Paschal Canon by St John Damascene

JewsDid9-11
Published on Aug 22, 2020
Paschal Canon of St John Damascene

Hymnography is the best expression of the Orthodox Christian faith and tradition. Central to this hymnographic expression is the Canon.
The Paschal (Easter) Canon of St John Damascene is referred to as the ‘Golden Canon’ or the ‘Queen of the Canons’ due to its immense poetical beauty and theological articulation. Every year the Orthodox Christians hear the canon and are called to participate in Christ’s Resurrection. However, what is a Canon?

The development and evolution of the Canon is central to the Orthodox liturgical development. St Andrew of Crete introduced it into Greek tradition and St John Damascene further developed it. A Canon is a poetic composition that consists theoretically of nine Odes, based in inspiration on the nine chief Odes, Canticles – eight of the Old Testament and one of the New Testament themes (the last Ode is taken from the Magnificat and Song of Zechariah from the New Testament) – each Ode consisting of a model brief hymn at the beginning called the Hirmos (Εἱρμός – ‘link’), followed by two or more Troparia that are like the Hirmos in structure and are chanted in the same fashion. Each Ode corresponds and alludes to the Old Testament Canticle theme, nonetheless, the second Ode is omitted in the Paschal Canon (in fact, it is only used during Great Lent) due to its gloomy character. What is emphasised throughout the Canon is the central theme of the glorious and salvific Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The hymnographer uses beautiful imagery and other poetical features in order to convey the salvific character of the Resurrection and to inspire the faithful to be partakers of Christs’ Resurrection.

The above video puts the poetical words into harmony and melody though Byzantine chant. It is chanted by the nuns of Žiča Monastery in Serbia in Church Slavonic following the Byzantine style of chanting.

For further information regarding the Paschal Canon refer to:

Vaporis, Nomikos Michael, ed. Three Byzantine Sacred Poets. Brookline, MA: Hellenic College Press, 1979.

Louth, Andrew. ‘St John Damascene: Preacher and Poet’. In Preacher and His Audience: Studies in Early Christian and Byzantine Homiletics. Edited by Mary B. Cunningham and Pauline Allen. Leiden, NL: Brill, 1998.

Online Sources:

http://www.patirstavros.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=258:kanonanastaseos&catid=125&Itemid=585

http://www.anastasis.org.uk/Paschal%20Canon%20Noted.pdf

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Music
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Paschal Canon John Damascene

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