons Lance and Randolph,

Any help you can provide to the liturgically unlettered would be greatly appreciated!

Lance's suggestions for an abbreviated Office for the laity is helpful.

(Troparia are to be combined??? When was that introduced into our Church?? )

I sometimes have dreams where I'm serving in Church and then don't know what I'm supposed to do . . .

I wake up in a cold sweat . . .

Alex

Dare I mention, but the Basilian Horologion/Molitvoslov has a schema for abbreviating the office by saying alternate Psalms of each hour (except Vespers) depending on the day of the week.

St. John of Shanghai came up with a wonderful rotating schema for abbreviating the Kathismata for Matins in parish use.

//Part of the problem I think is in the complications involved in attempting Vespers or Orthros with out any formal training.//

Byzantine Catholic priests never got formal training? What exactly DO they study when in the seminary?

Let me make a hypothetical case: Let�s say a newly trained salesperson is sent out to sell the products of his/her company. Let�s say that that newly trained salesperson is also a �captive� agent, that is, a salesperson who can ONLY sale what his/her company is selling and nothing else. Let�s say that that salesperson, who spent considerable time in training, sales rehearsals, tagging along with seasoned salespeople, took exams, attained licenses, and booked a few formal classes at the college, was now sent out on their own to sell. Let�s say that no sooner the salesperson gets established in a new territory they begin to sell products not produced or promoted by the company. Let�s say that most, if not all, products that are contained in the company catalogue are never given exposure or promotion. Let�s imagine now that most salespeople for that company follow the same example. Let�s say that the presidents of the various sales territories never care to follow-up with the activities of their salespeople. Let�s say that most customers find that they can get the same identical and unapproved products elsewhere. That upon visiting their offices and showrooms the territory managers discover other company logos and brand-names in the windows, whereas the only evidence that the salespeople have any ties to the company are the dusty catalogues in the back room. What will eventually happen to that company?

//Another problem is those who want restoration have an all or nothing attitude, and I am not accusing anyone here.//

Both are opposite extremes. The issue that Bishop Hilarion raised was the eclipse of the canonical services by uncanonical ones. I don�t agree with everything he said. He even states elsewhere in his lecture that the Latin Church still has an extensive practice of �private� Masses (without a congregation). I think he is mistaken.

//I think a more modest approach would be successful, at least in my own Metropolia. Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Sat and First and/or Third Hour before Sunday Liturgy would be a good start in my estimation.//

I think you meant the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh rather than the entire Metropolia? Usually, the way something is introduced is the way it will always remain. And it will become the way it has always been done for a millenium.

//And then from here the people could be taught how to do Vespers and a Little Hour as a daily prayer rule either alone or without a priest.//

Who will teach it if the clergy never received formal training � assuming they never did? Of course, if cantors get tossed out because they change a tone then such services will never get introduced. And none of this will make sense when many temples are geared for a Latin Tridentine High Mass.


Joe

This is interesting reading.

I've noticed two problems:
#1 - the laity want to participate in something they understand. That is why the Rosary is so popular in Western and Eastern Churches.
#2 - Matins and Verspers and the other Hours are prayers. They are PRAYERS. Many laity do not understand that and do not KNOW what to do, so they do not want to do them.

Both of these require teaching the people. Yes, teaching the priests, who in turn will teach the people.

Dear Cantor Joseph,

That's a question I've always wondered about!

What kind of liturgical training do our priests get in seminary?

Is it a "as you go" thing?

Even if one read books, one would need to get used to the rubrics, where to stand, when to whatever.

We can't send all our priests to St Elias in Brampton for training.

But it sounds like we may have to!

Alex