Since at least one person was interested in learning more about my “homework,” here’s a bit of what I am doing most Friday’s these days.
Have you ever wondered how your priest/preacher/etc. comes up with the scriptures and topics to be covered each Sunday (or other day of service)? Unless you are in a one church Church, it is not random. I’ve been learning a lot more about this after asking question about how did we know what verses to read between the beatitudes in a service?
For some denominations (primarily Protestant), the Church headquarters sends out a guide that details what is to be done over the year. There may or may not be some flexibility, and it may or may not be super detailed. That depends on the denomination.
For more traditional Churches, however, it is a bit more complex. There is a liturgical year (most Christian denominations follow such), with distinct periods, and things are done in accordance with it. Now, also keep in mind that traditional Churches have special services, and that services will often vary depending on what day of the week they occur. Clear as mud? Okay.
Let’s look at it this way. There are some very special days in Christianity. Some fall on the same date each year, like Christmas. Christmas can be any day of the week, and over time it will be, though it always is December 25. Other days are called moveable feasts, and while they always occur on a Sunday, they can be any date within a certain range. Pascha (Easter) is one such. On the latter, some Churches say it will always be the X Sunday of a month or such. Others actually do calculations (which include the lunar cycle) to determine what Sunday is chosen. All that is far beyond me, but it is something to consider.
So, you have your major feasts, minor feasts, and some other things to think about. You have to look at what day of the week things fall, and a few other considerations when determining the level of service and what is done. How do you plot out the service, and know what scriptures are to be read, verses read, etc?
Well, it is both simple and complicated. Larger Churches and such have dedicated staff who work on this. Smaller Churches, not so much. So, I’m learning how to do it, at least from the perspective of a Chanter or Reader.
The simple part is that each year, a book is published that looks at the calendar for the upcoming year and details what type of service happens each day (or at least most days), and within that you can find what readings are to take place. Mostly. Yes, it will tell you the readings for the reader. It will also tell you where to find other readings, such as what is read between the beatitudes. Yes, it tells you which book you go to for the readings.
Right now, I’ve bought about a dozen books to do this work. Some books have several volumes, some are one volume, and I’m thankful I don’t have to buy some of the reference books as one “book” is twelve volumes and costs between $1,000 and $2,400. There are several reasons I work on this at the Church on Fridays, one being access to such volumes if and as needed.
It’s not just the verses and such you find out this way. Keep in mind that there are different types and levels of service. The same liturgy can have different forms and content based on the level of service. Let’s face it, Christmas is going to be a bigger service than a Tuesday afternoon small feast day. What level of service is one of those things marked in that book that is published each year detailing that year.
Also, keep in mind that in traditional Churches, you also have Vespers and Matins that go with each Sunday service, and there are often special Vespers and other services during the week.
My Fridays are spent doing the following. First, I get the basic information down on the upcoming Sunday service. What level of service is it, is it a feast and for whom, what Tone is used for it, etc. Then, I make a note of the Reader readings, the Gospel, and other major items.
My next task is to then plot out who does what and when for the Vespers, Matins, and then the Liturgy. This means noting all changing verses and wordings; if we do a special response instead of the regular for any reason, etc. It ends up several pages in a notebook, which is my reference and backup during the services. Right now, doing just this takes several hours. I’m told that will get better and that at some point I will be able to add in special services and such.
Here are some of the books I work with on this. Let me note that I am not Russian Orthodox; but, many Eastern Orthodox Churches follow the same order of service so we use their books. I’ve also been annotating my copy of the Horologion to match the Church copy. The latter is quite old and having a copy that matches all the notes, singing notes, and other items in it seems like a good idea to me. That’s taken a couple of days. For a better idea of the liturgical year and books involved, here’s the first in a series of lessons in liturgics that gets into that:
My simple question lead to much more than I ever expected. That said, this is a great way to understand the services and learn the different types and forms of liturgy. This is good for me as a person, and for any work I do at the Church. Who knows where it may lead. Meantime, if our Music Director is out sick again, I can make sure we know what verses to chant or sing if needed.
Hope you enjoyed this tour of my “homework” I’ve been doing. I won’t say it’s “fun” yet, but it is interesting and I’m glad to be able to learn about it. More soon.
