Part 6 historical prospective of the liturgy prayers before the iconostas interpretation
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Part 6 historical prospective of the liturgy prayers before the iconostas interpretation
- 1. Historical Prospective of the Liturgy-Part VI DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM PRAYERS BEFORE THE ICONOSTAS INTERPRETATION ipodiakonos zoran j. bobic
- 2. Interpretation… “Holy Place the Holy of Holies” = name of the sanctuary; It is “dwelling-place of God on Earth”; Real presence of the Eucharistic Christ; To approach this one had to be “ritually pure”; There was a fear of ritual impurity, physical, physiological, moral …etc.; “Dwelling Place” is called because Christ is “Tsar of all heaven and earth”; Therefore, “iconostas” is based on all above;
- 3. Tropars of Penitence... We approach God with fear in trembling prostration, but never without hope; Why: because we know that Christ is understanding and compassionate; Though our asceticism: personal guilt, sin and repentance which was embroidered with hope; This state of mind is illustrated in the penitential “tropars”; In them we plea, beg, yarn for acceptance by God…etc.; Similar like when child wayward of its father; Therefore only father is capable of such forgiveness;
- 4. Tropars of Theotokos… We call Mother of Jesus: Theotokos (Bogorodice Djevo)-”Virgin Birthgiver of God”; She is the most honored; Byzantine Liturgy is inspired with great devotion to her; Thousands of hymns have been composed; Our Church have Marian feast for every day throughout the year; They are either feasts to her or her miracles; Byzantine liturgists were making sure that her name and glory was in all liturgical prayers;
- 5. Before the Icons of: Christ and His Mother - ICONS For us Orthodox the icon is a veritable theophany; The icon is a dynamic manifestation of divine energy at work on earth; The mystical teaching of icons came from “Heaven on earth” (church bldg.); Gregory of Nyssa set the first such teaching; Later in the Church history we had “iconoclastic controversy”; Icon represents human forms that have been “regenerated into eternity”; Iconographers attempted to convey theological meaning through symbolic colors and forms; For example: Saints are represented facing forward, the entire face is showing;
- 6. Before the Icons of: Christ and His Mother - TROPARS The tropars are the same as those in the Canonical Office in Sext during the Great Lent; Forgiveness is asked of Christ; The theme recurs in the chants of the Holy Week (Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in Matins of Easter morning); And in the tropar of the Easter-time: Christ is risen…; Theotokos tropar: emphasis on “Mother of God” and the power of that position;
- 7. Bows and Reconciliation: Before entering: priest and deacon bow to the faithful on the right and on the left of the Church; These bows are plea for pardon and forgiveness from all; They are required and mandatory; This comes from Matt. 5:23-24; Faithful bow in return as well; This came in practice during the 16th century;
- 8. Kissing the: Gospel Book, Altar and Hand Cross: Priest kisses the Gospel book because it contains the teaching of Christ; Gospel Book takes the place of Christ; Kissing of the Gospel Book is reserved to the priest only; (sometimes for faithful) Deacon kisses the hand Cross and the Altar only; The Altar does not represent the Lord himself but only His Throne; - priest kisses the Altar as well; Cross is the crucifix with engraved corpus and it has a handle; We all kiss this Cross, because it is the instrument of Christ’s death, it is the source of all grace and a sign of victory over the power of evil; Cross is also the sign of political might;
Editor's Notes
- The Eastern Christian approached his God with fear, in trembling prostration, but never without hope. His fear was never despairing, since he knew that Christ was understanding and compassionate. On the one hand, the tremendous menace of the Last Judgment forever seared his consciousness; on the other, the image of a meek and loving Saviour, destitute and suffering, poured healing balm of repentance into his soul. Though the fabric of Eastern asceticism has always been interwoven with an acute sense of personal guilt, sin, and repentance, it was also embroidered with hope. This state of mind is admirably illustrated in the penitential tropars. Like all tropars and kondaks translated from the Greek, they show an extraordinary economy of words. They are like near-abstractionist paintings, depicting in a few deft strokes what generally requires many. They are beautiful in their simplicity and humility. They plead, they beg, they yearn for acceptance by God in a sense that a wayward child does of its father: " Have mercy. . . because we have trusted in You. . . . Be not very angry with us. " The reason why God should be compassionate is unique: because He is our God! 1 No better theological reason could in fact be given. A child, when it has offended its father and wants forgiveness, especially for some offense unpardonable to others, will say : "You will forgive me for you are my father." Nothing more is needed. Nothing more will suffice. Only a father is capable of such forgiveness to the child begotten by him. God made us. We are all the work of his hand and, hence, no matter what we have done, we call upon his name. He will be kind because he is God!
- The Byzantine-Slav Liturgy glories in calling the Mother of Jesus, BoJzorodytsja Divo, literally the Virgin Birthgiver of God. Of all her names, this is the one by which she is most honored. In one way or another all her titles stem from her divine maternity. She is known to the Slav by many names, but in his heart she is always the Mother of God and hence all-powerful. That is why he trusts her completely, that is why he loves and honors her. The Liturgy of Byzantium inspired his great devotion to her and continues to nurture it. Indeed, devotion to the Theotokos has always been one of the deepest in the Byzantine Church. Thousands of hymns not only in form of troparia and kondakia but other chants and songs of praise to her were composed and translated into the Slavonic. The Eastern Church calendar has a Marian feast for every day throughout the year, that is, 365 feasts relating to her or to her miracles. One of the pre-doininant concerns of ancient Byzantine liturgists was to introduce her name and glory into all possible liturgical prayers. Of the hundreds of troparia composed in her honor, this is among the best known and loved. Most priests and many faithful know it by heart for it is chanted together with the preceding penitential ones as eisodika, or entrance songs, in the Eucharistic Liturgy " for every need", as well as in the daily Office of Compline. Thus these troparia were fainiliar to all long before they became part of the ritual preparation for the clergy before the Eucharistic Liturgy.
- For the Byzantine Christian, the icon is a veritable theophany, a dynamic manifestation of divine energy at work on earth. The person represented is in some spiritual way actually present in the icon. From this presence flow streams of grace upon the sinful world, purifying and sanctifying it. How explain this mysterious presence in the icon? To define this presence would be as difficult as explaining the Shekinah or the mysterious presence of Christ amid two or three gathered together in his name (Matt. 18:20; cf. p. 582 f.). Yet such a presence was no less true. The mystical teaching concerning icons stems from the master idea of all Eastern typology, the idea of the church building as "Heaven on earth." Gregory of Nyssa was probably the first to set out the main lines of such teaching. ' His doctrine was taken up and developed by others. The author of the eighth-century Rerum ecclesiasticarum contemplatio, for example, expresses it boldly: " The heaven wherein the Triune God lives and moves on earth is the Christian holy place, the church .... " The presence of heaven passed easily from church to icon. In the decision of the seventh general council a contribution toward a better understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation or, more precisely, the mystery of God's communication of himself to the world and to man in particular. That is why iconography was always such a serious science. It was never merely an art form. To be worthy of the task, the ancient icon painters prayed and fasted for days before taking up their brush-only then could they communicate the Divine through their image-making. Because icons represent human forms that have been " regenerated into eternity,“ holy bodies of persons transformed, transfigured by grace in prayer, iconographers attempted to convey theological meanings through symbolical colors and forms. Saints, for example, are represented facing forward so that their entire face is showing, for a spiritual man cannot be incomplete, with one eye only. "A soul that has been illuminated by divine glory," teaches Macarius the Great, "becomes all light and all face. . . and has no part with that which is behind but stands altogether facing forward. " The actual though mysterious presence in icons of the holy ones depicted is the underlying reason for their intense veneration by the Slavs. Icons would be placed in the east comer of a room, in a small shrine, the Ki"vot (even the word kivot is the same as that of the altar tabernacle), encased in glass and lined with silk or velvet. Such a comer was called " red," synonymous with " beautiful " in the Old Slavonic language. It is still sometimes used to denote something extraordinary, festive, or exceptionally important. Even the most humble peasant tried to decorate this comer in the nicest way he knew, with immaculate linen towels elaborately embroidered at both ends. Before the icon(s), a small altar lamp burned day and night like the sanctuary lamp of Westem churches. Belief in the mysterious presence of Christ, his Mother, or the saint in the icon is the reason why in Christian Russia and the Ukraine everyone entering his own home or visiting a friend would bow before the icon(s) and make the sign of the cross before greeting his family or host. The same '' presence" forestalled any unseemly conduct, for it is difficult to lie, cheat, or be brutal before an icon, " in front of the saints. " How deeply ingrained this feeling was in the lives of ordinary people is shown by the old proverb : Before committing a foul deed, " carry out the saints, " i.e., the holy icons. Special efficacy is hoped for by saying the tropars to Christ and his Mother before their icons, in their " presence. "
- The tropars said before their icons are the same as those recited in the Canonical Office in Sext during the Great Lent. Again, their meaning is primarily penitential. Forgiveness is asked of Christ, the" Gracious One, " because that is why he took on flesh and chose to ascend the cross. " Here the voluntariness of the Passion is stressed, as it is in many Oriental accounts of the institution. The evident note of joy ending the first tropar illustrates the Eastern attitude to Christ's cross: sorrow and joy. Sorrow because he suffered and died. Joy because he vanquished death by death, and his resurrection is associated with ours. The theme recurs in the chants of Holy Week, in the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in Matins of Easter morning, and in the tropar of Easter-time: " Christ is risen from the dead, by his death vanquishing death and giving life to those in the grave. “ In the second tropar, to the Theotokos, the emphasis is not on her role as our Mother but as the Mother of God and the power of that position : " Bestow your compassion on us "-not on us your children-and" look down upon the people" -not upon your people-. Her great power stems from her position as the Mother of God. Power, if possessed by a friend, inspires confidence and hope : "Show your power as always." Unswerving confidence in her power makes her a logical choice as protectress. For the ancient Slav, no less than the Greek before him, Mary's victory-giving power was not merely spiritual but extended to the physical, and even to the purely military. This is clear from the countless instances of protection attributed to the Mother of God by the ancient chroniclers. Her role of Victory, the military patroness of the city, explains why nearly every ancient Slav town and city had at least one church dedicated to her.
- Just before entering the sanctuary, the priest and deacon bow to the faithful on the right and on the left of the church. These bows plead for pardon and forgiveness from all, a required condition before entering the sanctuary. This is a purely evangelical idea : “If therefore thou o that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift" (Matt. 5:23-24). The faithful bow in return to express their pardon. Penitence is hollow if not accompanied by reconciliation. These two bows to the people became general practice in the sixteenth century. Long before that, members of the old Kievan eparchies were forbidden to enter the church as long as they bore any wrath in their hearts. On entering the church, the faithful would bow first to the inconostas and then to both sides of the congregation as a greeting of love and peace, and as a sign of reconciliation.ffer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember.
- The priest kisses the Gospel Book because it contains the teaching and counsels of God, very often in the very words of Christ. In a sense, therefore, the Gospel Book takes the place of Christ. That is why it is accorded the place of honor in the front-center of the altar, the "throne," where nothing else is allowed to stand except the chalice and diskos (paten) of the Eucharist. Now discontinued in the Latin Church, this practice was common to both Churches for hundreds of years. The same high regard for the Gospel Book shared by both Churches was shown in another way, in the care and wealth expended on Gospel manuscripts. For centuries, they were decorated with miniatures, some even written in gold or silver script on a purple ground. Later, the bindings were adorned with gems, gold, silver or ivory. Byzantine Churches still continue the practice. However humble a Russian or Ukrainian parish may be, its Gospel Book is covered with rich ornaments, including five miniature icons, of the Four Evangelists and Christ the Teacher. To emphasize the high esteem for Christ in his Word, the kissing of the Gospel Book is reserved to the priest; the deacon kisses the hand cross. Since the altar does not represent the Lord himself but only his throne, it is kissed by both. The hand cross which lies on the altar is a crucifix with engraved corpus. It has a handle so that it can be easily held whenever the rubrics prescribe it. The ministers kiss it, as all Christians kiss the cross, because it is the instrument of Christ's death, the source of all grace, and a sign of victory over the powers of evil. It is the power of the cross that impresses the Byzantine Christian. Ever since the conversion of Constantine, the cross had become a sign of political might, appearing on imperial banners with the word& In hoc signo vinces (By this sign, you shall be victorious). In the newly converted Kievan lands, both notions-of reverence and power-found fertile ground. " Kissing the cross " became the gravest oath and the seal to any pact between feudal principalities.