Announcement by Dom James Deschene of Christ the Saviour Monastery (Christminster) in Canada:
"We at Christminster received news this morning of the repose last night of Dom Augustine Whitfield, Abbot of Mount Royal. It was he who not merely brought the western-rite monastic community of Mount Royal into the Russian Church, but also -- over many years, and in the face of many difficulties, and often alone -- sustained and maintained that mission and vision, handing it on eventually to Christminster and to Holyrood Hermitage in Florida, under its Abbot Dom David Pierce. Abbot David has been a most faithful and dear son to Dom Augustine for many years and cared for him at the end with the Church's holy Mysteries and prayers. He and we at Christminster are the happy inheritors of Dom Augustine's long and lonely struggle.
"Thus it is with mixed feelings of sadness and joy that we greet his repose: sad because we have lost a long-time friend and mentor, and joy that he can now receive the thanks he so much deserved for his often thankless task. May God greet his homecoming son as we pray he might greet each of us: Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things. Enter into the joy of thy Lord."
"According to his wishes he will be buried privately in a local Orthodox cemetery. There will be a solemn memorial Requiem scheduled for him in early August -- possibly at Christminster -- to enable all those who would honour his life and work to gather and pray for his eternal repose and heavenly reward.
"May his sins lie lightly upon him and may he come to see, face to face, that one Face we all long to see and to adore and praise for all eternity. May this unsung hero of western-rite Orthodoxy and monasticism truly enter into the joy of his Lord.
"A Mass of Requiem will be offered for him tomorrow at Christminster. Further details will follow.
"Dom James M. Deschene
"Abbot of Christminster
"Hamilton, Ontario"
To Paradise may the Angels lead thee. At thy coming, may the Martyrs welcome thee, and lead thee into the holy city of Jerusalem. -- from the Sarum burial services
Monday, July 5, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Matins lessons for St. Barnabas
A future publication is planned of the Matins lessons (readings) for the Sarum Use of the Roman rite. The following is a draft of this legendary* future publication's entry for June 11, St. Barnabas the apostle (his feast is tomorrow, Thursday, June 11, which on the civil calendar is June 24). It is put from Latin into English by Hieromonk Aidan (Keller) of Austin, Texas.
above: 20th c. Greek icon of St. Barnabas
HOLY APOSTLE BARNABAS (JUNE 11)
Lesson 1: Blessed Barnabas, a Cypriot by nationality, received the grace of the Holy Spirit at nearly the same time as the Holy Church, namely, the third year after the Ascension of our Lord, and was chosen together with the apostle Paul (just as Joseph was) for the loftiness of the apostleship and for preaching to the Gentiles. The evangelist Luke brilliantly declareth in the Acts of the Apostles in what manner and how perfectly he toiled in the ministry that had been assigned him by God. But Thou...
Lesson 2: But it was John, whose surname is Mark, disciple of the same Barnabas, who revealed in a faithful account the way in which he came to a crown of glory by the palm of martyrdom. For that same Luke (cleaving always to the blessed apostle Paul in his preaching), was not able to behold the end of St. Barnabas. When, therefore, Barnabas was at Iconium with the blessed apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision, saying, “Be valiant, Barnabas, believing right faithfully, for thou shalt receive eternal rewards for the holy piety because of which thou hast left behind thee a generation of children, for My name’s sake. But Thou...
Lesson 3: And when he had passed from Iconium to Antioch, the vision of an angel was made to the blest apostle Paul by night, saying, “Swiftly set out for Jerusalem, and make no delay, for the brethren await thy coming eagerly.” When he shared this with blessed Barnabas, blessed Barnabas said, “Inasmuch as it is not expedient to contradict the will of God, let the Lord’s will be done. Only intercede for me with the Lord, I beseech thee, that my struggle may be acceptable in His sight. For I set out for Cyprus now, and after a short while I shall finish the end of my life. The saddest thing is that I am not to see thy face any longer, not in bodily wise.” But Thou...
Lesson 4: Then Barnabas fell down at Paul’s feet, and for a long time he wept bitterly. Paul, having compassion for his sorrow, said, “Do not grieve, brother, for this is not being done without a divine mystery. For this [past] night the Lord appeared to me, saying, “Do not forbid Barnabas to go to Cyprus, for the grace of God is prepared for him to give enlightenment to many, and to achieve a most-holy martyrdom. But thou, travel to Jerusalem, to visit the holy places.” Then they bade one another farewell, praying on their knees, and giving kisses one to the other. And Barnabas, boarding a ship, alighted at Laodicea, resolving to make his way to Cyprus. But Thou...
Lesson 5: And when Barnabas had arrived on Cyprus, he found there Timon and Aristion, servants of the Lord. But Timon was burning with a fever. When blessed Barnabas had laid his hands and the most-holy Gospel upon him, straightway the fever was put to flight by the invocation of our Lord and Saviour. And thenceforward the sick man was made strong, so that he followed the apostle immediately with joy. Now, by the teaching of the apostles, the blessed Barnabas carried with him the Gospel of holy Matthew, and wheresoever he found men sick, he laid it upon them, and they were healed immediately from what disease soever had held them. Having therefore visited his parents and having strengthened them in the faith, blessed Barnabas departed from Cyprus, to pass from thence to Paphos. But Thou...
Lesson 6: When therefore the blessed Barnabas had passed to Paphos from Cyprus, he met up on the way with an impious and maleficent Jew by the name of Bar-Jeu, whom the blessed Paul had previously deprived of sight, since he resisted faith, not permanently but for a time, saying, “Thou shalt be blind until the time.” In his case, it definitely came to pass that at the prayer of the proconsul Sergius (converted by blessed apostle Paul), he received his sight. But apostasising afterwards just like that man Simon Magus, he became a transgressor. When, then, he had recognised blessed Barnabas, moved by malice he forbade him to enter Paphos. Because of this, the apostle, turning back, entered Salamina. But Thou...
Lesson 7: In Salamina the apostle found a synagogue of Jews, and having entered it he began to exhort them to faith, and to introduce the grace of Christ, using the Gospel of holy Matthew. When the aforementioned Bar-Jeu had learned that many of the Jews accepted the preaching of the holy apostle, showing all the malice of his iniquity, having made a sedition against the holy apostle, he had him arrested. And they sought to deliver him to the consul of that same city of Salamina, afflicting him with many punishments and various torments. Now, being exceeding fearful that he would escape from their hands, they dragged him at night, tying a rope around his neck, from the synagogue to the hippodrome, and then outside the gate. But Thou...
Lesson 8: After these things, surrounding him they cruelly burned him with fire. And so the blessed apostle, after many contests and lengthy battles, passed to everlasting joys, being burnt for the name of Christ. But impious Jews, not satisfied with his murder, stirred up with zeal, carried out his very most holy body. And shutting it up in a lead casket, they decided to cast it into the sea. Meanwhile the aforesaid John, his disciple (as also Mark), together with other of the faithful, bore it away secretly by night, and placed it in the crypt which of old had been the dwelling of the Jebusites, on the third of the ides of June, that is, the eleventh day of that month. But Thou...
Lesson 9: Because of this secret placement, therefore, the venerable body lay hidden for the passage of many years, and could not be found by the Christians. But by the grace of God almighty, Who doth not suffer the glory of His Saints to be hid, in the days of emperor Zeno and holy pope Gelasius, by a revelation of that same holy apostle, it was found. And with hymns and praises it was laid to rest in an impressive manner. Therefore, my dearly beloved brethren, let us who are in admiration of the life and devotion of this holy and glorious apostle and martyr Barnabas, and who follow in his footsteps, rejoice with spiritual joy on this festival of his, so that by his intercession we may be found amongst the righteous at the Lord’s judgment, being freed from defilements of sin, and may we be found worthy to partake of eternal life with him. Our Lord Jesus Christ granting it, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, God through all the ages of ages. Amen. But Thou...
(c) 2010 St. John Cassian Press
* in the sense of "heard of, but possibly the stuff of mere myth and legend." The pun proved irresistible (the proper Latin name of the book is the "Legenda").
above: 20th c. Greek icon of St. Barnabas
HOLY APOSTLE BARNABAS (JUNE 11)
Lesson 1: Blessed Barnabas, a Cypriot by nationality, received the grace of the Holy Spirit at nearly the same time as the Holy Church, namely, the third year after the Ascension of our Lord, and was chosen together with the apostle Paul (just as Joseph was) for the loftiness of the apostleship and for preaching to the Gentiles. The evangelist Luke brilliantly declareth in the Acts of the Apostles in what manner and how perfectly he toiled in the ministry that had been assigned him by God. But Thou...
Lesson 2: But it was John, whose surname is Mark, disciple of the same Barnabas, who revealed in a faithful account the way in which he came to a crown of glory by the palm of martyrdom. For that same Luke (cleaving always to the blessed apostle Paul in his preaching), was not able to behold the end of St. Barnabas. When, therefore, Barnabas was at Iconium with the blessed apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision, saying, “Be valiant, Barnabas, believing right faithfully, for thou shalt receive eternal rewards for the holy piety because of which thou hast left behind thee a generation of children, for My name’s sake. But Thou...
Lesson 3: And when he had passed from Iconium to Antioch, the vision of an angel was made to the blest apostle Paul by night, saying, “Swiftly set out for Jerusalem, and make no delay, for the brethren await thy coming eagerly.” When he shared this with blessed Barnabas, blessed Barnabas said, “Inasmuch as it is not expedient to contradict the will of God, let the Lord’s will be done. Only intercede for me with the Lord, I beseech thee, that my struggle may be acceptable in His sight. For I set out for Cyprus now, and after a short while I shall finish the end of my life. The saddest thing is that I am not to see thy face any longer, not in bodily wise.” But Thou...
Lesson 4: Then Barnabas fell down at Paul’s feet, and for a long time he wept bitterly. Paul, having compassion for his sorrow, said, “Do not grieve, brother, for this is not being done without a divine mystery. For this [past] night the Lord appeared to me, saying, “Do not forbid Barnabas to go to Cyprus, for the grace of God is prepared for him to give enlightenment to many, and to achieve a most-holy martyrdom. But thou, travel to Jerusalem, to visit the holy places.” Then they bade one another farewell, praying on their knees, and giving kisses one to the other. And Barnabas, boarding a ship, alighted at Laodicea, resolving to make his way to Cyprus. But Thou...
Lesson 5: And when Barnabas had arrived on Cyprus, he found there Timon and Aristion, servants of the Lord. But Timon was burning with a fever. When blessed Barnabas had laid his hands and the most-holy Gospel upon him, straightway the fever was put to flight by the invocation of our Lord and Saviour. And thenceforward the sick man was made strong, so that he followed the apostle immediately with joy. Now, by the teaching of the apostles, the blessed Barnabas carried with him the Gospel of holy Matthew, and wheresoever he found men sick, he laid it upon them, and they were healed immediately from what disease soever had held them. Having therefore visited his parents and having strengthened them in the faith, blessed Barnabas departed from Cyprus, to pass from thence to Paphos. But Thou...
Lesson 6: When therefore the blessed Barnabas had passed to Paphos from Cyprus, he met up on the way with an impious and maleficent Jew by the name of Bar-Jeu, whom the blessed Paul had previously deprived of sight, since he resisted faith, not permanently but for a time, saying, “Thou shalt be blind until the time.” In his case, it definitely came to pass that at the prayer of the proconsul Sergius (converted by blessed apostle Paul), he received his sight. But apostasising afterwards just like that man Simon Magus, he became a transgressor. When, then, he had recognised blessed Barnabas, moved by malice he forbade him to enter Paphos. Because of this, the apostle, turning back, entered Salamina. But Thou...
Lesson 7: In Salamina the apostle found a synagogue of Jews, and having entered it he began to exhort them to faith, and to introduce the grace of Christ, using the Gospel of holy Matthew. When the aforementioned Bar-Jeu had learned that many of the Jews accepted the preaching of the holy apostle, showing all the malice of his iniquity, having made a sedition against the holy apostle, he had him arrested. And they sought to deliver him to the consul of that same city of Salamina, afflicting him with many punishments and various torments. Now, being exceeding fearful that he would escape from their hands, they dragged him at night, tying a rope around his neck, from the synagogue to the hippodrome, and then outside the gate. But Thou...
Lesson 8: After these things, surrounding him they cruelly burned him with fire. And so the blessed apostle, after many contests and lengthy battles, passed to everlasting joys, being burnt for the name of Christ. But impious Jews, not satisfied with his murder, stirred up with zeal, carried out his very most holy body. And shutting it up in a lead casket, they decided to cast it into the sea. Meanwhile the aforesaid John, his disciple (as also Mark), together with other of the faithful, bore it away secretly by night, and placed it in the crypt which of old had been the dwelling of the Jebusites, on the third of the ides of June, that is, the eleventh day of that month. But Thou...
Lesson 9: Because of this secret placement, therefore, the venerable body lay hidden for the passage of many years, and could not be found by the Christians. But by the grace of God almighty, Who doth not suffer the glory of His Saints to be hid, in the days of emperor Zeno and holy pope Gelasius, by a revelation of that same holy apostle, it was found. And with hymns and praises it was laid to rest in an impressive manner. Therefore, my dearly beloved brethren, let us who are in admiration of the life and devotion of this holy and glorious apostle and martyr Barnabas, and who follow in his footsteps, rejoice with spiritual joy on this festival of his, so that by his intercession we may be found amongst the righteous at the Lord’s judgment, being freed from defilements of sin, and may we be found worthy to partake of eternal life with him. Our Lord Jesus Christ granting it, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, God through all the ages of ages. Amen. But Thou...
(c) 2010 St. John Cassian Press
* in the sense of "heard of, but possibly the stuff of mere myth and legend." The pun proved irresistible (the proper Latin name of the book is the "Legenda").
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
June 16 Sarum Liturgy at Florida Monastery
Public Announcement:
"On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, at 8:30 a.m., Rev. Hieromonk Aidan (Keller) will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Western rite. The Liturgy will be held in the Church of St. Moses, which is located upon the grounds of St. Nicholas Monastery, Ft. Myers, Florida. Fr. Aidan is a hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, who has been given a blessing by Metropolitan Hilarion to celebrate services in the Western rite.
"The Liturgy will be in honour of Sts. Kevin and Clotilda, whose feast day is June 16). It will be preceded by sung Terce and Sext, and followed by the hour of None. Those attending should, if intending to receive Holy Communion, prepare themselves by fasting, reading the rule for Communion, and going to confession. Confessions will be heard from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the church.
"Those desiring to serve in the altar or to chant, should contact Fr. Aidan on his cell at (512) 317-2197, or email him (hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com), so that this can be arranged.
"Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis!" ("Wondrous is God in His Saints!")
above: Western rite service at the monastery June 2009
"On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, at 8:30 a.m., Rev. Hieromonk Aidan (Keller) will celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the Western rite. The Liturgy will be held in the Church of St. Moses, which is located upon the grounds of St. Nicholas Monastery, Ft. Myers, Florida. Fr. Aidan is a hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, who has been given a blessing by Metropolitan Hilarion to celebrate services in the Western rite.
"The Liturgy will be in honour of Sts. Kevin and Clotilda, whose feast day is June 16). It will be preceded by sung Terce and Sext, and followed by the hour of None. Those attending should, if intending to receive Holy Communion, prepare themselves by fasting, reading the rule for Communion, and going to confession. Confessions will be heard from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in the church.
"Those desiring to serve in the altar or to chant, should contact Fr. Aidan on his cell at (512) 317-2197, or email him (hieromonachusaidanus at yahoo dot com), so that this can be arranged.
"Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis!" ("Wondrous is God in His Saints!")
above: Western rite service at the monastery June 2009
Friday, May 28, 2010
Western Saints Icon Project - expanded
The Western Saints Icon Project, a massive collection of icons of various Western Saints, has again been expanded with a new icon of Sts. Hallvard and Sunniva, martyrs of Norway, with hat tip to Aaron Taylor of Oklahoma fame.
The Project gallery also contains many pictures of the reliquaries and holy Relics of the Saints.
The Western Saints Icon Project is located here.
The Project gallery also contains many pictures of the reliquaries and holy Relics of the Saints.
The Western Saints Icon Project is located here.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Western Rite News from England
The St. Eanswythe Orthodox Mission has been authorised by our Metropolitan, Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch (bishop) of the Russian Church Abroad, to conduct evangelical activity in Kent, bringing the goodness of the Orthodox Faith to its people. May God crown the labours of the St. Eanswythe faithful with all success in piety.
Fr. Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) has been placed in charge of St. Eanswythe mission by the Metropolitan.
Below is a picture of a pre-Schism church near Folkestone which has been used for Western Rite Orthodox services by the Mission. [It has been Photoshopped to exclude pews and to add icons. - hat tip to Subdeacon Michael Astley]
A meeting of the newly-formed St. Nectan Study Group was held in North Devon at Molton in March; the study group will form part of the overall work of the St. Eanswythe mission.
Ad multos annos!
Fr. Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) has been placed in charge of St. Eanswythe mission by the Metropolitan.
Below is a picture of a pre-Schism church near Folkestone which has been used for Western Rite Orthodox services by the Mission. [It has been Photoshopped to exclude pews and to add icons. - hat tip to Subdeacon Michael Astley]
A meeting of the newly-formed St. Nectan Study Group was held in North Devon at Molton in March; the study group will form part of the overall work of the St. Eanswythe mission.
Ad multos annos!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Christus Surrexit!
Christ is risen!
From the older forms of Roman rite, approved for usage within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a summary of services for the day is given below.
above: Western mosaic, Torcello basilica
PASCHA, the Resurrection of Our Lord, called "Easter Day" by the people
Today's collect: "Deus qui hodierna": O God, Who by Thine only-begotten Son didst open wide for us the door to eternal life this day, when death was destructed: the prayers which Thou dost breathe into us, leading us, do Thou also bring to fruition, helping us. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all the ages of ages. Amen.
- Disentombment: early in the morning, before Matins, the clergy assemble in church and all the lights are lit. There is a solemn procession to the holy Tomb, which is censed. After a prostration the Cross is taken out of the Tomb, and as another great classicum peal (all bells at once) breaks out, "Xpistus resurgens" is sung, tone 4, while a procession encircles the church with the Cross. There is a collect, then prostration, then (as the bells begin to joyfully peal for Matins) all venerate the Cross just as on Good Fri. All images in the church are unveiled.
- Matins: Matins is very joyful and rather short, with only 3 lessons (homily on the day's Gospel from Mark by St. Gregory the Great). There is censing at each responsory and at the Te Deum and at the Benedictus. There are no commemorations at Lauds of Matins. [It should be noted that monastic forms of this Matins exist, which have 12 readings and the fullness of a usual Matins.]
- During the Third Hour (or, in later Sarum practice, the Third and Sixth Hours), the blessing of waters is done quietly, at a side altar. Then "Vidi aquam" is sung as the holy water is sprinkled on altar, clergy, and the queue of faithful who approach. Then a great Procession forms, which takes the same route as on Palm Sun. (q.v.), to the bell-pealing and the singing of "Salve, festa dies," and "Sedit angelus." Back in church, the verse is sung in a station before the rood, by clergy atop the roodscreen, turned towards the people. At the entry into the chancel "Xpistus resurgens" is sung again, the collect.
- At the beginning of this Mass, in Old English usage shown in the Winchester and Canterbury Tropers, there are verses, called the "Quem quaeritis." A chanter representing the angel at the Tomb sings in a beautiful melody, "Whom do ye seek in the sepulchre, O worshippers of Christ?" Chanters representing the myrrh-bearing women reply, "Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified, O worshippers from heaven!" Angel: "He is not here, He is risen, as He foretold..." this goes back and forth a few more times, then the officium follows immediately with its trope "Psallite": O chant unto our mighty King, now that the dominion of death is conquered! come and say: I am risen, and I am still with Thee," etc. In this Mass, the singing is very glorious. The Kyrie is sung with verses, the Gloria in Excelsis with beautiful tropes speaking of the Resurrection of Christ. There is but 1 collect, secret, and postcommunion. After the collect, but before the epistle, are sung the Royal Acclamations ("Christus vincit") before the great rood. This part is very beloved by the people, who join in with great joy and triumph. A short epistle is followed by the Graduale, Alleluya (with 2 or 3 verses!), and the glorious Sequence "Fulgens praeclara," which is older then the Sequence "Victimae paschali," and more filled with unbridled joy. The bells peal throughout the Sequence, then the Gospel from Mark is sung. The Offerenda has beautiful tropes beginning, "From the indignation and wrath of the Lord's anger, The earth trembled, yea, and was still. The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints arose, When the Lord our God arose to judgment. Christ is risen from the dead! O come ye, let us worship, all proclaiming with a single voice: Alleluya, alleluya. These tropes just get more joyful as they go along, from that foreboding beginning. There are beautiful tropes for the Sanctus. The Canon has proper Communicantes and Hanc Igitur. There are beautiful tropes upon the Agnus, and the Communio antiphon. Today all the people commune, the Mass comes quickly to a festive end, all the bells begin again to peal, and after the giving of the blessed bread, the Priest blesses the baskets in a station with the clergy and crucifer. The blessing is of all the foods that were forbidden in Lent: "of meat, cheese, butter, eggs, and meat-pies."
- Ye Greate Picnicke. This is definitely part of today's celebration.
- At Vespers, there is a unique and glorious service: The bells peal, the soft prayers are said, then the rulers of the choir begin "Kyrie eleison." Kyrie VI (q.v. supra) is sung without verses (though, actually, in many places the verses were sung), and (in the older books) a great procession winds around the church, while the Kyrie is sung, pausing briefly at the great rood. Three psalms are sung under the 4-fold alleluya, then the Graduale from the Mass is sung again, then the Alleluya from the Mass is sung again, then the versicle and Magnificat is sung, with censing of altar, clergy, and people. After the collect, a great procession including holy oil and chrism vessels forms as Alleluya, intertwined with Ps. 112, is sung specially. At the fonts (that is, in front of the west doors) there is a station made, a collect, then the procession goes on to the rood, as an Alleluya intertwined with Ps. 113 is sung joyfully. The rood is censed. There is a collect in honour of the Cross, then the beautiful "Alma Redemptoris" is sung with alleluya, as the clergy re-enter the chancel. There is a collect of St. Mary. "Benedicamus" is sung with an alleluya on the end.
- Compline #13 is sung (online Sarum Psalter pp. 191-192), including singing the Graduale from the day's Mass again (but without verse). For Compline, two bells are rung twofold.
above: 12th-c. English icons, St. Michael's Copford
NOTES
Sometimes Western rite people hesitate about the term "Pascha." It may seem, to them, Byzantine. Eastern. Other. Not Western. But this great and holy day was called in the west of England, by the 1030s already, "Paske." In Welsh it is called "Pasg," and in Irish "Caisc," and in Manx "Yn-chaisht," that is, "The Holy." In most Western European languages the word used is some variant upon "Pascha." So, as odd as it may sound to the ears of an Anglican or a Roman-catholic, the term "Pascha" for Easter is, in its broadest outlines, merely the resurrection of an old Anglo-Saxon tradition, as well as an almost-universal usage of Western Europe. The term "Easter" also has an ancient and Orthodox lineage; there is nothing inherently wrong in the term.
The similarity of the Torcello mosaic to East Roman (Byzantine) iconography underscores the fact that one of the West's primary iconographic styles was essentially indistinguishable from the East Roman style. However, other styles are known as well, and variety is more apparent in manuscript illuminations than in surviving wall paintings of the period.
* Fast free: no restriction of food this whole week, and, by ancient Western custom, from today until Whitsunday (with the sole exception of cheesefare foods upon St. Mark's day and the Rogation days before Ascension).
** Old Sarum Rite Missal, (c) 1998, St. Hilarion Press, due to be re-issued in a scholarly format by St. John Cassian Press, in 2 volumes.
Xpucmoc Bockpece!
From the older forms of Roman rite, approved for usage within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a summary of services for the day is given below.
above: Western mosaic, Torcello basilica
PASCHA, the Resurrection of Our Lord, called "Easter Day" by the people
Today's collect: "Deus qui hodierna": O God, Who by Thine only-begotten Son didst open wide for us the door to eternal life this day, when death was destructed: the prayers which Thou dost breathe into us, leading us, do Thou also bring to fruition, helping us. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all the ages of ages. Amen.
- Disentombment: early in the morning, before Matins, the clergy assemble in church and all the lights are lit. There is a solemn procession to the holy Tomb, which is censed. After a prostration the Cross is taken out of the Tomb, and as another great classicum peal (all bells at once) breaks out, "Xpistus resurgens" is sung, tone 4, while a procession encircles the church with the Cross. There is a collect, then prostration, then (as the bells begin to joyfully peal for Matins) all venerate the Cross just as on Good Fri. All images in the church are unveiled.
- Matins: Matins is very joyful and rather short, with only 3 lessons (homily on the day's Gospel from Mark by St. Gregory the Great). There is censing at each responsory and at the Te Deum and at the Benedictus. There are no commemorations at Lauds of Matins. [It should be noted that monastic forms of this Matins exist, which have 12 readings and the fullness of a usual Matins.]
- During the Third Hour (or, in later Sarum practice, the Third and Sixth Hours), the blessing of waters is done quietly, at a side altar. Then "Vidi aquam" is sung as the holy water is sprinkled on altar, clergy, and the queue of faithful who approach. Then a great Procession forms, which takes the same route as on Palm Sun. (q.v.), to the bell-pealing and the singing of "Salve, festa dies," and "Sedit angelus." Back in church, the verse is sung in a station before the rood, by clergy atop the roodscreen, turned towards the people. At the entry into the chancel "Xpistus resurgens" is sung again, the collect.
- At the beginning of this Mass, in Old English usage shown in the Winchester and Canterbury Tropers, there are verses, called the "Quem quaeritis." A chanter representing the angel at the Tomb sings in a beautiful melody, "Whom do ye seek in the sepulchre, O worshippers of Christ?" Chanters representing the myrrh-bearing women reply, "Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified, O worshippers from heaven!" Angel: "He is not here, He is risen, as He foretold..." this goes back and forth a few more times, then the officium follows immediately with its trope "Psallite": O chant unto our mighty King, now that the dominion of death is conquered! come and say: I am risen, and I am still with Thee," etc. In this Mass, the singing is very glorious. The Kyrie is sung with verses, the Gloria in Excelsis with beautiful tropes speaking of the Resurrection of Christ. There is but 1 collect, secret, and postcommunion. After the collect, but before the epistle, are sung the Royal Acclamations ("Christus vincit") before the great rood. This part is very beloved by the people, who join in with great joy and triumph. A short epistle is followed by the Graduale, Alleluya (with 2 or 3 verses!), and the glorious Sequence "Fulgens praeclara," which is older then the Sequence "Victimae paschali," and more filled with unbridled joy. The bells peal throughout the Sequence, then the Gospel from Mark is sung. The Offerenda has beautiful tropes beginning, "From the indignation and wrath of the Lord's anger, The earth trembled, yea, and was still. The graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints arose, When the Lord our God arose to judgment. Christ is risen from the dead! O come ye, let us worship, all proclaiming with a single voice: Alleluya, alleluya. These tropes just get more joyful as they go along, from that foreboding beginning. There are beautiful tropes for the Sanctus. The Canon has proper Communicantes and Hanc Igitur. There are beautiful tropes upon the Agnus, and the Communio antiphon. Today all the people commune, the Mass comes quickly to a festive end, all the bells begin again to peal, and after the giving of the blessed bread, the Priest blesses the baskets in a station with the clergy and crucifer. The blessing is of all the foods that were forbidden in Lent: "of meat, cheese, butter, eggs, and meat-pies."
- Ye Greate Picnicke. This is definitely part of today's celebration.
- At Vespers, there is a unique and glorious service: The bells peal, the soft prayers are said, then the rulers of the choir begin "Kyrie eleison." Kyrie VI (q.v. supra) is sung without verses (though, actually, in many places the verses were sung), and (in the older books) a great procession winds around the church, while the Kyrie is sung, pausing briefly at the great rood. Three psalms are sung under the 4-fold alleluya, then the Graduale from the Mass is sung again, then the Alleluya from the Mass is sung again, then the versicle and Magnificat is sung, with censing of altar, clergy, and people. After the collect, a great procession including holy oil and chrism vessels forms as Alleluya, intertwined with Ps. 112, is sung specially. At the fonts (that is, in front of the west doors) there is a station made, a collect, then the procession goes on to the rood, as an Alleluya intertwined with Ps. 113 is sung joyfully. The rood is censed. There is a collect in honour of the Cross, then the beautiful "Alma Redemptoris" is sung with alleluya, as the clergy re-enter the chancel. There is a collect of St. Mary. "Benedicamus" is sung with an alleluya on the end.
- Compline #13 is sung (online Sarum Psalter pp. 191-192), including singing the Graduale from the day's Mass again (but without verse). For Compline, two bells are rung twofold.
above: 12th-c. English icons, St. Michael's Copford
NOTES
Sometimes Western rite people hesitate about the term "Pascha." It may seem, to them, Byzantine. Eastern. Other. Not Western. But this great and holy day was called in the west of England, by the 1030s already, "Paske." In Welsh it is called "Pasg," and in Irish "Caisc," and in Manx "Yn-chaisht," that is, "The Holy." In most Western European languages the word used is some variant upon "Pascha." So, as odd as it may sound to the ears of an Anglican or a Roman-catholic, the term "Pascha" for Easter is, in its broadest outlines, merely the resurrection of an old Anglo-Saxon tradition, as well as an almost-universal usage of Western Europe. The term "Easter" also has an ancient and Orthodox lineage; there is nothing inherently wrong in the term.
The similarity of the Torcello mosaic to East Roman (Byzantine) iconography underscores the fact that one of the West's primary iconographic styles was essentially indistinguishable from the East Roman style. However, other styles are known as well, and variety is more apparent in manuscript illuminations than in surviving wall paintings of the period.
* Fast free: no restriction of food this whole week, and, by ancient Western custom, from today until Whitsunday (with the sole exception of cheesefare foods upon St. Mark's day and the Rogation days before Ascension).
** Old Sarum Rite Missal, (c) 1998, St. Hilarion Press, due to be re-issued in a scholarly format by St. John Cassian Press, in 2 volumes.
Xpucmoc Bockpece!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
New Western Rite Abbot
I discovered on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, that Fr. Hieromonk David (Pierce) has been confirmed in the rank of Abbot by Metropolitan Hilarion, first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Dom David is abbot of the abbey of the Dormition of the Mother of God (of Mt. Royal) in Jacksonville, Florida. Members of the community include the well-known Fr. Augustine (Whitfield) and Br. George. Services are held in the Holyrood (Holy Cross) chapel.
above: Abbot David, at the funeral of Abbot Augustine (Whitfield)
above: Abbot David at time of divine service
Many Years! Ad multos annos, Domne!
P.S. For those who may imagine that "Dormition" is a specifically Eastern term, it is the very word used in the Sarum "Martiloge" (martyrology) to describe the feast of the Assumption on August 15. It can be said, therefore, that Dormition is a good and proper Old-English word.
above: Abbot David, at the funeral of Abbot Augustine (Whitfield)
above: Abbot David at time of divine service
Many Years! Ad multos annos, Domne!
P.S. For those who may imagine that "Dormition" is a specifically Eastern term, it is the very word used in the Sarum "Martiloge" (martyrology) to describe the feast of the Assumption on August 15. It can be said, therefore, that Dormition is a good and proper Old-English word.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Which Rite is Right?
Too many people approach Western Rite in the Eastern Orthodox Church as a theoretical exercise. One often hears (pro and con) statements about historical continuity or non-continuity, Frankish-influence issues, minutiae (e.g., what kind of vestments Eastern rite clergy should wear, when attending Western rite services), and so forth.
Oft bypassed by the non-Western-rite observer is that WR Orthodoxy faces more immediate, practical concerns: how to acquire and adorn a chapel; how to get vestments made; how to marshal a choir; and, of course, what to use for liturgical texts.
In the Antiochian Western rite in the U.S., this latter question has been largely decided and is currently settled. It is an essentially dual approach (Tridentine-Roman and traditional Anglican), avoiding pre-Reformation liturgics on the one hand, and the latest modern developments on the other.
In the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, the liturgical question has not been settled definitively. Usages currently blessed include three versions of the Roman rite (Tridentine, Sarum, and Mt.-Royal) and traditional Anglican. None of these has been identified as an exclusively prescribed usage, and there has been no attempt to impose liturgical conformity. That might be a good thing, since it gives the hierarchy time to observe and assess what works and what doesn't.
The Romanian Church has parishes using a theoretical reconstruction of the lost Gallican rite, a usage kept in France in the 1960s under Abp. St. John Maximovitch. This represents yet another strain of liturgical usage. And there is potential for use of the Mozarabic rite of Spain, the Ambrosian rite of Aquileia, as well as liturgies of the Roman-Catholic religious orders.
Speaking of St. John Maximovitch, he blessed for use both Gallican and Roman rites.
It must be admitted that the "Which Rite" question remains unanswered, if one is speaking of the Orthodox Church as a whole.
note: No anonymous commenting allowed.
Oft bypassed by the non-Western-rite observer is that WR Orthodoxy faces more immediate, practical concerns: how to acquire and adorn a chapel; how to get vestments made; how to marshal a choir; and, of course, what to use for liturgical texts.
In the Antiochian Western rite in the U.S., this latter question has been largely decided and is currently settled. It is an essentially dual approach (Tridentine-Roman and traditional Anglican), avoiding pre-Reformation liturgics on the one hand, and the latest modern developments on the other.
In the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, the liturgical question has not been settled definitively. Usages currently blessed include three versions of the Roman rite (Tridentine, Sarum, and Mt.-Royal) and traditional Anglican. None of these has been identified as an exclusively prescribed usage, and there has been no attempt to impose liturgical conformity. That might be a good thing, since it gives the hierarchy time to observe and assess what works and what doesn't.
The Romanian Church has parishes using a theoretical reconstruction of the lost Gallican rite, a usage kept in France in the 1960s under Abp. St. John Maximovitch. This represents yet another strain of liturgical usage. And there is potential for use of the Mozarabic rite of Spain, the Ambrosian rite of Aquileia, as well as liturgies of the Roman-Catholic religious orders.
Speaking of St. John Maximovitch, he blessed for use both Gallican and Roman rites.
It must be admitted that the "Which Rite" question remains unanswered, if one is speaking of the Orthodox Church as a whole.
note: No anonymous commenting allowed.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Western Rite Ship in London Encounters Rocks
From Fr. Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) of Australia, Jan. 16, 2010:
"Well, our celebrations in the cathedral lasted only a few Sundays. Now Archbishop Mark has demanded that our service should finish before the Eastern Rite service in the upper church starts at 10.00 (in order not to "undermine" their service!!). This would mean my getting up at 03.00, driving out my front gate before 04.00 and starting the service in London 100 miles away at 07.30 in order to finish before they start. Our opponents know very well that this is not going to happen. They know very well that London is a very large city indeed and that our congregation is eclectic and that they simply cannot get to the church in Chiswick by 07.30. So, no more services in the cathedral. However, services continue in Southbourne and next Tuesday, we will celebrate the Epiphany in the beautiful Resurrection Chapel in central Bournemouth..."
My response: I wonder if something can still be worked out. For example, could one omit Matins and Litany, and start the eucharistic service at 8:45, make a very short sermon, and finish just before 10:00? Many parishes start at 9:00 a.m.; 8:45 is not too far off from that. I just wonder if there is some possibility yet for a work-around. Are sounds from the service below leaking into the church above? I hope our London brethren and sistren will not lose heart. In many Russian cathedrals that have an all-Slavonic Liturgy at 10:00, there will be an 8:00 a.m. English-language Liturgy (I find 8:00 rather early!) Is there any London "parishioner" whose house could be used? In Austin we meet in a small mobile-home chapel difficult to find, not well heated and cooled, having no restroom, no narthex, no church sign, and yet we have grown tremendously in just a year and are looking to buy a place. But I do admit that having disadvantageous circumstances makes it more difficult to establish more than a minimal attendance.
Our prayers are with you all in England.
"Well, our celebrations in the cathedral lasted only a few Sundays. Now Archbishop Mark has demanded that our service should finish before the Eastern Rite service in the upper church starts at 10.00 (in order not to "undermine" their service!!). This would mean my getting up at 03.00, driving out my front gate before 04.00 and starting the service in London 100 miles away at 07.30 in order to finish before they start. Our opponents know very well that this is not going to happen. They know very well that London is a very large city indeed and that our congregation is eclectic and that they simply cannot get to the church in Chiswick by 07.30. So, no more services in the cathedral. However, services continue in Southbourne and next Tuesday, we will celebrate the Epiphany in the beautiful Resurrection Chapel in central Bournemouth..."
My response: I wonder if something can still be worked out. For example, could one omit Matins and Litany, and start the eucharistic service at 8:45, make a very short sermon, and finish just before 10:00? Many parishes start at 9:00 a.m.; 8:45 is not too far off from that. I just wonder if there is some possibility yet for a work-around. Are sounds from the service below leaking into the church above? I hope our London brethren and sistren will not lose heart. In many Russian cathedrals that have an all-Slavonic Liturgy at 10:00, there will be an 8:00 a.m. English-language Liturgy (I find 8:00 rather early!) Is there any London "parishioner" whose house could be used? In Austin we meet in a small mobile-home chapel difficult to find, not well heated and cooled, having no restroom, no narthex, no church sign, and yet we have grown tremendously in just a year and are looking to buy a place. But I do admit that having disadvantageous circumstances makes it more difficult to establish more than a minimal attendance.
Our prayers are with you all in England.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax!
I hope that all of our readers enjoyed a blessed Nativity and I wish all of you a joyful and spiritually prosperous New Year.
- Hieromonk Aidan+, a sinner
I hope that all of our readers enjoyed a blessed Nativity and I wish all of you a joyful and spiritually prosperous New Year.
- Hieromonk Aidan+, a sinner
Friday, December 25, 2009
Now, Western Rite in England
Yes, England (which for so many decades seemed to be a land impenetrable to Western Rite Orthodoxy) now has an active W. rite mission, thanks to the labours of Fr. Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood) of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and the protecting omophor of its Metropolitan, Hilarion.
On Dec. 21, 2009, Fr. Michael wrote:
"We have now celebrated the Western Rite on two successive Sundays in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition at Chiswick in London. The Cathedral has a Lower Church (the original) and an Upper Church - which has just been finished. They have given us the Lower Church to use for Western Rite. So we celebrate our Western Rite in the Lower Church at the same time as they celebrate the Eastern Rite in the Upper Church..."
Here is a picture of the lower church as arranged for a modern Western rite service:
Describing the services being celebrated in London, Fr. Michael continued:
"Given that this is Advent and we are doing Mattins, the Great Litany and the Divine Liturgy as a continuous service, we end up only slightly ahead of them - so we all have lunch together in the church hall afterwards."
Matins, in the pre-Protestant form of W. rite, requires two hours to complete (an hour and a half, if managed extremely expeditiously). The Great Litany is a Protestant service. From these indications, it is surmised that the services being offered in the Russian Orthodox cathedral of London, are of the Protestant Rite.
May God bless the Western rite mission in England, and its faithful people. And, if it is pleasing to God, may the Western rite services which once prevailed in that land, when that land was Orthodox, also find some place there--through the prayers of all Saints of Britain and Ireland.
On Dec. 21, 2009, Fr. Michael wrote:
"We have now celebrated the Western Rite on two successive Sundays in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition at Chiswick in London. The Cathedral has a Lower Church (the original) and an Upper Church - which has just been finished. They have given us the Lower Church to use for Western Rite. So we celebrate our Western Rite in the Lower Church at the same time as they celebrate the Eastern Rite in the Upper Church..."
Here is a picture of the lower church as arranged for a modern Western rite service:
Describing the services being celebrated in London, Fr. Michael continued:
"Given that this is Advent and we are doing Mattins, the Great Litany and the Divine Liturgy as a continuous service, we end up only slightly ahead of them - so we all have lunch together in the church hall afterwards."
Matins, in the pre-Protestant form of W. rite, requires two hours to complete (an hour and a half, if managed extremely expeditiously). The Great Litany is a Protestant service. From these indications, it is surmised that the services being offered in the Russian Orthodox cathedral of London, are of the Protestant Rite.
May God bless the Western rite mission in England, and its faithful people. And, if it is pleasing to God, may the Western rite services which once prevailed in that land, when that land was Orthodox, also find some place there--through the prayers of all Saints of Britain and Ireland.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
New Western-Rite Brotherhood in the Russian Orthodox Church
Better late than never.
We belatedly share the news, made public July 16, 2009, that a new Western rite community has been established within our Russian Church Abroad. Redacted from the Orthodox Christian West blog:
Fr. Deacon Adrian and Novice Edward (Waters) of St. Petroc Monastery are starting the new St. Aidan House in Sydney, Australia. It will be based in the Darlinghurst area. Fr. Deacon Adrian now lives in a cell in the Metropolitan's house in Croydon. Novice Edward lives in a cell in the grounds of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, Strathfield. Fr. Deacon Adrian is a medical practice director; Novice Edward is a doctoral candidate currently studying statistical mathematics at Melbourne University.
From left to right: Br. Edward, Fr. Michael, Metr. Hilarion, Fr. Dn. Adrian
Please pray for the monastic strugglers of the St. Aidan House and their spiritual success! Ad multos annos! Многая лета!
We belatedly share the news, made public July 16, 2009, that a new Western rite community has been established within our Russian Church Abroad. Redacted from the Orthodox Christian West blog:
Fr. Deacon Adrian and Novice Edward (Waters) of St. Petroc Monastery are starting the new St. Aidan House in Sydney, Australia. It will be based in the Darlinghurst area. Fr. Deacon Adrian now lives in a cell in the Metropolitan's house in Croydon. Novice Edward lives in a cell in the grounds of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, Strathfield. Fr. Deacon Adrian is a medical practice director; Novice Edward is a doctoral candidate currently studying statistical mathematics at Melbourne University.
From left to right: Br. Edward, Fr. Michael, Metr. Hilarion, Fr. Dn. Adrian
Please pray for the monastic strugglers of the St. Aidan House and their spiritual success! Ad multos annos! Многая лета!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Decision of the Russian Bishops, on the Western Rite
Hieromonk Aidan (Keller) spoke by telephone with Bishop Jerome (Geronim) of Manhattan on November 10, 2009 (at about noon). The news from His Grace is as follows:
The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has decided that all Western rite missions will fall under the authority of the Metropolitan, rather than the local bishop. This is true across the world, except, of course, in Russia.
This decision, like many others, has not been put down in writing, which is a particular issue of organisation not affecting the fact of the decision.
There is no change in the requirement that Western rite Liturgies include an explicit epiclesis in the anaphora or canon. The added epiclesis strengthens the epiclesis already present in the Roman Canon (St. Nicholas Cabasilas identifies the Supra Quae Propitio as that native epiclesis).
His Grace Bishop Jerome (Geronim) of Manhattan, Nov. 2009
A new version of the Psalter based largely upon the Coverdale psalms has been blessed for use by Bishop Jerome. Of course, other translations are also blessed for use, and no translation in use has been proscribed.
Vivat Metropolitanus Hilario Neo-Eboracensis. Ad multos annos, Domine!
The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has decided that all Western rite missions will fall under the authority of the Metropolitan, rather than the local bishop. This is true across the world, except, of course, in Russia.
This decision, like many others, has not been put down in writing, which is a particular issue of organisation not affecting the fact of the decision.
There is no change in the requirement that Western rite Liturgies include an explicit epiclesis in the anaphora or canon. The added epiclesis strengthens the epiclesis already present in the Roman Canon (St. Nicholas Cabasilas identifies the Supra Quae Propitio as that native epiclesis).
His Grace Bishop Jerome (Geronim) of Manhattan, Nov. 2009
A new version of the Psalter based largely upon the Coverdale psalms has been blessed for use by Bishop Jerome. Of course, other translations are also blessed for use, and no translation in use has been proscribed.
Vivat Metropolitanus Hilario Neo-Eboracensis. Ad multos annos, Domine!
Monday, October 26, 2009
October 2009 - Sarum Services in Florida
On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, in the evening, Fr. Hieromonk Aidan celebrated the Sarum services of Vespers and Matins in the Church of the Prophet Moses at St. Nicholas Monastery, North Fort Myers, Florida. In attendance were a mixture of Orthodox faithful and Western Christian guests.
On the morning of Wednesday, October 28, the feast of the Holy Relics on the Western calendar, Fr. Aidan celebrated the Sarum services of Terce, Sext, Liturgy, and None, together with the relics-procession appointed for the occurring feast, also in the Church of the holy Prophet Moses. Again, there were Orthodox faithful present, of Eastern and Western backgrounds, as well as Anglican visitors. Those present remarked afterwards how remarkably peaceful and graceful the services were. This was due to the presence of thousands of Saints in their precious Relics, which Mother Andrea had brought into the church and set with high honour, with cloths and flowers, in every available space. This was indeed a profound experience, to pray surrounded (physically) by a cloud of holy witnesses--the prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and ascetics of the past 2,000 years and more--a mighty host of God's hallows. Through their prayers, O Saviour, have mercy on us sinners, and save us!
Fr. Aidan serves at the Monastery as often as possible, given his duties in Austin, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
On the morning of Wednesday, October 28, the feast of the Holy Relics on the Western calendar, Fr. Aidan celebrated the Sarum services of Terce, Sext, Liturgy, and None, together with the relics-procession appointed for the occurring feast, also in the Church of the holy Prophet Moses. Again, there were Orthodox faithful present, of Eastern and Western backgrounds, as well as Anglican visitors. Those present remarked afterwards how remarkably peaceful and graceful the services were. This was due to the presence of thousands of Saints in their precious Relics, which Mother Andrea had brought into the church and set with high honour, with cloths and flowers, in every available space. This was indeed a profound experience, to pray surrounded (physically) by a cloud of holy witnesses--the prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and ascetics of the past 2,000 years and more--a mighty host of God's hallows. Through their prayers, O Saviour, have mercy on us sinners, and save us!
Fr. Aidan serves at the Monastery as often as possible, given his duties in Austin, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Western Rite Days in Florida
From June 15 to June 19, 2009, Hieromonk Aidan stayed at the St. Nicholas Monastery in Florida, a community of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
On the evening of June 16 the Ninth Hour and Vespers were held according to the Sarum use of the Roman rite. Fr. Aidan was joined by Fr. Damian Criscella of the Church Abroad, and our dear brother Demetrio served as acolyte. Fr. Damian and Demetrio are of Italo-Orthodox heritage. The Third Hour and Divine Liturgy the next morning was also according to this same liturgical rite, the form of which which was approved within the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in September 2008. The evening and morning services were for the feast of St. Petroc, the abbot in Cornwall. Our Russian Church Abroad has a monastery dedicated to this great saint.
At Vespers and the next days' Liturgy, we were blessed to have guests who are interested in Western rite matters, a former High-Church Anglican priest, and Fr. Jim Michko of the Eastern Catholic church, with others.
The services were held in a church fitted for usual celebrations according to the Byzantine rite, but we were able to adapt fairly well. Some Western rite vestments were loaned us for this occasion, and this helped to preserve the native Western character of this holy liturgy of the Church.
Ninth Hour and Vespers on the evening of June 17 was also Sarum rite, with a festive Liturgy or Mass the following morning, June 18. The evening and morning services were in commemoration of St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, and were celebrated with the ceremony of a double feast (a high ranking in the Western rite).
Thanks to mother abbess Andrea for giving her blessing for these beautiful Western rite services, which bear testimony to the universality and openness of Holy Orthodoxy.
Here follow some photographs of the events. From Vespers on June 16, a simple feast (St. Petroc):
From Vespers on June 17, a double feast (St. Boniface; note the use here of the cuffs, which were called in the Latin church "maniculae" and at Sarum more usually took the form of a decorative attachment to the cloth of the alb itself):
Censing at the Divine Mass of St. Petroc, in the rite of a simple feast:
At the Vespers of St. Petroc:
The retrocession (return to the sacristy with the holy chalice) at the end of the Divine Mass of St. Boniface, June 18, 2009:
I can't place this next picture in context. It may be at the festal Vespers of St. Boniface, when for lack of a proper cope (a vestment similar to the phelonion and to the chasuble), a chasuble (nearest equivalent) was substituted. The use of Mass vestments at Vespers is known in Western rite, but mostly at pontifical (hierarchical) services.
Censing at the Mass of St. Petroc, June 17, 2009 (note, on the right, the beautifully-typeset edition of the Divine Office in the Sarum use which is scheduled for publication by St. John Cassian Press in Austin, Texas):
From the Mass of St. Petroc, the bow at "Orate fratres et sorores," that is, "Pray for me, brothers and sisters," which occurs just before the first epiclesis ("Come, O Holy Spirit, bless and sanctify this Sacrifice") prior to the Canon of the Mass:
Holy Petroc and Boniface, pray to God for us!
On the evening of June 16 the Ninth Hour and Vespers were held according to the Sarum use of the Roman rite. Fr. Aidan was joined by Fr. Damian Criscella of the Church Abroad, and our dear brother Demetrio served as acolyte. Fr. Damian and Demetrio are of Italo-Orthodox heritage. The Third Hour and Divine Liturgy the next morning was also according to this same liturgical rite, the form of which which was approved within the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in September 2008. The evening and morning services were for the feast of St. Petroc, the abbot in Cornwall. Our Russian Church Abroad has a monastery dedicated to this great saint.
At Vespers and the next days' Liturgy, we were blessed to have guests who are interested in Western rite matters, a former High-Church Anglican priest, and Fr. Jim Michko of the Eastern Catholic church, with others.
The services were held in a church fitted for usual celebrations according to the Byzantine rite, but we were able to adapt fairly well. Some Western rite vestments were loaned us for this occasion, and this helped to preserve the native Western character of this holy liturgy of the Church.
Ninth Hour and Vespers on the evening of June 17 was also Sarum rite, with a festive Liturgy or Mass the following morning, June 18. The evening and morning services were in commemoration of St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, and were celebrated with the ceremony of a double feast (a high ranking in the Western rite).
Thanks to mother abbess Andrea for giving her blessing for these beautiful Western rite services, which bear testimony to the universality and openness of Holy Orthodoxy.
Here follow some photographs of the events. From Vespers on June 16, a simple feast (St. Petroc):
From Vespers on June 17, a double feast (St. Boniface; note the use here of the cuffs, which were called in the Latin church "maniculae" and at Sarum more usually took the form of a decorative attachment to the cloth of the alb itself):
Censing at the Divine Mass of St. Petroc, in the rite of a simple feast:
At the Vespers of St. Petroc:
The retrocession (return to the sacristy with the holy chalice) at the end of the Divine Mass of St. Boniface, June 18, 2009:
I can't place this next picture in context. It may be at the festal Vespers of St. Boniface, when for lack of a proper cope (a vestment similar to the phelonion and to the chasuble), a chasuble (nearest equivalent) was substituted. The use of Mass vestments at Vespers is known in Western rite, but mostly at pontifical (hierarchical) services.
Censing at the Mass of St. Petroc, June 17, 2009 (note, on the right, the beautifully-typeset edition of the Divine Office in the Sarum use which is scheduled for publication by St. John Cassian Press in Austin, Texas):
From the Mass of St. Petroc, the bow at "Orate fratres et sorores," that is, "Pray for me, brothers and sisters," which occurs just before the first epiclesis ("Come, O Holy Spirit, bless and sanctify this Sacrifice") prior to the Canon of the Mass:
Holy Petroc and Boniface, pray to God for us!
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