Psalter

2007-09-13T20:25:10Z

Dionysiosrossi: /* External links */

The '''Psalter''' (also known as the ''Psalms of David'') is the [[Old Testament]] book that contains hymns and poems traditionally ascribed to the [[David|Holy Prophet and King David]], ancestor of our [[Jesus Christ|Lord Jesus Christ]]. Virtually every aspect of worship—praise, thanksgiving, penitence, intercession—is covered in the Psalter.

== The Psalter in Orthodox worship ==
One modern commentator has described the Psalter as a golden thread running through the beautiful garment that is the divine services of the [[Orthodox Church]]. Indeed, the Psalter forms the core of each of the services of the [[Daily Cycle]], the [[Divine Liturgy]], and the other sacramental offices of the Church.

The Psalter is so prevalent in Orthodox worship that St. [[John Chrysostom]] said that wherever one looks in the Church, he finds the Psalter "first, last, and central."

== Structure of the Psalter ==
=== Chapter Divisions—Septuagint vs. Masoretic Text ===
The [[Septuagint]] (LXX) is the version of the Old Testament used by the Orthodox Church. The LXX Psalter differs in several respects from [[Masoretic Text]] (MT), which forms the basis for the King James Version and most modern English translations of the Bible.

In addition to substantive, textual differences, the LXX and MT versions of the Psalter differ most obviously in their chapter divisions. This can cause confusion to readers who do not understand the differences between the two versions.

The chapter divisions of the LXX and MT versions of the Psalter correspond as follows: 

<center>
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
!LXX!!MT|| - ||LXX!!MT
|-
| 1-8 || 1-8|| - ||115||116:10-19
|-
| 9 || 9-10|| - ||116-145||117-146
|-
|10-112||11-113|| - ||146||147:1-11
|-
|113||114-115|| - ||147||147:12-20
|-
|114||116:1-9|| - ||148-150||148-150
|-
|}
</center>
 
The deuterocanon of the LXX contains an additional Psalm ascribed to David. This [http://www.anova.org/sev/htm/ap/13_psalm151.htm 151st Psalm] is not numbered with the other 150 and is not included in the Psalter proper.

=== Kathismata ===
The Psalter is divided into 20 '''kathismata'''. Each '''kathisma''' is further divided into three ''stases''. Each ''stasis'' contains between one and three chapters. The exception to this is Psalm 118. Due to its great length, this chapter constitutes the entire XVIIth Kathisma.

Each of the divine services contain fixed portions of the Psalter that are read or chanted each time the service is celebrated. In addition, certain services of the Daily Cycle contain prescribed kathisma readings. These prescribed readings rotate daily so that outside of Great Lent the Psalter is read through once in its entirety in single week.

During the lenten fast, the kathisma readings are accelerated so that the Psalter is read through in its entirety twice each week.

=== Order of Kathisma Readings ===
*'''''Outside of Great Lent'''''
:Outside Great Lent the kathismata are appointed to be read according to the following cycle: 
<center>
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
!Day!!Orthros!!Vespers
|-
!Su
|II, III|| -
|-
!M
|IV, V||VI
|-
!Tu
|VII, VIII||IX
|-
!W
|X, XI||XII
|-
!Th
|XIII, XIV||XV
|-
!F
|XIX, XX||XVIII
|-
!Sa
|XVI, XVII||I
|-
|}
</center>
 

*'''''During Great Lent'''''
:During the weekdays of Great Lent, kathisma readings are added to the the services of the [[Hours]] so that the entire Psalter is read through twice each week. The cycle of appointed kathismata readings for Great Lent are as follows: 
<center>
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
!Day!!Orthros!!First Hour!!Third Hour!!Sixth Hour!!Ninth Hour!!Vespers
|-
!Su
|II, III||-||-||-||-||-
|-
!M
|IV, V, VI||-||VII||VIII||IX||XVIII
|-
!Tu
|X, XI, XII||XIII||XIV||XV||XVI||XVIII
|-
!W
|XIX, XX, I||II||III||IV||V||XVIII
|-
!Th
|VI, VII, VIII||IX||X||XI||XII||XVIII
|-
!F
|XIII, XIV, XV||-||XIX||XX||-||XVIII
|-
!Sa
|XVI, XVII||-||-||-||-||I
|-
|}
</center>
 

== External links ==
*[http://www.pomog.org/psalter.shtml Online Orthodox Psalter] from the website of Protection of the Mother of God Church ([[ROCOR]])
*[http://orthodox.seasidehosting.st/ Dynamic Psalter According to the Seventy] (gives the current kathisma readings)
*[http://www.ogreatmystery.com/newskete/psalter/ The Psalter] translated by the Monks of [[New Skete]]
*[http://www.bombaxo.com/kathismata.html Eastern Orthodox Psalm Reading Plan]
*[http://www.saintjonah.org/rub/kathisma_abbrev.htm Suggested Abbreviations of the Kathismata]

== Sources ==
*''The Psalter According to the Seventy'', Holy Transfiguration Monastery (ISBN 0943405009)
*''Christ in the Psalms'', Archpriest Patrick Henry Reardon (ISBN 1888212217)

[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]
[[Category:Scripture]]
[[Category:Texts]]

Seraphim (Rose)

2007-06-08T15:11:59Z

Dionysiosrossi: /* Criticism & debate */

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
Hieromonk '''Seraphim (Rose)''', né '''Eugene Dennis Rose''' ([[August 13]], 1934-[[September 2]], 1982) was a [[hieromonk]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] in the United States, whose writings have helped spread Orthodox Christianity throughout modern America and the West and are also quite popular in Russia. Although not formally [[Glorification|glorified]] (canonized), he is (some say prematurely) celebrated by some Orthodox Christians as a [[saint]] in [[icon|iconography]], [[liturgy]], and [[prayer]].

==Early life==
Born to Frank and Esther Rose in San Diego, Eugene was raised in California, where he would remain his entire life. He was baptized in the Methodist faith at fourteen years old, but later became an atheist, losing all belief in God. Rated at genius level in high school in formal IQ testing, in San Francisco he entered a beatnik phase in his life and practiced Buddhism.

In the summer of 1955, between his junior and senior years at college, Eugene met Finnish-born Jon Gregerson, through whom he came into initial contact with the Orthodox faith. Eugene came out as [[homosexuality|homosexual]] to a close friend from college after his mother discovered letters penned between her son and Walter Pomeroy, a friend from high school. Eugene later shed his identity as a gay man as he slowly accepted Orthodoxy, eventually ending his lengthy relationship with Gregerson.[http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMSP01/saint.shtml]

==Orthodoxy==
While studying under Alan Watts at the American Academy of Asian Studies after graduating from Pomona College in 1956, Eugene discovered the writings of René Guenon. Through Guenon's writings, Eugene was inspired to seek out an authentic, grounded spiritual faith tradition. Gregerson, a practicing Russian Orthodox Christian at the time, introduced Eugene to Orthodoxy. Just as Gregerson was choosing to abandon his Orthodoxy, Eugene was inspired to learn more about the faith. This culminated in Eugene's decision to enter the Church through [[chrismation]] in 1962.

Eugene and another Orthodox Christian, [[Herman Podmoshensky|Gleb Podmoshensky]], later formed a community of Orthodox [[booksellers]] and [[Magazines and Publications|publishers]] called the [[St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood (Platina, California)|St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood]]. The community eventually decided to flee urban modernity into the wildrness of northern California to become [[monasticism|monks]] in 1966. At his [[tonsure]] in 1970, Eugene took the name "Seraphim" after St. Seraphim of Sarov.

Following his [[ordination]] as [[hieromonk]], Fr. Seraphim began writing several books, including ''[[God's Revelation to the Human Heart]]'', ''[[Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future]]'', and ''[[The Soul After Death]]''. He also founded the magazine ''[[The Orthodox Word]]'', still published today by the Brotherhood. The collective body of work that Fr. Seraphim published was quickly proliferated throughout America upon Fr. Seraphim's death and later in Russia and Eastern Europe upon the fall of atheist Communism in those countries.

As a monk, Fr. Seraphim developed a close relationship with St. [[John Maximovitch]], then [[bishop]] of San Francisco for the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|Russian Church Abroad]].

==Teachings==
Fr. Seraphim, as a [[convert]] and eventually a hieromonk in the Russian Church Abroad, is regarded by many as a bastion of sound Orthodox teaching in a time when many American [[jurisdiction]]s, and even factions within the Russian Church Abroad itself, were allegedly introducing new and/or erroneous teachings or practices. In ''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future'', Fr. Seraphim highlighted what he and others saw as dangerous trends in both the secular and ecclesiastical worlds—namely, modernism and ecumenism (though the book mainly deals with religious movements invading America and outside Orthodoxy).

It was during this time also that [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] began to distort the official positions of the Synod of the Russian Church Abroad. Fr. Seraphim with his fellow monastic, Fr. [[Herman (Podmoshensky)]], used their own tiny printing press to transmit the uncompromised teachings of the Church on a number of issues such as [[evolution]], [[life after death]], and pre-[[Great Schism|Schism]] western [[saint|saints]].

One major issue of contention between Fr. Seraphim and Holy Transfiguration Monastery was the presence of [[grace]] within the allegedly Soviet-compromised hierarchy of the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Fr. Seraphim refuted the extremist views of this monastery and consistently affirmed that Moscow, though ailing, still had grace.

Throughout his life, Fr. Seraphim stressed an "Orthodoxy of the heart," which he felt was absent in much of the ecclesiastical life in America.

One of his more controversial books is ''[[The Soul After Death]]'', which includes the promulgation of the so-called [[Aerial Toll-Houses]] doctrine regarding the soul's journey after its departure from the body. This teaching has drawn much criticism from others within the Orthodox Church, who describe it as [[gnosticism|gnostic]].

[[Image:Father Seraphim (Rose).jpg|left|thumb|200px|Picture of Father Seraphim Rose on Mount Yolla Bolly ([[October 11|Oct. 11]], 1981), holding an [[Icon]] of the [[Holy Trinity]].]]

==Death==
After feeling acute pains for several days while working in his cell in 1982, Fr. Seraphim was taken by his fellow monks to a hospital for treatment. When he reluctantly arrived at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, he was declared in critical condition and fell into semi-consciousness. After exploratory surgery was completed, it was discovered that a blood clot had blocked a vein supplying blood to Fr. Seraphim's intestine, which had become a mass of non-functioning dead tissue. Fr. Seraphim slipped into a coma after a second surgery. Hundreds of people came to visit the hospital and celebrated the [[Divine Liturgy|liturgy]] regularly in the chapel, praying for a miracle to save their beloved father's life. Reaction from throughout the world was great, with thousands of prayers said for the ailing hieromonk. He died on [[September 2]], 1982.

After being dead for several days and while lying in repose in a pauper's coffin at his wilderness monastery, visitors claimed that Fr. Seraphim did not succumb to decay and rigor mortis. His body remained supple while several claimed he smelled of roses. A cause for glorification was begun after Fr. Seraphim's burial. He eventually informally attained the title of ''Blessed'' after several miracles were attributed to him and now he awaits glorification into sainthood by an Orthodox [[synod]].

==Books==
===As Author===
*''God's Revelation to the Human Heart''. Platina: Saint Herman Press, 1988. (ISBN 0938635034)
*''Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 1887904069) (as Eugene Rose)
:*Second Edition: Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen) (ed.), 2001.
*''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1975. (ISBN 188790400X)
*''The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1983. (ISBN 0938635123)
*''The Soul After Death: Contemporary "After-Death" Experiences in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching on the Afterlife''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988. (ISBN 093863514X)
*''The Apocalypse: In the Teachings of Ancient Christianity''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1985. (ISBN 0938635670)
*''Genesis, Creation and Early Man''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2000. (ISBN 1887904026)
* ''Blessed John the Wonderworker: A Preliminary Account of the Life and Miracles of Archbishop John Maximovitch''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987. (ISBN 0938635018)
* ''Letters from Father Seraphim''. Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society. (ISBN 1879066084)

===As Editor or Translator===
* ''Vita Patrum'', by St. Gregory of Tours. (Foreword by Seraphim Rose. This introductory material runs more than 100 pages.) Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988. (ISBN 0938635239)
* ''The Apocalypse of St. John: An Orthodox Commentary'', by Archbishop Averky Taushev. (Introduction by Seraphim Rose). Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1998. (ISBN 0938635670)
*''The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God'', by St. [[John Maximovitch|John of Shanghai (Maximovitch)]]. Includes an introduction by Fr. Seraphim on the theology of Archbishop (now Saint) John. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1978. (ISBN 0938635689)
* ''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 1'', by St. Seraphim of Sarov. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 0938635301)
*''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 2'', by Abbot Nazarius of Valaam. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 093863531X)
* ''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 4'', by St. Paisius Velichkovsky. : St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 0938635336)
* ''The Sin of Adam and Our Redemption: Seven Homilies'', by St. Symeon the New Theologian. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1979. (ASIN B0006DY97Q)
* ''The First-Created Man: Seven Homilies by St. Symeon the New Theologian'', by St. Symeon the New Theologian. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 0938635115). '''(Apparently somewhat different than the above, as it is 40 pages longer.)'''
* ''The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation'', by St. Theophan the Recluse. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 1887904514)
*''[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/restoration.aspx The Restoration of the Orthodox Way of Life]'', by Archbishop Andrew of New-Diveyevo. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1976. (ASIN B0006Y3F1G)
* ''The Northern Thebaid: Monastic Saints of the Russian North'', compiled and translated by Fr. Seraphim Rose and Abbot Herman Podmoshensky. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1995. (ISBN 0938635379)
* ''Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos, Vol. 2'', by Abbot Cherubim, translated by Nun Thaisia Simonsson. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1992 (2nd Rev edition). (ISBN 0938635573)

===Biographies===
*Christensen, Hieromonk Damascene. ''Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2003. (ISBN 1887904077) (greatly revised edition of ''Not of This World'')
*Christensen, Monk Damascene. ''Not of This World: The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose''. Platina: St. Herman Press, 1993. (ISBN 0938635522)
*[http://www.cathyscott.com/rose.htm Scott, Cathy]. ''Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters.'' Regina Orthodox Press, 2000. (ISBN 1928653014). '''N.B.: The author is Fr. Seraphim Rose's niece.'''

==External links==
*[http://www.fatherseraphimrose.org/ Father Seraphim Rose Foundation]
*[http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMSP01/saint.shtml Biographical article from Pomona College Magazine]
*[http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/OldWorldBasic/FrSeraphim.html Father Seraphim Rose: Biography and Online Bookshop]
*[http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/Orthodox_Elders/Various/Fr._Seraphim_Rose/ Photos of Fr. Seraphim Rose]
*[http://deathtotheworld.com/seraphimrose/index.html Death to the World : Father Seraphim Rose of Platina]

===Criticism & debate===
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/gnostic/ The Toll-House Myth: The Neo-Gnosticism of Fr. Seraphim Rose], by Fr. Michael Azkoul
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_debate.aspx The Debate Over Aerial Toll-Houses], Extract from the Minutes of the Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside or Russia (1980)
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/toll_main.html Regarding the Toll Houses], Various articles by Archbishop Lazar, Fr. Michael Pomazansky, and others.
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_pomaz.aspx On the Question of the "Toll-Houses": Our War is not Against Flesh and Blood], by Fr. Michael Pomazansky
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/return_tollhouses.html The Return of the Tollhouses], by Fr. Michael Azkoul
*[http://home.it.net.au/%7Ejgrapsas/pages/afterdeath.htm Life after death… Mysteries beyond the grave], by Fr. Thomas Hopko

===Writings===
*[http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/charismatic_revival_s_rose_e.htm Charismatic Revival as a Sign of the Times]
*[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/nihilism.html Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age ]
*[http://www.stxenia.org/frsrose/ortham.shtml Orthodoxy in America: Its Historical Past and Present]
*[http://www.desertwisdom.org/dttw Death to the World - A Compendium of Fr. Seraphim Rose's writings on-line.]

[[Category:American Saints]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Priests]]

OrthodoxWiki - User contributions [en]

Psalter

Seraphim (Rose)