Journal articles on the topic 'Easter hymns'

Easter flower! what would you here? Anthology of songs and hymns by N.F.S.Grundtvig. Translated into English by John Irons, Selected and editedAnne-Marie Mai & Jørn Henrik Petersen, Odense, Syddansk Universitetsforlag,2013. 83 pp.

The Hymn To Say the World a Right Farewell - in the Light of Grundtvig 's Contemporary SermonsBy Jette HolmGrundtvig wrote the hymn At sige verden ret farvel (To Say the World a Right Farewell) for himself.The first 5 stanzas and the final stanza were composed in Easter 1843 (2 drafts). Stanzas 6-8 were added around Advent 1844.In Easter 1843 Grundtvig felt immensely moved by the sound of His voice saying: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; And whosoeverr liveth and believeth in me shall never die (John 11). The sermon on Easter morning ends by quoting 2 stanzas and the final stanza of the hymn To say the World a Right Farewell. The version of these three stanzas varies slightly compared with Grundtvig’s hymn manuscript and has not previously been known to Grundtvig scholars.It is argued that Grundtvig probably composes the two new stanzas in connection with his sermons for Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and these sermons help to throw light on the content of the hymn.In the spring of 1843 Grundtvig is preparing a hymn book supplement: Psalm-Leaves for Church-Use (or Unprinted Psalm Leaves) in reply to Mynster’s A Proposal for a Supplement to the Evangelical-Christian Hymn Book, 1843. The issue of the hymns takes a new turn when the Clerical Conference of Copenhagen sets up a committee in February-March 1844 with Grundtvig as a member. The task of the committee is to attempt to put together a new hymn book to replace the Evangelical-Christian Hymn Book. In the spring of 1844 Grundtvig is ill and in a deep crisis; but in the autumn of 1844 he begins work in the committee. When Mynster criticizes the work on a complete hymn book, Grundtvig decides to edit his Unprinted Psalm Leaves. The first two sheets of Printed Psalm Leaves have left the printers in November 1844, but the Hymn Committee persuades Grundtvig to have the supplement published as a specimen copy: Church Hymns Published on Trial by the Hymn Committee of the Clerical Conference of Copenhagen, January 1845.In the specimen copy the hymn To say the World a Right Farewell has 3 stanzas added to it. These stanzas reflect Grundtvig’s crisis in the spring of 1844. The content of the new or altered stanzas of the hymn is discussed and elucidated through Grundtvig’s contemporary sermons.In the autumn of 1844 Grundtvig often preaches about faith, hope and charity. As Christianity is always and everywhere three-fold, embracing faith, hope and charity, so is Grundtvig’s own hymn, too. With a certain caution it may be said that the three stages in the development of the hymn correspond to faith, hope and charity: the two first drafts corresponding to faith and hope, and the third in 1844 to charity.

Grundtvigs krise i foråret 1844: Forholdet mellem prædiken og salme med henblik pa “Sov sodt barnlille ”[Grundtvig’s crisis in Spring 1844: The Relationship between sermon and hymn with reference to “Sov sodt barnlille ” ( “Sleep sweet, my baby) ”]By Chr. ThodbergIn Spring 1844 Gr was struck down by depression associated with an attack of mumps [parotitis epidemica] which in its final phase developed into inflammation of the brain. His handwriting became small and frail. In the period towards Easter, a number of his sermons were taken on in turn by friends and followers, and the illness reached its peak in the weeks following Easter, and elicited an unreasonable criticism from Bishop J. P. Mynster, who accused Gr of dereliction of duty because he had difficulty in keeping up with his services. Gr’s debilitation culminates in a deep spiritual crisis on the Third Sunday after Easter. The words of Jesus, that in “a little while” he will leave the disciples and in “a little while” will see them again (John 16,16) Gr made into his own words: he was going to die and was now being laid in the bosom of God and the congregation and he would first meet again in God’s kingdom. And three days later he took his leave of the congregation in the form of a sermon in which he summed up his Christian endeavours as his last word and testament. On 3 May he set off with the family on a convalescence-visit to various clerical friends, and during this period almost the whole of “Sov sødt, barnlille” was written, verse by verse, in a fascinating process. His sermon of the Third Sunday after Easter had already set the tone and reinforced a particular context in the baptismal ritual which Gr used, namely the transition from the Gospel-reading concerning Jesus and the little children (Mark 10,13-16) and its conclusion (“And he took them up in his arms, put [his] hands upon them, and blessed them”) on the one side, and, on the other side, the priest’s laying on of hands with the Lord’s Prayer - in combination, an expression of consolation in the midst of assailing doubt and fear of death. Within the same period of time, the hymn became known to Gr’s followers and was construed and taken to heart as the most popular of evening hymns.

The article explores poetics of the unpublished Easter story by S.N. Durylin “On an unrelated grave” (1922). The story is important mainly because the author manages to renew the genre not only by returning to the original spiritual meanings, but also presenting the unique ontological project. Taking into account the experience of the predecessors-classics, first of all, A.P. Chekhov and his story “Holy night” (1886), the writer expands possibilities of the biblical subtext by creating an intertextual evangelical plot that unfolds in parallel with the main one. Using modernist experience of L.N. Andreev and M. Gorky, the symbolist writers, Durylin disputes it, disagreeing with travesty and fantastic versions of the interpretation of Easter story. The author depicts the plot of the resurrection of the soul of the main character Andrei Omutov, who, experiencing the tragic death of his mother, thinks about eternity for the first time. The author’s ontological concept, affirming infinity and the absence of boundaries, is expressed by the special construction of the temporal triad “past — present — future”. The idea of transcendental reality, suggesting Absolute, is formed by alternating passages in present and future tense: these are descriptions of mother’ existence and church hymns quotations. In the past tense, the story of hero’s childhood and his mother’s death are given. The spiritual path to the eternal “to be” represents the inner plot of this story. The milestones of this plot are intertextually indicated by Easter exapostillarium, which is quoted three times: in the epigraph, at the time when it sounds at Easter services and, finally, on a grave of a stranger during matin service, conducted by Father Alexander, when the hero’s spiritual resurrection occurs.

"The article is devoted to the research of choral music by Samuel Barber who was a 20th-century American composer. The research is carried out in terms of its genre and style diversity. It represents the historical stages of turning to choral art. The compositions are differentiated by voice composition into a cappella choirs and choirs with instrumental accompaniment. The orchestral scores are analyzed through the interaction of the poetic text and musical intonation taken into consideration. The figurative and semantic shades of religious and secular origin poems are discovered, the relationship between the music and ancient genres is revealed: Gregorian monodies, antiphons, plain chants, motets, madrigals, Easter hymns. The substantive music aspects are researched as projected on the historical genesis and synthesis of stylistic phenomena of different nature. It is researched how much the elements of medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic and modern musical vocabulary influence the integral system of choral composition artistic means. Keywords: choral music, Samuel Barber, genre traditions, style aspects, chants, motets, madrigals. "

The hypostatic or personal union (enosis ipostatiki) is the wreath and the bond between man and God. The consequences of the hypostatic union form the object of most of the hymns from the cultic treasure of the Eastern Church. The theandric person of our Saviour Jesus Christ is intrinsically present under one form or the other in all the hymns of our Church. Kenosis represents one of the consequences of the hypostatic union and a profound expression of God’s supreme love for mankind. The Orthodox teaching - both in dogma and in divine service - is against a radical kenosis that would nullify the sense of Jesus’ Embodiment as overflowing of the divine energies in the world and in mankind.

Grundtvig 's version of Three Old Testament HymnsBy Else Kragelund HoltThe article seeks to demonstrate the significance of Grundtvig’s interpretative use of the old Testament in Sangværk /. The methodological inspiration for the study is not to be found in the ongoing Grundtvig research, but in Old Testament exegesis, especially in the shape of Tradition History and Wirkungsgeschickte.The questions raised are not primarily why Grundtvig did so and so with his Old Testament Vorlage, but rather what he did with it. The material of the investigation is three hymns from the Easter part of the Sangværk. According to Grundtvig, SV #206, / de gyldne Himmel-Sale (»In the Golden Halls of Heaven«), was written »after the 16th Psalm of David«. On the basis of its form, this psalm should be designated as a psalm of confidence, i.e. a psalm expressing trust in the Lord’s will to take care of those faithful to him, while life will be burdensome to the godless. The Psalmist presents himself as a man obedient to God (v.2), a man who knows that the Lord has given him counsel (v.7), and that He will not let him meet an untimely death (v. 10). One might expect Grundtvig to use Ps 16 as an expression of the Christian’s joy of life, but this is not what he does. Presumably inspired by Christian Vi’s Danish Bible, he reproduces Ps 16 as a heavenly dialogue between the Father and the Son. The Father consults the Son about how mankind can be delivered. Whereas Ps 16 depicts God as the support of man, Grundtvig uses the words of the psalm as a prediction of Christ supporting the Father’s plan of deliverance. In stanza six the speaker changes: Jesus praises the Father for the help that He will show him, when He is to fight Death. Ps 16, 9-10 becomes a prediction of Jesus’ victory over Death, and Ps 16, 11, correspondingly, a prediction of the Ascension. Grundtvig uses Ps 16 »prophetically«, reinterpreting the Old Testament motif of the guidance of the Lord in a different context. Where Ps 16 has an earthly orientation, the perspective of the reproduction becomes cosmic - and, one might add, part of the Easter service in church.SV #207 - O min Gud, min Gud og Fader! (»Oh, My God, My God and Father!«) is said to be »the 22nd Psalm of David, freely translated«. This is the psalm which opens with Jesus’ last words from the Cross: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Old Testament psalm is a personal lament. Vv. 2-22a describe the despair of one, abandoned by God and community, vv. 22b-31 are the praise of a man whose cries have been heard.Grundtvig does not overtly take up the theme of the Passion. Rather he reproduces the psalm very closely, as if to make it usable as a hymn for the Danish church. Nevertheless, a personal adaptation is detectable. First, the hymn talks to God as a father - a divine metaphor, which is not used in the Book of Psalms at all. Here the words from the Cross are traceable. Another vestige of the Passion can be found in the beginning of the hymn, where the poet asks »my God and Father« to »stay with me now«. It seems as if the worshipper has not yet been abandoned, but that he knows that he will be, like Jesus in Gethsemane. Finally, Grundtvig identifies the enemy from whom the worshipper asks to be saved, as Death.In SV #209 - Stat op i Gry, min Gud! stat op! (.Arise at Dawn! My God, Arise.) Grundtvig again translates the Old Testament psalm very closely. PS 68 is a rather martial psalm of thanksgiving for a royal victory, and Grundtvig uses it to portray the victorious resurrection of Christ. Literally between the lines, Grundtvig puts christological interpretations, using allusions to Christmas for instance, and to the Word that bears a giant’s strength. In stanza four Grundtvig changes the reference of the Old Testament psalm to the Wanderings in the Wilderness as a metaphor of fertility and creation (vv. 8-9), using, instead, the stream rising in Eden (Gen 2,4) which he interprets as baptism.What can be concluded is that Grundtvig at the same time re-writes and reinterprets the Old Testament poetry more or less in the tradition of how the Old Testament was re-interpreted in the New.

Abstract In Russian and Greek Orthodox churches, 2 Cor 11:21–12:9 serves as a lectionary reading for the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and 2 Cor 11:30–12:9 is read again on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. These lectionary readings suggest the importance of this passage for the Eastern Orthodox Church's construal of Paul. 2 Corinthians 11:21–12:9 tells of Paul's suffering, his flight from Damascus, his ascent to the third heaven and paradise, as well as his reception of a thorn in the flesh. This essay explores the use of this passage in the hymns of the Orthodox liturgy. References to the passage, especially Paul's ascent to heaven where he heard "ineffable words" (12:4), feature prominently in hymns for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Feast of the Synaxis of the Apostles. Moreover, allusions also occur in hymns for the Exaltation of the Cross and the Feast of St. Andrew the Fool. The essay explores the theological interpretations implied by these hymns, and it traces the rich and often multifaceted traditions of interpretation that inform the language of the hymns. Modern scholars frequently detect a polemic against ecstatic experiences such as Paul's ascent in this portion of 2 Corinthians and thus view 2 Cor 12:1–4 as having limited theological value. The Orthodox tradition, by contrast, interprets the passage as revealing crucial aspects of Paul's theological vision. The essay concludes by suggesting ways this tradition of interpretation might transform contemporary reading of the passage, especially in the context of the church.

Abstract In Russian and Greek Orthodox churches, 2 Cor 11:21–12:9 serves as a lectionary reading for the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and 2 Cor 11:30–12:9 is read again on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. These lectionary readings suggest the importance of this passage for the Eastern Orthodox Church's construal of Paul. 2 Corinthians 11:21–12:9 tells of Paul's suffering, his flight from Damascus, his ascent to the third heaven and paradise, as well as his reception of a thorn in the flesh. This essay explores the use of this passage in the hymns of the Orthodox liturgy. References to the passage, especially Paul's ascent to heaven where he heard "ineffable words" (12:4), feature prominently in hymns for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Feast of the Synaxis of the Apostles. Moreover, allusions also occur in hymns for the Exaltation of the Cross and the Feast of St. Andrew the Fool. The essay explores the theological interpretations implied by these hymns, and it traces the rich and often multifaceted traditions of interpretation that inform the language of the hymns. Modern scholars frequently detect a polemic against ecstatic experiences such as Paul's ascent in this portion of 2 Corinthians and thus view 2 Cor 12:1–4 as having limited theological value. The Orthodox tradition, by contrast, interprets the passage as revealing crucial aspects of Paul's theological vision. The essay concludes by suggesting ways this tradition of interpretation might transform contemporary reading of the passage, especially in the context of the church.

Abstract The doxological character is one of the essential aspects of the Christian worship, taken from the Hebrew divine worship. Thus, the doxological character of many Christian prayers and liturgical hymns represents the foundation and at the same time the key which reveals and explains the theology of the Creation, its mystery and purpose. The role of the Creation is to praise the Creator, as invited conclusively by the last verse of the last canonical Psalm: ”Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” (Ps. 150, 6). We will bring to the forefront of our debate the Great Doxology, one of the first liturgical hymns of the three basic doxological structures (the small, the great and the maximum doxologies) of the Eastern and Western Christian Church.

The object of research in this article is the chant manuscript of a five-line notation kept in the funds of the State Archive in Tobolsk (No. 306). The significance of this musical monument for the culture of Siberia is determined by its belonging to the fifth metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk Philotheus (Schemamonk Feodor), the first Ukrainian scholar monk at the Siberian cathedra. About belonging of the manuscript to sainted Philotheus is testifies owner's record of his pupil Peter Tungus. Sainted Philotheus played an important role not only in the education of indigenous peoples, but also in the emergence of a new European type culture in Siberia. He initiated the construction of the first stone cathedral in Siberia in the name of the Holy Trinity in the monastery of the same name and founded of the bishop's school (later seminary), the religious theater. Metropolitan Philotheus paid much attention to the issues of church singing. Thus, in the bishop's school singing “according to the note” was taught, the lord himself organized the church and metropolitan choruses from the “written out” Kiev monks and exiled Cossacks, and taught literacy and singing, including of newly baptized Siberians. Given the period (the beginning of the XVIII century) and the ancestry of Metropolitan Philotheus, cultivated by him the church-singing culture in the Siberian metropolia was under considerable influence of the South-West Russian Baroque. The manuscript being analyzed is a monument of this tradition. According to the complex of paleographic signs, the manuscript dates back to the early 1660s. and, perhaps, was created by scribes of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, from where Philotheus was erected to the Siberian Metropolitan Сathedra. The singing book is written in four handwritings, representing the South-West Russian semi-uncial with elements of cursive writing and a lot of outline letter, some words are given under the titles, greekized and latinized variants of capital letters are actively used. The edit of the text is pre-reform, elements of razdelnorechyie are preserved. The composition and content of the book refers to the most common from the second half of the XVII century “Oktoih” type of the Ukrainian-Belarusian Irmologion. It consists of seven parts: 1) (main) chants of the Sunday service and the irmos of the canons; 2) automelon (αυτόμελον) (samples for chanting stichera, troparia and sedalen (Κάθισμα)); 3) Irmos and other hymns to the Compline of Feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany; 4) a fragment of the Obikhod of Quadragesima; 5) selected holidays of the Minei stikheres-book; 6) a fragment of the Obikhod of the all-night vigil of the Kiev chant; 7) full-text canons in the Palm Sunday and Easter. Thus, the structure of the Irmolion differs from the Moscow singing books of both the Old Russian and the post-reform traditions, and some differences in the repertoire of the chants are noted. The musical material of the manuscript belongs to the Kiev “izvod” (derivation) of the znamenny chant. In conclusion, it is noted that the Tobolsk manuscript is a typical Ukrainian-Belarusian Irmologion, but for the Siberian region it is undoubtedly unique. Tobolsk Irmologion together with later manuscripts in various Siberian storages form the foundation for the statement of a large-scale problem of the influence of South-West Russian Baroque on the development of the musical culture of Siberia.

Abstract Building on the insights of Jon Levenson's work, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible, this article endeavors to show that a similar approach, which could be labeled "theophanic," has traditionally guided the Christian—perhaps especially the Eastern Orthodox—entry into the Bible. Relating the Sinai theophany and the transfiguration on Tabor was crucially important for early Christian theology. It underlay their appropriation of the Scriptures of Israel as "OT," it lent itself to polemical use against dualism and monarchianism, and it was eventually absorbed into Byzantine festal hymnography and thereby into the mainstream of theology as performed and experienced in liturgy. Similar interpretive strategies are at work in early Christian works and later Byzantine festal hymns and icons that take up theophanies centering on God's throne in Zion. After discussing hymns and icons dealing with Sinai, Zion, and Tabor, I argue that this type of exegesis is difficult to frame within the categories commonly used to describe patristic exegesis and that a more suitable category would be that of "rewritten Bible," current among scholars of the OT pseudepigrapha. I then examine the relationship between the Christology emerging from the hymns under discussion and the normative conciliar Christology. Finally, I sketch a few ways in which today's readers can benefit, both exegetically and theologically, from Byzantine hymnographic and iconographic exegesis.

Abstract Building on the insights of Jon Levenson's work, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible, this article endeavors to show that a similar approach, which could be labeled "theophanic," has traditionally guided the Christian—perhaps especially the Eastern Orthodox—entry into the Bible. Relating the Sinai theophany and the transfiguration on Tabor was crucially important for early Christian theology. It underlay their appropriation of the Scriptures of Israel as "OT," it lent itself to polemical use against dualism and monarchianism, and it was eventually absorbed into Byzantine festal hymnography and thereby into the mainstream of theology as performed and experienced in liturgy. Similar interpretive strategies are at work in early Christian works and later Byzantine festal hymns and icons that take up theophanies centering on God's throne in Zion. After discussing hymns and icons dealing with Sinai, Zion, and Tabor, I argue that this type of exegesis is difficult to frame within the categories commonly used to describe patristic exegesis and that a more suitable category would be that of "rewritten Bible," current among scholars of the OT pseudepigrapha. I then examine the relationship between the Christology emerging from the hymns under discussion and the normative conciliar Christology. Finally, I sketch a few ways in which today's readers can benefit, both exegetically and theologically, from Byzantine hymnographic and iconographic exegesis.

Abstract Easter themes and motifs constitute a secondary level of meaning of the fifth poem in Prudentius’ Cathemerinon, namely the “hymn for the lighting of the lamps”. This is the result of a comparison between this evening hymn and the proclamations that were sung during the Easter vigil throughout the West from the fourth century onwards. The parallels found include light, the crossing of the Red Sea, Christ’s descent into hell, as well as the close relationship between the Exodus and baptism, which was commonly celebrated during the paschal night. That kind of scenario better explains the presence of the Paradise scene that follows the Exodus narrative in Cathemerinon 5: the Eden regained as is depicted by Prudentius, with references to the enclosed garden in the Song of Songs, appears to stand for the Church community to which the newly baptised had finally access.

This study examines the formation and further evolution of the Church Slavonic and Russian vocabulary describing Christian virtues and sins. Our research was conducted on the available Church Slavonic translations of four Byzantine hymns (the Akathistos Hymn, the Great Canon of Repentance by St. Andrew of Crete, the Alphabetical Stichera from the Great Canon service, and the Great and Holy Friday Antiphons) found in Southern and Eastern Slavonic manuscripts of the 11th‑16th century, as well as Russian editions dating back to the 17th – early 20th century. The textological study revealed five main stages in the evolution of these texts caused by systematic corrections in accordance with the Greek text. Based on these results, the linguistic textological method was applied in order to reveal the main differences between said stages in regard to conveying terms relevant to Christian virtues and sins. We examined a total of 110 Greek words and idiomatic expressions in this thematic field and classified them following the method suggested by E. M. Vereshchagin who focused on ways of terms creation. There were revealed main ways these terms were formed in the target language and the general tendencies in their translation during different stages in the history of Church Slavonic. The results of our research showcased the leading role of transposition in the formation of the terms, the negligible amount of lexical loans, as well as the growing role of calquing in the history of Church Slavonic. We also showed the ways in which the Church Slavonic and Russian languages adopted new linguistic and cultural realities and reinterpreted the system of Greek ethical terms, which helps us understand the mechanisms of intercultural transfer, as well as the linguistic factors that contribute to the identification of Russian culture in the general Orthodox context

The idea of conscience is a key concept in both Western and Eastern theologies. Beyond fundamental similarities in content, the specific accents in Eastern Orthodox theology are also worth considering. Here, the phenomenon of conscience is never simply treated as an ethical, philosophical or psychological entity, but the patristic, liturgical and spiritual dimensions are also an essential part of the discussion, which is in this manner always theonomous. Instead of a law-centered approach, Orthodox theology is personalistic and liturgical: conscience is the sanctuary of an encounter with God. It is God’s gift, yet it needs training within an ecclesial setting with the help of prayer, the theology of the fathers, Christian ascetic practices, the affective ethics of the liturgy, the contemplation of icons and the recital of Church hymns.

This text establishes a datum for claims that Maximus the Greek’s life-work was to protect and preserve ancient precepts for a personal devotional “space” against statist and imperial imprimatur. This task was accomplished through both his work as translator and as author of sacred devotional texts and hymns associated with Byzantine hymnography and the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Notably, it is his inner veneration of the Holy Theotokos that marks the primary sensibility of the defence of this intense, inwardly-focused faith in direct communion with the Divine. Maxim’s defence of the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition was accomplished by the special guidance of the Holy Spirit as his personal internal principle that he used not only in the prayer (hesychastic, ascetical) and in the theological works (hagiographical, liturgical), but also in the philological works (of editing, translating, redacting), and especially in the exegetical texts. Therefore, the strong Byzantine patristic and monastic thought as the basis of his contemplative practice, formed in the years spent at the Holy Mount Athos, were only one of the one of the important sources of his original Orthodox theology. Into detailed consideration are taken especially his prayers. Among them, the most important place is reserved for “The Kanon to the Holy and Divine Spirit Parakletos,” which reflects several possible influences, such as the Akathystos hymn, the Great Kanon, and the individual canon as was St. Constantin’s Kanon to St. Demetrius, all of which confirm the very archaic Byzantine and Slavonic sources that properly could serve Maxim for his Old Church Slavonic linguistic basis. Thus, his prayer is a highly original, monastic and deeply personal work that bears witness to his ascetic (hesychastic) practice. All of this tends to confirm that his grammatical and linguistic view of the Old Church Slavonic language was shaped well before his entrance to Muscovite Russia, and that not only was he unjustly accused of heretical mistakes, and thereby imprisoned, but he was, more importantly, completely misunderstood. Nevertheless, and despite his suffering, Maxim was, until the end of his life, arguing that his use of Slavonic language was guarded and, therefore, sacred.

Psalm 133 is the penultimate psalm of a collection within the Psalter entitled the “Songs of Ascents.” Its idyllic picture of community comes at the close of a collection of hymns and prayers in which the reader is invited to praise, lament, contemplate the past, and gather together for worship. In considering the issue of polarization in the church and in society, this psalm collection offers one model for dwelling together in a world in which fracturing is the easier path, arguing that in order to dwell together, we must first do the difficult work of journeying together.

In the year 552, a ceremony was held to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Martha, mother of St Simeon Stylites the Younger. The Vita of St Martha, written by an anonymous monk during the first half of the seventh century, records that the priest Antonio journeyed from Simeon's pillar at Mount Admirabilis, near Antioch, to Jerusalem to obtain a fragment of the cross. When Antonio returned to Mount Admirabilis, ‘a great crowd of men and women gathered in the grace of God, with candles and torches, to hold the service in her memory: and having kept a vigil all night, when in the early morning the living cross was displayed, all who were gathered worshipped, crying out with hymns: We adore your cross, Lord, and we glorify your holy resurrection.’

Автор статьи предлагает взглянуть на Божественные гимны прп. Симеона Нового Богослова в расширенной перспективе. Она утверждает, что они — не только чисто поэтические произведения, отражающие чувства души, переживающей целый спектр состояний — от отчаяния богооставленности до потрясений в моменты встречи с Богом. В статье представлено обоснование гипотезы, что Божественные гимны являются еще и редким примером поэтического выражения полноты аскетического опыта. Включенность гимнов прп. Симеона в число текстов, репрезентирующих мистико-аскетическую традицию Восточного христианства, породило исследовательскую задачу: сопоставить путь духовного восхождения, представленный в них, с другим аскетическим руководством — «Лествицей» прп. Иоанна Синайского. Сравнение этих двух систем пастырских наставлений для подвижников привело к выводу, что методика прп. Симеона Нового Богослова — яркий пример творческого усвоения и развития Традиции, свидетельство того, что аскеза, по сути, есть творчество и не может не быть таковым в силу исключительно личностного характера процесса Богообщения, составляющего ее стержень. The author of the article suggests looking at the Divine Hymns of St. Simeon the New Theologian in an extended perspective. He argues that they are not only purely poetic works, reflecting the feelings of the soul, experiencing a whole range of conditions — from the despair of God-forsakenness to upheavals at the moments of meeting with God. The article presents the rationale that the Divine hymns are also a rare example of the poetic expression of the fullness of ascetic experience. The inclusion of hymns Simeon among the texts representing the mystical-ascetic tradition of Eastern Christianity gave rise to a research task: to compare the path of spiritual ascent presented in them with another ascetic guide — «The Ladder» of St. John of Sinai. A comparison of these two systems of pastoral instructions for ascetics led to the conclusion that the methodology of St. Simeon the New Theologian is a vivid example of the creative assimilation and development of the Tradition, evidence that asceticism is essentially creativity and cannot but be so due to the exclusively personal nature of the process of Communion with God, which is its core.

The Prophet Noah is not a predominant figure within the Yezidi mythology, and so it should come as no particular surprise that he is often absent from the Yezidi sacred hymns. This peculiarity seems easily explained by the Yezidi cosmogonic myth, which places the emergence of Yezidis as a separate and wholly distinct occurrence from the genesis of the rest of humanity. Hence, a mythical catastrophe reducing mankind to merely one family would certainly contradict said cosmogony. And yet, the tale of “Noah and the Serpent” somehow finds itself recounted within every Yezidi community. The present paper will demonstrate that this veneration of Noah is a remnant of an essential Gnostic myth and has the makings of a Wandersage—containing elements of Central Asian beliefs and Mesopotamian mythology,—which is not only widely attested among the Muslim and Christian neighbours of the Yezidis in Northern Iraq but narrated throughout Asia Minor, Central Asia, as well as South-eastern and Eastern Europe.

The Uzbek language belongs to the eastern branch of Turkic languages. Turkic languages are part of the Ural-Altaic language family. The history of orthography and ancient literature of the Uzbek language goes back to the "Orkhon Yinisey" stone in orthography ions. These petroglyphs were obtained from the beach of the Orkhon Seas in Mangolia, Yenisey (Anasay-Mother valley) in southern Siberia, Talas in Kyrgyzstan, and other areas such as Eastern Turkistan, Central Asia, Caucasus, Volga beach and parts of Europe area. These historical sites contain Turkish-Ronics writings. In the stone in orthography ions of "Orkhon Yinisey", some of which include eulogies and hymns describing Turkish kings, are carved on the tombstones of Turkish kings and princes. The orthography of the Uzbek language of Uzbekistan has always changed from the previous state. However, the Uzbek orthography in Afghanistan has never changed since the 12th century until now; they use the Arabic-Uzbek orthography. In this research, library resources are used.

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the so-called ordinary Cherubikon/Cherubic hymn (Οἱ τὰ χερουβίμ/Oi ta Cherubim) found in Byzantine manuscripts in connection with the Divine Liturgies of St John Chrysostomos and St Basil throughout the church year except for Lent and Easter. The Cherubikon is not, however, restricted to Byzantine codices, but can be found in various Latin manuscripts transliterated into Western letters and written with Western neumes.

AbstractThis article aims to provide insight into the nature, distribution and function of certain Middle Dutch translations of Latin hymns and sequences that originated in the circles of the Devotio Moderna. Unlike the vernacular versions in (most) Middle Dutch lay breviaries, which were used as texts for prayer in the context of private devotion, the translations in what I refer to as “vernacular mass and office books” functioned as subtitles to the Latin liturgy. This type of book was primarily intended for canonesses regular, religious women who had to attend the liturgical services of the Divine Office and of Mass, but had not (fully) mastered Latin. Mass and office books originated in the eastern part of the northern Netherlands, whereas the lay breviaries were intended for tertiaries from the western side of the diocese of Utrecht. These women, who followed the rule of the Third Order of St Francis, were not obliged to attend the liturgical services. In order to illustrate the nature and function of the mass and office books, the article focuses on the books of the canonesses regular of St Agnes's in Maaseik.

The Virgin Mother Mary has always been venerated in Eastern Christianity far beyond her scriptural role. In this paper, we propose a symbolic framework of deep culture and apply it to understanding the prominence of Mary and the manner in which she plays a role in people’s lives through a bewildering variety of Marian icons. The framework begins with a mystical/esoteric perspective to appreciate Mary as a symbol that is multivalent, irreplaceable, archetypal, interior, and manifest yet hidden. We analyze images and stories of five highly venerated icons in Greece, Russia, Finland, and amongst diasporic Orthodox Churches, as well as associated hymns. Our analysis reveals that Mary’s significance for Orthodox faithful is best understood in her role as symbolic doorway to mystical religiosity. This role is highly agentic, although not in the sense in which agency is typically—exoterically—understood as analytical and external, but rather as esoterically affective and internally transformative. We show how a deep culture framework adds to our knowledge of Mary in Orthodox Christianity and how it can be used to examine similar figures in other contemporary and historical religious traditions.

Abstract: This article reexamines the contested issue of the nature of the monotheism of Second Isaiah. I approach this subject with an interdisciplinary method that compares the declarations of monotheism in Second Isaiah with those in ancient Egyptian religious texts (primarily hymns). I argue that the Egyptian material may illuminate the monotheistic declarations of Second Isaiah by setting those declarations in a cross-cultural ancient Near Eastern rhetorical context. This comparative approach reinforces the reading of the text that sees Second Isaiah's monotheism as a monotheism of perspective that exalts Yhwh above the gods of the nations, rather than as a strict ontological monotheism that altogether denies the existence of deities other than Yhwh. This article, accordingly, makes the additional case for the utility of Egyptian evidence in topics related to critical biblical scholarship.

Smaller corpora and individual pieces are compared to a large corpus of 2,447 hymns using two measures of melodic angularity: mean interval size and pivot frequency. European art music and West African melodies may exhibit extreme angularity. We argue in the latter that angularity is motivated by linguistic features of tone-level languages. We also found the mean interval sizes of African-American Spirituals and Southern Harmony exceed contemporary hymnody of the 19th century, with levels similar to Nigerian traditional music (Yorùbá oríkì and story songs from eastern Nigeria). This is consistent with the account of W. E. B. Du Bois, who argued that African melody was a primary source for the development of American music. The development of the American spiritual coincides with increasing interval size in 19th-century American hymnody at large, surpassing the same measure applied to earlier European hymns. Based on these findings, we recommend techniques of melodic construction taught by music theorists, especially preference rules for step-wise motion and gap-fill after leaps, be tempered with counterexamples that reflect broader musical aesthetics. This may be achieved by introducing popular music, African and African Diaspora music, and other non-Western music that may or may not be consistent with voice leading principles. There are also many examples from the European canon that are highly angular, like Händel’s “Hallelujah” and Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. Although the tendency of textbooks is to reinforce melodic and part-writing prescriptions with conducive examples from the literature, new perspectives will better equip performers and educators for current music practice.

The essence of this article is an attempt to interpret of St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach as a single theological concept, consisting of two parts. This concept can be considered as sui generis counterpart to the Eastern Christian idea of divinization (theosis); M. Luther laid its foundations, but it was finally developed in the Passions by Bach, who relied on the traditions of Lutheran piety presented primarily in church hymns. The hypothesis of the article is that Bach did not accidentally use the various stanzas of J. Heermann’s Passion hymn Herzliebster Jesu in both works; to set forth his own version of the theory of atonement, he combines, following Heermann, two theological motives ‒ Jesus as Messiah and as embodiment of Divine Love. The complex relationship of these motives is reflected in the musical symbolism of the two masterpieces and in the features of their libretti. At the same time, the point of view widespread in Western musicology is challenged, according to which St. John Passion and St. Matthew Passion express two opposite, mutually exclusive doctrines of atonement, which supposedly coexisted in Lutheranism from the very beginning of its history. Статья представляет собой опыт интерпретации «Страстей по Иоанну» и «Страстей по Матфею» И. С. Баха как единой богословской концепции, состоящей из двух частей. Эту концепцию можно считать своеобразным аналогом восточнохристианской идеи обожения (феосиса); ее основы заложил М. Лютер, однако в завершенном виде она складывается в Страстях Баха, который опирался на традиции лютеранского благочестия, представленные прежде всего в церковных песнях. Согласно содержащейся в статье гипотезе Бах не случайно использовал в обоих Пассионах различные строфы Страстно́ й песни И. Хермана «Возлюбленный Иисусе»: чтобы изложить собственную версию учения об Искупительной Жертве, он объединяет, вслед за Херманом, богословские мотивы мессианства Иисуса и воплощения в Его фигуре Божественной Любви. Сложное соотношение этих мотивов получает отражение в музыкальной символике двух шедевров и в особенностях их либретто. При этом в статье оспаривается распространенная в западном музыковедении точка зрения, согласно которой «Страсти по Иоанну» и «Страсти по Матфею» выражают две противоположные, взаимоисключающие теории искупления, якобы сосуществовавшие в лютеранстве с самого начала его истории.

The Pakhtun culture had been flourishing between 484 - 425 BC, in the era of Herodotus and Alexander the Great. Herodotus, the Greek historian, for the first time, used the word Pactyans, for people who were living in parts of Persian Satrapy, Arachosia between 1000 - 1 BC. The hymns’ collection from an ancient Indian Sanskrit Ved used the word Pakthas for a tribe, who were inhabitants of eastern parts of Afghanistan. Presently, the terms Afghan and Pakhtun were synonyms till the Durand Line divided Afghanistan and Pakhtuns living in Pakistan. For these people the code of conduct remained Pakhtunwali; it is the pre-Islamic way of life and honour code based upon peace and tranquillity. It presents an ethnic self-portrait which defines the Pakhtuns as an ethnic group having not only a distinct culture, history and language but also a behaviour.

A Comparative Study that aims to highlight the mystic notions and the similarities within the poetic approaches of the poets: Rumi and Shelley with reference to their poems The Alchemy of Love (1926) and Hymn to Intellectual Beauty (1817). The Alchemy of Love by Rumi and Hymn to Intellectual Beauty by Shelley can be seen as profound echoes of spirituality. The study’s analytical framework, by implementing Osho’s spiritual (mystic) philosophy, endeavors to illustrate the similarities and dissimilarities in their ideological beliefs and the rationale behind them by keeping in view their unique spiritual dimensions. The mystic ideas shared by the two poets diminish the cultural, religious, and geographical differences, expressing that spirituality pervades far beyond these limited boundaries of human intellect. This study encourages comparative examination of Eastern and Western poets and is capable enough to open new horizons for research in the realm of World literature across the globe.

Let us begin, as is proper, with the gods rich in praise – or, more precisely, with The Gods Rich in Praise, one of three strikingly good monographs based on doctoral theses that will appear in this set of reviews. Christopher Metcalf examines the relations between early Greek poetry and the ancient Near East, focusing primarily on hymnic poetry. This type of poetry has multiple advantages: there is ample primary material, it displays formal conservatism, and there are demonstrable lines of translation and adaptation linking Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hittite texts. The Near Eastern material is presented in the first three chapters; four chapters examine early Greek poetry. Two formal aspects are selected for analysis (hymnic openings and negative predication), and two particular passages: the birth of Aphrodite in Theogony 195–206, and the mention of a dream interpreter in Iliad 1.62–4. In this last case, Metcalf acknowledges the possibility of transmission, while emphasizing the process of ‘continuous adaptation and reinterpretation’ (225) that lie behind the Homeric re-contextualization. In general, though, his detailed analyses tend to undermine the ‘argument by accumulation’ by which West and others have tried to demonstrate profound and extensive Eastern influence on early Greek poetry. Metcalf finds no evidence for formal influence: ‘in the case of hymns, Near Eastern influence on early Greek poetry was punctual (i.e. restricted to particular points) at the most, but certainly not pervasive’ (3). His carefully argued case deserves serious attention.

"Abstract The worship of the Orthodox Eastern Church involves a multitude of references hints and images of the Old Testament, in all the sequences (liturgies) and hymns. Particularly in the Holy and Great Week, the texts of the Old Testament are used with particular emphasis. On Holy Monday and on Holy Tuesday there is use of the texts of the Old Testament. Holy and Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday remind us of the eschatological meaning of Pascha. In this paper we are going to analyze the real and deep influence of the Old Testament to these days of Holy Monday and Tuesday and why the Orthodox Church chose to use the Old Testament although the Jews refused Christ and led him to death. The goal is to show that Orthodox Greek Christians use these texts from the Old Testament because they have no hostile attitude against Jews. Keywords: Old Testament, Holy Week, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, liturgy, psalms"

Manggarai, a community in Flores, Eastern Indonesia is known for its rich culture of folk songs with unique rhythm and lyrics. There are various types of folk songs for different purposes such as traditional chants, harvest celebrations, lamentation of the dead, war anthems, children songs, and other profane functions. When European missionaries started Catholic evangelization in Manggarai in the beginning of the 20th century, many of these folk songs were prohibited due to their use in rituals deemed idolatry. However, some missionaries saw the potential of folk songs for evangelization and empowered local artists to arrange Catholic liturgical songs based on these traditional songs. Eventually, many folk songs were adapted and transformed into Catholic hymns. This paper explores this irony through socio-historical research to understand the relationship dynamics between the Catholic Church and the Manggaraian culture. This research has discovered that there is a dialectical encounter between Catholicism and the Manggaraian culture which has shaped a unique identity of the Catholic Church in Manggarai

The authors focus how Byzantine motifs are presented in the teaching of humanities subjects. The question of the presence of Byzantine motifs is essentially one about the presence of Byzantine heritage in Polish culture. With reference to two school subjects – Polish and History – the authors seek to establish what Polish school students are taught about the reach of Byzantine culture. Present-day teaching of both political and cultural history is underpinned by Occidentalism. Only occasionally is attention paid to the “Eastern” features of Poland’s past. A good example of this is the treatment of one of the most important Polish literary texts, the school perennial, Bogurodzica. This draws on Greek religious hymns, contain words originating in the Greek liturgy, and also alludes to a particular type of icon. Accordingly, the connections between the oldest Polish literary text and Byzantine culture are very clear. However, when classroom teachers discuss Bogurodzica with their pupils, detailing the above-mentioned features, are they aware that this text is an epitome of the presence of Byzantine motifs in Polish literature? Apparently not. With regard to the teaching of history, Byzantine motifs can be approached from at least three angles; in terms of imperial political events, in terms of religious (Eastern rite) aspects of Byzantine culture, and finally in terms of awareness of connections between Polish culture and Eastern rite Christianity, as well as Eastern nations and states viewed as heirs of Byzantine culture. In Polish history there has been a side-lining of the nation’s break with Eastern Christianity even though during certain periods this was the faith of half the Commonwealth’s inhabitants. The marginalisation of this topic does not simply impose a limit on knowledge but it prevents the understanding of particular aspects of our history.

A Rooted Man and a Sacred PoetBy Viggo MortensenA Review of A.M. Allchin: N.F.S. Grundtvig. An Introduction to his Life and Work. With an afterword by Nicholas Lossky. 338 pp. Writings published by the Grundtvig Society, Århus University Press, 1997.Canon Arthur Macdonald Allchin’s services to Grundtvig research are wellknown to the readers of Grundtvig Studier, so I shall not attempt to enumerate them. But he has now presented us and the world with a brilliant synthesis of his studies of Grundtvig, a comprehensive, thorough and fundamental introduction to Grundtvig, designed for the English-speaking world. Fortunately, the rest of us are free to read as well.It has always been a topic of discussion in Denmark whether Grundtvig can be translated, whether he can be understood by anyone except Danes who have imbibed him with their mother’s milk, so to speak. Allchin is an eloquent proof that it can be done. Grundtvig can be translated and he can be made comprehensible to people who do not belong in Danish culture only, and Allchin spells out a recipe for how it can be done. What is required is for one to enter Grundtvig’s universe, but to enter it as who one is, rooted in one’s own tradition. That is what makes Allchin’s book so exciting and innovative - that he poses questions to Grundtvig’s familiar work from the vantage point of the tradition he comes from, thus opening it up in new and surprising ways.The terms of the headline, »a rooted man« and »a sacred poet« are used about Grundtvig in the book, but they may in many ways be said to describe Allchin, too. He, too, is rooted in a tradition, the Anglican tradition, but also to a large extent the tradition taken over from the Church Fathers as it lives on in the Orthodox Church. Calling him a sacred poet may be going too far.Allchin does not write poetry, but he translates Grundtvig’s prose and poetry empathetically, even poetically, and writes a beautiful and easily understood English.Allchin combines the empathy with the distance necessary to make a renewed and renewing reading so rewarding: »Necessarily things are seen in a different perspective when they are seen from further away. It may be useful for those whose acquaintance with Grundtvig is much closer, to catch a glimpse of his figure as seen from a greater distance« (p. 5). Indeed, it is not only useful, it is inspiring and capable of opening our eyes to new aspects of Grundtvig.The book falls into three main sections. In the first section an overview of Grundtvig’s life and work is given. It does not claim to be complete which is why Allchin only speaks about »Glimpses of a Life«, the main emphasis being on the decisive moments of Grundtvig’s journey to himself. In five chapters, Grundtvig’s way from birth to death is depicted. The five chapters cover: Childhood to Ordination 1783-1811; Conflict and Vision 1811-29; New Directions, Inner and Outer 1829-39; Unexpected Fulfilment 1839-58; and Last Impressions 1858-72. As it will have appeared, Allchin does not follow the traditional division, centred around the familiar years. On the contrary, he is critical of the attempts to focus everything on such »matchless discoveries«; rather than that he tends to emphasize the continuity in the person’s life as well as in his writings. Thus, about Thaning’s attempt to make 1832 the absolute pivotal year it is said: »to see this change as an about turn is mistaken« (p. 61).In the second main section of the book Allchin identifies five main themes in Grundtvig’s work: Discovering the Church; The Historic Ministry; Trinity in Unity; The Earth made in God’s Image; A simple, cheerful, active Life on Earth. It does not quite do Allchin justice to say that he deals with such subjects as the Church, the Office, the Holy Trinity, and Creation theology.His own subtitles, mentioned above, are much more adequate indications of the content of the section, since they suggest the slight but significant differences of meaning that Allchin masters, and which are immensely enlightening.It also becomes clear that it is Grundtvig as a theologian that is the centre of interest, though this does not mean that his work as educator of the people, politician, (history) scholar, and poet is neglected. It adds a wholeness to the presentation which I find valuable.The third and longest section of the book, The Celebration of Faith, gives a comprehensive introduction to Grundtvig’s understanding of Christianity, as it finds expression in his sermons and hymns. The intention here is to let Grundtvig speak for himself. This is achieved through translations of many of his hymns and long extracts from his sermons. Allchin says himself that if there is anything original about his book, it depends on the extensive use of the sermons to illustrate Grundtvig’s understanding of Christianity. After an introduction, Eternity in Time, the exposition is arranged in the pattern of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Annunciation, Easter and Whitsun.In the section about the Annunciation there is a detailed description of the role played by the Virgin Mary and women as a whole in Grundtvig’s understanding of Christianity. He finishes the section by quoting exhaustively from the Catholic theologian Charles Moeller and his views on the Virgin Mary, bearing the impress of the Second Vatican Council, and he concludes that in all probability Grundtvig would not have found it necessary to disagree with such a Reformist Catholic view. Finally there are two sections about The Sign of the Cross and The Ministry of Angels. The book ends with an epilogue, where Allchin sums up in 7 points what modem features he sees in Gmndtvig.Against the fragmented individualism of modem times, he sets Gmndtvig’s sense of cooperation and interdependence. In a world plagued with nationalism, Gmndtvig is seen as an example of one who takes national identity seriously without lapsing into national chauvinism. As one who values differences, Grundtvig appeals to a time that cherishes special traditions.Furthermore Gmndtvig is one of the very greatest ecumenical prophets of the 19th century. In conclusion Allchin translates »Alle mine Kilder« (All my springs shall be in you), »Øjne I var lykkelige« (Eyes you were blessed indeed) and »Lyksaligt det Folk, som har Øre for Klang« (How blest are that people who have an ear for the sound). Thus, in a sense, these hymns become the conclusion of the Gmndtvig introduction. The point has been reached when they can be sung with understanding.While reading Allchin’s book it has been my experience that it is from his interpretation of the best known passages and poems that I have learned most. The familiar stanzas which one has sung hundreds of times are those which one is quite suddenly able to see new aspects in. When, for example, Allchin interprets »Langt højere Bjerge« (Far Higher Mountains), involving Biblical notions of the year of jubilee, it became a new and enlightening experience for me. But the Biblical reference is characteristic. A Biblical theologian is at work here.Or when he interprets »Et jævnt og muntert virksomt Liv paa Jord« (A Simple Cheerful Active Life on Earth), bringing Holger Kjær’s memorial article for Ingeborg Appel into the interpretation. In less than no time we are told indirectly that the most precise understanding of what a simple, cheerful, active life on earth is is to be found in Benedict of Nursia’s monastic mle.That, says Allchin, leads us to the question »where we are to place the Gmndtvigian movement in the whole spectmm of Christian movements of revival which are characteristic of Protestantism« (p. 172). Then - in a comparison with revival movements of a Pietistic and Evangelical nature – Allchin proceeds to give a description of a Grundtvigianism which is culturally open, but nevertheless has close affinities with a medieval, classical, Western monastic tradition: a theocentric humanism. »It is one particular way of knitting together the clashing archetypes of male and female, human and divine, in a renunciation of evil and an embracing of all which is good and on the side of life, a way of making real in the frailties and imperfections of flesh and blood a deeply theocentric humanism« (p. 173).Now, there is a magnificent English sentence. And there are many of them. Occasionally some of the English translations make the reader prick up his ears, such as when Danish »gudelige forsamlinger« becomes »meetings of the godly«. I learnt a few new words, too (»niggardliness« and »esemplastic«) the meaning of which I had to look up; but that is only to be expected from a man of learning like Allchin. But otherwise the book is written in an easily understood and beautiful English. This is also true of the large number of translations, about which Allchin himself says that he has been »tantalised and at times tormented« by the problems connected with translating Grundtvig, particularly, of course, his poetry. Naturally Allchin is fully aware that translation always involves interpretation. When for example he translates Danish »forklaret« into »transfigured«, that choice pulls Grundtvig theologically in the direction that Allchin himself inclines towards. This gives the reader occasion to reflect. It is Allchin’s hope that his work on translating Grundtvig will be followed up by others. »To translate Grundtvig in any adequate way would be the work of not one person but of many, not of one effort but of many. I hope that this preliminary study may set in train a process of Grundtvig assimilation and affirmation« (p. 310)Besides being an introduction to Grundtvig, the book also becomes an introduction to past and contemporary Danish theology and culture. But contemporary Danish art, golden age painting etc. are also brought in and interpreted.As a matter of course, Allchin draws on the whole of the great Anglo-Saxon tradition: Blake, Constable, Eliot, etc., indeed, there are even quite frequent references to Allchin’s own Welsh tradition. In his use of previous secondary literature, Allchin is very generous, quoting it frequently, often concurring with it, and sometimes bringing in half forgotten contributions to the literature on Grundtvig, such as Edvard Lehmann’s book from 1929. However, he may also be quite sharp at times. Martin Marty, for example, must endure being told that he has not understood Grundtvig’s use of the term folkelig.Towards the end of the book, Allchin discusses the reductionist tactics of the Reformers. Anything that is not absolutely necessary can be done away with. Thus, what remains is Faith alone, Grace alone, Christ alone. The result was a radical Christ monism, which ended up with undermining everything that it had originally been the intention to defend. But, says Allchin, Grundtvig goes the opposite way. He does not question justification by faith alone, but he interprets it inclusively. The world in all its plenitude is created in order that joy may grow. There is an extravagance and an exuberance in the divine activity. In a theology that wants to take this seriously, themes like wonder, growth and joy must be crucial.Thus, connections are also established back to the great church tradition. It is well-known how Grundtvig received decisive inspiration from the Fathers of the Eastern Church. Allchin’s contribution is to show that it grows out of a need by Grundtvig himself, and he demonstrates how it manifests itself concretely in Grundtvig’s writings. »Perhaps he had a deep personal need to draw on the wisdom and insight of earlier ages, on the qualities which he finds in the sacred poetry of the Anglo-Saxons, in the liturgical hymns of the Byzantine Church, in the monastic theology of the early medieval West. He needs these resources for his own life, and he is able to transpose them into his world of the nineteenth century, which if it is no longer our world is yet a world in which we can still feel at home. He can be for us a vital link, a point of connection with these older worlds whose riches he had deciphered and transcribed with such love and labour« (p. 60).Thus the book gives us a discussion - more detailed than seen before – of Grundtvig’s relationship to the Apostolic Succession, the sacramental character of the Church and Ordination, and the phenomenon transfiguration which is expounded, partly by bringing in Jakob Knudsen. On the background of the often observed emphasis laid by Grundtvig on the descent into Hell and the transfiguration, his closeness to the orthodox form of Christianity is established. Though Grundtvig does not directly use the word »theosis« or deification, the heart of the matter is there, the matter that has been given emphasis first and foremost in the bilateral talks between the Finnish Lutheran Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. But Grundtvig’s contribution is also seen in the context of other contemporaries and reforming efforts, Khomiakov in Russia, Johann Adam Möhler in Germany, and Keble, Pusey and Newman in England. It is one of Allchin’s major regrets that it did not come to an understanding between the leaders of the Oxford Movement and Grundtvig. If an actual meeting and a fruitful dialogue had materialized, it might have exerted some influence also on the ecumenical situation of today.Allchin shows how the question of the unity of the Church and its universality as God’s Church on earth acquired extreme importance to Grundtvig. »The question of rediscovering Christian unity became a matter of life and death« (p. 108). It is clear that in Allchin’s opinion there has been too little attention on this aspect of Grundtvig. Among other things he attributes it to a tendency in the Danish Church to cut itself off from the rest of the Christian world, because it thinks of itself as so special. And this in a sense is the case, says Allchin. »Where else, at the end of the twentieth century, is there a Church which is willing that a large part of its administration should be carried on by a government department? Where else is there a state which is still willing to take so much responsibility for the administration of the Church’s life?« (p. 68). As will be seen: Allchin is a highly sympathetic, but far from uncritical observer of Danish affairs.When Allchin sees Grundtvig as an ecumenical theologian, it is because he keeps crossing borders between Protestantism and Catholicism, between eastern and western Christianity. His view of Christianity is thus »highly unitive« (p. 310). Grundtvig did pioneer work to break through the stagnation brought on by the church schisms of the Reformation. »If we can see his efforts in that way, then the unfinished business of 1843 might still give rise to fruitful consequences one hundred and fifty years later. That would be a matter of some significance for the growth of the Christian faith into the twentyfirst century, and not only in England and Denmark« (p. 126).In Nicholas Lossky’s Afterword it is likewise Grundtvig’s effort as a bridge builder between the different church groupings that is emphasized. Grundtvig’s theology is seen as a »truly patristic approach to the Christian mystery« (p. 316). Thus Grundtvig becomes a true all-church, universal, »catholic« theologian, for »Catholicity is by definition unity in diversity or diversity in unity« (p. 317).With views like those presented here, Allchin has not only introduced Grundtvig and seen him in relation to present-day issues, but has also fruitfully challenged a Danish Grundtvig tradition and Grundtvigianism. It would be a pity if no one were to take up that challenge.

AbstractThe Onchestos passage in theHomeric Hymn to Apollo(229-38) has been discussed extensively, most usefully by A. Schachter (BICS23 (1976) 102-14) and G. Roux (REG 77(1964) 1-22). Further consideration of the disputed verbal forms in lines 235 and 236 and the plurals of 233-6 suggests that the plurals do indeed indicate a two-horse chariot team but that the presence of a team is not incompatible with the test of a single colt, and that if a chariot is wrecked by the unguided horses, it is righted and leftin situ(with the horses removed) while prayers of supplication are made to Poseidon. The events referred to are interpreted as elements of a religious ritual with explicit military implications, dating from the Mycenaean period. It is, however, noted that a Babylonian ritual parallel might suggest a Near Eastern (and possibly non-military) origin.

This study entitled as “Mythical Association of Male Body in Baahubali Series” explores how S.S. Rajamauli destabilizes the cinematic convention of the constructed female body in consideration of the male gaze in the Bollywood film industry. It investigates the entertainment industry’s presentation of the male body for both the male and female gaze in Baahubali Series. Moreover, the manuscript highlights the glorification of the male body through rigorous training and constant maneuver in resonance with the Eastern mythologies and Hindu scriptures. The study discovers the reworking of myth and archetype in film and an ideal male body prepared in gym centers and training institutions. Cinematic representations of Bhima, Krishna, Lord Vishnu and Arjuna mythologize male bodies. The research paper examines the texts from the perspectives of Body Studies and the body myth from the Eastern epic traditions, including Mahabharata, Ramayana and Hindu hymns. Similarly, the body of Baahubali rehearses Bhima and Krishna, the body of Bhalla Deva with Duryodhana and the body of Bajjala Deva with Dhritarastra. The Hollywood film industry’s projection of the body with resonance of myth and archetype subverts the traditional notion of body as impure trivial thing. Since the representation of the body in Bollywood movies has barely been explored, this study can be significant source for the researchers of myth, movie and masculinity in the future.

The reality of an ever-accelerating globalization, accompanied by an expanding religious pluralism, presents significant challenges to many long-enduring concepts of doing missions. This article will focus on identifying some of those challenges and offering some possible options for ongoing missions involvement. Particular attention will be given to the potential of melding missions practices with the nurturing of interfaith relationships with the prospect of forming covenants of commonality. It is our premise that continuing interfaith conversations will break down barriers of misunderstanding and facilitate the growth of mutually compatible relationships across delicate cultural and religious boundary lines. Within the context of these developing cross-faith relationships, probable new opportunities for effectual missions ministry will emerge. In developing this article, we will draw from multiple sources, including published works by notable scholars of missiology, theology, ethics, and sociology. Songs, hymns, poems, and prayers will provide helpful illustrations. Additional material will come from real-life interfaith interchanges and from our personal experiences while serving as missions practitioners in West Africa and Eastern Europe.

The article examines the development of the traditions of classical poetry in modern Uzbek literature. New materials show that the traditions of Eastern classical literature were consistently continued in parallel with Soviet literature in the 1920s – 1990s. Among the representatives of the Samarkand literary movement of the twentieth century, there are artists who continued a number of traditions of Uzbek classical literature, such as arrangement of the Devonian, calligraphy, calligraphy, creation of hymns of religious and philosophical content, translation, narration. Of these, the personal archives of Ibn Davlat, Ahlam, Jameh, Muradi and Wadud Mahmud are classified, and a scientific description of the sources available in the literature of this period is made. According to this classification, the authors of this period are divided into literary, historiographic and scientific sources, both by the content of the manuscripts and by the type of genre - letters and correspondence, documents and archives. For the first time, the article informs the scientific community about the authors who lived and worked in the Samarkand region, and information from their personal archives.

"Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death). A Chorale’s Journey from the Middle Ages through Martin Luther to Johann Sebastian Bach. One of the focal points of Martin Luther’s work as a reformer can still be discovered in his compositions. He wrote several lyrics in which he formulated essential dogmatic insights. These include the Easter song Christ lag in Todesbanden [Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death] based on the mediaeval Gregorian chant Victimae paschali laudes and its later version Christ ist erstanden, in which not only the joy over Easter and the resurrection of Christ can be found, but it also gives a picture of the reformer’s theological insights into the death of death and sin. After nearly two hundred years, Johann Sebastian Bach processes all seven verses of Luther’s song in his cantata of the same title (BWV 4), shortly after the death of his first wife. The Lutheran hymn of the resurrection will thus become a personal creed, an ars poetica, but at the same time we can find an exciting musical representation of Luther’s theological view of death in Bach’s composition. Keywords: Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach, Protestant choir, death, resurrection "

Everyone Knows that several of Gustav Holst's early works are concerned with subject-matter derived from Indian mythology. The most significant, though by no means the only, examples are the operas Sita and Savitri, the cantata The Cloud Messenger, and the various settings of Hymns from the Rig Veda. His knowledge and use of that subject-matter, however, has received little critical appraisal. Conventional formulations such as that in John Vinton's Dictionary of 20th Century Music (‘his studies of Sanskrit … introduced him to Eastern thought’), themselves derived from Imogen Holst's biography of her father, have been allowed to stand unscrutinized. There has, in particular, been little or no discussion of the relationship between Holst's sources, compositional style, and creative achievement in these works – which constitute, after all, his first really personal contribution to European music. Yet these are vitally important considerations if the music of Holst's ‘Indian’ period is to be rescued from the picturesque. Just as important as the literary and philosophical aspects is the cultural context; a discussion of that will help to explain why Holst should have been looking towards India in the first place.

Who is the Ancient of Days? Most of the Eastern Church Fathers who comment on the passage in Daniel (7.9-14) interpreted (in the light of Revelation 1.10-18) the elderly figure as a prophetic revelation of the Son before His physical incarnation. In Orthodox Christian hymns and iconography, the Ancient of Days is sometimes identified with God the Father, but most properly, in accordance with Orthodox theology, He is identified with God the Son – Jesus Christ. Under Romeʼs scholastic influence, it has historically been used to theologically justify images of God the Father, alone or in various forms of what is called the New Testament Trinity. These images and their theological justification have become so common in the Orthodox nowadays world, (almost) nobody questions them. As such, Eastern Christian art will sometimes portray Jesus Christ as an old man – the Ancient of Days, to show symbolically that He existed from all eternity (together with the Father and the Holy Spirit), and sometimes as a young man, or wise baby, to portray Him as He was incarnate. This study represents a research on the history of the reflexivity of biblical-dogmatic and liturgical-hymnographic interpretations in the orthodox iconography of the Ancient of Days, an explanatory journey through the history of the iconicity of the divine name of the Ancient of Days. In conclusion, even if the iconography is still seen as an ancillae theologiae, it anagogically reproduces through colors what dogmatics and hymnology strengthen through writing and hearing - the doctrine of the Orthodox Church

T H E CONFLUENCE OF THE WRITING OF EASTERN, CENTRAL LITHUANIA, AND LITHUANIA MINOR IN REFORMER BOOKS ON RELIGIOUS DIDACTICS FROM 1863 TO 1865 The article looks into five books on religious didactics published by the Calvinists in Eisleben in 1863–1865: Atsiminimas da geroje adijnoje, Nusidawimas biedna Joniuka, Prisiwertimas grieszna żmogaus ing Diewą, Wartojmas arba meginimas patis sawę and Gromata Naszłaitela ing sawa mieła Iszganitoja, which bibliographers and historians claim to have been written by Alexander Raphael Moczulski. A textological analysis has revealed Prisiwertimas not to have been drafted by Moczulski. This is evidenced in the differences in the spelling and the language of the texts covered by the analysis, the mismatched hypernormalisms, and the specific characteristics of the edits made to Biblical quotes and hymns. Certain qualities of the language in Prisiwertimas demonstrate that, unlike Moczulski, the editor of this text was under the influence of both the subdialect of Biržai and the subdialects of the northern Panevėžys region further to the west. Furthermore, Prisiwertimas features a much larger number of unique morphological forms not recorded elsewhere, which indirectly reflect the typical truncation of the ending of the Panevėžys subdialect and the resultant uncertainty on the editor’s part with regard to how certain parts of the text were to be written.

Abstract In 1896 Lidzbarski published a Sureth (Christian North- Eastern Neo-Aramaic) version of the Dispute of the Months, as preserved in the ms. Berlin 134 (Sachau 336). The text is here republished with an English translation and compared with its Classical Syriac Vorlage. For the purpose of comparison, a provisional critical edition of the East-Syriac text in the classical language has been prepared on the basis of five manuscripts. The East-Syriac (and Sureth) version contains fewer references to Biblical and Christian culture than the West-Syriac text, as published by Brock in 1985, and appears to be a folk ballad with a few Christian motifs rather than a liturgical hymn. The text was attributed to the late 13th-century poet Khamis bar Qardaḥe and has been preserved in a couple of manuscript witnesses of the second part of his Diwān.

This article shows the development of a method of editing a hagiographic work at first known by a single text witness only. The protagonist, the monk Śärṣä Ṗeṭros, lived in the fifteenth century and founded the monastery of Däbrä Wärq (eastern Goǧǧam) where he is still venerated as saint. The work is named Gädlä Śärṣä Ṗeṭros and contains the saint’s Vita,his miracles and a mälkǝʿ-hymn. After a brief introduction to the work’s content and its narrative structure, the article reflects the first considerations and ideas on how the work could be edited taking into account the main principles of a scholarly edition and the challenges of working with a single text witness. The article presents the then current state ofresearch while the Addendum outlines substantial changes surfaced soon after the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Dǝrre Dawa 2012.

Abstract The article presents a collection of seventeen previously unpublished inscriptions on stone and small objects from Bithynia. The majority of them belong to the middle Byzantine period and comes from the area of Nikaia and Nikomedeia. First of all, the inscription from a boundary stone of a monastery of Theotokos near Niketiaton is discussed, in which the bridge of a certain Eustathios and the monastery of Johannes Kranbas are mentioned. The building inscription of a refectory attests to the existence of a splendid monastic complex near Kanlıçay, to the east of the Sangarios River. The inscription from a column offered by Leon lists several saints. In addition to clerics and monks, the funerary inscriptions also mention one Basil who came from the Diocese of Ikonion. This is followed by an epigraphical attestation of the koinonikon σῶμα Χριστοῦ (an Easter hymn), a fragment of an inscription mentioning the city of Joannina, a reliquary cross of Saint Damian, and two processional or blessing crosses. A clay seal with the monogram probably of a certain Photios closes the collection.

AbstractThis article examines the ethical and theological universe of the Homeric epics, and shows that the patterns of human and divine justice which they deploy are also to be found throughout the wider corpus of early Greek hexameter poetry. Although most scholars continue to stress the differences between theIliadandOdysseywith regard to divine justice, these come not (as is often alleged) from any change in the gods themselves but from theOdyssey'speculiar narrative structure, with its focus on one hero and his main divine patron and foe. Indeed, the action of theIliadembodies a system of norms and punishments that is no different from that of theOdyssey. Values such as justice are shown to be socially constituted in each epic on both the divine and human planes, and each level, it is argued, displays not only a hierarchy of power (and the resulting tensions), but also a structure of authority. In addition, the presentation of the gods in the wider hexameter corpus of Hesiod, the Epic Cycle and the Homeric Hymns is analysed, revealing a remarkably coherent tradition in which the possibility of divine conflict is combined with an underlying cosmic order. Finally, consideration of Near Eastern myths relating cosmic order to justice brings out the distinctiveness of the Greek system as a whole and, in particular, of the way it uses the divine society under Zeus's authority as a comprehensive explanatory model of the world.

AbstractIn the passage Exod. xxii 20-26 the poor man cries to God after he had been mal-treated by a powerful creditor. In response God acts as an avenger against that evil individual. The article first clarifies the background to such violent acts by proprietors in Ancient Near Eastern Laws, and the response to it in the laws of Deuteronomy xxiv. The curse and revenge are then explained in the light of parallel practices from ancient Greek literature, mainly from the Oddesey. Curse practices meant to restore justice are explored on the basis of Greek binding spells and of the corpus of Greek literary curses. The image of the Mesopotamian god "ama" as an avenging god is analyzed according to the famous Babylonian "ama" hymn and to that god's epitheta. Finally, examples of Hebrew curse literature are highlighted in the Book of Job and in Psalm cix.

N. F. S. Grundtvigs “Studier til en bibelsk Rimkrønike” (1828) set i lyset af hans samtidige kristeligt pædagogiske tanker[N. F. S. Grundtvig’s “Studies for a Biblical Rhymed Chronicle” (1828) viewed in the light of his contemporaneous Christian-pedagogical thinking]By Else RiisagerGrundtvig was engaged in communicating biblical and ecclesiasticalhistorical material in the form of hymns and songs which primarily appealed to children, young people and layfolk for practically the whole of his productive life. “Studies for a Biblical Rhymed Chronicle” from 1828 (Theologisk Maanedsskrift XIII, 145-181), which contains material from protohistory, is Grundtvig’s first attempt at a systematic publication of biblical-historical poetry. In the preface he expresses his aspiration to write biblical rhymed chronicles for children for use in schools. In his collected edition of the genre, Sang-Værk til Den Danske Kirke-Skole (1870; GSV II), the poetry from “Studies” is included as numbers 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8. The present article examines Grundtvig’s Christian-pedagogical thinking as regards the target audience at the time of publication and compares this thinking with his practice in “Studies” through a detailed analysis of Kain pløied rask i Vaar (GSV II, 6) and a more thematic presentation of the other poems.Examination of the prefaces of Grundtvig’s contemporary pedagogical publications reveals that the main purpose of the poems is Christological preaching based on the Apostles’ Creed. In practice the poems in “Studies” are Christian preaching, but not specifically Christological preaching. There is, however, nothing in the poems that speaks against a Christological context and there are numerous traits that address a Lutheran universe. Where the Christological preaching relating to the rendering of the Old Testament material is only implied, this is out of respect for the informative purpose.With regard to the genre of the poems, around 1828 Grundtvig’s preferred idea was to create biblical history in verse within the Christian pedagogical area, with genre-related traits from the medieval text, Den danske Rimkrønike. Verse is easier to read, learn and remember than prose; and by writing narratives about persons and events in verse, Grundtvig aspires to communicate the biblical material easily, vividly and animatedly. The intention of the poems is that they should be used as material for Christian teaching of Christian children at home and in connection with confirmation training. In practice, GSV II 6 and 7 are addressed to children and their parents and teachers, while GSV II 1, 2 and 8 have young persons as their primary intended recipients.Grundtvig was dissatisfied with the poems in “Studies” - not because of any deviation from his original intentions but rather because, in the event, the pedagogical intentions are not achieved. GSV II 1,2, and 8 are long and difficult to understand for the target audience. The poems are in all probability not lively enough to persuade children to listen to them, or – as Grundtvig himself phrases it - to persuade even himself that they are worth memorising.At this stage the genre of the individual items is neither hymn nor song, but rhymed biblical chronicle. “Studies for a Biblical Rhymed Chronicle” is a first attempt to start compiling a textbook in versified biblical history for Christian children, young persons and parents