This video is of one of my all time favourite psalms, chanted at one of my all time favourite churches, and by one of my all time favourite chanters!
Hope everyone is managing this Great Lent, and I hope everyone is remembering that: “The mercy of the Lord is unto eternity, even unto eternity, upon those that fear Him”. And by “fear” it is to say “upon those that reverence, love, respect Him”. Whether you’re going through Lent like a spiritual triathlon runner, or barely making it to the finish line on account of your spiritual slothfullness like me, I think we can all take comfort in knowing that God’s mercy is unto eternity!
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again (John 4:13)
An excerpt from The Scent of Holiness: Lessons from a Women’s Monastery, published by Conciliar Press, a translation I did of the Greek folk song, Η Ευχή – The Prayer (pp. 170-1). To hear a Greek version of this song see the video embedded below.
From Pharaoh of Egypt, slavery departing,
With my guide Moses, to Sinai arriving.
Mount Sinai to ascend! Oh how much I desire,
To the holy summit’s peak and the Prayer to acquire.
May God give me patience on the harsh ascent,
Fortitude, endurance, for the Prayer’s acquirement.
Primarily obedience, the Scriptures and watchfulness
Combined with holy silence enhance true prayerfulness.
In order for you the Prayer to properly say,
From your mind worldly things throw completely away.
In the beginning be sure to say the Prayer orally,
And in due time you will find you say it noetically.
On the words of the Prayer hold full attention,
For if you imagine you’re in danger of delusion.
The Prayer exasperates the one who is tempting,
Wherefore don’t be disconcerted by his relentless attacking.
From the tree of prayer the sweetest fruits you receive,
Oh! What honey gushes forth you’re unable to conceive.
How the Prayer works, to tell you don’t ask me,
I’m unable to explain, for it’s a divine mystery.
When the Prayer energizes within, continually,
Then guard it well, carefully, with much humility.
My venerable elder, my noetic Moses, guiding,
To acquire the Prayer bestow upon me your blessing.
The Prayer she gives; Christians she blesses,
The Mother of God, the Most Holy Abbess.
Mount Sinai to ascend! Oh how much I desire,
To the holy summit’s peak and the Prayer to acquire.
Once, on the feast of St. Anthony the Great, during the years St. Gregory Palamas lived in Thessaloniki, he decided not to attend the “panigiri” (feast) at the church of St. Anthony on account of the crowds. Instead he stayed in his cell and prayed alone. (If you’ve ever been to a panigiri in Greece you know how crazy the crowds can be). While he was praying St. Anthony the Great appeared to him and admonished him for not attending his church in Thessaloniki. So St. Gregory got up and went.
Today, located in the same place the church of St. Anthony was in St. Gregory’s time, the newer (18th century) church of St. Anthony was jam packed with people there to honour, remember, and receive the blessing of St. Anthony, the father of monasticism. I took the above photo from the narthex (gives you an idea of the crowd). The video below is from the vespers service last night.
(To read more about St. Anthony and see his life in icons, go here.)
O Father Anthony, you imitated the zealous Elijah.
You followed the straight paths of the Baptist
and became a desert dweller.
By prayer you confirmed the universe.
Wherefore, intercede with Christ our God to save our souls.
“The Huron Carol” (or “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime”) is Canada’s oldest Christmas song, written in 1643 by the Roman Catholic missionary Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit. He went to Lake Huron, a place located on the north shore of Lake Ontario where the Huron natives lived. He wrote the lyrics of the carol in the native language of the Huron people; the song’s original Huron title is “Jesous Ahatonhia” (“Jesus, he is born”). The well-known English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jessie Edgar Middleton.
Laying aside the fact that St. John Chrysostom discourages the telling of God’s great economy in allegorical forms, I find this carol endearing. The best version is done by Canadian band, Crash Test Dummies on their 2002 Christmas album, however I cannot find it anywhere on the internet to share with you. The version embedded below is sung in native Huron language, French, and English. The English lyrics are as follows:
‘Twas in the moon of winter time when all the birds had fled,
that Mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead.
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wand’ring hunters heard the hymn:
“Jesus, your King, is born; Jesus is born; In Excelsis Gloria!”
Within a lodge of broken bark the tender Babe was found.
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped His beauty’round.
And as the hunter braves drew nigh,
the angel song rang loud and high:
“Jesus, your King, is born; Jesus is born; In Excelsis Gloria!”
The earliest moon of winter time is not so round and fair
as was the ring of glory on the helpless Infant there.
While Chiefs from far before Him knelt,
with gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
“Jesus, your King, is born; Jesus is born; In Excelsis Gloria!”
O children of the forest free, O sons of Manitou,
The Holy Child of earth and heav’n is born today for you.
Come, kneel before the radiant Boy
who brings you beauty, peace and joy.
“Jesus, your King, is born; Jesus is born; In Excelsis Gloria!”
Every year children come around singing ‘kalanda,’ carols here in Greece. They do this on two days: Christmas Eve day and New Year’s Eve day for St. Basil’s feast day (January 1). What would I say is the biggest difference between our average Christmas carols and Greek Byzantine carols? Theology!
The theology in some of their carols is simply breathtaking! You would think great theologians wrote these carols. Come to think of it, back in the 13th century we still had plenty of faithful who lived Christ-centered lives enough write hymns like these.
Below is my favourite Byzantine Christmas carol. I have never heard carollers sing this one at my door, though. I first learned of it when my husband, brother, sister-in-law, and I visited friends in Athens a few years ago at Christmas time. Together with their three daughters we all sung Greek carols. I was especially impressed by this one, and I think you will be too. Here are a portion of the lyrics, below is a video in which you can hear the carol.
The God who is without beginning has descended and dwelt in the Virgin Eroorem-eroorem-eroorerooh-eroorem, Rejoice O Sovereign Lady.
Thou art the King of all and the Lord, Thou came to refashion Adam Eroorem-eroorem-eroorerooh-eroorem, Rejoice O spotless one.
Ye mortals rejoice and be glad, ye angelic hosts jubilate Eroorem-eroorem-eroorerooh-eroorem, Rejoice O Sovereign Lady.
Come hither to see in the cave, laying in the manger, the Lord Eroorem-eroorem-erooreroorem, Rejoice O spotless one.
Magi from the East are coming, bearing noble gifts Eroorem-eroorem-erooreroorem, Rejoice O Sovereign Lady.
Herod heard the news and trembled with fury, the godless one Teriririrem-teriririrem-tem and ananes, Rejoice O spotless one.
Following an unexpected course, the Magi from Persia came Teriririrem-teriririrem-tem and ananes, Rejoice O Sovereign Lady.
Out of wickedness, the tyrant ordered the slaughter of all Rachel’s children Teriririrem-teriririrem-tem and ananes, Rejoice O spotless one.
I enjoyed the interview. Fr. Makary explained a bit about his background and the history of the monastery. It sounds like a beautiful place.
After the interview I googled the monastery and found their website. It turns that one of their handicrafts is making ceramics. I am very impressed by their work. Since I was young I’ve loved pottery (in fact I’m drinking a cold coffee out a pottery mug my dad bought me two summers ago when we went to Prince Edward Island). I took some pottery classes when I was a child and then did some sculpting later as a teenager. Up until I moved away from Canada I would go down to the ocean, dig up some clay and sculpt away on my own. It strikes me as an ideal handicraft for monastics. This is what the monastery’s website has to say about how they got started:
“When [Fr. Sergei, the potter] finished high school, he felt he was in a vacuum of self-doubt and unbelief in many things around him. Then one day his spiritual father said to him “Learn to use your hands to make beautiful things…” and from that day in 1993 till today, Fr Sergei not only felt reborn once again by working the earth into vessels of beauty through the skill of his hands but aided him into entering the monastic path. For a person’s spiritual life is like a lump of clay that is squeezed, pressed and forced against its own nature in becoming a vessel of beauty at the end of the process.”
The monastery’s website also has a very helpful page which offers downloadable chanting tracks of the 8 Tones according to the Russian system so that those so inclined can learn a bit about chanting in that style. The tracks are very beautiful and soothing. You all should definitely take a listen.
If any of you Australian readers have visited this monastery I’d love to hear about your experiences. If you haven’t but plan to do so in the future please pray for us there and ask the fathers to do likewise.
The following is attributed to an unnamed hermit living on Mount Athos and is taken from Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos’ book A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain, pp. 97-98). Although the hermit directs his speech to how one should and should not treat one’s elder (or geronda), I think it is clear that we should apply the same mindset to our own spiritual fathers in the world, and to our Orthodox priests in general.
The athlete of prayer must also see his Geronda “in the type of Christ,” as a Moses. And through the Geronda’s prayer power and prayers he is freed from slavery of Egypt and is delivered from the tyranny of Pharoh (passions).* The athlete of prayer must not see the weaknesses of his Geronda, which the devil exaggerates, but he must see his love towards God and his good properties. And if by chance he realizes that his Geronda has many sins and passions, even then he must avoid judging him, he must consider them as his own sins and shed abundant tears for them. St. Symeon the New Theologian describes this attitude very vividly, “If you live in a monastery you must never will to be against your spiritual father… even if you see him fornicating or getting drunk and you that the matters of the monastery are conducted badly; even if you are beaten and disgraced by him and you undergo many other afflictions. Do not sit with those who have in mind bad things against him. Endure him to the end without scrutinizing any of his misdoings. But put into your heart the many good things you see him doing and force yourself to remember only those; put the blame on yourself for all the improper or wrong things you see him doing or saying and consider them your own sins and repent for them with tears, taking him as a holy man and asking his blessing.” The athlete of prayer should do this to avoid judging his Geronda, in which case obedience and humility (the latter of which is the base and end result of obedience) are lost and so salvation itself is forfeited.
*There is a Greek song entitled “The Prayer” about one’s elder being a “noetic Moses,” and escaping slavery to “Pharoh.” In my upcoming book The Scent of Holiness I offer an English translation of the song, which you can hear here in Greek.
When the sisterhood has a great amount of work to be done they are given a blessing from the Abbess to continue working while a select few read the Hours, Vespers, Akathist, Paraclesis and Compline services in the church each evening. The monastery has a broadcasting system set up so that while the chanters do the services the other sisters can hear them via radio. (Since the monastery is so far into the mountains their own station is the only one they can access). And so, wherever one is working all she needs to do is turn on the radio to hear the services.
During the two-week fasting period before the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God the sisters are required to finish their work before Vespers so that they can attend the services. After Vespers the sisterhood chants the Paraclesis service to the Mother of God. Throughout the whole Paraclesis the sisters do continual prostrations, and oddly they don’t mind because they are pleased to have the opportunity to “have to” attend the services.
However, most of the year they don’t have the opportunity to attend the evening services on account of all the work. Many times while visiting I have continued working with them, choosing to listen to Vespers on the radio. The last time I visited I was thinking about what a great idea it is for us in the world to also “attend” services even when we are not able to on account of work, children, illness or what have you. There are so many resources in our times. If we miss the Akathist hymn during Great Lent, we can listen to it on CD when we have the time. If we miss Vespers or Matins, there are CDs available for us to listen to. If we don’t own liturgical CDs, there is so much on Youtube we can listen to. We can also remedy not having services to listen to by recording ourselves reading various services in our free time. Then, when we don’t have time to attend weekday services, or whenever we want to listen to a service, we are able to. (Recording oneself and listening to it continuously is also a helpful tactic in memorizing services – like the Akathist hymn to Panagia).
This “tip” came to mind these last few days as I reflected on the custom of praying the Paraclesis to the Mother of God every night for the two-week fasting period. To hear this service chanted you can do so HERE. It is a three part video in English. I highly recommend it.
Having said all that, if we have the time and means, it is always better for us to attend church services in a church. But the next best thing is “attending” services whenever and wherever we may be. We control “where” we are by our will and our nous (mind).
My professor told me an elder once asked his friend after a service at the monastery: “Where were you during the service?”
The man replied he was in church. The elder told him he wasn’t. My professor testified in his defense: “I was standing beside him. We were both there.”
“No, he was elsewhere, surveying the land he is thinking about buying. Isn’t that right? You weren’t in church, but out looking at the land you might buy,” the elder responded.
The man was left dumbfounded. But he understood that although his body was in church his mind was wandering around, and that is the same as not coming to the service at all.
We must struggle to keep our attention on worship and prayer. If it strays we shouldn’t become distraught, we should simply call our mind back. Even if it happens a thousand times, the point is to struggle. Our thoughts have such strength that they can carry us away from church, and so conversely, our thoughts and will can take us to church even when our bodies are elsewhere.
This is why it is said that at the Second Coming of Christ, when the dead will arise, some who lived, died and were buried in the world will arise on Mt. Athos, while some monks who lived, died and were buried on Athos will arise in the world – indicating where each noetically passed his time during life.
And so, if you want to attend services, attend services whether or not you are able to go to church.
“Where your treasure is there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).
In honour of my brother (who introduced me to this video) and who was ordained to the holy diaconate on Tuesday, the feast of St. Marina the Great Martyr (New Style). AXIOS!
“I will sing unto the Lord throughout my life, I will chant to my God for as long as I have my being. May my words be sweet unto Him, and I will rejoice in the Lord,” Prophet David prays. And the sweetness of Byzantine chant makes these words my own when they are brought to life by divinely inspired melodies.
Byzantine chant inspires its listener. Of course in the beginning, when the ear is not accustomed to the foreign sound of chanting voices, the foreign sound of voices keeping the ison like an organ key being held down, it will not necessarily induce joy. But to the accustomed ear few things are as moving as the sound of a choir praising the Lord with not only divinely inspired words, but divinely inspired melodies.
The Holy Fathers didn’t merely write hymns, but, as my chanting instructor Sr. Silouani likes to tell us, “they also wrote the tones, the melodies.” The eight Byzantine tones are themselves divinely inspired. The very melodies that still resonant off the walls and from the domes of centuries’ old Christian temples were the same ones the Fathers of old composed. What richness Byzantine chant has to offer us!
More impressive still – and beneficial to those of us who do not understand the services in their original liturgical languages – the hymns and melodies were composed in such a way that when certain words are chanted, like “sin,” or “evil,” whenever a word conveys a similar meaning to these words, the voice lowers or the melody changes, indicating the word to convey an undesirable meaning. Whereas, when the word conveys something particularly praiseworthy the notes may hit a higher pitch, or change into a more joyful melody. So many spiritual lessons are taught with these divinely-inspired melodies!
Byzantine chant stirs and enlivens its listener; it uplifts the saint and humbles the sinner. It gives the faithful strength, and weakens the inclination to sin. The Fathers knew the power of musical instruments, and consciously chose to keep their presence from within Christian temples. Musical instruments induce passion, they enliven the listener in a different way than Byzantine chant does. The raw human voice chanting divinely inspired melodies is meant to lift up the soul, to elevate man’s higher faculties, and to calm man’s lower ones. Suffice it to say it’s not the kind of music one jogs to if one wants to have a particularly invigorating work-out. Byzantine chant reminds us that the soul contains the body, not the body the soul.
As a general rule music is inspirational. The various kinds of compositions that accompany liturgical services in the contemporary, worldwide Orthodox Church are beautiful. But are they as dispassionate, as spiritually powerful as Byzantine chant?
The (famous) Danielites from Mt. Athos.
More importantly, Byzantine chant is a universal liturgical language. When we hear Romanians chant Byzantine – or Greeks, Bulgarians, or Arabs – we are able to follow along because of the common melodies. Byzantine chant unifies Orthodox Christian worship in the same way holy icons do. I don’t need to know how to read St. John Chrysostom’s name in a foreign language to know I’m looking at his icon, nor do I need to know how Romanians say “Lord have mercy” in order to understand what they are chanting. Byzantine chant universalizes Orthodox worship, it extends over boarders, past languages, and settles in the listener’s heart in a way no other melodies can.
Enriched by Byzantine chant, participation in the divine services enables us to experience the words of the hymns through the melodies. So that, “we who… chant the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity,” are able to, “lay aside all earthly care, that we may receive the King of all”, which is the goal of every Christian’s life.
matushka constantina
