The Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete
Because the feast of the Annunciation (March 25) falls on Wednesday in the fifth week of the Fast this year, with its post-festive day on Thursday, it displaces the service of Matins with the Great Canon of Repentence of Saint Andrew of Crete (8th century), one of the masterpieces of Byzantine hymn-writing, with its evocation of all the great penitents from the Old and New Testaments.
Here is a recording from the Schola Cantorum of Saint Peter:
- Call to Worship
- Psalm 3
- Litany
of Peace
Alleluia with troparia - Hymns to the Trinity
- Great Canon, Ode 1
- Great Canon, Ode 2
- Great
Canon, Ode 3
Sessional Hymns - Great Canon, Ode 4
- Great Canon, Ode 5
- Great
Canon, Ode 6
Kontakion and Ikos
Beatitudes - Great Canon, Ode 7
- Great
Canon, Ode 8
Canticle of the Theotokos - Great
Canon, Ode 9
Hymn of Light
Aposticha
Dismissal
Presanctified Book Available Online
At the request of Bishop Milan of Parma, I am posting a version of the complete people's book for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It is not quite the same as the published one, since the page layout was changed, but it should help the faithful who participate in the Presancitifed from home via live-streaming.
The people's book for the Divine Liturgy is also available as a PDF:
Live-streamed Liturgical Services
The following is the best collection I have found of live-streamed Eastern Catholic liturgical services, so that you can participate in worship from home:
Resources for Prayer at Home
During the current viral outbreak, many churches have been forced to curtail services. Therefore, we would like to make available the following materials for use at home:
The Office of Typika for Home Use
Typika is a Byzantine monastic service which includes the readings of the day; it was originally a service for communion when monks could not attend church services. Anyone can pray this version of the service, individually or in a small group. For the appointed Scriptural readings, on Saturday and Sunday use the ones on the church calendar. On Lenten weekdays, use the readings on the church calendar for the day from Genesis and Proverbs, or read a portion of the Gospel of Saint Mark.
The regular version can be printed on ordinary letter-size paper; the booklet version is set up for printing on legal size (8.5 by 14 inch) paper.
The Moleben for the Sick
This service, from our Slavonic Trebnyk or "Book of Needs", is a prayer service for one or more people who are sick. It is from the Liturgical Commission's work on the service for the anointing of the sick, which has been submitted to the Council of Hierarchs for approval. Unlike the sacramental anointing of the sick, however, this service can be prayed by individuals and families on their own.
Both the regular version and booklet version are set up for printing on letter size (8.5 by 11 inch) paper.
The Great Fast
This forty-day preparation for Holy Week and Pascha is also our annual return to the Old Testament, and a chance for personal metanoia or transformation.
On weekdays of the Great Fast, the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is NOT celebrated; instead, we celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, generally on Wednesday and Friday.
You can find all this and more in the MCI Online Class, The Great Fast and Holy Week, which is available for guest access.
New Lenten Hymnal available online; printed copies of full hymnal also available for review
As part of the Church Music Day in Pittsburgh, we prepared a small Lenten hymnal for teaching purposes. Although the full hymnal is probably not ready for any kind of bulk printing (it still needs to be reviewed by the Inter-Eparchial Music Commission), some parishes may want to try this small (28 page) booklet out:
Also, approximately 25 copies of the printed draft hymnal were left over; this 188-page, spiral bound book has all the traditional hymns from the DRAFT hymnal in English, Church Slavonic, and Hungarian (it does not include the "new" lectionary hymns, though they are listed in the table of contents).
Draft Hymnal - February version
Printed copies of the 188-page draft hymnal can be purchased from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute for $20 apiece, postpaid. Please CONTACT ME first at mci@archpitt.org or (412) 735-1676 to reserve a copy, since supplies are limited.
Read about the recent Church Music Day in Pittsburgh
Preliminary MCI schedule for 2020
In addition to the MCI Online program, a number of in-person classes and other events are planned for later this year:
- Cantor's Workshop, Parma OH, June 19
A one-day workshop for the cantors of the Eparchy of Parma, as well as for experienced musicians who might like to become cantors.
- Sing with Understanding: Church Music Day in the Eparchy of Parma, Parma OH, June 20.
This will consist of a morning meeting of all cantors in the Eparchy of Parma, and a public afternoon session on church singing for members of parishes.
- From the Altar and the Ambon: Church Music Class for Clergy, Pittsburgh PA, July 14-17.
This four-day workshop is for clergy who want to better understand our plain chant, and for priests and deacon who have problems singing their parts of services (flyer). Registration: $200.
- Cantor's Workshop, Uniontown PA, September 4
A one-day workshop for the cantors of the Archparchy of Pittsburgh, as well as for cantors travelling to the Uniontown Pilgrimage, and any experienced musicians who might like to become cantors.
For more information about any of these, contact Deacon Jeff Mierzejewski at mci@archpitt.org or (412) 735-1676.
From Bishop Milan of the Eparchy of Parma, Ohio:
"Cherish the beauty of our prostopinije, our liturgical chant. We constantly need to work on it. " - pastoral letter for the new Church year
Seminary library seeks cantor papers
The library of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary is assembling a collection of music and papers from our cantors and choir directors since the founding of our church in the United States. These collections are being indexed and preserved so that that they can be used for research by scholars, and also for fostering our church singing in the future.
If your parish or a retired cantor you know has music, memorabilia, or recordings which might have a place in this collection, please contact Deacon Jeffrey Mierzejewski (412 735-1676, mci@archpitt.org) or library director Sandra Collins (412 32-8383). We also invite donations of materials from family and friends of our cantors who have reposed; this collection will serve as a permanent memorial to their labors.
2020 Registration forms for MCI Online classes
With the completion of the Services for the Departed class (now available for guest access!), the entire 2-year MCI cantor education is now available!
What are "samohlasen" and "podoben" melodies?
See this blog post.
Typikon for 2020 is available
The Typikon for 2020 (which shows how to set up the services for each day of the year) can be ordered from the Byzantine Seminary Press:
The MCI Online program also has a free course on how to use the annual typikon to set up music and Sunday and weekday Divine Liturgies.
Clergy Book for Vespers
In the process of updating the MCI Vespers books, we determined that there was a real need for a separate book for priests and deacons, with the priest's silent prayers, and detailed rubrics and guidelines for celebration. This (unofficial) book is now available:
This book is set up for printing in two colors, on letter (not legal) size paper. If you have problems getting one printed for your own use, feel free to contact me for assistance. A similar book for Matins is in preparation, For background details, see this blog post - and leave you comments if you like!
Mailing List for Cantors
We have migrated the old MCI mailing lists to single list, cantors@groups.io. This new list should be more reliable than the one we have been using, and does NOT require the creation of a Yahoo ID. It also has more options for collaboration, including a wiki and post tagging.
This list will be used for both announcements, and general (moderated) discussion. If you wish to receive email ONLY for announcements, you can set your subscription options to "Special Notices Only."
To subscribe to the list, just go to https://groups.io/g/cantors
Documenting the history of our church music - how you can help
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute is working with the Byzantine Catholic Seminary Library to put together material to document the history of the liturgical music of the Byzantine Catholic Church, both plain chant and choral music. Please consider contributing to these two efforts:
In early 2018, we will also be distributing images of particular pieces of music or other memorabilia we would like to find or identify.
What is the Metropolitan Cantor Institute?
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute exists to support and foster liturgical singing in the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. At the direction of our bishops, and in cooperation with our clergy and experienced cantors, the Institute trains and certifies cantors for the service of the church, prepares music and educational materials, and provides workshops and seminars in church singing.
The mission of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:
To ensure that each parish in the Byzantine Catholic Church has a cantor who can lead the liturgical singing of the parish well, to the glory of God and in support of the prayer of the faithful.
For more information, click on Cantor Institute in the left-hand navigation bar on this page.