Il culto dei servi di DIO vescovi martiri romeni: fra diritto canonico e liturgia

The Cult of God’s Servants Romanian Martyr Bishops: between Canon Law and Liturgy. On the last day of his apostolic trip to Romania (May 31 - June 2, 2019), the Holy Father Pope Francis in the exercise of his canonical powers beatified seven Romanian Greek Catholic bishops who died in odium fidei in communist prisons. By proclaiming the formula for recognizing the martyrdom of these bishops, they are officially recognized as martyrs of the Church of Christ, and as such, according to the canonical discipline in force, they can enjoy the celebration of a public cult of worship. Their feast finds a stable place in the liturgical calendar of the Greek Catholic Church, June 2, and public worship regulated by both common law and the particular law of the Church becomes a liturgical constant that manifests the particular character of these servants of God. Starting from this canonical and liturgical premise, the present study tries to highlight some significant elements regarding the liturgical cult of these martyrs. Thus, a series of disciplinary realities are taken into account, which starting from the historical elements of the cult of saints, then highlights some particular aspects that the current procedure of declaring the martyrdom of God’s servants requires to regulate their public worship. Keywords: divine worship, worship, Servants of God, martyrs, liturgy, liturgical texts, blessed, cause of beatification, persecution.

Simeon Polockij a Playwright: The New Study Aspects

The study of the dramaturgic complex which has come to us in a manuscript created in the 1680s–early 1690s in Moscow (kept in the Austrian National Library, Vienna) established that the dramaturgic heritage of Simeon Polockij was not limited to two plays (about Nebuchadnezzar and the prodigal son) in the «Rythmologion». It also includes morality play about the struggle of the Church with the «host of infidels» and seven interludes, previously known from a single list as an anonymous works of the first third of the 18th century. The analysis of the historical and cultural context of the time the morality play was created, as well as its vocabulary, in particular, a rare lexeme (Turchin) and literary techniques typical for the texts of Simeon Polockij (using of the liturgical texts as a structural and thematic motives), leave no doubt about the authorship. Simeon Polockij is also the author of the interludes that can be proven by the content, plot-thematic, stylistic and lexical calls observed between them. Certain situations, plot motives and the vocabulary of the(«Vertograd mnogostvetnyj», «Rythmologion», etc.). interludes can be identified in the context of Simeon’s works.

Language as a Means of Communication with God

The communicative function of the language of translation, as can be seen from the examples of God's names contained in the oldest Slavic translations of a biblical nature, is an important component of understanding a whole range of liturgical texts and part of the Christian cultural identity of the believer. The need to translate biblical and liturgical texts therefore stems from the needs of believers. One desires to understand as best and as accurately as possible not only the text of the Bible but also the liturgical process itself. The liturgical process contains a number of symbols, actions, gestures and scenes reminiscent of the Divine Performance in the cosmos. In the Bible and in the Divine Liturgy, individual biblical events are constantly present. The understanding of the biblical and liturgical texts is therefore based not only on the correct use of terms but also on a reliable description of the realities. This principle is one of the starting points on which the holy Thessalonian brothers built their translation work.

Monumental Painting: Post-Iconoclasm

Although few secular examples of Byzantine monumental painting survive, hundreds of churches throughout the Mediterranean and the Balkans preserve impressive decorative programs. Many of these churches are well studied. Others, however, remain unpublished. Close study of the paintings provides valuable information about techniques, materials, and artistic styles. Church decoration can show enormous regional variation: specific communities and patrons often exerted influence on subject matter. Inscriptions played an important role in many churches, providing an archive of liturgical texts to be spoken and sung and epigrams to be read. Liturgical texts, hymns, and ritual performance were important inspirations for painters and communities in the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. Phenomenological effects of sound and light were also considered in monumental decoration.

History of the Service to All Russian Saints: XVI-XX Centuries

В эпоху макарьевских Соборов, после канонизации целого сонма русских святых, появилась необходимость в составлении им богослужебных текстов. Святитель Макарий принял решение учредить общий день памяти всем российским чудотворцам, службу которым составил инок Григорий Суздальский. Однако, в силу сложившихся обстоятельств, почитание всех русских святых не было повсеместно распространено и вскоре вовсе забылось. Через несколько столетий на Поместном Соборе 1917-1918 гг. был инициирован вопрос о восстановлении утерянного праздника. Было принято решение установить повсеместное празднование дня Всех святых в земле Российской просиявших, составление службы которым было поручено профессору Б. А. Тураеву и будущему святителю Афанасию (Сахарову). В данной статье представлена историческая справка об указанных событиях. Также в ходе исследования авторами была рассмотрена дальнейшая судьба текста службы всем русским святым и проведён краткий анализ поэтики богослужебных гимнов из служб XVI и XX вв. In the era of the Maсariev Councils, after the canonization of a whole host of Russian saints, it became necessary for them to compose liturgical texts. Saint Macarius decided to establish a common day of remembrance for all Russian miracle workers, whose service was performed by the monk Gregory of Suzdal. However, due to the prevailing circumstances, the veneration of all Russian saints was not widespread and soon completely forgotten. Several centuries later, at the Local Council of 1917-1918. the question of restoring the lost holiday was initiated. It was decided to establish a widespread celebration of the day of all the saints who shone forth in the Russian land, the compilation of the service of which was entrusted to Professor B.A. Turaev and the future Saint Athanasius (Sakharov). This article provides a historical background on these events. Also, in the course of the study, the authors examined the further fate of the text of the service to all Russian saints and carried out a partial poetic analysis of selected liturgical hymns from the services of the 16th and 20th centuries.

The Use of Sarum and Other Liturgical Uses in Later Medieval Britain

If the late medieval liturgy could be characterized by anything, it was diversity of practice from one place of worship to another, not only in the texts and music used in the services, but also in other areas, including the observance of saints’ days and of special practices with local traditions as well as in the patterns of ritual action that accompanied them. Each pattern of text, music, and ritual is most frequently called a liturgical “use” (from Lat. usus, i.e., “custom”). In medieval England, the most famous of these uses were “Sarum” or Salisbury Use, so called from its emanation from Salisbury Cathedral, and the Use of York, which derived from the practices of York Minster. Both came to be used, on an increasing basis, in their local area and were then adopted on a large scale in the southern and northern ecclesiastical provinces, respectively. These so-called secular Uses (as distinct from the liturgical patterns of monastic or conventual institutions) all stood within the Latin Rite, but they could be distinguished from one another by particular details of ritual and, more noticeably in their written witnesses, by the choice and order of the texts and chants of the Mass and Divine Office. By the turn of the 16th century, the uses of Sarum and York held a near monopoly on the secular English liturgy; by contrast, nearly every diocese on the Continent had its own Use, while other institutions adopted the Use of the Roman Curia. This article includes some of the historical scholarly efforts that have laid the groundwork for further research. Some of these are included for historiographical interest, especially to reflect on the long-held belief in the textual and musical fixity of English liturgical books, which has inevitably led to misconceptions about the ways that modern resources can be used. Catalogues and secondary sources tend, for instance, to use unrepresentative modern editions of liturgical texts and music (often really transcriptions of a single source) with the result that a single reading becomes normative. More recent investigations suggest a more complex textual and musical picture than philology can readily reveal. This bibliography is replete with references that seek to explore the variation in written witnesses, and other witnesses to practice, in order to illustrate the diversity of practice in worship and the richness of liturgical influence on the rest of intellectual activity in the Middle Ages.

Hegumen Andronik (Trubachev): A Researcher and Commentator of Priest Pavel Florensky’s Legacy

The article examines the life and research activities of Hegumen Andronik (Trubachev). Hegumen Andronik was a member of the Liturgical Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church and served as the abbot of the Valaam Monastery of Savior Transfiguration, participated in the publication of the Priest’s Handbook, Orthodox Encyclopedia, and other projects. Hegumen Andronik authored many liturgical texts and articles dedicated to Russian Saints (Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Venerable Paphnutius of Borovsk, Venerable Ambrose of Optina, etc.). However, his most significant contribution was made to the study of Russian philosophy. The main work of Hegumen Andronik was analysis and preparation for publication of materials from Pavel Florensky’s archives. The article describes important points in the biography of Hegumen Andronik and the difficulties he overcame in his major activities. Hegumen Andronik did not only “re-discover” Florensky for Russian philosophy and theology but also proposed and substantiated the position according to which the works of the priest can be adequately understood. He substantiated that Florensky’s legacy is a part of the corpus of Christian philosophy, Christian science, and Christian art. In the opinion of Hegumen Andronik, this unique heritage can provide material for the development of theology, but in itself it is not theology. It becomes obvious that Florensky’s works are also of interest in other areas of human knowledge, since methodologically they go back to the ideas of “integral knowledge” and “theurgy,” according to which all areas of knowledge and human activity do not mix or lose their specificity but are synthesized in a common relationship with religion and worship.

The Teaching Model and Basic Religious Texts Prepared by Jesuits Working in Lithuania and Poland from the 2nd half of the 16th c. to the 1st half of the 17th c.

The article shortly describes the model of teaching and basic religious texts written in Lithuanian in the 2nd half of the 16th c. and in the first half of the 17th c. by Jesuits in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The fundamental goal of the Jesuit Society was to spread the Christian faith. To this aim the best and most effective methods were utilised. In the described period two forms of education coexisted, namely the system of schools and pastoral work within the society. While the former focussed on teaching Latin, the latter contributed to the development and codification of vernaculars, and specifically Lithuanian. Good understanding and established social relations were the objective of Jesuits. Pastoral work in a way preceded ethnolinguistic studies.Only those priests and brothers were selected for work with people who knew the language, at least to some extent. The knowledge of Latin was regarded as obvious. The teaching of languages in the spoken and written form was first based on the skills of individual brothers, but after a certain time a seminar devoted to the languages of the Commonwealth was founded. As the time passed and the Lithuanian Province developed, more attention was payed to the culture and development of the language. It was commonly used in apostolic work – in sermons, liturgical texts and pious literature throughout Lithuania. The teaching model applied by Jesuits also contributed, albeit indirectly, to the development of the Lithuanian language and culture.

Orality and Textuality (With an Appendix on the Byzantine Conceptions)

The chapter proposes that one cannot approach Byzantine literature—preserved in either medieval and early modern manuscript books or in the form of inscriptions—without an appreciation of its textual modes of production and circulation, its possible origins in oral creation, and its likely orientation toward oral performance and auditory reception. It thus introduces and surveys three types of texts: (i) texts that reflect conditions of primary orality (songs, sayings, and short or long “stories”); (ii) texts that entail secondary orality (primarily rhetorical and liturgical texts); and (iii) a middle type of texts (texts of fictive orality and rhetoricized liturgical literature). The chapter is rounded off by an examination of Byzantine conceptions of oral vs. written discourse.