Table of Contents Catechism 101 the Voice
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THE VOICE THE VOICE — February 2014 - Volume No. 281 CATECHISM 101 TABLE OF CONTENTS An Orthodox church is traditionally adorned with icons so that visually a worshiper will gaze upon the divine with no distraction or empty space. Father’s Article ........................... 1 The incense fills the air with fragrance as an offering of gratitude to our Stewardship ............................ 3-5 merciful Lord. Beautiful music, in imitation of the sounds of angels, ac- Greek Letters .............................. 6 centuates the words of prayer and lifts the soul from the pedestrian and Philoptochos ............................... 7 the mundane to a heavenly realm. When the Russian emissaries of Vladi- Community Events .................... 8 mir the Great witnessed the liturgy at Hagia Sofia in Constantinople, it Archangels Academy ................ 9 New Year’s Eve ................ 10—12 was the combination of sight, fragrance, and sound that compelled them Κοινοτικά Νέα ........................ 14 to state: “"We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth,nor such Liturgical Schedule ................. 15 beauty, and we know not how to tell of it.” While we spoke of icons and in- Community Events .................. 16 cense in previous issues of the VOICE, what remains is to speak of the Talent Show .............................. 17 sound, the music that adorns our Orthodox worship experience. The musical tradition of our Orthodox Church is commonly known as Byzantine Music since it was developed within the context and time of ST. SPYRIDON HELLENIC ORTHODOX the Byzantine Empire. It bears its origin, however, within the sounds of CHURCH ancient Hellenistic culture. In the early church, the apostles established chanting as a form of worship, and early hymnographers composed both 12307 S. RIDGELAND AVE. PALOS HEIGHTS, IL 60463 the hymns and the music such as “O Gladsome Light” in the evening ser- vice or the angelic hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord Sabaoth” from the Di- WWW. SAINT- vine Liturgy. SPYRIDON.ORG Up until the 4th century, the people chanted together in congregational monophonic singing. However, as the newly freed Christian Church The Voice - H ΦΩNH emerged in the years following St. Constantine the Great, the congrega- tions were led by trained and competent musicians. Furthermore, in re- Official Monthly Community Publication of sponse to the teaching methods of various heretics who used songs in St. Spyridon order to convey to memory their erroneous teachings, church musicians Hellenic Orthodox Church and hymnographers began composing a variety of hymns which served 12307 S. Ridgeland Avenue as memorable summaries of Orthodox dogma. Examples of these are the Palos Heights, IL 60463 hymns of the Liturgy “Only begotten Son” and the Cherubic hymn. REV. FR. TILEMAHOS Byzantine music and composition flourished during the Byzantine era ALIKAKOS with melodists and hymnographers such as St. Romanos, St. John of Da- IERATIKOS mascus, St. Theodore the Studite, St. Photios of Constantinople, St. Leo PROESTAMENOS the Wise, St. Kassiane, and St. John Koukouzelis. In the post Byzantine era, the Great Church of Constantinople preserved the musical tradi- Church Office Hours: ................. Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. tional of the Orthodox Church through a series of church musicians such Phone: ...................... 708-385-2311, 2313 or 0787 as Emmanouel Chrysafis, Fr. Valasios, George Redestinos, Petros of Pelo- Fax: ................................................. 708-385-0166 E-mail: [email protected] ponnesus and many more. In 1814, a commission was formed in order Web: www.Saint-Spyridon.org to formalize the musical notation which until this time was very confus- Parish Council Officers ing and intricate. Among those who transcribed all the ancient melodies Taso Panagiotopoulos ........................ President into this revised and simplified musical notation, we have another class James Korbakes ......................... Vice-President Konstantine Labrakis................. Vice President of influential chanters from Constantinople such as Theodore Fokaes, James Xeros ......................................... Secretary Frank Kopanis ................... Assistant Secretary George Sarantaekklisioti, Iakovos Nafpliotis, Constantine Priggos, and Gus Kolyvas ........................................ Treasurer Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas. Nicholas Chibucos ............. Assistant Treasurer Within this short history of Byzantine Music we realize that what we Auxiliary Officers hear in church is the same music and hymns that were heard in Hagia Stylianos Bonanos ................................ Chanter Olga Paxinos ................................. Philoptochos Sophia in Constantinople. It is the music of St. John of Damascus, the Angela Evangelopoulos ........................... P.T.A. hymns heard by emperors and patriarchs of centuries long ago. The Kiki Kazazakis ......................................... Kentro Lambrini Stavrou ..... Plutarchos Greek School saints who composed these hymns, all the godly people who in imitation Anna Angelos ............... Archangels Academy of the angels set them into music, and the faithful who prayerfully Zoe Kopanis ................ Sunday School Director Nicky Glikis ................................ Choir Director chanted these hymns throughout the centuries, continue to listen in to Dana Vasilakos ........... G.O.Y.A. & Jr. G.O.Y.A. our prayers. They rejoice when they hear sounds and prayerful words Janine Riley ............................................ Cherubs Presvytera Georgia .................................. HOPE that are familiar to them, joining in with faithful hearts who continue the Fr. Tilemahos .......................... Byzantine Music Orthodox musical tradition. Panagiotis Mihalopoulos ............. Iconography Fr. Tilemahos ................................... Bible Study We live in a Christian environment which favors change and adaptation, Vicki Drikos ................................ Handmaidens entertainment and emotionalism. The Orthodox musical tradition dic- Nick Chibucos & Labros Malfas .... Altar Boys John Angelos ........................................ Athletics tates exclusively the use of the human voice. A single melody is accom- panied by what is termed ‘the eternal note’ the ison which serves as a base upon which the melody is sung. Its musical scales are rooted in an- cient forms and the purpose of the music is not to entertain but to accen- tuate the prayers. Hymns which were written and musically adapted by saints centuries ago deserve due honor by generations to come and in- spired translation by a new class of church musicians. Therefore, we will not see bands and guitar players in our churches any- time soon. We do not need to throw away our musical tradition to the prevailing wind of modern worship. We simply need to become ac- quainted with the wealth we have inherited. In Byzantine Music we can “And what does the Lord require of find all the tools needed to make every parish relive the splendor of you? To act justly and to love mercy Hagia Sofia in Constantinople. Tremendous work is being done and to walk humbly with your God.” throughout our Archdiocese to familiarize the faithful with this beautiful 2 The Voice art form as well as to translate our hymnology while adapting it properly to these ancient melodies rooted in the sounds of heaven. As examples you can visit the Divine Liturgy project of St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Mon- astery at http://stanthonysmonastery.org/music/Index.html, or the website of the Archdiocesan School of Byzan- tine Music at http://www.asbm.goarch.org/. In our own Metropolis of Chicago we have classes of Byzantine mu- sic offered at many parishes, including St. Spyridon, along with a webinar that can be found on the our Metropo- lis website: http://chicago.goarch.org/. There is much to learn about the science of our Byzantine musical tradition. It is our task to live up to the wealth we have received, making it our own, passing it on to generations to come as a living and pious expression within the sights, fragrances, and divine sounds which adorn our Orthodox worship experience. Fr. Tilemahos Alikakos STEWARDSHIP 2014 The Stewardship Committee thanks our 371 Stewards who Stewardship 2014 Progress Report have fulfilled their pledge for the 2013 year and our 90 Stew- ards who have fulfilled their pledge for the 2014 year. We As of January 25th, 2014 wish to express our gratitude for your commitment to the Pledged Stewards: 90 Lord’s work through our Church of Saint Spyridon. And to you who have not yet pledged, we ask of you to commit Stewardship Goal for 2014: 400 Stewards yourself and your family so that the Word of God may con- tinue in His glorious name. Mr. & Mrs. Gus Alikakos Mr. & Mrs. Michael Haniotakis Dr. & Mrs. George Pappas Fr. & Pres. Tilemahos Alikakos Mr. & Mrs. Dimitrios Intzes Mrs. Panagiota Paraskis Mr. John Arger Mr. & Mrs. Kyriakos Kalpakidis Mr. & Mrs. Ulysses Parr Mr. & Mrs. John Arvanites Mr. & Mrs. Christos Katsoulis Mrs. Lynn Parr Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Bart Mr. &Mrs. Stanley Ketsios Mr. & Mrs. Jimmy Patridge Mr. & Mrs. Nickolas Bastas Mrs. Sofia Kleopa Mr. & Mrs. John Pavlopoulos Dr. & Mrs. Ted Bechrakis Ms. Stavroula Kolios Mr. & Mrs. Peter Paxinos Mr. Peter T. Berdusis Dr. & Mrs. Chris Kolyvas Mr. & Mrs. John Perakis Mr. Angelo Besbekos & Family Ms. Emily Kolyvas Mrs. Despina Petropoulos Mr. & Mrs. Sam Bisbikis Mr. Gus Kolyvas Mrs. Konstantina Petropoulos Mr. Angelo Bountinas