+Daniel Holodick: Ninth Day Remembrance

Hymns of the Deceased (Tone 5)

Blessed are You, O Lord; guide me by Your precepts.

The choir of Saints has found the Fountain of Life and the Gate to Paradise. May I also find the way through repentance. I am a lost sheep; call me back, O Savior and save me.

Blessed are You, O Lord; guide me by Your precepts.

O Lord, I am the image of Your glory which is beyond description, even though I bear the mark of transgressions. Have mercy on Your creature; O Master, in Your compassion cleanse me. Grant me the home I yearn for, and again make me an inhabitant of paradise.

Blessed are You, O Lord; guide me by Your precepts.

Grant rest, O God, to Your servant and place him in Paradise where the choir of Saints and Righteous shine like stars.  O Lord, give rest to Your departed servant, and remit all his transgressions.

Blessed are You, O Lord; guide me by Your precepts.

We praise with devotion the three-fold radiance of the One Divinity, by singing aloud: "Holy are You, Eternal Father, Co-eternal Son and Divine Spirit. Enlighten us who faithfully serve You, and deliver us from eternal fire."

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

Rejoice, O pure and blessed Mother of God, for you gave birth to God according to the flesh for the redemption of all. Through you, mankind has found salvation. Through you, may we also find Paradise, O Blessed One.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory to You, O God!

Hymns & Propers: Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost - October 28, 2012

This coming Sunday, October 28, 2012, is the Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost. There are no special commemorations or major feasts falling on this Sunday. Thus, we commemorate on this Sunday, as on each and every Sunday, the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ according to Byzantine tradition, with reference to the liturgical hymns and propers for Sundays and Days of Pascha.

Given that the Propers are thus limited to those for Sundays and Days of Pascha in the tone of the week (Tone 5), we will not be posting an outline of hymns, propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for this week, concentrating instead on preparation for upcoming feast days.

Epistle - Galatians 6:11-18
Gospel - Luke 8:26-39

Tone of the week = Tone 5

We will announce an opening hymn just before the start of the Divine Liturgy.

Kindly remember in your prayers our beloved Senior Cantor, +Daniel Holodick, who passed away this past Sunday, October 21, 2012. Also, this Sunday's Divine Liturgy (with Panachida) is offered in blessed memory and for the repose of the soul of +Joseph Hornyak. Vičnaja jim pamjat!

Sunday Chant Group Rehearsal Postponed

NOTE TO CHOIR / CHANT GROUP MEMBERS & FRIENDS

The rehearsal tentatively scheduled for this Sunday, October 28, 2012, has been postponed.

Members of the group are kindly asked to refer to the email sent this morning for further comments and details.

We hope to resume rehearsals in the near future, and any and all are welcome!

Hymns & Propers: Office of Christian Burial with Divine Liturgy for +Daniel Holodick - Thursday, October 25, 2012 @ 10AM

Our schedule of propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for the Office of Christian Burial with Divine Liturgy for the repose of the soul of +Daniel Holodick is now posted on the For the Faithful resource page.

Please join us in bidding farewell to our beloved Cantor, who long served his church with faith and love.

May the Lord grant rest to his departed servant, Daniel, and may his memory be eternal!

+Daniel Holodick

Our entire parish family mourns the passing of the beloved Senior Cantor, +Daniel Holodick, who fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday, October 21st.

Visiting hours: Wednesday 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at Fives Funeral Home, 31 Landing Avenue, Smithtown NY [(631) 360-0555].

Parastas: Wednesday evening at 7:30pm.

Funeral Divine Liturgy: Thursday, 10am at Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Church with Interment to follow at Calverton National Cemetery.

Vičnaja jemu pamjat! Eternal memory!

Hymns & Propers: Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost - October 21, 2012

Tomorrow, October 21, 2012, is the Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost, another "ordinary" Sunday in the long stretch between Pentecost and the Lenten Triodion.

Given that the Propers are thus limited to those for Sunday in the tone of the week (Tone 4), we will not be posting hymns, propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for this week, concentrating instead on preparation for upcoming feast days (including Christmas!).

Epistle - Galatians 2:16-20
Gospel - Luke 16:19-31

Tone of the week = Tone 4

We will announce an opening hymn just before the start of the Divine Liturgy.

Hope to see you tomorrow morning for another blessed Sunday in Smithtown!

Hymns & Propers: Sunday of the Fathers at the Seventh Ecumenical Council - October 14, 2012

This Sunday, October 14, 2012, we commemorate the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, who defended against Iconoclasm and preserved the most visible part of our expression of faith - holy icons, our "windows to heaven".

Our outline of hymns, propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for this Sunday is now available on the For the Faithful resource page.

Epistle - Galatians 1:11-19
Gospel - Luke 8:5-15

Tone of the week = Tone 3

We remember and pray for the repose of the soul of beloved parishioner, +George Susko, who fell asleep in the Lord this past Monday. Eternal memory!

Hymns & Propers: Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost - October 7, 2012

Our outline of the hymns, propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for this Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost - October 7, 2012 - is available on the For the Faithful resource page.

Epistle - 2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9
Gospel - Luke 7:11-16

Tone of the week = Tone 2

Please join us for another special Sunday morning at the Church of the Resurrection, as we celebrate in prayer the 95th birthday of Mary DeBaylo. Na mnóhaja i bláhaja l'ita!

Hymns & Propers: Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (Observance) - October 6, 2012

As previously announced, we will observe the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos with a Divine Liturgy to be celebrated tomorrow - Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 9:00AM.

Our outline of hymns, propers and liturgical hymn selection (order of worship) for this Divine Liturgy has been published and it available on the For the Faithful resource page.

The Marian para-liturgical hymn, We Hasten to Your Patronage (Pod Tvoj Pokrov Pribihajem) is most commonly associated with this feast and will be chanted at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, during the Great Incensation. This hymn is found on pages 23-24 of the Byzantine Catholic Hymnal.

Announcement for Resurrection Choir & Chanters: Updates to the "For Rehearsal ..." Resource Page

Fellow Resurrection Chanters:

Please note that the For Rehearsal ... resource page has been recently refreshed and updated.

There are two entries which are of current focus.

First, in this past Sunday's pre-DL chant rehearsal, we began working on the proper rendering of the Litanies of the Divine Liturgy as set in the People's Book. We now have a harmonized version of the responses for the Litany of Peace, the litany than begins the Divine Liturgy.

In addition, we would like to master the version of the Chant for Long Life, a/k/a "Mnohaja L'ita" referred to as the "Mukachevo" and/or "Ukrainian" version (you all recognize it as such).

Kindly let me know via email if you have any trouble accessing the files linked on the resource page.

October 1: Feast of St. Romanos the Melodist

In addition to being the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, October 1st is also the Feast of St. Romanos the Melodist, patron saint of cantors, chanters & choirs in our tradition. As such, St. Romanos is also the patron saint of our chant group and this internet-based ministry.

The icon featured here commemorates the Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos (Pokrova), and St. Romanos the Melodist is depicted on the kliros beneath the Theotokos, despite having died some 355 years or so before this appearance (icons, being "windows to heaven", can transcend time). By tradition, the famous Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos is attributed to St. Romanos, and his musical and poetic talents are attributed to the intervention of the Mother of God herself.

St. Romanos served as a deacon in the Blachernae church of the Theotokos in Constantinople, the same Church in which the Theotokos later appeared on October 1, 911 (Pokrova). It was clear early on in his service that he had no real, natural talent as a reader or chanter. Nonetheless, he yearned with a strong desire to please God with hymns of praise.

The Theotokos appeared to St. Romanos in a dream with a scroll in her hand, which she instructed him to swallow. The next morning, he received a blessing from the Patriarch of Constantinople, who loved him for his great humility, and, from the ambon, chanted what became the Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. The congregation and clergy present were amazed by the clarity of the theology of the hymn, and his newly sonorous voice! Tradition maintains that this was the first Kontakion ever written and chanted.

The two Feasts are thus well connected, and that connection is embraced in the iconography of the greater Feast of the Protection of the Theotokos as shown above.

So, we also honor the patron of cantors, chanters and choirs on this, the day of our patron's feast, and do so most appropriately in song by chanting and reflecting on the Troparion for his feast day:

Troparion (Tone 4)

You gladdened Christ's Church with your melodies like an inspired heavenly trumpet. You were enlightened by the Mother of God and shone on the world as God's poet. We lovingly honor you, O righteous Romanus.