[Magdalen] "Worship" Stuff.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

Another interesting article from the current "Worship," the
monthly publication of the Benedictines at Saint John's Abby,
Collegeville, MN.
 
This one is about the history of worship in the East (Constantinople)
written by a Jesuit, no less, (Taft, SJ) and comes with  almost equal
volume of footnotes as the volume of the article text.
 
The East's stress on processions for every occasion with "stations,"
stops with psalms and all sung by cantors/choir with  congregational
simple, often repetitive, antiphons such as kyrie eleison. was  informative,
and feeds my opinion that sung Psalm texts  are not of the  people, but of
cantors/choirs/clergy.  TEC is currently firmly in the Psalm of the  
Eucharist
to be sung by the congregation, but that is not historical in the East or  
the
West.  Go Responsorial Psalms!
 
The vesting and entrance of both emperor and patriarch at the  farmous
Hagia Sophia are fascinating.  Having seen an eastern  patriarch  publicly
vested before his role as ordaining prelate, I can relate to this.
 
It's interesting that a western clergyman (Taft, SJ) is so educated
about the East, but then again, we have the Eastern Christianity
Department at our local University of Scranton, a Jesuit school.
 
 
 
David S.