Canon (Orthodox liturgy)

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Canon (κανών) is the name for a multi-part hymn text built according to certain rules, which is used in some of the hours of the Divine Office in the Orthodox churches . It consists of a total of nine structured sections, called odes , each of which was originally based on a canticle from the Bible, which was supplemented by stanzas of hymns ( "Troparia" ). In the further development, the biblical cantica was dropped in most cases.

The basic form of the canon can be seen in the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete from the 7th century, which is still prayed today during the Great Lent. Building on this, in the 8th and 9th centuries created other hymnographs, such as John of Damascus , Kosmas of Jerusalem or Maiuma, Joseph Hymnographos, Theophanes Graptos and others. a., a multitude of new canons.

Cantica

The cantica of each ode are

  1. Song of Moses ( Ex 15.1–19  EU )
  2. Song of Moses ( Dtn 32.1–43  EU )
  3. Prayer of Anna, mother of the prophet Samuel ( 1 Sam 2.1–10  EU )
  4. Prayer of the Prophet Habakkuk ( Hab 3.2–19  EU )
  5. Prayer of the prophet Isaiah ( Isa 26,9-20  EU )
  6. Prayer of the prophet Jonas ( Jonah 2, 3–10  EU )
  7. Singing of the young men in the fiery furnace ( Dan 3,26–56  EU ), (Septuagint)
  8. Singing of the young men in the fiery furnace ( Dan 3,57-88  EU ), (Septuagint)
  9. Song of the Theotokos ( Magnificat ), ( Lk 1.46–55  EU ) and
    prayer of Zacharias ( Benedictus ), ( Lk 1.68–79  EU ).

The second ode is only sung on Holy Week. The seventh and eighth odes can be found in the Septuagint as the source text of the Orthodox Bibles, but are missing in the Masoretic text base and thus also in many Protestant Bible translations.

procedure

A canon on Matins (outside of Great Lent and Easter) is structured as follows:

  • Ode I
  • Ode III
  • Little litany
  • Sedals
  • Ode IV
  • Ode V
  • Ode VI
  • Little litany
  • Kontakion and Oikos
  • (Synaxarion)
  • Ode VII
  • Ode VIII
  • Magnificat
  • Ode IX
  • Little litany
  • Exapostilarion

Only three or four odes are sung during the Great Lent:

  • Monday: Ode I, VII, IX
  • Tuesday: Ode II, VII, IX
  • Wednesday: Ode III, VII, IX
  • Thursday: Ode IV, VIII, IX
  • Friday: Ode V, VIII, IX
  • Saturday: Ode VI, VII, VIII, IX

These liturgies are written down in their own liturgical books, the triodion ( fasting and flower triodion , or pentekostarion ).

See also

Web links