Byzantine Rite: Liturgical Year

BYZANTINE rITE: LITUrGICAL YEAr. The LY begins on 1 September and ends on 31 August. It consists of two pivotal cycles of liturgical celebrations: the fixed one and the moveable (*Calendar) The movable cycle. The latter centres around Easter with two great periods: the *Triodion and the *Pentekostarion. The Triodion is named after the liturgical book used during the ten weeks that precede the celebration of Easter, including a pre-Lenten period and Lent itself. Byzantine *Lent, known also as ‘Great Lent’ (*Tessarakoste), properly comprises forty days, from the first Monday until the Friday before Palm Sunday, but under the rubric of Lent two other periods are included: pre-Lent and holy Week. The weeks of Byzantine Lent go from Monday to Sunday and make a clear distinction between Saturday and Sunday, and the other days of the week: on the former the celebration of the Eucharist is permitted, whereas not on the latter. The reason for not celebrating the Eucharist is tied to the theology of the Fathers and of the Byzantine Church according to which the Eucharist is always viewed as a triumphal, paschal celebration, one which started on Sunday (the day of the Lord’s Resurrection), and then was extended to the other days of the week, but always maintaining its festive aspect (*Fasting, Eucharistic) By contrast, Lent, although it flowers into the celebration of Easter and is in a sense a precursor to this joy, emphasizes the way along which the Christian arrives at Easter, through compunction and humility. For this reason the eucharistic celebration is limited to Saturdays and Sundays.

Pre-Lent, which consists of three weeks and four Sundays, begins ten weeks before Easter and includes the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, the Sunday of Meatfare and of the Last Judgement, and the Sunday of Cheesefare and of Adam and Eve. Lent is of forty days’ duration and has five Sundays: the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Sunday of St Gregory *Palamas, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, the Sunday of St *John Climacus, and the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt. Between the fourth and fifth Sundays, the Saturday of the *Acathistos is celebrated during which, in the night office, this hymn dedicated to the Mother of God is sung. holy Week concludes the period of the Triodion. Pentekostarion is a period of fifty days with nine Sundays: the Sunday of St Thomas, the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Sunday of the Paralytic, the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, the Sunday of the Man Born Blind, the Thursday of the Ascension, the Sunday of the 318 Fathers of the Council of *Nicaea I, the Sunday of Pentecost, and the Sunday of All Saints (*Coptic Church: Liturgical Calendar) Immovable feasts. Further, there is the cycle of fixed, immovable feasts. ‘Immovable’ means that these festivities fall every year on the same date. however, the difference between some Eastern Churches using the Gregorian calendar and others employing the Julian (see *Calendar) means that the same festivity is celebrated on different dates, depending on which Church one deals with. Primary fixed festivities are: Birth of the Mother of God (8 September), Exaltation of the Cross (14 September), the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God (Gr.

skepē, Church Slavonic pokrov, 1 October; in Greece: 28 October), Entrance of the Mother of God in the Temple (21 November), Christmas (25 December, 7 January according to the Old Calendar), Epiphany (6 January), Presentation of the Lord in the Temple/Encounter (2 February), Annunciation to the Mother of God (25 March), Transfiguration of the Lord (6 August) and Dormition (*Koimesis) of the Mother of God (15 August) In addition there are the festivals of popular saints, e.g., St George (23 April), Sts Constantine and helena (21 May), the apostles Peter and Paul, and ‘all apostles’ (29 and 30 June respectively), St *Parasceva, who in de Slavic world is called Petka (26 July), St *Demetrius (26 October) and St Nicholas (6 December) These festivals are also important because in many places people do not celebrate their birthday but their name day. So, a woman called helena celebrates on 21 May, and someone named Maria does so on one of the Mother of God festivities. In Serbia, other regions of former Yugoslavia and some neighbouring countries, the patron saint’s festival, called slava, is a large family feast, with special dishes, beverages, and blessing rituals. The annual patron saint’s festival is a highlight in the life of a parish, diocese, and monastery. On the eve, mostly a vigil is held, including Great Vespers and often also Matins. Early in the morning the Eucharist is celebrated, if possible with the bishop presiding. Thereafter in many places, a procession with the icon of the patron saint is held through the village or the city’s neighbourhood. People play music, dance, eat, drink, and there are market stalls.

The most important movable and immovable feasts of the LY are also summarized as the ‘twelve feasts’ Variation exists as to the question which festivals fall into this category. Moreover, some theologians include Easter, others consider this ‘feast of feasts’ as a separate category. The LY is also characterized by a number of *fasting periods: Pre-Lent fasting (see above) Forty days’ fast before Christmas: 15 November – 24 December. ‘Fast of the Apostles’: from Monday after All Saints to 28 June. Because of the movable cycle this fasting period can be short or long. ‘Fast of the Mother of God’: 1–14 August. 5 January (forefeast of Epiphany), 29 August (commemoration of the beheading of *John the Forerunner/Baptist) and 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross) Wednesday and Friday (however, not during the festive period between Christmas and Epiphany, the Easter week, and the week after Pentecost) Every month is hallowed by way of a Small Water Blessing, enacted on the month’s first day, both in the church and in parishioners’ homes. As for the week, Sunday is the highlight. The celebration of Resurrection Day begins already with Vespers on Saturday evening, because according to the traditional Byzantine (and Jewish) time schedule, the new day begins with sunset, so from a liturgical point of view with Vespers. Each day has a specific meaning. On Monday the angels are commemorated, on Tuesday John the Forerunner, on Wednesday and Friday the passion of Christ and also the Mother of God, on Thursday the apostles, St Nicholas and the foot-washing, and on Saturday the martyrs and the deceased. On two Saturdays per year the deceased are commemorated in particular: the second Saturday of the pre-Lent, and the Saturday before Pentecost. There exist, however, numerous regional and inter-ecclesiastical varieties. m. Donadeo, L’anno liturgico bizantino, Brescia 1991; h. Schulz, Die byzantinische Liturgie: Glaubenszeugnis und Symbolgestalt, Trier 2003; S. Bulgakov, Churchly Joy: Orthodox Devotions for the Church Year, B. Jakim (tr.), Cambridge UK 2008; J. A. McGuckin, ‘Calendar’, EEOC 1:95–96. B. Groen, M. Nin.

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Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Christian East

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