S. Parenti, The Cathedral Rite of Constantinople

Here is a link of Stefano Parenti's paper "The Cathedral Rite of Constantinople: Evolution of a Local Tradition":

https://www.academia.edu/2164351/The_Cathedral_Rite_of_Constantinople_Evolution_of_a_Local_Tradition

Its main conclusion can be summarised in author's own words as follows: "This article studies the evolution of the Liturgy of the Hours at Constantinople after the ninth century, when not only the monastic churches of the city, but also secular churches followed the liturgical tradition referred to as "hagiopolitis". Only the Cathedral was left using the rite appropriately called "ekklisiastis". The article also analyses particular forms of "bi-ritualism" between these two liturgical systems, with the tendency to conserve the "ekklisiastis" rite during the most important times of the liturgical year. Contrary to what was previously believed on the subject, the eleventh century was not the zenith of the cathedral tradition of Constantinople, but rather an age of decadence and abandonment".

Shota said:

Here is a link of Stefano Parenti's paper "The Cathedral Rite of Constantinople: Evolution of a Local Tradition":

https://www.academia.edu/2164351/The_Cathedral_Rite_of_Constantinople_Evolution_of_a_Local_Tradition

Its main conclusion can be summarised in author's own words as follows: "This article studies the evolution of the Liturgy of the Hours at Constantinople after the ninth century, when not only the monastic churches of the city, but also secular churches followed the liturgical tradition referred to as "hagiopolitis". Only the Cathedral was left using the rite appropriately called "ekklisiastis". The article also analyses particular forms of "bi-ritualism" between these two liturgical systems, with the tendency to conserve the "ekklisiastis" rite during the most important times of the liturgical year. Contrary to what was previously believed on the subject, the eleventh century was not the zenith of the cathedral tradition of Constantinople, but rather an age of decadence and abandonment".

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A very intresting paper, shedding light on the decline of the Cathedral Rite. Thank you Shota

antonios said:

Στην οποία ανακοίνωση βρίσκεται ένα μεγάλο κομμάτι της αιτίας αυτού του μηνύματός μου.

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We are inside the english-speaking part of the forum, so ...

The Parenti's article is very interesting and his presentation of historical sources very well thought and of course very useful.

According to my post you mention above, I 've written about the very significant influence monasticism had on the Empire dyring the late-byzantine period. But also in the last message of the same locked thread I' ve mentioned the study of monastic byzantine archives and documents e.g. Archines de l'Athos or Patmos etc. Α careful consideration of these sources shows clearly the rise in significance of the monasteries from the first half of 11th c.
So the Parenti's conclusion «In the light of this collected and analyzed material it is hard to lookat the first decades of the eleventh century as the “zenith” of the cathedral tradition».

Also, I have to note that the evolution of Typikon, the decline of cathedral Typikon, the ascendancy of hagiopolitis and monastic ritual elements are not fully explained on sociohistorical terms. Parenti is talking about facts but not about their socioeconomic causes. This is very important because Church, state and society are all entwined during the middle and late byzantine era.

For me it matters to know the historical process and how we can benefit nowadays from it.

I did not intend this thread to turn into a discussion on "monastic rite" versus "cathedral rite". This is better done in the Greek part of the forum in the corresponding topic. Parenti's article is a scholarly one, without pastoral implications for the Orthodox Church, so to speak.

It is interesting to note that although the liturgical centre (Constantinople) turned out to be open to external (Hagiopolite) liturgical influences, the periphery (e.g. Thessalonike) stood its ground better. I am not very much familiar with the musical mss tradition of the Constantinople Cathedral Rite, but are there musical mss that are undisputedly of Constantinopolitan provenance, or all of the surviving mss are "provincial"?

Further to what Parenti writes, one should not forget that Germanos of Constantinople and Andrew of Crete left a huge hymnographical corpus, and according to their biographies, both were clerics of the Hagia Sophia prior to their episcopal ordination. Now Andrew was from Damascus and started his monastic life in Jerusalem, but Germanos was a Constantinopolitan.

Useful notes here, Shota.

As far as I know, very few of the surviving mss reflect the tradition of the Cathedral Rite, but none of them is identified as "Constantinopolitan". EBE 2061 and 2062 are the only mss today known to exclusively retain the "asmatic" chant, but they belong to the tradition of Thessalonike. Of course, we can find traces of the Constantinople Cathedral Rite in music mss of 14-15th century, in "μέλη" being referred to as "πολίτικα". Maybe mr Arvanitis could shed more light on this subject.

antonios said:

My intension was not to create a debate of this kind (the vs kind that is), which is after all meaningless. This paper shows that the time of the decline of the Cathedral Rite must be placed earlier than what we believed until now. As for the reasons of that decline, I think it does not say much and the subject is still open. But the new evidence changes that discussion too.

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The main difficulty is to differentiate the secular reasons from the theological. And the role of monasticism is crucial for the above.

Deacon said:

Useful notes here, Shota.



As far as I know, very few of the surviving mss reflect the tradition of the Cathedral Rite, but none of them is identified as "Constantinopolitan". EBE 2061 and 2062 are the only mss today known to exclusively retain the "asmatic" chant, but they belong to the tradition of Thessalonike. Of course, we can find traces of the Constantinople Cathedral Rite in music mss of 14-15th century, in "μέλη" being referred to as "πολίτικα". Maybe mr Arvanitis could shed more light on this subject.

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Part of the Constantinople Cathedral Rite chant repertory survives in the Asmatikon/Psaltikon mss, I guess. But again, none of these seem to be Constantinopolitan, and those from the South Italy are unlikely to have been meant for the Asmatic Rite in cathedrals, simply because of absence of Orthodox hierarchy.

Shota said:

Part of the Constantinople Cathedral Rite chant repertory survives in the Asmatikon/Psaltikon mss, I guess. But again, none of these seem to be Constantinopolitan, and those from the South Italy are unlikely to have been meant for the Asmatic Rite in cathedrals, simply because of absence of Orthodox hierarchy.

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I was not able to study any of these types of early notated mss, like Asmatikon or Psaltikon. Just a handful of them has survived and, as you already mentioned, we can't be sure of their origin and their use. Their successor, though, Papadike, was mainly a collection of monastic chants that were composed to serve the "Ierosolimitikon" Rite, with just a few exceptions of "μέλη" coming from the Cathedral Rite that are traced here and there inside the various Papadike mss of the 14th century. The fact that the earliest dated Papadike (EBE 2458, 1336 AC) has the structure mentioned above and mostly contains monastic chants composed by Protopsaltai (or other great Chanters of the G. Church and the Palace) of the late 13th century, shows that the "μέλος του Άσματος" is already an "echo" by that time (in Constantinople, "Ασματικαί ακολουθίαι" were revived only 3 or 4 times a year).

Shota said:

Here is a link of Stefano Parenti's paper "The Cathedral Rite of Constantinople: Evolution of a Local Tradition":

https://www.academia.edu/2164351/The_Cathedral_Rite_of_Constantinople_Evolution_of_a_Local_Tradition

Its main conclusion can be summarised in author's own words as follows: "This article studies the evolution of the Liturgy of the Hours at Constantinople after the ninth century, when not only the monastic churches of the city, but also secular churches followed the liturgical tradition referred to as "hagiopolitis". Only the Cathedral was left using the rite appropriately called "ekklisiastis". The article also analyses particular forms of "bi-ritualism" between these two liturgical systems, with the tendency to conserve the "ekklisiastis" rite during the most important times of the liturgical year. Contrary to what was previously believed on the subject, the eleventh century was not the zenith of the cathedral tradition of Constantinople, but rather an age of decadence and abandonment".

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Thank You for the information. In my opinion it will be helpful for the persons who are interesting on Asmatic Liturgy of the Hours to see also the « S. PARENTI, «Towards a Regional History of the Byzantine Euchology of the Sacraments» Eor 27 (2010), 109-121»•[ https://www.academia.edu/2065700/To...of_the_Byzantine_Euchology_of_the_Sacraments][a work which is presenting the tradition of Euchologion generally and that of Constantinople].See also his work «L´Eucologio slavo del Sinai nella storia dell´eucologio bizantino», ἀνάτυπο ἀπὸ τὸ Seminario del Dipartimento di Studi Slavi e dell´Europa Centrale-orientale. Università di Roma “La Sapienza” [Filologia slava 2], Roma 1997.[The professor presnts the various local traditions]

The work of the Bishop of Eichstatt [Under the guide of Robert Taft] Gr. HANKE, Vesper und Orthros des Kathedralritus der Hagia Sophia zu Konstantinopel. Eine strukturanalytische und entwicklungsgeschichtliche Untersuchung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Psalmodie und der Formulare in den Euchologien (Teil I-II)[Ἀνέκδοτη διατριβὴ ἐπὶ διδακτορίᾳ στὸ Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule St. Georgen], Frankfurt am Main 2002] [An analytic work which is giving many answers to the history of cathedral tradition]
And the work of Π. ΚΑΛΑΙΤΖΙΔΟΥ, «Τρία χφφ «Πατριαρχικὰ» Εὐχολόγια: Paris, Coislin 213, Grottaferrata Γ. Β. I, Ἐθνικῆς Βιβλιοθήκης τῆς Ἑλλάδος 662. Ἱστορικοκριτικὴ προσέγγιση» στὸ Π. ΣΚΑΛΤΣΗ-ΝΙΚΟΔΗΜΟΥ ΣΚΡΕΤΤΑ (Ἀρχιμ.)(ἐπιμ.), Γηθόσυνον Σέβασμα. Ἀντίδωρον τιμῆς καὶ μνήμης εἰς τὸν μακαριστὸν καθηγητὴν τῆς Λειτουργικῆς Ἰωάννην Μ. Φουντούλην († 2007), Τόμος Α’, ἐκδ. «Ἀδελφῶν Κυριακίδη α.ε.», Θεσσαλονίκη 2013, 827-994.[A master piece to understand the influence and the structure of the Euchologion in Constantinople- the author presents the structure of the three manuscripts, the local rites and the new trends at their time, and the influence that these manuscripts received from Monastic Tradition] Also in L´Eucologio MG 53 (sec. IX) del Monastero di S. Caterina del Sinai [Τὸ ὑπ. ἀριθμ. ΜΓ 53(Θ'αἰ.) Εὐχολόγιον τῶν Νέων Εὑρυμάτων τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μονῆς τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης τοῦ Σινᾶ]I present the differences of the prayers among the Barberini gr. 336 (VIIIsec ) Coislin 213 (1027) and MG 53 (IX sec)

About the influence of Jerusalem to Constantinople see the
« S. PARENTI, «Da Gerusalemme a Costantinopoli passando per Studios e Mar Saba: una Liturgia modello per l´Ortodossia» L. VACCARO (a cura di), Da Costantinopoli al Caucaso. Imperi e popoli tra Cristianesimo e Islam, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Roma 2014, 99-120•» [https://www.academia.edu/6070832/_D...di_L._Vaccaro_Citta_del_Vaticano_2014_99-120]. The professor presents the influence of Jerusalem to Constantinople and in which sources we found them.
About the EBE 2061-2062 see the work of Γεωργίου Κοσμᾶ, Ἡ ἑβδομαδιαία ἀντιφωνικὴ κατανομὴ τῶν ψαλμῶν καὶ τῶν ᾠδῶν, εἰς τὰς ᾀσματικὰς ἀκολουθίας ἑσπερινοῦ καὶ ὄρθρου. Ἑλληνικοὶ Μουσικοὶ Κώδικες 2061-2062 Ἐθνικῆς Βιβλιοθήκης Ἀθηνῶν [Ἀνέκδοτη διατριβὴ ἐπὶ διδακτορίᾳ στὸ Τμῆμα τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν Ἐκκλησιαστικῶν Ἐπιστημῶν (Scienze Ecclesiastiche Orientali)τοῦ Pontificio Istituto Orientale], Romae 1976.[It is published in a certain number of exemplars- The work presents in an analytic mode the division of the Psalms during the week and their antiphons]. Also the work of Al. Lingas , Sunday Matins in the Byzantine Cathedral Rite: Rite and Liturgy, The University of British Columbia 1996.
About the musical manuscripts see the work of Simon Marincak, The Structure of Byzantine "Orthros" according to the XIVth Century "Taxis tôn Akolouthiôn" Musical Manuscripts, Vydavatel'stvo Petra, 2004.[Advisors: M. Arranz- Ch. Hannick- R. Taft].

Deacon said:

I was not able to study any of these types of early notated mss, like Asmatikon or Psaltikon.

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One work that is available online is Gregory Myers' doctoral thesis, that deals with the Russian Kondakaria, and thus necessarily with the Greek Asmatika as well. See

http://analogion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30412

Just a handful of them has survived and, as you already mentioned, we can't be sure of their origin and their use.

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On p. 465 of his paper Parenti mentions how the prayers of the Hours of the Cathedral Rite were reutilised as prayers at the end of kathismas of the Psalter (meant for private recitation). Here is another characteristic example that I know of: a 13th c. Georgian Euchologion Sin. Geo. O. 73 reproduces integrally the prayers of the Pannychis of the Cathedral Rite. But it places them in a memorial service for the departed! So I don't see why something similar cannot be true for the musical mss as well, especially because all the elements appearing in the Psaltika and Asmatika seem to have been appropriated in this or that form by the Southern Italian monastic rite.

Shota said:

One work that is available online is Gregory Myers' doctoral thesis, that deals with the Russian Kondakaria, and thus necessarily with the Greek Asmatika as well. See

http://analogion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30412

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Thanks for the input Shota. Hope I 'll find some time to catch up...

Shota said:

On p. 465 of his paper Parenti mentions how the prayers of the Hours of the Cathedral Rite were reutilised as prayers at the end of kathismas of the Psalter (meant for private recitation). Here is another characteristic example that I know of: a 13th c. Georgian Euchologion Sin. Geo. O. 73 reproduces integrally the prayers of the Pannychis of the Cathedral Rite. But it places them in a memorial service for the departed! So I don't see why something similar cannot be true for the musical mss as well, especially because all the elements appearing in the Psaltika and Asmatika seem to have been appropriated in this or that form by the Southern Italian monastic rite.

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This type of exchange (or loan) is not unknown in our liturgical past. But in our music tradition, I cannot recall any type of reutilisation of the exact piece of music (from Asmaticon to Ierosolimitikon, that is) in some part of a monastic "Acolouthia" (I haven't studied everything, of course, but the tradition of Papadike is quite invariant through the ages). Just various influences come in mind. And of course, when I talk about asmatic melodies found in later Papadike mss, I refer to fully discrete "Acolouthiai" like the "Elevation of the Holy Cross" etc. In my opinion, we cannot precisely reconstruct the music part of the ancient Cathedral Rite of Constantinople by just combining fragments of relevant music specimens found in later mss.

ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΑΓΙΟΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ said:

The work of the Bishop of Eichstatt [Under the guide of Robert Taft] Gr. HANKE, Vesper und Orthros des Kathedralritus der Hagia Sophia zu Konstantinopel. Eine strukturanalytische und entwicklungsgeschichtliche Untersuchung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Psalmodie und der Formulare in den Euchologien (Teil I-II)[Ἀνέκδοτη διατριβὴ ἐπὶ διδακτορίᾳ στὸ Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule St. Georgen], Frankfurt am Main 2002] [An analytic work which is giving many answers to the history of cathedral tradition]

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It has been published recently by the Aschendorff. The dissertation there is also here, for those who know German.

Αχιλλέας1 said:

It has been published recently by Aschendorff. The dissertation there is also here, for those who know German.

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Τὸ δεύτερο μέρος.

MTheodorakis said:

Τὸ δεύτερο μέρος.

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Σᾶς εὐχαριστοῦμεν θερμότατα. Τὸ κάθε καλὸ σὲ Ἐσᾶς καὶ τὴν οἰκογένειά Σας