Seraphim Hanisch
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Professor Kurt (Lawrence) Sander, an American composer, entered into a collaborative project with an up-and-coming Moscow conductor and choral ensemble, with myself as recording engineer and producer, to record “The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom”, as a setting Professor Sander composed originally in English.
This recording makes history because it was first composed for English language use, and only later adapted for Church Slavonic, the liturgical language used in many Orthodox Christian Churches all around the world.
Our recording went into soft release on February 15, 2024, and then official launch on March 10, 2024. In this newspiece two links are provided for everyone to listen to – a promo clip that is about three minutes, and the entire recording, which is about 86 minutes.
This is a truly profound piece of creative work, undertaken by Orthodox Christians and seculars alike, by Russians and Americans alike, all working together in unity. The work is representative of the highest standards of prayer and musical efforts and it is beautiful to listen to.
As Orthodox Christians, this particular musical work is not about victory in any war except our own personal efforts against our own sins, and the only victory that matters is the one Christ has won over Death and Hades to save all of us from eternal darkness.
As citizens of the Kingdom of God, the value of this recording lies in this statement: We are all one in Christ. As Christians, we are accountable really only to the King of Kings; it doesn’t matter where we live or where we are from.
Stephen King once wrote through one of his characters, that it doesn’t matter if one believes in God: “He believes in you.” This was personally a huge source text for me, one that propelled me eventually into the Eastern Orthodox Church (thank you, Stephen!)
Truly, this work is for everyone, and the fact that American and Russian Orthodox Christians were working together on this through our present times is noteworthy. We are all one in Christ.
Here are the two promised links for you to hear!
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Do Russian speakers understand Church Slavonic?
They understand some of it pretty directly, and some of it is a bit tough. Think of reading Chaucer in English – or Shakespeare – we would understand quite a bit, but some of it would be unclear. I asked a class of Russian students once this question: “Would you ever say your prayers in Russian?” – every one to a point said “no.” It was unheard of for an Orthodox Christian in Russia NOT to use Church Slavonic. They are generally comfortable with not knowing everything, but when I lead services here in English, they often learn more deeply… Read more »
The English analogy is not fully correct. Old Slavonic is not old Russian, it is old south Slavic language. Russian language was already different when it was adapted by Church.
Well… okay, but in practical terms of simply how well Russian believers understand Church Slavonic the comparison stands. Their own description of their experience with praying in the Church Slavonic language led me to try to approximate an analogous situation with earlier forms of English. The actual history is important, true, but that is not how my students described their own experience with Church Slavonic – they were were studying at an Orthodox Christian university and were quite serious about their participation in the prayer life of the Church.
Thank you for your point!
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Gorgeous music! Fitting praise to our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for presenting it to us, and for your good work in producing it.
Thank you! Please share it with people you know, maybe they will like it too)