Political approaches to Byzantine liturgical texts (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Hymnography in Honour of Saints Constantine and Helena and its Connection with Imperial Ideology
Studia Ceranea 13, 2023
This article presents an overview of published and unpublished Byzantine and post-Byzantine hymnographic texts dedicated to Saint Constantine, founder of Constantinople and first Byzantine emperor, and his mother Saint Helena. Specifically, we cite and comment upon some indicative passages primarily found in canons of the Matins, which refer to historical events from the lives of the saints and attribute to them, especially to Saint Constantine, virtues such as justice, piety, wisdom, and the defense of the true faith. These qualities are directly associated with the imperial political ideology as this was shaped principally by Eusebius of Caesarea in his works Life of Constantine and Tricennial Oration.
This paper looks at an aspect of early Byzantine popular involvement with hymnody which is massively overlooked. It sets out to highlight the contexts of unease like theological disputes, urban violence between dogmatic factions or contentions around liturgical practices in which hymns had a surprisingly large part to play. The paper also discusses how hymns were engaged by devotees of healing cult in 6th-7th cc. Constantinople. Besides, it briefly touches on the issue of popularity of Romanos' kontakia in this context.
Hymns, Homilies and Hermeneutics in Byzantium
Brill, 2020
These papers explore the literature of Byzantine liturgical communities and provide a window into lived Christianity in this period. The liturgical performance of Christian hymns and sermons creatively engaged the faithful in biblical exegesis, invited them to experience theology in song, and shaped their identity. These sacred stories, affective scripts and salvific songs were the literature of a liturgical community – hymns and sermons were heard, and in some cases sung, by lay and monastic Christians throughout the life of Byzantium. In the field of Byzantine studies there is a growing appreciation of the importance of liturgical texts for understanding the many facets of Byzantine Christianity: we are in the midst of a liturgical turn. This book is a timely contribution to the emerging scholarship, illuminating the intersection between liturgical hymns, homiletics and hermeneutics.
Beyond Religion: Homilies as Conveyor of Political Ideology in Middle Byzantium
Y. Stouraitis (ed.), Identities and Ideologies in the Medieval East Roman World, 2022
The paper focusses on a specific group of religious literary texts, namely homilies, in order to investigate whether they transmitted political ideology. In particular, it deals with Middle Byzantine homilies from just before the beginning of Iconoclasm to 1204. This is not an exhaustive study of such a vast subject, but an examination of certain aspects of it. Following some preliminary remarks, the issues under consideration are: 1. The expression of criticism of or opposition to the emperor, whether explicit or ex silentio; 2. The positive expression of political, more specifically imperial ideology on the basis of a few significant homiletic examples from the Byzantine capital at the highest level of church and state; 3. Homilies in the Byzantine tradition as a medium of political-ideological correctness outside of the empire (the case of Philagathos Kerameus); and 4. The analysis of a homily that bridges the two worlds, the Byzantine and the Norman, in another way, by presenting Norman political ideology from the point of view of a Byzantine preacher.
Review of Ecumenical Studies, 2019
This article discusses the role of Byzantine liturgical hymnography within the Jewish- Orthodox Christian dialogue. It seems that problematic anti-Jewish hymns of the Orthodox liturgy were often put forward by the Jewish side, but Orthodox theologians couldn’t offer a satisfactory answer, so that the dialogue itself profoundly suffered. The author of this study argues that liturgical hymnography cannot be a stumbling stone for the dialogue. Bringing new witnesses from several Orthodox theologians, the author underlines the need for a change of perspective. Then, beyond the intrinsic plea for the revision of the anti-Jewish texts, this article actually emphasizes the need to rediscover the Jewishness of the Byzantine liturgy and to approach the hymnography as an exegesis or even Midrash on the biblical texts and motives. As such, the anti-Jewish elements of the liturgy can be considered an impulse to a deeper analysis of Byzantine hymnography, which could be very fruitful for the Jewish-Christian Dialogue.
Byzantine Liturgical Hymnography: a Stumbling Stone for the Jewish-Orthodox Christian Dialogue?
Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu, 2019
This article discusses the role of Byzantine liturgical hymnography within the Jewish-Orthodox Christian dialogue. It seems that problematic anti-Jewish hymns of the Orthodox liturgy were often put forward by the Jewish side, but Orthodox theologians couldn’t offer a satisfactory answer, so that the dialogue itself profoundly suffered. The author of this study argues that liturgical hymnography cannot be a stumbling stone for the dialogue. Bringing new witnesses from several Orthodox theologians, the author underlines the need for a change of perspective. Then, beyond the intrinsic plea for the revision of the anti-Jewish texts, this article actually emphasizes the need to rediscover the Jewishness of the Byzantine liturgy and to approach the hymnography as an exegesis or even Midrash on the biblical texts and motives. As such, the anti-Jewish elements of the liturgy can be considered an impulse to a deeper analysis of Byzantine hymnography, which could be very fruitful for the Jewi...
Tropologion Sinait.Gr. ΝΕ/ΜΓ 56–5 (9th c.): A New Source for Byzantine Hymnography
Until recently, the Hymnarium of Jerusalem (‘Tropologion’) was known almost exclusively due to its Georgian and Syrian translations. In this article, the Hymnarium of Jerusalem (“Tropologion”) – Cod. Sin.Gr. ΝΕ/ΜΓ 56+5 (9th c., 240 ff.) – recently discovered on the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) in the original Greek language is explored for the first time. It is a unique liturgical witness, which fixed both the rites and chant-repertoire of the Church of Resurrection (“Grabeskirche”) in Jerusalem as evidenced by the heading on the first folio, which says: ‘With God the Tropologion of all the holy feasts of the whole year established by the Holy the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ .’ The Hymnarium comprises 73 services for the period, from the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ to the commemoration of St. Joseph of Arimathea (12th of June), with incorporated Lenten and Paschal services. It also includes the rites of preparing the chrism, foot washing and Paschal procession. Its calendar is Palestinian in style, with some Alexandrian features and containing unique rubrics commemorating those perished in the earthquake of January 17, 749 in Palestine, the Feast of Sts. Faith, Hope and Love on June 1, and the Coptic Festival of the Archangel on June 6. In the article one finds descriptions of the rubrics of the “Tropologion” with all the incipits of the hymns and the first attempts to analyze the specifics of the calendar, structure and content of the Hymnarium in comparison with archaic Georgian Palestinian witnesses and later Greek Byzantine hymnographical data. The author of the article concludes that Cod. Sin.Gr. ΝΕ/ΜΓ 56+5, which contains the most complete (as of yet) collection of early Greek liturgical poetry of Palestine, represents the next, newest, redaction (brought about through the activities of St. John of Damascus and his adopted brother St. Cosmas) of the Hymnarium, replacing the older version, known due to the Georgian ‘Udzvelesi Iadgari’ and directly preceding 9th c. formation of the liturgical books such as ‘Menaia’ and ‘Triodia’ in Constantinople, which inherited genres and structures, artistic and technical principles of the Hymnarium of Jerusalem (“Tropologion”).