LITURGICAL BOOKS INTRODUCTION The official books containing the
LITURGICAL BOOKS
INTRODUCTION � The official books containing the divine services of our Church are called Liturgical Books. � They are used in the Liturgy and in all other services and ceremonies of our Church by the priests, the readers and the chanters � The most important and indispensable of these books are the following:
The Evangelion (Book of the Holy Gospels) � This contains excerpts from the Gospels of the four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John � These excerpts are read aloud by the priest or the deacon during the Liturgy and other ceremonies
The Typikon � The Typikon (the book containing the order of the divine services) defines which of these excerpts should be read every Sunday, Feast Day, or other ceremony
The Apostolos � This book contains excerpts from the “Acts of the Apostles” and the “Epistles” of the Apostles, especially the Epistles of St. Paul � These excerpts are read aloud by the church readers or chanters before the Gospel readings
Cycle of Readings The readings from the “Acts” and the “Epistles” are also arranged on the same principle as the readings from the Gospels so that the contents of all these books of the New Testament (with the exception of the Apocalypsis – Revelation) are covered within a church year � The cycle starts with the “Acts of the Apostles” on Easter Sunday and continues with the Epistles of Paul and the General Epistles of James, Peter, John and Judas �
Church Calendar year � Special readings are assigned to special feast days, as in the case of Gospel readings � Thus, if every day one reads the prescribed readings from the Book of the Gospel and the Apostolos, starting from Easter Sunday, he will cover the contents of the New Testament (with the exception of the Revelation) within the church’s calendar year
The Euchologion (Prayer Book) � This book contains the divine services of all sacraments and the main ceremonies of our Church, like Vespers, the Matins, the short and long service of the blessed water, the Funeral Service and others � This is the reason that this book is called Euchologion (Prayer Book)
Agiasmatarion � There are two types of Euchologion, the complete and the abridged one � The first one contains all the divine services � The second contains the most usual of these services; that is, those which the priest performs daily � This abbreviated Euchologion is otherwise called Agiasmatarion
Book of Offices � During the Liturgy, the priests use a small book which contains the Liturgies of St. John the Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts � This book is commonly called “Book of Offices” (Phyllada tis Liturgias)
The Horologion � The name of this book is derived from its contents � At the beginning, it contained the services of the “Hours”, that is, the psalms, the hymns, and the prayers which are read in the monasteries at certain hours of the day
Contents of Horologion Later there were added the services of the vespers, the matins, the evening prayer, the “Akathistos Hymn”, several other prayers, and the “Menologion” (Calendar) with the ‘Kontakion’ and the ‘Apolytikion’ (Dismissal Hymn) of each holy day � Briefly, the Horologion contains the unalterable prayers of the daily services recited and chanted by the church readers and singers �
The Psalter (Psaltirion) � Psalter was the name of the musical instrument which was used by the Hebrews in their synagogues when they sang � In our Church, Psalter is the book of the Old Testament which contains the Psalms of David
PSALMS OF DAVID � These psalms, 150 in all, are prayers in a poetical form which express the feelings of man towards God � The psalms in the Psalter are divided into groups called Kathismata, because when they are read –usually in the monasteries- the worshippers sit down
The Meneae (Minea) � The Meneae are twelve books one for each month of the year � They contain the troparia, the prayers and hymns prescribed for the services of the unchangeable feasts of the Lord, of the Mother of God, and of all the Saints of our Church for all twelve months
Synaxarion � They also contain the ‘Synaxarion’, that is a brief history of the celebrated event or the life of the Saint � The prayers and hymns of the Meneae are recited or chanted during the daily vespers and matins
The Triodion (Book of three songs) � This book is called Triodion because its canons originally consisted of three odes (groups of troparia) � The Triodion contains the prayers and hymns of the vespers and matins of the movable holy days of our Church from the Sunday of the ‘Telones (Publican)and the Pharisee’ until Holy Saturday, that is the services of the ten weeks preceding Easter Sunday
The Pentecostarion This book contains the prayers and hymns of the vespers and matins of the movable feasts of our Church from Easter Sunday until the Sunday of Pentecost � This is the reason why this book is called Pentecostarion – because it covers an interval of fifty days � Later, the services of an additional week, the week immediately after the Pentecost, were added so that it closes with the Sunday of All-Saints �
The Octoechos or Parakletike (Book of Eight Tones or Book of Requests � The Octoechos is the work of John of Damascus, a Father of our Church, who, besides his broad theological education, was also a distinguished composer of hymns and music � He formed the eight ‘echoi’ (tones) of the Byzantine music
Book of Eight Tones � These eight tones are eight different types of musical harmony � Their names are: first, second, third, fourth, indirect (plagios) first, indirect second, indirect third or grave (varys), and indirect fourth � John of Damascus wrote the hymns and songs of prayer for the vespers and matins of the weekly cycle of eight weeks
Book of Requests � This book is also called Parakletike, too. This name comes from the fact that besides the weekly cycle of services it also contains canons of requests (parakletiki kanones)
The Typikon � This book contains the order of the services and ceremonies of our Church, as well as the order in which the hymns should be sung or read in the services of the vespers and matins when great feasts fall on Sundays
Books in the Typikon � Some of these books are used throughout the whole year � These are the first six, the Typikon and the Parakletiki � The Triodion is used during the ten weeks before Easter and the Pentekostarion during the eight weeks after Easter
Books used by the worshippers Besides the above liturgical books, which are officially used in our Church, there also some others which are used by worshippers � The most common of these are the “Iera Synopsis” ( a type of Breviary) and the “Ieros Synekdimos” (a guide book) � These contain the most common of the church services, and are used by many of the believers to follow along while attending these holy services or for their private prayers �
VOCABULARY EXERCISE � 1. absolutely necessary � 2. a fundamental rule � 3. disclosure � 4. to give, to allocate � 5. to make a book or play shorter � 6. burial of a person � 7. make shorter � 8. come from � 9. not capable of being changed � 10. lasting or taking a short time � 11. not fixed � 12. tax-collector � 13. to go before � 14. large � 15. to be present � � � � 1. indispensable 2. principle 3. revelation 4. assign 5. abridge 6. funeral 7. abbreviate 8. derive from 9. unalterable 10. brief 11. movable 12. publican 13. precede 14. broad 15. attend
READIN G COMPREHENSION 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. The name of this book is derived from its contents It is the work of John of Damascus These are twelve books, one for each month of the year It contains the order of the services and ceremonies This book contains psalms called Kathismata It is a type of breviary for the worshippers It contains the divine services of all the sacraments and main ceremonies of the Church These books contain prayers and hymns of the movable holy days of our Church In this book we can find writings of the four Evangelists 1. Horologion 2. Octoechos 3. Meneae 4. Typikon 5. Psalter 6. Iera Synopsis 7. Euchologion 8. Triodion, Pentecostarion � 9. Book of the Holy Gospels � � � �
VOCABULARY � � � � � Contain: (v) to hold within its volume or area, to consist of, περιέχω, περικλείω Indispensable : (adj. ) absolutely necessary, essential, απολύτως απαραίτητος, αναγκαίος Principle: (n. ) a fundamental rule, a general truth, αρχή Content: (n) something that is contained, περιεχόμενο Revelation: (n) disclosure, αποκάλυψη Assign: (v) to give, to allocate, to specify, αναθέτω, δίνω, ορίζω Case: (n) the actual state of things, situation, περίπτωση Prescribe: (v. ) to lay down, in writing or otherwise, as a rule or a course of action to be followed; appoint, ordain, or enjoin, συνιστώ ή επιβάλλω τη χρήση, καθορίζω, προδιαγράφω Abridge: (v) to make a book play etc. shorter by using fewer words or leaving parts out, περικόπτω, συντομεύω, συντέμνω
VOCABULARY � � � � Funeral: (n) burial or cremation of a dead person with the usual ceremonies, κηδεία Abbreviate: (v) make shorter, συντέμνω Presanctified Gifts, Liturgy of: Λειτουργία των Προηγιασμένων Δώρων: This Liturgy is not a complete Liturgy but rather a Vespers, in which Holy Communion kept from a preceding liturgy is administered. Derive from: (v) come from, προέρχομαι από, κατάγομαι από Unalterable: (adj. ) not capable of being changed, αναλλοίωτος, ανεπίδεκτος αλλοίωσης, αλλαγής ή μεταβολής Brief: (adj. ) lasting or taking a short time, σύντομος Ode: (n) kind of poem, usually about a strong feeling or noble idea, ωδή Movable: (adj. ) capable of being moved, not fixed, επιδεκτικός μετακίνησης, μετατόπισης ή μετάθεσης, κινητός
VOCABULARY � � � � � Publican: (n) tax-collector, φοροεισπράκτορας, τελώνης Precede: (v) to go before, προηγούμαι, προπορεύομαι Interval: (n) an intervening period of time, (μεσολαβούν) διάστημα, διάλειμμα Request: (n) the act of asking for something to be given or done, αίτημα, έκκλιση, παράκληση Broad: (adj. ) of great extent, large, πλατύς, φαρδύς, εκτεταμένος Distinguished: (adj. ) made conspicuous by excellence; noted; eminent; famous, διακεκριμένος, διαπρεπής Composer: (n) συνθέτης Indirect: (adj. ) not direct, έμμεσος Besides: (adv. ) furthermore, also, moreover, additionally, επιπλέον, επίσης, επιπροσθέτως Attend: (v) to be present at, παρακολουθώ, παρίσταμαι
- Slides: 29