When does the Bishop reverence the icon during the Paraklesis?

[basil]

Most would agree that the Megalynarion "Speechless be the lips" is chanted slowly and melodiously as the Bishop descends from his throne to reverence the icon of the Theotokos; he then blesses the people, while the Choir chants "Many years, master," and returns to his throne as the Megalynarion of the Saint to whom the temple is dedicated and the final Megalynarion "O all ye arrays of Angelic Hosts" are chanted.

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In this article, Bishop Basil of the Antiochian Archdiocese writes:

But when the exaposteilaria are chanted at the end of the service, as all during the Dormition Fast, the bishop does not reverence the icon of the Theotokos during the chanting of the megalynaria, but during the chanting of the third exaposteilarion "I have thee as Mediatress" (p. 300); he then blesses the people while the choir chants "Many years, master," and returns to his throne as the final exaposteilarion "Thou art a gold-entwined tower" (p. 300) is chanted.

Does anyone have a source for this? Is this done anywhere today?

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In the Anastasimatarion by Constantine the Protopsaltis (1865), which contains music for the Paraklesis service by Panagiotes Kiltzanides, the following note is given:

Ωδε ασπάζεται ο Δεσπότης τὴν ̔Αγίαν Εικόνα τής Ὑπεραγίας Θεοτόκου. Ετέρα γνώμη. Ὁ ασπασμὸς νὰ γίνηται όταν ψάλλεται τὸ, Τὴν δέησίν μου δέξαι τὴν πενιχράν.

So some direct that the veneration should occur when "Accept thou mine entreaty and my poor prayer" (i.e., the last Troparion of the Ninth Ode of the Canon, before "It is truly meet") is being chanted. Is this done anywhere today?

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Also, should the Slow Heirmologic version of the Megalynarion "Speechless be the lips" ever be chanted when the Bishop is not presiding? I do not think it should, since the purpose of chanting the Slow Heirmologic version is only to cover the liturgical action of the Bishop reverencing the icon.

 

[MTheodorakis]

Originally In the great paraklesis Ἄξιον ἐστὶν and μεγαλυνάρια was not sung. Instead of them was sung exaposteilaria, trisagion, apolytikia, dismission and Δι' εὐχῶν. So, bishop was not reverence the icon of the Theotokos during the chanting of the megalynaria, but during the chanting of the third exaposteilarion. If both are sung, bishop reverence the icon of the Theotokos during the suitable Ἄλαλα τὰ χείλη.

The other rubric has been wrongly preferred for the word Δεσπότου (Bishop):

Τὴν δέησίν μου δέξαι τὴν πενιχράν,
καὶ κλαυθμὸν μὴ παρίδῃς καὶ δάκρυα,
καὶ στεναγμόν,
ἀλλ' ἀντιλαβοῦ μου ὡς ἀγαθή,
καὶ τὰς αἰτήσεις πλήρωσον·
δύνασαι γάρ πάντα ὡς πανσθενοῦς,
Δεσπότου Θεοῦ Μήτηρ,
εἰ νεύσεις ἔτι μόνον,
πρὸς τὴν ἐμὴν οἰκτρὰν ταπείνωσιν.


The Slow Heirmologic version of the Megalynarion "Speechless be the lips" is not chanted when the Bishop is not presiding.

 

[basil]

Originally In the great paraklesis Ἄξιον ἐστὶν and μεγαλυνάρια was not sung. Instead of them was sung exaposteilaria, trisagion, apolytikia, dismission and Δι' εὐχῶν. So, bishop was not reverence the icon of the Theotokos during the chanting of the megalynaria, but during the chanting of the third exaposteilarion. If both are sung, bishop reverence the icon of the Theotokos during the suitable Ἄλαλα τὰ χείλη.

Thanks!

The other rubric has been wrongly preferred for the word Δεσπότου (Bishop)

Thanks! Why was it wrongly preferred?

The Slow Heirmologic version of the Megalynarion "Speechless be the lips" is not chanted when the Bishop is not presiding.

Thanks! Is this for the reason given in my first post?

 

[MTheodorakis]

The other rubric has been wrongly preferred for the word Δεσπότου = Χριστοῦ as Bishop (=δεσπότης).

Yes, for the reason given in your first post.

 

[basil]

Thanks! Looking a bit more closely, I found this reference in Papagiannis' Systema Typikou:

Σημειωτέον ότι τὰ εξαποστειλάρια εν μέν τω Ὡρολογίω ορίζονται μετὰ τὸ τρισάγιον, εν δέ τω πατριαρχικω ναω ψάλλονται μετὰ τὴν θ ́ ωδὴν αντὶ τών μεγαλυναρίων (βλ. ΤΜΕ § 2, σ. 298).

Or in other words, "it should be noted that the Exapostilaria in the Horologion are specified after the Trisagion, but in the patriarchal church, they are chanted after the 9th ode instead of the Megalynaria (see TME, § 2, p. 298)."

It's unclear if the above applies to the Great Paraklesis only, or just the Small Paraklesis.

What is the current practice at the Ecumenical Patriarchate with regard to the Megalynaria being omitted (or not) and the Exaposteilaria being sung (and at what point), and the bishop's veneration, for both the Small and Great Paraklesis?

 

[MTheodorakis]

The TME pp. 297-298 is clear that the megalynaria are chanted only in the Small Paraklesis and the exaposteilara only in the Great Paraklesis. The ninth ode only expands one way. The confussion begins with the revisted Horologion of Vartholomaios Koutloumousianos at 1832.

 

[π. Μάξιμος]

What is the current practice at the Ecumenical Patriarchate with regard to the Megalynaria being omitted (or not) and the Exaposteilaria being sung (and at what point), and the bishop's veneration, for both the Small and Great Paraklesis?

• Aug 11, 2020

 

[Shota]

It's unclear if the above applies to the Great Paraklesis only, or just the Small Paraklesis.

This is a reference to August 3 in TME, where it describes the Great Paraklesis. The Small Paraklesis falls under August 2, and then there are no Exaposteilaria envisioned, only the Megalynaria.

 

[basil]

Thanks! What remains unclear to me is whether the order in Violakis, where in the Great Paraklesis the service proceeds from the 9th Ode to the Exaposteilaria (without any Megalynaria), is still followed anywhere today. The above video from August 11, 2020 follows the modern practice that I am familiar with, where in the Great Paraklesis the service proceeds from the 9th Ode to the Megalynaria, and the Exaposteilaria are chanted after the Dismissal. Did the older practice die out sometime between Violakis describing it in 1888, and today?

 

[Shota]

Violakis' order is not followed at the Patriarchate, as seen in various recent videos. Stanitsas in Athens also didn't follow Violakis, judging by a recording on YouTube.

 

[basil]

Violakis' order is not followed at the Patriarchate, as seen in various recent videos. Stanitsas in Athens also didn't follow Violakis, judging by a recording on YouTube.

That supports my hunch that this older practice has been dead for quite some time, at least in mainstream parish usage.

 

[Shota]

In Konstantinos Protopsaltis' Anastasimatarion the Exaposteilaria are placed after the Trisagion. Now I don't know whether that's what his Old Method manuscript specified, or it's a modification by Kiltzanidis (who did the exegisis). At any rate, the book was published by the Patriarchal Press.