Orthodox Terms & Definitions

AKATHIST - a hymn, which is sung and prayed while standing; emerges and has been used in the Church since the 7th century. This hymn consists of twelve two-part hymns, kondaks and ikos chants, preceded by an introductory hymn, also a kondak. The akathist belongs to one of the oldest hymographic genres, the kontakion. The akathist par excellence is the Akathist to the Mother of God, sung in Matins of the fifth Saturday of Great Lent. Akathist hymns of Christ, the saints and holy events also exist.

ANTIPHON - a chant originally sung by two opposing choirs. Appears in the Divine Liturgy as First, Second and Third Antiphon for the Little Entry; and in Matins for the Prokeimenon.

ARJAMANDRITE - abbot (hegumen) of a monastery; is also given to monks as an honorary title.

CATHOLIC - original: all-encompassing, universal, scattered throughout civilization. "That which is believed everywhere, always, by everyone" (Saint Vincent de Lerins)

DEACON - A deacon is the third and lowest degree of the major orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church, following the bishop and the presbyter. The word deacon (in Greek διάκονος) means server and originally referred to a person who waited by tables.

DOXOLOGY - Literally means hymn. In general, it refers to the liturgical glorification of the Trinity: "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit"; it also includes the closing prayers at the end of the litanies where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are glorified. More specifically, it encompasses the Major Doxology and the Minor Doxology.

DIVINE LITURGY - see: Eucharist; Liturgy.

EUCHARIST - literally: thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, also called liturgy, culminating in the presence of Christ in the form of bread and wine.

EUCHARISTIC FASTING - a short fast (abstinence from food and drink) in preparation for receiving the Holy Gifts in the Divine Liturgy.

EUCHARIST - Literally means thanksgiving. It is a sacramental meal, also known as the Divine Liturgy, where Christ is present in the form of bread and wine.

EUCHARISTIC FASTING - Refers to a short fast, which involves abstaining from food and drink before partaking in the Holy Gifts during the Divine Liturgy.

HADES - In Greek mythology, it was the name of the god of the underworld. In the Old Testament's Greek translation (Septuagint), "sheol," the abode of the dead, is often translated as hades. In the New Testament, hades is seen as the place of separation from God and the prison of those who have passed away. Christ's descent into hell is believed to have opened the gates of hades. Hades is also depicted as the personification of death and the devil in hymnography related to the feast of the resurrection and the raising of Lazarus.

HADES - hell. In ancient Greece the name of the god of the underworld. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, the Hebrew "sheol," the abode of the dead, is translated as hades (see: Job 10:21-22; 30:23). The New Testament sees hades as the place of separation from God, the prison of those who sleep, of which only Christ, in His descent into hell, can open (see: Acts 2:24, Ephesians 4:9, 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6). The hymnography of the feast of the resurrection and of the raising of Lazarus depicts hades as the personification of the grip of death and his agent, the devil (see: 1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

HÉXAPSALM - six Psalms read at the beginning of Matins: Psalms 3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142. These six Psalms are evenly taken from the different parts of the Psalter, a remnant of the monastic tradition of covering the entire Psalter to pray at night. These Psalms can be seen as a prefiguration of Christ's life on earth, His suffering and Resurrection. Its read in the midst of the church and after the first three punctuated by "Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and into the ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, O God. (3x) "Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and into the ages of ages. Amen.' These Psalms are prayed along by the believers who stand.

HIRMÓS - literally: connection. The tropair with which each of the nine odes of the canon begins. Hirmos hymns connect the tropairs of the canon with the biblical ode that precedes it. The first eight are based on the Odes of the Old Testament, which foreshadow events in the New Testament. The hirmos of the ninth ode (Luke 1:47-55) always refers to the Mother of God. The hirmos is sung in the tone of the cannon. See also: cannon; ode.

HYMNOGRAPHY - a set of texts not directly derived from the Bible used in Orthodox worship.

HYPAKOÍ - singing after the third psalm reading of the Matins on Sunday and in the canon of festive services.

ICON - literally: image. Image of Christ, the Mother of God, the saints, the ceremonies. The veneration of icons was confirmed at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 747 in response to the iconoclasts, who rejected the veneration of icons. God's revelation in the flesh enables what was previously impossible (Exodus 20:4-5): to depict the face of God incarnate (John 14:9, Colossians 1:15). Neither the Father nor the Spirit can be depicted.

ÍKOS - the second part of the two-part hymns of an akathist, which ends with the same final sentence as the previous kondak.

JULIAN CALENDAR - a calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar (ca. 100-43 BC), was adopted in Western Europe in 1582 by the Gregorian calendar, also called the new style calendar, as opposed to the Julian calendar, which was then called the old style calendar. Since 1900, the difference between the old and new style has been thirteen days. Some Orthodox churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church, still use the old calendar to this day. For example: December 25 old style is celebrated on January 7 new style.

KÁNON - literally: rule, example. The canon is based on biblical, mainly Old Testament odes (hymns): 1st: Exodus 15:1-19, 2nd: Deuteronomy 32:1-43, 3rd: 1 Samuel 2:1-10, 4th: Habakkuk 3:2-19, 5th: Isaiah 26:9-19, 6th: Jonah 2:2-9, 7th: Daniel 3:26-57 (not in the Hebrew Bible), 8th: Daniel 3:57-88 (ditto), 9th: Luke 1:47:55, and 1:67-79. The canon consists of poetic texts (tropars) inserted between the verses of the biblical hymns. The first tropair of each series, the hirmos, refers to the accompanying biblical ode. For example, the hirmos of the first ode comes from the ode sung after the miraculous passage of the Jews through the Red Sea. Due to its length, the second ode has virtually disappeared over the centuries. The hirmos, like the odes, is sung. The tropairs are usually read. In church services, the cannon is part of Matins, Compline and the Midnight Service, among others. A cannon can also be prayed by the believer at home in preparation for various occasions. (See: "Reading a canon, hirmos and ode").

KATHISMA - According to Byzantine tradition, the Book of Psalms is divided into twenty divisions called kathisms. The word indicates that the believer is sitting while reading the Psalms. Each kathisma consists of three parts, separated by 'Honor', 'Now' and 'Alleluia'. During the breaks after each kathisma, the faithful get up. Each kathisma is followed by a Litania and a kathisma chant. See also: About the Psalms.

KATHISMA SONG - chant to the Little Litany, who follows every kathisma of Matins. Also after the Little Litania, which follows the third ode of the cannon of Matins.

TURNING VERSE - the verses of the biblical odes sung or read among the tropairs of the canon. If the biblical odes are not sung: the verse read after the hirmos for each tropar of the canon. For example, "All Holy Mother of God, save us." See also: cannon.

KONDAK - singing after the sixth ode of the Cannon of Matins. On Sundays and public holidays, the kondak is followed by an ikos. The kondak is the last remnant of the rich genre of the kontakia (see: kontakion). The kondak is also sung in the Divine Liturgy and the Typika, and read in the Tides.

KONTAKION - (plural: kontakia) originally consisted of a model verse sung by the whole people and a number of ikos chants (often 24), sung by a pastor. The current ikos is a remnant of these 24 ikos chants. The akathist is an example of a full kontakion. The kontakion is one of the oldest hymnographic forms of the Byzantine rite, often inspired by the Syrian metric homilies written by Saint Ephraim the Syrian. The most famous author of kontakia is Saint Romanos de Melode. Later, the Matins' guns replaced the kontakia.

LITANIA - a series of prayers supported by the choir. There are a number of forms: the Great or Peace litany, the small litany, the questioning litany, the urgent litany. They appear in the liturgy, vespers, matins and other services and are recited by the priest or deacon.

LITIE - literally: request, begging. Originally a service in itself, the Litie is now part of the Vespers of feasts. The Litie includes a procession to the narthex (the vestibule) of the church during feasts with the singing of special Litie tropars. Furthermore, a series of prayers of intercession is read, the Litie prayers and the service ends with a wish for peace and the prayer of the bow of the head.

LITIE PRAYERS - a series of prayers, in fact a special Urgent Litany, supported by one repeated many times by the choir: "Lord, have mercy."

LITIE-TROPARES - hymns sung by the choir before the beginning of the Litie prayers (in vespers and in Panichida).

LITURGY - literally: public service. In the West, the word liturgy is often used to denote public worship. In the Orthodox Church, it is the specific name of the celebration of the Eucharization and is usually preceded by the word "Divine."

MATTENS - morning service, on the eve of Sunday and ceremonies, is sometimes preceded or combined with the Great Vespers or Great Compline. In that case we speak of a Vigil. See also: Wake.

METROPOLITAN - title of a bishop of an important city (metropolis) and the area around it.

MYRON - oil used in the completion of the Mystery of the Myron anointing, which is administered immediately after baptism as a gift from the Holy Spirit (more or less similar to Confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church). The Myrob is prepared once a year from fragrant oils and herbs by the highest members of the church hierarchy. The Myron is kept in the church on the Altar.

MYRON CARRYING WOMEN - the women who went to the tomb to embalm the Body of Christ. The commemoration of these women falls on the third Sunday of Easter.

MYSTERIES - also: Sacraments. The Mystery par excellence is Christ Himself. In Him everything is made (John 1:3); His incarnation, baptism in the Jordan River, death, resurrection, ascension and second coming open the door of His Kingdom to believers. In His Body - the Church - man is offered renewed unity, fellowship with God (Eph 5:32; 2 Pete 1:4). The Mysteries are liturgical celebrations where the Kingdom of God is realized in the gracious action of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The heart of the Mysteries is the Eucharist, with which most other Sacraments (Baptism, Chrisma or Myron Anointing, Confession, Ordinations and Marriage) are inextricably linked. In addition to union with God, believers also receive sanctification on their way to the Kingdom, with names in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In a broader sense, the word "mystery" is used for all actions in which the Kingdom of God manifests itself: in human lives: monk's ordination; lesser ordinations such as those of reader and deacon); in deeds: charity ("the sacrament of our brother," as John Chrysostom puts it); in matter: great water consecration, church consecration, other ordinations; in time: the sanctification of the hours, the day, the week, the month and the year during the services. The Orthodox Church does not make a strict distinction between a fixed number of sacraments, such as those for water consecration, house consecration, and the ordination of icons. Also of sacramental importance are the Word of God (especially the proclamation during the liturgy of the Catechumens) and the iconography, in which the face of God incarnate (see: John 14:9) actualizes His presence.

MYSTICAL SUPPER - appears in the Communion Prayer, which is prayed before the Mystery of Communion is received. Name for the last meal Christ had with His disciples before His captivity.

ODE - the word 'ode' is used to denote the nine biblical hymns that make up matins' canon (see: canon). In addition to a biblical ode, each ode contains a hirmos that forms a connection with it, and a number of tropairs. See also: cannon, hirmos.

ORTHODOX - literally: Faithful, outright praise. The adjective orthodox is not understood denominationally but qualitatively; a doctrine of faith faithful to the testimony of the apostles (John 15:27) and a worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:23).

PANCHIDA - prayer service in memory of the deceased. This can be prayed throughout the year, with the addition of special Easter prayers at Easter. In addition to the panchida for individual believers, the so-called universal panchida for all those who have fallen asleep in the faith has existed since the beginning of time, which is bound to certain days, for example, the panchida at the beginning of Great Lent or before Pentecost.

PAREMIE - text of the Old Testament, which is read in the Vespers of (high) festivals and which is a harbinger of an event, described in the New Testament, that forms the content of the feast.

PASSAH - pronounced: pás-cha, Aramaic word, Hebrew: Passover, meaning "to pass", "transition"; in English: Easter. It is the annual commemoration of the Lord's resurrection. As examples, the Church remembers, among other things, the first Passover of Israel in Egypt, the salvation of the Israelite firstborn, the exodus from Egypt, the institution of the Old Covenant. Just as Easter is the transition from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land of freedom for the Jews, Easter is also a transition for Christians. It is the transition from the bondage of sin and death to the freedom of the new with Christ in His Resurrection, the new life He wants to give to all who are connected to Him in faith.

PATRIARCH - title given to the heads of a number of local Orthodox churches. The patriarch is chosen from among the bishops and presides over the synod of bishops (assembly) as bishop. He is the first among equals of his bishops. There is an order of honor of the various patriarchs, in which the patriarch of Constantinople occupies the first place. Patriarchs have no control over the church life of any other local Orthodox Church.

PENTEKOSTARION - the book with the texts of the services between Easter and the first Sunday after Pentecost, the Feast of fifty days.

POLYÉLEOS - the Greek word 'poly' much and 'eleos' means good-kindness or mercy; the Greek word 'elaion' means oil. The polyeleos is a hymn from the Matins of Sundays and holidays, consisting of Psalms 134 and 135 (or some verses from it). The chorus of Psalm 135 "for His kindness endures forever" is repeated over and over again, hence the term "poly-eleos." A second explanation of the name is that during this issue all (oil) lamps are lit.

PROKIMEN - name for a Psalm verse spoken by a reader or deacon before a reading of Scripture (the Gospel, the Apostle, or Paremies of the Old Testament).

PRESBYTER - 

PRIEST - see: Presbyter.

PSALTER- Book of Psalms. The Psalter is divided into twenty kathisms, each consisting of three parts (see: Kathisma). The liturgical Psalter includes, in addition to the Psalms, the division into kathisms and the various prayers associated with the monastic tradition of continuous reading of the Psalms.

SACRAMENTS - see: Mysteries.

SEPTUAGINT- Translation of the Old Testament into Greek from the 2nd century BC, prepared for the benefit of the Greek-speaking Jews of Egypt. According to tradition, seventy rabbis ('septuagint') translated the Hebrew text into Greek in an identical manner. The early Church mainly used the Septuagint; the Psalter of the Septuagint is to this day the book of psalms of all Orthodox Churches.

STARETS - (plural: startsen) Russian word used for a person who has received certain spiritual gifts by the grace of God, such as spiritual insight and discernment of spirits, which enable him to act as a spiritual father or leader. It is often an old(honorary) priest monk, but it can also be an ordinary monk or a layman. Feminine form: staritsa.

STICHIER - sung hymn inserted between the psalm verses of 'Lord I call' from Vespers and Psalms of Praise (Ps 148-150 from Matins.

THEOPHANY -

THEOSIS - in Orthodox theology, the term theosis (also: divinization, glorification, or deification) stands for the process of people becoming more like God. We do not literally become God Himself, but are given Divine attributes by the grace of God, either in this very life or after death. The idea has a place in several Christian denominations, but is especially central in Eastern Orthodoxy. It should not be confused with the term apotheosis of the Greco-Roman world.
In the New Testament there are several references to this process of deification. For example, Paul writes that believers can partake of eternal life through the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-49), that "all things are thine" (1 Corinthians 3:21-23), and that they are "transformed into the image of God" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; cf. 4:4). Believers are also regularly attributed a similar status to Christ (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7; Revelation 21:7). The most common biblical reference in theology to the idea of deification is in 2 Peter 1:4, which speaks of "taking part in the divine nature." After the 1st century, this view returns with many Church Fathers. For example, Ireneus wrote: "Our Lord Jesus Christ by his love became what we are, that he might make us what he himself is". Clement of Alexandria said something similar: "The Word of God became man, that a man may be taught how a man may become God." And many Church Fathers since the 2nd century make similar claims.

TONE - traditionally in church music there is a system of eight 'tones', composed by Saint John of Damascus (7th century). Each tone has characteristic melodies, according to which certain prayer texts are sung. The tones change every week. After every eight weeks, the cycle of the eight tones starts again. The book, in which the lyrics and melodies are collected, is called Oktoich: Achttonen-boek. Chants, written in a certain tone, are: tropars, kondaks, stichieren, canons and prokimens. The tones have evolved in the church music of East and West, but also between different Orthodox Traditions.

TRINITY - the Christian God, the one Triune God existing in three Persons. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, these three persons (or hypostases) share one and the same undivided, uncreated essence and share the same glory. These three share one will and all three are the one God, each with their own function or task so to speak, at the same time they are uncreated, all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent and share the same qualities except for their origin. The Father Almighty is unbegotten and does not proceed, the Son is eternally begotten by the Father and had His origin in the Father as the Word and Son of God . The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and is known as the Lifegiver, He shares the same glory and worship as the Father and the Son. They are co-existent and co-equal in every sense, but in their origin which we call the monarchy of the Father.