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The Pentecostarion (Greek : Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostárion; Church Slavonic : Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь, Tsvyetnaya Triod, literally "Flowery Triodon"; Romanian : Penticostar) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches during the Paschal Season which extends from Pascha (Easter) to the Sunday following All Saints Sunday (i.e., the Second Sunday After Pentecost).
The name means the Book of the "Fifty Days", referring to the period of time from Pascha to Pentecost. In Greek, it is also sometimes called the Joyful Pentecostarion (Πεντηκοστάριον χαρμόσυνον, Pentekostárion Charmósynon). In English, it is sometimes called the Paschal Triodion. The name "Pentecostarion" is also applied to the liturgical season covered by the book.
The Pentecostarion is part of the Paschal cycle or "Moveable Cycle" of the ecclesiastical year. This cycle is dependent upon the date of Pascha and continued throughout the coming year until the next Pascha.
Pascha (Easter) is the most important feast of the entire year, outranking by far all others. Each week of the Pentecostarion is named after the Gospel lesson which is read on the Sunday which begins it; for instance, the week that follows Thomas Sunday is referred to as Thomas Week. During the liturgical season of the Pentecostarion, the Gospel of John is read in full, as is the Acts of the Apostles. Both of these books were chosen because of their instructive content. Pascha (Easter) is the traditional time for baptizing new converts to the faith. So, just as Great Lent, with its liturgical book, the Triodion, was the final period of preparation for the catechumens before their baptism, so the time of the Pentecostarion is the time of initiation into the Sacred Mysteries of the Christian religion for the "Newly Illumined" (i.e., the newly baptized).
The two Sacred Mysteries of baptism and chrismation are reflected in the two feasts which mark the beginning and ending points of the Pentecostarion: Pascha and Pentecost. Baptism is naturally tied to the Resurrection, according to the Apostle Paul. [lower-alpha 1] Chrismation, the reception of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is naturally reflected in Pentecost. Because of this, the imagery of water figures prominently in the hymns of the Pentecostarion. [1]
The services of the Pentecostarion begin during the Paschal Vigil starting at the stroke of midnight on Easter Sunday. The service for Pascha is radically different from the services of any other time of the year. Throughout the course of the Pentecostarion, they gradually return to normal (see Canonical hours and Divine Liturgy).
The Afterfeast of Pascha lasts for 40 days, beginning on the Sunday of Pascha and concluding with the Apodosis ("leave-taking") of Pascha on the day before the Ascension of the Lord.
The seven days beginning on the Sunday of Pascha are referred to as "Bright Week" or "Renewal Week". On these days the services are completely different that the rest of the year. Everything is chanted rather than being simply read. Most of the services are much shorter than usual. Even the Divine Liturgy, which normally has little variation in it, has a number of changes which are particular to the Paschal celebration. The Little Hours are chanted in a special format known as the Paschal Hours. The reading of the Psalter, which normally forms a major portion of all of the Daily Offices, is completely omitted.
In the temple (church building), the Holy Doors on the iconostasis are left open for the entire week, symbolizing the open Tomb of Christ, and the Epitaphion (shroud) is visible on the Holy Table (altar), representing the burial cloths (John 20:6) which, according to Christian tradition, bore witness to the Resurrection of Jesus.
The Paschal Artos (Greek : Áρτος, "leavened loaf") is a loaf of risen bread bearing an icon of the Resurrection on it, which is blessed near the end the Paschal Vigil. It is then placed either near the Icon of Christ on the iconostasis or in the nave of the church. The Artos represents the physical presence of Jesus after his Resurrection, and is venerated by the faithful when they enter or leave the temple as a way of greeting the Resurrected Christ.
At the end of either Matins or the Divine Liturgy, there is often a crucession (procession headed by the cross), during which the Paschal Canon is chanted, and the priest blesses with holy water.
Unique to Vespers and Matins during Bright Week is the use of the singing of the verse of Psalm 67 responsorially with the Paschal Troparion in place of the usual Psalm 104 at Vespers and the Hexapsalms at Matins.
Only on Bright Friday are the Paschal hymns joined to another commemoration, that of the icon of the Theotokos, "Life-giving Spring". On all of the other days of Bright Week, only the Resurrection may be celebrated. Exceptions are made for the feast day of a local patron saint, or for important feast days such as Saint George, which may be combined with the paschal celebration.
If it becomes necessary to celebrate a funeral during Bright Week, even this service is radically different, and follows for the most part the format for Paschal Matins, with only a few funeral hymns being chanted. [2]
The Sunday which follows Pascha (the Second Sunday of Pascha) is called "Thomas Sunday", because it recounts the appearance of Jesus to the Apostle Thomas eight days after his resurrection. [lower-alpha 2]
Thomas Sunday is also called "Antipascha" (literally, "in the place of Pascha") because those who for honorable reason were not able to attend the Paschal Vigil, may attend services on this day instead. In middle Greek, "anti" Pascha also means "enter" Pascha. Pascha is a unique feast in the church year; being the "Feast of Feasts" it follows a format unlike any other day. Those liturgical elements normal to a Great Feast of the Lord which were displaced by Pascha's unique elements are instead chanted on Thomas Sunday.
Radonitza [3] (Russian: "Day of Rejoicing"), is a day of commemoration of the departed. Because the celebration of any memorial service for the departed is forbidden from Holy Thursday through Thomas Sunday, a popular tradition has arisen of visiting the graves of departed loved ones and chanting memorial services on the first day this is permitted. There are no special hymns appointed in the Pentecostarion for Radonitza, and nothing different is done in the Daily Office. However, after the Divine Liturgy, it is customary for the faithful to visit cemeteries and serve memorial services, and to give alms in the name of the departed. [4] It is not unusual for families to bring a picnic with them to the cemeteries, which would include paschal foods, especially Easter eggs. Some people leave Easter eggs on the graves of their beloved departed as a way of giving the Paschal greeting to the departed, and as a sign of their belief in the resurrection of the dead.
The Third Sunday of Pascha is dedicated to the 'Myrrhbearing Women' (the Theotokos, Mary Magdalene, and the other women who brought spices to the Tomb of Jesus) and also to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who cared for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion.
The placement of this feast is based upon the idea of the synaxis, wherein secondary persons directly involved in the events celebrated in one of the feasts are celebrated on the day after. However, since Bright Week is devoted exclusively to the celebration of the Resurrection, and Thomas Sunday falls logically on the eighth day of the Resurrection (according to its biblical source), this day becomes the first Sunday on which these persons can be commemorated.
The Sunday of the Paralytic [5] is the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, and recalls Jesus' healing of the Paralytic, as recounted in the Gospel reading for the day, John 5:1-15. [lower-alpha 3] The theme for this Sunday is the man who lay by the Sheep's Pool in Jerusalem for thirty-eight years. The first one to enter the pool after an angel troubled the water would be healed of his infirmities; but because the man was paralyzed, someone else always entered the pool before him. According to the Gospel account, Jesus had pity on the man, seeing he had no one to put him into the pool, and healed him.
The Kontakion for this day asks Christ to raise up the souls of the faithful, "paralyzed by sins and thoughtless acts." The underlying symbolism of the feast is that mankind, being unable to raise itself from the fall by its own will or power, needed "some man" (i.e., the Son of Man, the Messiah) to come and raise it up.
The feast of the Paralytic is unusual in the Pentecostarion in that it does not last a full week, but ends on the day before Mid-Pentecost.
The Wednesday following the Sunday of the Paralytic is the Feast of Mid-Pentecost This is a "feast within a feast", and propers of the Resurrection are combined with propers for Mid-Pentecost. The hymns of the feast speak of it drawing together the themes of Pascha and Ascension. The Apodosis (leave-taking) of Mid-Pentecost comes one week later, on the following Wednesday.
The Sunday of the Samaritan Woman [6] is the Fifth Sunday of Pascha, commemorating the Woman by the well, (traditionally known as Photina in Greek or Svetlana in Russian), as recounted in the Gospel reading for the day, John 4:5-42. [lower-alpha 4] Like the Paralytic, the Samaritan Woman is commemorated only on Sunday and half the week (in this case, the second half), the first half of the week being dedicated to the afterfeast of Mid-Pentecost.
The Sixth Sunday of Pascha is the Sunday of the Blind Man, [7] commemorating Jesus' healing of the man born blind in John 9:1-48, [lower-alpha 5] recounted in the Gospel lesson for this day's Divine Liturgy.
The Pentecostarion's theme of water is continued by the fact that Jesus sent the man to wash the clay from his eyes in the Pool of Siloam (the name 'Siloam' is interpreted as "sent", implying that the blind man's cure was bestowed for his obedience to Jesus).
The miracle of the blind man (traditionally named Celidonius) is remarkable in two respects: firstly, that although there are other accounts in both the Old Testament and the New of the blind having their sight restored, this is the only time someone born blind was given sight for the first time. Although the biblical text does not explicitly say so, the hymns in the Pentecostarion follow the traditional interpretation that not only was this man born without sight, he was born even without eyes. Jesus' act of making clay is an act of creation (creating eyes where none were before), a repetition of the first act of the creation of man in Genesis 2:7. [lower-alpha 6] This indicates the traditional Christian teaching that in the act of salvation Jesus makes his disciples a "new creation". [lower-alpha 7]
The second remarkable aspect of the miracle is that not only did Jesus give the man physical sight, but he bestowed upon him spiritual sight as well. In the blind man's dialogue with the Pharisees, he holds his own in the dispute, engaging in reasoned theological discourse as though he were educated.
These three Sundays of the Paralytic, of the Samaritian Woman and of the Blind Man are characterized by their reference to the Sacrament of Baptism, each illustrating a different dimension or aspect of the Sacrament.
The Week of the Blindman is the last week in the Afterfeast of Pascha, and the Apodosis of Pascha [8] is the final day of the Paschal celebration. There are currently two different practices with regard to the celebration of the Apodosis of Pascha. According to the older practice, hymns of the Resurrection are chanted together with those for the Aposdosis of the Blind Man on Wednesday. According to the more modern practice in the Greek Orthodox Church (those following the "Typicon of the Great Church") the Apodosis of the Blind Man is chanted on Tuesday, while all of the services of Wednesday (Vespers on Tuesday evening; Matins, Little Hours and Divine Liturgy on Wednesday morning) are chanted in the special Paschal form that was used during Bright Week.
The Great Feast of the Ascension [9] falls on the 40th day after Pascha (inclusive), always on a Thursday. The feast is celebrated with an All-Night Vigil starting on Wednesday evening. The Epitaphion (shroud), which had been on the Holy Table since the Paschal Vigil, is removed before the beginning of this service as an indication that the Ascension marked the end of Jesus' physical presence with his disciples after the Resurrection. The Afterfeast of Ascension lasts for eight days until the Apodosis on the following Friday.
The Seventh Sunday of Pascha, [10] which falls during the Afterfeast of the Ascension, commemorates the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (325 AD). In addition to defending Christianity against Arianism, the Council also passed a number of canons concerning church discipline, and also decreed that the date for celebrating Pascha both be reckoned independently from the Jewish Passover and be uniform throughout the world. [11]
The hymns and readings in the Pentecostarion are very rich in drawing out relevant symbolism from biblical texts. The Epistle for the Divine Liturgy is from Acts 20:16-18 [lower-alpha 8] and Acts 20:28-36. [lower-alpha 9] The Gospel is from John 17:1-13. [lower-alpha 10]
The Seventh Saturday of Pascha, the day before Pentecost, is a Saturday of the Dead, on which the church commemorates all of the faithful departed "who in ages past have reposed in a godly manner, in hope of the resurrection of eternal life." [12] Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, [lower-alpha 11] 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 [lower-alpha 12] ) and two Gospels (John 21:14-25, [lower-alpha 13] John 5:24-30 [lower-alpha 14] ) are appointed to be read at the Divine Liturgy. On this day, the readings from Acts and the Gospel of St. John, which began on Pascha, are concluded. Traditionally, St. John Chrysostom's homily "On Patience and Gratitude" is appointed to be read in church (the same homily is also appointed for funerals).
Since the Apodosis of the Ascension fell on the previous day, there are no hymns appointed for this day which speak of either the Ascension or of Pentecost. Instead, the hymns are devoted to prayer for the dead. The prokeimenon at Vespers and God is the Lord at Matins are replaced by Alleluia, and a number of structural changes are made to the services following the pattern of the Saturdays of the Dead which fall during Great Lent. A general Panikhida (memorial service) is served either after Vespers or after the Divine Liturgy, and the Ektenia (litany) for the Departed is chanted at the Liturgy.
Pentecost [13] is the second most important feast of the church year, second in importance only to Pascha itself. The Great Feast lasts for seven days, with its Apodosis falling on the following Saturday.
It is celebrated with an All-Night Vigil on the Eve of the Feast and Divine Liturgy on the day of the Feast. An extraordinary service called the Kneeling Prayer, is served on the night of Pentecost. This is a Vespers service to which are added three sets of long poetical prayers, the composition of Saint Basil the Great, during which everyone makes a full prostration, touching their foreheads to the floor (prostrations in church having been forbidden from the day of Pascha up to this point).
The churches are decorated with greenery, and among the Russians the clergy and faithful carry flowers and green branches in their hands during the services. Pentecost is a traditional time for baptisms. The week prior to the feast is known as "green week", during which all manner of plants and herbs are gathered. The Sunday of Pentecost is called "Trinity Sunday," the next day is called "Monday of the Holy Spirit", and Tuesday of Pentecost week is called the "Third Day of the Trinity." [14] The whole week following Pentecost is an important ecclesiastical feast, and is a fast-free week, during which meat and dairy products may be eaten, even on Wednesday and Friday.
Theologically, the Orthodox do not consider Pentecost to be the "birthday" of the Church; they see the Church as having existed before the creation of the world (cf. The Shepherd of Hermas ). [15] The Orthodox icon of the feast depicts the Twelve Apostles seated in a semicircle (sometimes the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) is shown sitting in the center of them). At the top of the icon, the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, is descending upon them. At the bottom is an allegorical figure, called Kosmos , which symbolizes the world. Although Kosmos is crowned with glory he sits in the darkness caused by the ignorance of God. He is holding a towel on which have been placed 12 scrolls, representing the teaching of the Twelve Apostles.
The Monday of the Holy Spirit, also called Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, falls on the day after Pentecost Sunday. This day commemorates the Holy Spirit's role in the feast of Pentecost. Churches named after the Holy Spirit and, in Western Christianity, those named after the Holy Trinity, commemorate their feast on this day (In Eastern Christianity, churches named after the Holy Trinity, commemorate their feast on Pentecost Sunday).
The First Sunday After Pentecost is dedicated to the commemoration of All Saints.
The next day (Monday) is the beginning of the Apostles' Fast. This is a unique fast in that it is of variable duration, beginning on the moveable calendar, but ending on the fixed calendar feast day of the Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29 (for those churches which follow the Julian Calendar June 29 falls on July 12 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). While all of the Orthodox Churches celebrate Pascha on the same day (with the exception of the Finnish Orthodox Church, which follows the Western Paschalion), some churches follow the traditional Julian Calendar ("Old Calendar") and some follow the Revised Julian Calendar ("New Calendar") which uses the modern Gregorian Calendar to calculate their fixed feasts. Since there is currently a difference of thirteen days between the two calendars, the Apostles' Fast will be almost two weeks shorter for New Calendar churches, or in some years non-existent.
All-Saints of Local Commemoration. This will differ from one national church to another. For instance, in Romania, the commemoration will be "All Saints of Romania", on Mount Athos the commemoration will be "All Saints of the Holy Mountain", etc. In the Orthodox Church of America, the commemoration is "All Saints of America".
In the edition of the Pentecostarion used by the Old Believers and those who follow the Ruthenian recension, the contents of the Pentecostarion begin with the service of Palm Sunday and contain the services of Holy Week.
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity. It is intended to prepare Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha (Easter).
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read.
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian church of Constantinople.
The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It is one of the ecumenical feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion and Pentecost. Following the account of Acts 1:3 that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter according to inclusive counting, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes called Ascension Sunday. The day of observance varies by ecclesiastical province in many Christian denominations, as with Methodists and Catholics, for example.
Eastertide or Paschaltide is a festal season in the liturgical year of Christianity that focuses on celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Preceded by Lent, it begins on Easter Sunday, which initiates Easter Week in Western Christianity, and Bright Week in Eastern Christianity.
The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special rules for fasting or feasting that correspond to the day of the week or time of year in relationship to the major feast days.
The Paschal cycle, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Pascha (Easter). The cycle consists of approximately ten weeks before and seven weeks after Pascha. The ten weeks before Pascha are known as the period of the Triodion, referring to the liturgical book that contains the services for this liturgical season. This period includes the three weeks preceding Great Lent, the "pre-Lenten period", the forty days of Lent, and Holy Week. The 50 days following Pascha are called the Pentecostarion, also named after the liturgical book.
Orthros or útrenya in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices, the other three being vespers, compline, and midnight office. Traditionally, in monasteries it is held daily so as to end immediately following sunrise, in contrast to parishes where it is held only on Sundays and feast days. It is often called matins after the office it most nearly corresponds to in Western Christian churches.
Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday.
The Gospel in Christian liturgy refers to a reading from the Gospels used during various religious services, including Mass or Divine Liturgy (Eucharist). In many Christian churches, all present stand when a passage from one of the Gospels is read publicly, and sit when a passage from a different part of the Bible is read. The reading of the Gospels, often contained in a liturgical edition containing only the four Gospels, is traditionally done by a minister, priest or deacon, and in many traditions the Gospel Book is brought into the midst of the congregation to be read.
The Paschal trikirion is a liturgical triple-candlestick used at Easter time in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic traditions.
An Afterfeast, or Postfeast, is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Churches.
Eastern Orthodox worship in this article is distinguished from Eastern Orthodox prayer in that 'worship' refers to the activity of the Christian Church as a body offering up prayers to God while 'prayer' refers to the individual devotional traditions of the Orthodox.
The Ypakoë is a troparion chanted at Orthros (Matins) and the Midnight Office on Great Feasts and Sundays throughout the liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Ypakoë which is chanted on Sundays is found in the Octoechos and there are eight of them, according to the Tone of the Week. The Ypakoë used at one of the Great Feasts will be written in the tone of the hymnographer's choice.
The Matins Gospel is the solemn chanting of a lection from one of the Four Gospels during Matins in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.
Mid-Pentecost or Midfeast, also Meso-Pentecost is a feast day which occurs during the Paschal season in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Lutheran Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite.
A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.
The Dismissal is the final blessing said by a Christian priest or minister at the end of a religious service. In liturgical churches the dismissal will often take the form of ritualized words and gestures, such as raising the minister's hands over the congregation, or blessing with the sign of the cross. The use of a final blessing at the end of a liturgical service may be based upon the Priestly Blessing prescribed for the kohanim in the Torah.
Katabasia or Katavasia is a type of hymn, and the last troparion of an ode of a canon, chanted in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Its name is derived from the Greek word katabasia for descent, so called because the cantors used to descend from their stalls and unite in the middle of the church to sing them.