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Dec 29th, 2019
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Christ is born! Glorify Him!
At the Cathedral of St. John the Forerunner in Munhall, PA, this was our schedule on Christmas Eve:
9 a.m. Royal Hours
3 p.m. Vesper-Liturgy of St Basil
8 p.m. Great Compline followed by caroling
9 p.m. Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
So, for the sake of clarity and charity---what "Metropolitan calendar" is being discussed?
Prof. J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA
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"Ecclesiastical Wall Calendar for 2004 with a Martyrology of the Byzantine Church", Byzantine Seminary Press, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Ung-Certez
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With respect:
The wall calendar does not/cannot contain all liturgical information for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and the Divine Praises in the Byzantine Metropolitan Province.
It must be read in tandem with the TYPIKON published by Eastern Christian Publications, Fairfax VA, which states on its title page "approved for use in the Metropolia of Pittsburgh."
Prof. J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA
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The Liturgical Wall Calendar should at least mention the Great Compline service in the "Remarks" section. In the remarks section for
Dec. 24th., it says :
A.M. Royal Hours
P.M. Vespers w/St. Basil Liturgy
It should at least mention Great Compline in the remarks section, as this service (by tradional recension usage) has always been used on Christmas Eve. I think we need to refer back to the 1944 Typicon, as it has always been a good reference for the Ruthenian Recension.
Ung-Certez
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Originally posted by Ung-Certez:
I think we need to refer back to the 1944 Typicon, as it has always been a good reference for the Ruthenian Recension.
Ung-Certez Ung, Do you mean the Ordo Celebrationis or something else? IIRC the Ordo doesn't have the combinations for the feasts in it as does a Typikon. T
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Christ is born! Glorify Him!
At Holy Spirit (Oakland) and SS Peter & Paul (Duquesne and Braddock) Byzantine Catholic Churches, this was our schedule on Christmas Eve:
9:00 a.m. Royal Hours
7:15 p.m. Great Compline with Litia
8:00 p.m. Vesper-Liturgy of St Basil
Rev. Fr. James E. Reiter
General Substitute
Irwin, PA
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Happy New Year to All!
Just a word on the Great Compline discussion.
My purpose in putting the Vespers and Divine Liturgy in a note, observing that it is to be celebrated in the evening, was because we have got into the (bad) habit of celebrating this Liturgy in the morning. In many of the Slav recensions, the habit (I won't label it a "tradition") was to have Vespers in the morning with the Liturgy. The earlier reason for this "habit" was that one had to fast on this day until Vespers, and the earlier it was the earlier you could eat something (though they kept strict abstinence). Today the reason it is celebrated at inconvenient times is that it is too long and the people wouldn't come, though this Liturgy was packed at St. Stephen's in Euclid, where I observed Christmas, and it was celebrated at 5:00 pm) One problem is that the Feast of the Birth According to the Flesh of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ (aka "Christmas") was one of the great feasts that actually had two Liturgies: the Liturgy of St. Basil on the eve of the feast and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom on the day itself, each with its own set of propers. In the Byzantine Church, actually, the Gospel of the Birth of Christ according to St. Luke was read at the Vigil Liturgy and on the day itself, the Gospel of the Magi (who offered three gifts, though we don't know how many there were) according to St. Matthew was read. (The Gospel of the Birth according to Matthew is read on the Sunday before Christmas and at Orthros of Christmas Day).
Likewise, in Slav recensions, it was customary to celebrate a "Vsenocnaja Bdenije" ("All-Night Vigil") on the eve of Great Feasts, combining the offices of Vespers and Orthros ("Matins"). Since Vespers for Christmas had already been celebrated ("having come to the setting of the sun" at 8 am) the Compline was substituted for Vespers in the All-night Vigil. Since it was a day of fast, the Great Compline was celebrated. Having said this, let it be known: I have nothing against Compline! No, i don't and the more we can pray in preparation for the feast, the better. However, I can comprehend that many people do not want long marathon services, so that pastorally, pastors of souls must sometimes make compromises. My opinion is that, if you MUST choose, the Vespers and Liturgy of St. Basil is the more important service.
It is true that the Office of Great Compline contains the canticle from Isaiah, "God is with us," and it does seem to be especially connected with Christmas - the Feats of "Emmanuel," "God is with us," and this section of scripture is read at the Vespers Vigil service.
However, the Office of great Compline does present some problems of liturgical focus. It is actually an amlagam of three serarate service, each with its clear beginning ("Come, let us worship ... ) The first is Compline proper, with a Hexapsalmos, the Canticle of Isaiah, some troparia, and the prayer, "O Lord, our Lord, as you preserved us this day ..." The second service is one of intercession-penance centered around Psalms 50 and 101 and the Prayer of Manasseh; the third service is actually a kind of Orthros analogue (a Matins? a nightime office of praise), with psalms 69, 142 and the Lesser Doxology, concluding with litija, the litany and apostichera, and then the blessing of bread, which are not done at Vespers on this day. Slav recensions then go into the Orthros service. On Christmas Eve, the more important aspects of this service (IMHO) would be the Canticle of Isaiah ("God is with us") and the litija section.
I would hope that the Vespers and Liturgy of St. Basil could become an important part of our Christmas piety, and that's why I emphasize that service.
Fr. David
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I began Great Compline at 7:15 PM. There were 5 people in church (me, my brother, two cantors, and the brother of one of the cantors). It stayed this way for most of the service. I finished compline at 7:45 PM and went straight into vespers with the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. By that time most of the people were coming into the church. I was finished with everything at about 9:52 PM. This was about a total of 2 hours and 37 minutes. I was told that some of the parishes took about 3 hours for everything. 
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