Saints Poemen the Great, Moses the Ethiopian & Phanourios the Great Martyr, the Saint of Lost Things (27 - 28 August)

 

The Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros on the feast of St. Fanourios in the parish of Saint Savvas in Old Nicosia, which is exarchate of the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Cyprus, August 27, 2021 (photo from here).

 

بطريرك الإسكندرية وسائر إفريقيا ثيودوروس في عيد القديس فانوريوس في رعية القديس سافاس في نيقوسيا القديمة ، وهي إكسرخسية تابعة لبطريركية الإسكندرية في قبرص ، 27 أغسطس 2021 (الصورة من هنا).

 

Baba wa Dume wa Aleksandria na All Africa Theodoros kwenye sikukuu ya Mtakatifu Fanourios katika parokia ya Saint Savvas huko Old Nicosia, ambayo ni mchungaji wa Patriarchate wa Alexandria huko Kupro, Agosti 27, 2021 (picha hapa). [Swahili].

Le patriarche d'Alexandrie et de toute l'Afrique Theodoros en la fête de saint Fanourios dans la paroisse de Saint Savvas à Old Nicosie, qui est exarchat du patriarcat d'Alexandrie à Chypre, le 27 août 2021 (photo ici).

 

 Onye bishọp nke Alexandria na All Africa Theodoros na mmemme St. Fanourios na parish Saint Savvas na Old Nicosia, nke bụ exarchate nke Patriarchate nke Alexandria na Saịprọs, August 27, 2021 (foto dị ebe a). [Igbo].

The Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros amin'ny fetin'i St. Fanourios ao amin'ny paroasy Saint Savvas any Old Nicosia, izay exarchate an'ny Patriarchate of Alexandria any Sipra, 27 Aogositra 2021 (sary avy eto). [Malagasy].

Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros pa phwando la St. Fanourios ku parishi ya Saint Savvas ku Old Nicosia, komwe kuli wamkulu wa Patriarchate wa Alexandria ku Cyprus, Ogasiti 27, 2021 (chithunzi apa). [Chichewa].

 

 Mopatriareka oa Alexandria le All Africa Theodoros moketeng oa St. Fanourios pharisheng ea Saint Savvas ho Old Nicosia, eo e leng exarchate ea Patriarchate ea Alexandria e Kupro, la 27 Phato 2021 (foto ho tloha mona). [Sesotho].

 

Patriarch weAlexandria neAll Africa Theodoros pamabiko aSt.Fanourios mudunhu reSaint Savvas muOld Nicosia, iri exarchate yePatriarchate yeAlexandria kuCyprus, Nyamavhuvhu 27, 2021 (mufananidzo kubva pano). [Shona].

 

የእስክንድርያ ፓትርያርክ እና የመላው አፍሪካ ቴዎድሮስ በቆጵሮስ ውስጥ የእስክንድርያ ፓትርያርክ exarchate በሆነችው በብሉይ ኒኮሲያ በሚገኘው በቅዱስ ፋኖዎሪስ በዓል ላይ ፣ ነሐሴ 27 ቀን 2021 (ፎቶ ከዚህ)። [].

 

Die aartsvader van Alexandrië en die hele van Afrika Theodoros op die fees van St. Fanourios in die gemeente Saint Savvas in Oud -Nicosia, wat exargaat is van die Patriargaat van Alexandrië in Ciprus, 27 Augustus 2021 (foto hiervandaan). [Afrikaans]. 

 

Wadaadka Alexandria iyo dhammaan Afrika Theodoros oo ku jira iidda St. Fanourios oo ku taal kaniisadda Saint Savvas ee Old Nicosia, oo ah hormuudka Wadaadnimada Alexandria ee Qubrus, Ogosto 27, 2021 (sawirka halkan). [].

 

 

Please, see: 

 
Saint Poimen the Great: The pastor of souls

 
The Saint of Lost Things: Saint Phanourios the Great Martyr and Newly-Revealed of Rhodes 

 

SAINT PHANOURIOS, St Patron des choses perdues et Protecteur des prêtres (27 Août) 
 

Moses the Ethiopian, the Black Saint & Teacher (& other Ethiopian saints in the Orthodox Church) 

 

Mtakatifu Moses wa Ethiopia († 405) – 28 Agosti

 
St MOÏSE L'ÉTHIOPIEN (ou "Le Noir" ou "Le Fort") et... Shawn "Thunder" Wallace

   

Fr. Moses Berry, a descendant of African slaves, Orthodox priest and teacher in USA

Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black

 

Developing a Prayer Rule: Measurement for a Pure Heart

 

Monk Moses of Platina Monastery (California, USA)

 
The holy anarchists... in the Egyptian Desert 

 
OBSERVING THE FEAST DAYS OF THE AFRICAN SAINTS

 
Dream Team of the Desert

 

በአማርኪ ውስጥ የኦርቶዶክስ ሥነ-ጽሑፋዊ ጽሑፎች ትርጉም በአክሱም ቅዱስ ግሪክ ኦርቶዶክስ ሊቀ-ጳጳስ-ኢትዮጵያ ፣ ጅቡቲ ፣ ኤርትራ ፣ ሶማሊያ // Translation of orthodox liturgical texts in Achmaric by the Holy Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Aksum (ETHIOPIA, DJIBOUTI, ERITREA, SOMALIA) // Μετάφραση ορθόδοξων λειτουργικών κειμένων στην Αχμαρική από την Ιερά Μητρόπολη Αξώμης

Ορθόδοξη Ιεραποστολή -Orthodox Mission -Mission Οrthodoxe – Misión Ortodoxa – Missão Ortodoxa – Missione Ortodossa – православная миссия- Misiunea Ortodoxă- 东正教使命 – रूढ़िवादी मिशन

Mε τη βοήθεια του Θεού, τις πρεσβείες του Αγίου Φρουμεντίου φωτιστού των Αιθιόπων και τις ευχές του Μακαρ. Πατριάρχου μας Θεοδώρου Β΄, η Ιερά Μητρόπολή Αξώμης ξεκίνησε την μετάφραση των λειτουργικών κειμένων της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας μας στην Αιθιοπική γλώσσα, με σκοπό οι Αιθίοπες Ορθόδοξοι πιστοί να μπορούν να συμμετέχουν ενεργά στην λατρευτική μας ζωή και να γευτούν τον πνευματικό πλούτο των εκκλησιαστικών κειμένων. Μέχρι σήμερα δεν είχε γίνει καμιά προσπάθεια μετάφρασης εκκλησιαστικών λειτουργικών και πατερικών κειμένων στην Αμχαρική γλώσσα.

Σε σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα θα έχουμε μεταφρασμένη στα Αμχαρικά την Θεία Λειτουργία, η οποία και θα εκδοθεί. Επίσης προετοιμάζεται το πρώτο «Ορθόδοξο Προσευχητάριο» καθώς και η βιογραφία του νεοφανούς Αγίου Παϊσίου του Αγιορείτου, ο οποίος είναι πολύ αγαπητός στους Ορθοδόξους Αιθίοπες. Δημοσιεύουμε σήμερα, με πολύ ικανοποίηση, το «Σύμβολο της Πίστεως» στην Αμχαρική γλώσσα, το οποίο θα απαγγέλλεται κατά την Θεία Λειτουργία!

ቀኖና ዘ ሃይማኖትሁሉን በሚይዝ ሰማይንና ምድርን የሚታየውን እና የማይታየውን በፈጠረ በአንድ አምላክ በአብ አምናለሁ፡፡እንዲሁም የአብ አንድያ ልጅ በሆነዉ ከዘመናት በፊት ከአብ የተወለደ በአንድ ጌታ በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ከብርሐን የተገኘ ብርሐን ከእውነተኛ አምላክ የተገኘ አምላክ የተወለደ እንጂ ያልተፈጠረ በባሕርይዉ ከአብ ጋር አንድ የሆነ ሁሉ በእርሱ ሆነ፡፡ስለእኛ ስለሰዎች እኛን ለማዳን ከሰማይ ወረደ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ግብር ከድንግል ማርያም ሰዉ ሆነ፡፡በጴንጤናዊዉ በጲላጦስ ዘመን ስለእኛ ተሰቀለ ተሰቃየ ተቀበረ.በሶስተኛዉ ቀን ከሙታን ተነሳ፡፡በቅዱሳን መጻሕፍት እንደተጻፈ ወደ ሰማይ አረገ በአባቱም ቀኝ ተቀመጠ፡፡ዳግመኛ በሕያዋን እና በሙታን ለመፍረድ በክብር ይመጣል ለንግስናዉ ፍጻሜ የለውም፡፡እንዲሁም በጌታ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ከአብ የሰረፀ ከአብና ከወልድ ጋር በአንድነት የሚመለክና የሚከበር እርሱም በነብያት በኩል የተናገረ ነዉ፡፡በአንዲት ቅድስት ኩላዊት ሐዋርያዊት ቤተክርስትያን፡፡ኃጥያት የሚሰረይባትን አንዲት ጥምቀትን እመሰክራለሁ፡፡የሙታንን ትንሣኤ እና የሚመጣውንም የዘለዓለም ሕይወት ተስፋ አደርጋለሁ፡፡አሜን፡፡

Orthodox Holy Archdiocese of Aksum

http://ampelonas-trygetes.blogspot.com/2021/02/blog-post_40.html

OODE - ኦርቶዶክሳዊ ትምህርተ ዶግማ መድረክ 

 

See also, prayers needed :

All day and all night prayers, to the Jesus Lord the Savior to stop the pandemic of Covid19 Worlwide ! Prières toute la journée et toute la nuit au Seigneur Jésus-Sauveur pour arrêter la pandémie de Covid19 dans le monde! 

Tigray crisis: Why there are fears of civil war in Ethiopia

Saint Siluan of Mount Athos - Three wonderful publications in Swahili, Kikuyu and Masai...

The book by Saint Sophrony on his Spiritual Father and Elder, Saint Siluan of Mount Athos

romfea.gr (in Greek)

Translation A. N.

For many decades, we have been making a humble attempt to put our sacred Services into circulation in the local African dialects.
And I believe that we have succeeded, with the help of the professors and the seminary students of our Patriarchal School "Archibishop of Cyprus Makarios III".
We have already published the Sacramental texts of our Church for the Holy Week of Easter, the Offices for the 40 days of Great Lent, the Pentecost, Orthodoxy Sunday, Theophany, the Akathist hymn, the supplications to the Holy Mother, the Easter Sunday Vespers of Love, the Liturgies of Saint John Chrysostom and of Saint Basil the Great, the Service of the Pre-sanctified Gifts, etc., in more than 30 dialects - not only of Kenya, but also Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia... even Catechisms in various dialects.
It can easily be named "Book of Blessings", since several of the aforementioned Services are included in a separate volume.
These publications of the specific volume were the fruits of the benefit that the seminary students had acquired, when they were so deeply impressed during the evening readings, that they themselves asked if they could translate them into Swahili, Kikuyu and Masai and for my benefit also, a debt and respect for the person of the Elder and my Spiritual Father - and now Saint - Sophrony.
The images on the front and the back cover were kindly prepared by the sisters of the Essex Monastery and the exact words of Saint Siluan were written in local dialects, entirely unexpectedly.
This year we began to read the texts of Great Lent in English, which is the common language of all the seminary students, followed by discussions.

Το βιβλίο του Αγίου Σωφρονίου για τον Άγιο Σιλουανό τον Αθωνίτη σε τρεις αφρικανικές γλώσσες

---

romfea.gr

 

Για πολλές τώρα δεκαετίες κάνουμε μια ταπεινή προσπάθεια να κυκλοφορήσουμε στις τοπικές αφρικανικές διαλέκτους τις ιερές μας ακολουθίες.

Και πιστεύω ότι κάτι κάναμε με τη βοήθεια των καθηγητών και ιεροσπουδαστών της Πατριαρχικής μας Σχολής «Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κύπρου Μακάριος ο Γ΄».

Ήδη εκδώσαμε την Αγία Εβδομάδα τα μυστήρια της Εκκλησίας μας, τις ακολουθίες της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής, Πεντηκοστής, Ορθοδοξίας, Επιφανείων, Ακαθίστου Ύμνου, Παρακλήσεις στην Παναγία, Εσπερινό της Αγάπης, Λειτουργίες Ιωάννου Χρυσοστόμου, Μεγάλου Βασιλείου, Προηγιασμένων Δώρων κ.τ.λ. σε περισσότερες από τριάντα διαλέκτους όχι μόνο της Κένυας, αλλά Ζιμπάμπουε, Νιγηρίας, Ουγκάντας, Ζάμπιας … Ακόμα και Κατηχήσεις σε διάφορες διαλέκτους.

Μπορεί άνετα να ονομασθεί Ευχολόγιον, αφού σε ξεχωριστό τόμο περιλαμβάνονται αρκετές από τις προαναφερθείσες ακολουθίες.

Οι εκδόσεις αυτές του συγκεκριμένου τόμου ήταν καρπός της ωφέλειας που προσκόμισαν οι ιεροσπουδαστές, όταν στη βραδινή ανάγνωση εντυπωσιάστηκαν τόσο που ζήτησαν να το μεταφράσουν στα Σουαχίλι, Κικούγιου και Μασάι και για δική μου οφειλή, χρέος και σέβας προς το πρόσωπό του Γέροντα και Πνευματικού μου Πατέρα, τώρα Αγίου, Σωφρονίου.

Οι εικόνες του εξώφυλλου και οπισθόφυλλου φιλοξενήθηκαν από τις αδελφές της Μονής στο Έσσεξ και γράφτηκαν στις τοπικές διαλέκτους τα αυτούσια λόγια του Αγίου Σιλουανού σε ανύποπτο χρόνο.

Αρχίσαμε και φέτος με την έναρξη της Μ. Τεσσαρακόστης να διαβάζουμε στ’ Αγγλικά που είναι η κοινή γλώσσα όλων των ιεροσπουδαστών και στη συνέχεια γίνεται συζήτηση.

 

St Silouan of Mount Athos (from here)

Saint Silouan was born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov in 1866 to pious Orthodox parents in the Tambov region of Russia.  His youth was much like other village young people of his day and much like the lives of many youth today. While he was attracted at times to the spiritual life and seeking God, he was more attracted by the pleasures of village life.   He worked as a carpenter on the estate of a nearby noble and spent his free time drinking vodka with his friends, playing his concertina and socializing with the village girls.  It was said that he could drink three bottles of vodka without feeling any effects.  Young, strong and handsome he was popular with these girls and one evening fell into the sin of fornication.  On one occasion a young man who had too much to drink and wanting to show off for the girls, threatened Simeon and tried to take his concertina.  In Simeon’s own words:

 At first I thought of giving in to the fellow but then I was ashamed of how the girls would laugh at me, so I hit him a great blow to the chest.  His body shot away and he fell backwards with a heavy thud in the middle of the road.  Froth and blood trickled from his mouth.  All the onlookers were horrified.  So was I.  “I’ve killed him,” I thought, and stood rooted to thespot… It was over half an hour before he could rise to his feet.

One day, shortly before he began his required military service, he dozed off to a light sleep and dreamt that a snake crawled down his throat.  He woke up to hear a voice saying: “Just as you found it loathsome to swallow a snake in your dream, so I find your ways ugly to look upon”.  Simeon later reported he saw no one but was convinced that it was the beautiful voice of the Mother of God coming to rescue him from the evil pit his life had become.  This vision/dream would alter the rest of his life, he began to be ashamed of how he was living his life.  As an example of the change in him, one evening, while serving his military service, he and a few of his friends went to a tavern where there was much loud music, dancing and carousing.  Simeon sat quietly and hardly spoke which led his companions to inquire why he was so quiet.  Simeon said:

I’m thinking that here we sit in a tavern, eating, drinking vodka, listening to music and enjoying ourselves, while at this very hour on Mount Athos they are in

church for vespers and will be at prayer all night.  And I’m wondering which of us will put up the best defense before God’s Judgment Seat – them or us?

At the age of twenty-seven in 1892 he left his native Russia and came to Mount Athos, where he became a monk at the Monastery of St. Panteleimon and was given the name Silouan, the Russian version of the Biblical name Silvanus. He was given the obedience (work duty) at the monastery mill, sleeping little, fasting severely and praying continually.  He struggled against sinful memories from his past life and practiced the Jesus Prayer.  Though barely literate, he received the grace of unceasing prayer and saw Christ in a vision. After long years of spiritual trial, he acquired great humility and inner stillness. He prayed and wept for the whole world as for himself, and he put the highest value on love for enemies.

He was never ordained to the diaconate or priesthood but continued his ministry as a monk in which he devoted himself to praying for all people. A monk is a man who prays for the whole world….. I tell you that when we have no more men of prayer the world will come to an end and great disaster will befall – as, indeed, is happening already.
Having repented and received God’s mercy for his past life, Father Silouan felt great compassion for all people.  He wrote:  “But when a man sees in himself the light of deliverance from sin there awakens in his soul a mighty compassion for all who ‘fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23) and prayer for the ‘whole Adam’ fills his being.” 
After a period of time, Father Silouan was appointed one of the stewards of St. Panteleimon’s monastery, helping in the administration of a monastery with over 1,000 monks and overseeing 200 laymen who worked in the monastery’s many workshops.  After assigning the work tasks for the day, Father Silouan would return to his room to pray and weep for the men who had left their families in their villages to seek employment in far off Mount Athos.  He wrote:

He who has the Holy Spirit in him, however slight a degree, sorrows day and night for all mankind.  His heart is filled with pity for all God’s creatures, more especially for those who do not know God, or who resist Him, and therefore are bound for the fire of torment.  For them, more than for himself, he prays day and night, that all may repent and know the Lord. 

Father Silouan died in the monastery after an illness on September 24, 1938. He was glorified by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1987 and his relics are enshrined in the St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mount Athos.  His writings were edited by his disciple and pupil, Archimandrite Sophrony who later established a monastery in England and became known as a staretz himself. 

Please, see also

 
Elder Sophrony Sakharov († July 11, 1993)



Stand with the Maasai (or: How people can live next to lions without killing them)

An unexpected death in the Maasai 

Patriarch of All Africa with Orthodox Maasai in Kenya

The Kikuyu tribe proclaimed the Metropolitan of Nairobi as their “Elder”
Hope for the Kikuyu (Kenya) / "The caves along the Tana River became the refuge for freedom fighters..." 
Orthodox Christian dialogue with Banyore culture
The Orthodox Church in Kenya & the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School of Makarios III
Orthodox Mission in Tropical Africa (& the Decolonization of Africa)  

The Hymn "Ti Ypermaho" ("To the Champion Leader") in Greek and Kiswahili

Αέναη επΑνάσταση ["Constant Revolution" - the word Revolution (επανάσταση) in Greek is associated with Resurrection (ανάσταση)]

The Hymn "Ti Ypermaho" ("To the Champion Leader") with the students of Kasikizi in Tanzania. The orthodox pries chants in the original Greek, and they're chanting the next verse in Kiswahili (one by one).

 The history of this hymn - A war for the freedom
From here

To thee, the Champion Leader, O Theotokos,

we thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and thanksgiving

as ones rescued from suffering ;

but as thou art one with invincible might, 

Deliver us from all possible dangers ,

so that we may cry to thee:

Rejoice, Unwedded Bride... 

On the first four Fridays of Great Lent during the service of the Small Compline the Akathist Hymn (Akathistos Ymnos) is observed.
The fifth Friday is the day that the Akathistos Ymnos, of which this verse is the beginning, is chanted in its entirety in all Orthodox churches around the world, during the last of the Heretismous services - the Salutations to the Virgin Mary services. 
The Akathist Hymn is a profound, devotional poem, which sings the praises of the Holy Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary. It is one of the most beloved services in the Orthodox Church. It was composed in the imperial city of Constantinople, "the city of the Virgin," by St. Romanos the Melodist, who reposed in the year 556. The Akathist Hymn has proven so popular in the liturgical life of the Church that many other hymns have been written following its format. These include Akathists to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Cross, and to many Saints.
The Akathist hymn consists of praises directed to the Mother of God, beginning with the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice." As the hymn is chanted all of the events related to our Lord's Incarnation pass before us for our contemplation. The Archangel Gabriel marvels at the Divine self-emptying and the renewal of creation which will occur when Christ comes to dwell in the Virgin's womb. The unborn John the Baptist prophetically rejoices. The shepherds recognize Christ as a blameless Lamb, and rejoice that in the Virgin "the things of earth join chorus with the heavens." The pagan Magi following the light of the star, praise Her for revealing the light of the world.
The word "akathistos" means "not sitting," i.e., standing; normally all participants stand while it is being prayed. The hymn is comprised of 24 stanzas, arranged in an acrostic following the Greek alphabet. The stanzas alternate between long and short. Each short stanza is written in prose and ends with the singing of "Alleluia." Each longer stanza ends with the refrain: "Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded." (here)

 

Burundi, 1st Salutations 2020 (photo from here)

In the 7th Century, the people of Constantinople were saved from the attacking Avars by the divine intervention of the Virgin Mary after they took over the Church of Panagia ton Vlahernon. On the 8th of August wanting to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for her assistance, the people gathered in Aghia Sofia and standing up throughout the psalm, sang the Akathisto Ymno to thank her and to salute her with this most beautiful of hymns. One of Orthodoxy's most beautiful this hymn has been attributed to Romanos o Melodos, Romanos the Melodian, who wrote many Orthodox chants over that period. 

It is divided into four parts for the services of the Salutations to the Virgin Mary, Οι Χαιρετισμοί, which take place on the first four Fridays of Lent. During each of these four Fridays one part of the hymn is chanted whilst on the fifth Friday the entire Akathistos Ymnos is chanted. 

«"Mama wa Yatima" means "Mother of Orphans" in Swahili. (My thanks to the Romanian Patriarchal advocate Andrei Vladareanu for the image of this icon he commissioned for the Kenyan Orthodox Church.)» Fr. Cassian Sibley 29 Δεκεμβρίου 2018. More here.

See also

Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos (Mother of God)
The First Salutations To The Theotokos

Orthodox Tanzania (tag) 

Bikira Maria, Mama wa Mungu

"Merry Christmas" in many African languages! // Joyeux Noël dans de nombreuses langues africaines // عيد ميلاد سعيد في العديد من اللغات الأفريقية

Merry Christmas from Africa!

Byzantine hymns of Christmas (Greek)

Killing the Golden Geese: Wars Against Igbo

books.google.gr

An overview of the ethnic wars and marginalization of the Igbos of Nigeria and the unparalleled abandonment of the Igbo language and culture by the Igbo people themselves. 

Ositadimma Ogbonna was born in Ugwuta Ameshi (Oguta) Nigeria. He was educated at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Nigeria and at the North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. He is member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a CPA and holds a Masters degree in Information Sciences. 
He served as chief accountant with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Controller of Audit Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) now Bank of Industry. He is the president Imo State Association of North Carolina, the Assistant Financial Secretary Ohaneze Ndigbo of North Carolina and former chairman, Finance Committee of Igbo Catholic Community Raleigh, He is a knight of Columbus and lives in the serene town of Cary within the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina.

The book in pdf

The video from Home Team History

 

Igbo people & language

 

Nuwe Opname van die Goddelike Liturgie

Afrikaans Ortodoks - Kerk van die Heilige Maria die Egiptenaar

‘n Nuwe opname van die Ortodokse Liturgie, getoonset met hoofsaaklik die bekende Psalmmelodieë van Goudimel, sal binnekort beskikbaar wees. Hieronder is die motivering vir hierdie opname soos wat dit voorlopig op die binneblad van die opname gaan verskyn:

Waarom hierdie toonsetting?

My inspirasie om die Ortodokse Liturgie te toonset met die Psalm-melodieë van veral Goudimel, asook ‘n melodie van die Heilige Notker, is te danke aan my kennismaking op YouTube met André Nieuwkoop in Nederland se zangavonden, waar skares mense, gewoonlik meer as ‘n duisend, byeenkom, om die Psalms te sing. Ek het hierdie melodieë ontroerend gevind en was getref deur die geestelike diepte daarvan. Ek het dit met ‘n half-Afrikaanse kollega in die VSA gedeel en na hy na heelwat van hierdie Psalms geluister het, was sy opmerking: “Profoundly prayerful genius!” Ek het toe begin kyk na die moontlikheid om van hierdie melodieë te gebruik vir die toonsetting van die Goddelike Liturgie van die Ortodokse Kerk in Afrikaans en was aangenaam verras om te vind dat dit nie net moontlik was nie, maar dat dié musiek ook die geestelike diepte van die Liturgie treffend beliggaam. Tot dusver was ons aangewese op meesal Russiese melodieë, maar nou het ons ‘n musiekskat tot ons beskikking wat gewortel is in en eie is aan die geskiedenis van die oorgrote meerderheid Afrikaanssprekendes en wat ewe goed ook die draer van die Ortodoksie in Afrikaans kan wees. Met die gebruik van hierdie melodieë kry die Ortodoksie in Afrikaans myns insiens nou die moontlikheid van ‘n eie unieke stem.
Ek het met Leon Starker oor die moontlikheid gepraat om hierdie toonsetting met sy Oikos-sangers op te neem en hy was van meet af aan baie entoesiasties om dit te doen. Die doel van die opname is tweeledig: Om ‘n voorbeeld te hê vir Afrikaanse Ortodokse Christene van hoe die musiek gesing moet word, en om die skoonheid van die Liturgie met hierdie pragtige melodieë aan Afrikaanse mense in die algemeen bekend te stel, om so moontlik by te dra tot die geestelike en kulturele verryking van ons mense.
Graag wil ek ook my dank uitspreek teenoor ons Aartsbiskop Sergios, Metropoliet van die Aartsbisdom Goeie Hoop, wat sy toestemming en seën vir hierdie projek gegee het.
Mag hierdie opname vir vele van seën en tot stigting wees!

Vader Zacharias van Wyk, presbiter
Kapel van die Heilige Maria die Egiptenaar
“Keurkloof”
Robertson
Ortodokse Aartsbisdom Goeie Hoop
Patriargaat Alexandrië

L.W.: DIE VOLLEDIGE TEKS VAN DIE GODDELIKE LITURGIE, MET DIE TOONSETTINGS, IS IN PDF-FORMAAT OP HIERDIE SKYF EN KAN OP ‘N REKENAAR AFGELAAI EN UITGEDRUK WORD.

Afrikaans Ortodoks

South African Orthodox Liturgical texts and music