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Great Canon
The Great Canon also known as the Great Canon of Repentance or the Canon of Repentance is a lengthy and penitential canon composed in the seventh century by St. Andrew of Crete. Sung or chanted multiple times throughout Great Lent, it is highly important to the preparation leading up to Pascha during this time for Eastern Orthodox Christians. Structure and composition The Great Canon consists of four parts, each divided into nine odes like that of a regular canon. In the Great Canon, there is 250 troparia, which is far greater than compared to other canons. All of the Odes have the same basic format. An irmos, which is generally sung begins each ode. Each irmos has a reference to one of the nine biblical canticles, which are selections from both the Old Testament and New Testament. A variable number of troparia follow, which are short hymns about the subject of the canon. After each troparion the refrain "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me" is chanted. At the end of eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Of Crete
Andrew of Crete (, c. 650 – July 4, 712 or 726 or 740), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an 8th-century bishop, theologian, homilist,A list of forty of his discourses, together with twenty-one edited sermons, is given in ''Patrologia Graeca'', XCVII, 801-1304. and hymnographer. He is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Life Born in Damascus c. 650, to Christian parents, Andrew was mute until the age of seven. According to his hagiography, hagiographers, he was miraculously cured after receiving Holy Communion. He began his ecclesiastical career at fourteen in the Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, near Jerusalem, where he quickly gained the notice of his superiors. Theodore, the ''locum tenens'' of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarchate of Jerusalem (745–770) made him his Archdeacon, and sent him to the imperial capital of Constantinople as his official representative at the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680–681 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clean Monday
Clean Monday (, ''Kathara Deftera''), also known as Pure Monday, Green Monday or simply Monday of Lent is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the sixth Monday before Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week, preceding Pascha Sunday (Easter). The common term for this day, "Clean Monday", refers to the purification of the body in preparation to the Great Lent: first day of abstinence of non-fasting foods and, for those who are blessed and able to do so, also fasting from all kinds of food. Traditionally, as it happens in many Orthodox countries and traditions, people do a very strict fast, purifying themselves of all food until the Divine Liturgy on Wednesday, in a way that the Holy Body of Christ is the first nutrition that Christians will have during the Lent. Outside the Orthodox Church, it could be sometimes called "Ash Monday", by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent in Western Christianity). The term is oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Of Egypt
Mary of Egypt (; ; ; Amharic/Geʽez, Geez: ቅድስት ማርያም ግብፃዊት) was an Egyptians, Egyptian Grazers (Christianity), grazer saint dwelling in Palestine (region), Palestine during late antiquity or the Early Middle Ages. She is highly venerated as a Desert Mothers, Desert Mother in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Coptic Churches. The Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church commemorates her as a patron saint of Penance, penitents. She is exclusively known through the Hagiography, hagiographical account of her life, a narrative in Greek written by Sophronius of Jerusalem in the 7th century. Her existence is uncertain and has been questioned by some historians. Life The primary source of information on Saint Mary of Egypt is the ''Hagiography, Vita'' written of her by Sophronius of Jerusalem, Sophronius, Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch of Jerusalem (634–638). Most of the information in this secti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos The Melodist
Romanos the Melodist (; late 5th-century – after 555) was a Byzantine hymnographer and composer, who is a central early figure in the history of Byzantine music. Called "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry", he flourished during the sixth century, though the earliest manuscripts of his works are dated centuries after this. He was the foremost Kontakion composer of his time. Life The main biographical source for Romanos is the Menaion for October. Elsewhere, he is only mentioned by Germanus I of Constantinople in the 8th-century, and in the 10th-century Souda (where he is called "Romanos the melodist"). According to the sources, Romanos was born some time in the late 5th-century, in a site in Syria known as Emesa, to a Jewish family. He was baptized as a young boy (though whether or not his parents also converted is uncertain). He moved to Berytus (Beirut) where he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of the Resurrection. Later, he moved to Constantinople, where he died an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kontakion
A kontakion (Greek , ''kondákion'', plural κοντάκια, ''kondákia'') is a form of hymn in the Byzantine liturgical tradition. The kontakion form originated in Syriac hymnography and gained prominence in Byzantium during the 6th century, particularly through the work of St. Romanos the Melodist of Emesa. Kontakia have a number of strophes (''oikoi'' or ''ikoi'', stanzas; singular ''oikos'' or ''ikos'') and begin with a prologue (the ''prooimoion'' or ''koukoulion''). A kontakion sometimes has a biblical theme and may feature a dialogue between biblical characters. The only kontakion that is used in full length today is the Akathist to the Theotokos. Etymology The word ''kontakion'' derives from the Greek κόνταξ (''kóntax''), which means "rod" or "stick" and refers specifically to the rod around which a scroll is wound. While the genre dates to at least the 6th century, the word itself is attested only in the 9th century. The name is likely a reference to the fact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem or Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, officially patriarch of Jerusalem (; ; ), is the head bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III. The patriarch is styled "Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Holy Land, Syria, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion." The patriarch is the head of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, and the religious leader of about 130,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, most of them Arab Christians in Israel and Palestine. The patriarchate traces its line of succession to the first Christian bishops of Jerusalem, the first being James the Just in the 1st century AD. Jerusalem was granted autocephaly in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon and in 531 became one of the initial five patriarchates. On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophronius Of Jerusalem
Sophronius (; ; c. 560 – March 11, 638), called Sophronius the Sophist, was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the city known as Aelia Capitolina and then Jerusalem from 634 until his death. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Before rising to the primacy of the See, he was a monk and theologian who was the chief protagonist for orthodox teaching in the doctrinal controversy on the essential nature of Jesus and his volitional acts. He is also renowned for the negotiation of the surrender of Aelia Capitolina to the Rashid caliph Umar in 637/8. Travels Sophronius was born in Damascus around 560. He has been claimed to be of Byzantine Greek or Syriac descent. Sophronius became an ascetic in Roman Egypt about 580 and then entered the Monastery of Saint Theodosius near Bethlehem. A teacher of rhetoric, he travelled to monastic centres in Anatolia, Egypt, and Rome. He accompanied the Byzantine chronicler John Moschus, who dedicated to him his c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metania
The different kinds of bows one could encounter at an Eastern Orthodox service are shown in the drawing below. Strict rules exist as to which type of a bow should be used at any particular time. The rules are very complicated, and are not always carried out in most parishes. Old Believers are generally much more punctilious about bows in comparison with the official Orthodoxy. # The first type is a 'head-only bow'. This type of bow does not have its own assigned usage, but can be used only instead of a 'belt-low bow' (2) in some situations, such as when one cannot make a lower bow because of too many people in the church or for back problems. People also should keep standing in this position during reading of Gospels and some other important periods of the service. # 'Belt-low bow' (поясной поклон) can also be called an 'ordinary bow', since it is the most widespread type of bow. Most bows during the Eastern Orthodox service are of this kind. However, sometimes, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prostration
Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially the hands, touching the ground. Major world religions employ prostration as an act of submissiveness or worship to an entity or to the God, Supreme Being (i.e. God), as in the ''Metanoia (theology), metanoia'' in Christian prayer used in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and in the ''sujud'' of the Islamic prayer, ''salat''. In various cultures and traditions, prostrations are similarly used to show respect to rulers, civil authorities and social elders or superiors, as in the Culture of China, Chinese kowtow or Ancient Greek ''proskynesis''. The act has often traditionally been an important part of religious, civil and traditional rituals and ceremonies, and remains in use in many cultures. Traditional religious practi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matins
Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by monks from about two hours after midnight to, at latest, the dawn, the time for the canonical hour of lauds (a practice still followed in certain orders). It was divided into two or (on Sundays) three nocturns. Outside of monasteries, it was generally recited at other times of the day, often in conjunction with lauds. Liturgy In the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church, Matins is also called “the Office of Readings”, which includes several psalms, a chapter of a book of Scripture (assigned according to the liturgical seasons), and a reading from the works of patristic authors or saints. In the Byzantine Rite, these vigils correspond to the aggregate comprising the Midnight office, orthros, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stichera
A sticheron (Greek language, Greek: "set in verses"; plural: stichera; Greek language, Greek: ) is a hymn of a particular genre sung during the daily evening (Hesperinos/Vespers) and morning (Orthros) offices, and some other services, of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite, Byzantine Eastern Catholic Churches, Catholic churches. ''Stichera'' are usually sung in alternation with or immediately after psalm or other scriptural verses. These verses are known as ''stichoi'' (sing: ''stichos''), but ''sticheraric'' poetry usually follows the hexameter and is collected in a book called sticherarion (Greek language, Greek: ). A sticherarion is a book containing the stichera for the morning and evening services throughout the year, but chant compositions in the ''sticheraric melos'' can also be found in other liturgical books like the Octoechos (liturgy), Octoechos or the ''Anastasimatarion'', or in the Anthology for the Divine Liturgy. The sticheraric melo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthros
''Orthros'' (Greek: , meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") or ''útrenya'' ( Slavonic ѹ́тренѧ) in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices (church services), the other three being vespers, compline, and midnight office. Traditionally, in monasteries it is held daily so as to end immediately following sunrise, in contrast to parishes where it is held only on Sundays and feast days. It is often called matins after the office it most nearly corresponds to in Western Christian churches. Orthros is the longest and most complex of the daily cycle of services. It is normally held in the early morning, often — always in monasteries — preceded by the midnight office, and usually followed by the First Hour. On great feasts it is held as part of an all-night vigil commencing the evening before, combined with an augmented great vespers and the first hour. In the Russian tradition, an all-night vig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
