"The Feet that Eve Heard in Paradise and Was Afraid": Observations on the Christology of Byzantine Festal Hymns

AAR (Orthodox Theology), 2005

1. Introduction It is often remarked that Byzantine hymnography is dogmatic, because the hymns function as a vehicle for dogmatic statements. One may think, for instance, of the hymns to the Theotokos sung at the Great Vespers of Sunday, and which are called precisely Dogmatika: The Son is one: two natures, yet one Person. Proclaiming Him as perfect God and perfect Man, we confess Christ our God! (Dogmatikon of tone 8; cf. Dogmatikon of tone 6). Or the hymns celebrating the Orthodoxy of some of the Ecumenical Councils, which offer a compendium of doctrinal statements. However, this is not what my presentation is about. I am going to focus on a category of hymns, mostly festal hymns commonly used in the Orthodox Church, which are precisely not of the dogmatic type.

A brief historical overview would be in order at this point. Unfortunately, there is only time to sketch out the conclusions reached by eminent specialists in the field of Liturgics people like Anton Baumstark, Egon Wellesz, Robert Taft, Helmut Leeb, or Charles Renoux. First, it is "in Jerusalem [that] lies the key
to much of the present-day Byzantine Rite, to the Holy Week Triduum ceremonies."1 and to Byzantine hymnography. Indeed, a great percentage of the hymns currently sung in Eastern Orthodox services are found in an eighth-to-tenth century Georgian manuscript, translated from Greek, which contains festal hymns used in Jerusalem.2
Taft, "In the Bridegrooms Absence," 72. The text has been edited: E. Metreveli, C. ank'ievi, L. Hevsuriani, Udzvelesi iadgari (Tbilisi: Mecniereba, 1980). For a brief presentation of the material, see Andrew Wade, "The Oldest Iadgari:
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Helmut Leeb (1985) dates these hymns to the fifth or sixth century; more recently (1999) Charles Renoux ascribes "the most ancient layer of the these texts to the fourth century."3 However, if we take Paschal hymnography as our reference-point (because the pattern found in Paschal hymnography was later applied to create the hymnography of Palm Sunday, Nativity, Meeting of Christ in the Temple, etc), then we can find even older roots. Specialists agree that the hymns currently sung for Great and Holy Friday can be traced back to the homily On Pascha composed by the bishop and poet Melito of Sardis in the second century. [APPENDIX 1]:
Holy Friday: Antiphon 15

Melito of Sardes, On Pascha, 96. He who hung the earth is hanging He who fixed the heavens in place has been fixed in place He who laid the foundations of the universe has been laid on a tree The Master has been profaned God has been murdered The King of Israel has been destroyed

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in the Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Your Passion, O Christ (x 3). Show us also Your glorious Resurrection."

In later centuries, Palestinian monks seem to have contributed very much to the development of hymnography; the latter spread not only to Constantinople, but also in a separately trajectory ! to Southern Italy and Rome, around the seventh, or early eighth century.4
The Jerusalem Tropologion, V-VIII c.," OCP 50 (1984), 451-456. I am relying on the translation and accompanying study by Helmut Leeb, Die Gesnge im Gemeindegottesdienst von Jerusalem (vom 5. bis 8. Jahrhundert (Vienna; Herder, 1980). 3 Leeb, Gemeindegottesdienst von Jerusalem, 30; Baumstark, Comparative Liturgy (revised by B. Botte; London: Mowbrey & Co, 1958) 95; Renoux, "Une hymnographie ancienne en gorgien," in A. M. Triacca, A. Pistoia (eds.), L'Hymnographie: Confrences Saint-Serge XLVIe Semaine dEtudes Liturgiques, Paris, 29 Juin 2 Juillet 1999 (Rome : Edizioni Liturgiche, 2000), 148; cf. 138: "a hymnography of exceptional historical importance, that of the Jerusalem rite of the fourth to seventh century." 4 Andr Rose, "L'influence de l'hymnographie orientale sur la liturgie romaine des ftes de Nol," in A. M. Triacca, A. Pistoia (eds.), L'Hymnographie: Confrences Saint-Serge XLVIe Semaine dEtudes Liturgiques, Paris, 29 Juin 2 Juillet 1999 (Rome : Edizioni Liturgiche, 2000), 248; Pott, Rforme Liturgique 111. The hymns have been edited and published in thirteen volumes: Ioseph Schir (ed.), Analecta hymnica graeca e codicibus eruta Italiae inferioris (Rome: 1966-1983). See

However, my concern today is not historical, but theological. For all their venerable past, it is more important to look at the hymns as they are used today in the Orthodox Church.

2. Christological Statements in the Festal Hymns

Christ the Creator Byzantine hymns are characterized by extensive and masterful cultivation of antithesis, parallelism, and paradox. A hymn will typically connect a lofty image from the OT with a NT passage illustrating the extreme kenosis of the Son of God.5 The hymns exploit the occurrence of similar words, images, or actions (for instance, "he hung," "he was wrapped," "he holds," "hands," "rest").6 The following hymns the first, Antiphon 15, sung on Holy Friday, and the second one, sung on the Eve of Nativity, obviously patterned after the first offer a perfect illustration of all the above: [APPENDIX 2]
also, specifically for the import of the Improperia from Syria to the West around the eighth century, Anton Baumstark, "Der Orient und die Gesnge der Adoratio Crucis," Jahrbuch fur Liturgiewissenschaft 2 (1922), 16. 5 "A strange wonder it is to see the Maker of heaven and earth stand naked in the river, and as a servant receive baptism from a servant, for our salvation. The choirs of angels were filled with amazement "(Sticheron at the Ninth Hour on the Eve of Theophany). " How shall I stretch forth my hand and touch the head of Him that rules all things? You, whose praises the seraphim sing, walk upon the earth. And I who am but a servant know not how to baptize the Master" (Sticheron after Gospel reading at the Matins of Theophany)."Beholding You, the Fashioner and Creator of all, hanging naked on the Cross, the whole creation was transfixed with fear and it lamented O strange wonder! The Judge is judged and suffers willingly, for the salvation and renewal of the world" (Third Sunday of Lent: Great Vespers, Glory Sticheron at Lord I have cried). "Today a tomb holds Him who holds the creation in the hollow of His hand; a stone covers Him who covers the heavens with glory!..." (Holy Saturday Matins: Praises). "He who holds the earth in the hollow of His hand is held fast by the earth" (Holy Saturday Matins: First Stasis of the Lamentations). 6 "With his hands the betrayer receives the bread; with his hands he secretly receives the silver, the price of Him who fashioned man with His hands" (Holy Thursday Kontakion). "Be astonished, O heavens, be terribly afraid, and let the foundations of the earth be shaken. For lo, He who bears the whole world in the hollow of His hand, is wrapped in swaddling clothes and received as guest in a narrow manger" (Irmos of Ode 8 of the Compline Canon of the Forefeast of the Nativity). " Open to me the gates, and entering within, I shall see as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes Him who upholds the creation in the hollow of His hand, whose praises the angels sing with unceasing voice, the Lord and Giver of Life who saves mankind" (Glory of the Aposticha at the Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity).

Holy Friday: Antiphon 15 "Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in the Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Your Passion, O Christ (x 3). Show us also Your glorious Resurrection."

Glory Sticheron at the Ninth Hour of the Eve of Nativity "Today, He who holds the whole creation in the hollow of His hand is born of the Virgin. He whom in essence none can touch is wrapped in swaddling clothes as a mortal. God who in the beginning founded the heavens lies in a manger. He who rained manna down on the people in the wilderness is fed on milk from His Mothers breast. He who is the Bridegroom of the Church calls unto Himself the Magi. The Son of the Virgin accepts their gifts. We worship Thy birth, O Christ! (x 3) Show us also Your divine Epiphany!"

The theological point being made is quite complex: a Christological framework for Gods creation and providence makes evident the intimate link between creation and restoration, which are both "in Christ." Byzantine hymnographers are very emphatic in their praising Christ as the Creator and Lord of creation. It is Christ who separated the waters, and suspended the earth upon the void,7 who bowed the heavens (Ps. 17:10),8 and holds the creation in the hollow of His hand, who fashioned Adam with his hands after his own image,9 who fashioned Eve from Adams side; it is Christ who blessed the Sabbath as the day
"When the creation beheld You in the flesh covered by the streams, who hast established the whole earth in the void above the waters, it was seized with great amazement and cried: There is none holy save You, O Lord!" (Irmos of Ode 2, Canon of the Forefeast of Theophany). "When the creation beheld You hanging in Golgotha, who have hung the whole earth freely upon the waters, it was seized with amazement and it cried: There is none holy save You, O Lord" (Holy Saturday Canon: Canticle 3, Irmos). 8 " He who bowed the heavens (Ps. 17:10), bowed His head, and the clay cried aloud to Him that formed him: Why do You command of me what lies beyond my power? For I have need to be baptized by You" (Sticheron 3 at the Vespers of Theophany). 9 "You have formed Adam with Your hand, O Savior, and set him on the border between incorruption and mortality " (Canon of the Departed: Praises). "The children of the Chaldaeans saw the Virgin holding in her hands Him who with His hands fashioned mankind" (Akathistos Hymn, Ikos Five). "You, O Christ, with invisible hands have fashioned man in Your image; and You have now displayed the original beauty in this same human body formed by You " (Ode 5, Sticheron 3, Second Canon of Transfiguration). "O You who fashioned Eve from Adams side, Your side was pierced and from it flowed streams of cleansing" (Holy Saturday Matins: First Stasis of the Lamentations). "With Your hand You have fashioned Adam from the earth; and for his sake You have become by nature man, and were of Your own will crucified" (Holy Saturday Matins: First Stasis of the Lamentations). "O You, who have fashioned Adam with Your own hand, You have gone down beneath the earth, to raise up fallen mankind by Your almighty power" (Holy Saturday Matins: First Stasis of the Lamentations). "The Lord who fashioned all things is Himself fashioned as we are. Having taken up His dwelling in your most holy womb, O all-pure Lady, He clothed Himself in the form of man and saved His own image" (Theotokion of Ode 4, Canon at the Synaxis of John the Baptist).
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of rest.10 In short, he is the Maker, Creator, the Author of life proclaimed by the OT. He is the Wisdom pervading all creation.11 He is the hidden God, wrapped in light as in a garment,12 and who takes on the experiences of human flesh: [APPENDIX 3]:
"O Savior, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment (Ps. 103/ 104:2), You have clothed Yourself in the waters of Jordan " (Glory Hymn of the Praises at the Matins of Theophany). "He who clothes Himself in light as in a garment stood naked at the judgment; on His cheek He received blows from the hands which He had formed " (Holy Friday: Antiphon 6). "Joseph with Nicodemus took You down from the Tree, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment "

Exegetically, these are the results of a consistently Christological reading of key-passages in Genesis, the Psalms, and the Wisdom literature. Theologically, the focus is not on the atrocious suffering of Jesus; the Church is not moved with pity towards the innocent victim. The great question is rather WHO? Let me answer with verses from Holy Friday:
"Today the Master of Creation stands before Pilate; today the Maker of all things is given up to the Cross!" (Holy Friday Vespers: Sticheron at Lord I Have Cried hymns) "This strange sight is beyond our understanding: the Lord who upholds all creation is held as a lifeless corpse in the arms of Joseph and Nicodemus ." (Holy Friday Compline: Canticle 8, Sticheron 3).

"What is this sight we behold? What is this present rest? The King of the ages keeps the Sabbath in the tomb, granting us a new Sabbath!..." (Holy Saturday Matins: Praises). " For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest on which the only-begotten Son of God rested from His works. Suffering death in accordance with the plan of salvation, He kept the Sabbath in the flesh" (Holy Saturday Matins: Glory Sticheron at Praises). 11 "The Wisdom of God that restrains the untamed fury of the waters that are above the firmament, that sets a bridle on the deep and keeps back the seas, now pours water into a basin; and the Master washes the feet of His servants." (Holy Thursday: Matins, Canticle 5, Sticheron 2). 12 "O Savior, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment (Ps. 103/ 104:2), You have clothed Yourself in the waters of Jordan; and You who have measured heaven with a span (Isa 40:12), have bowed down Your head before the Forerunner " (Glory Hymn of the Praises at the Matins of Theophany). "Who among men has seen the sun being cleansed and Him that covered the heaven with clouds stripped naked? Who has seen Him that made the springs and rivers, Himself enter the waters? I stand amazed at Your ineffable dispensation, O Master. Burden not Your servant with fearful commands" (Apostichon at the Vespers of the Synaxis of John the Baptist). "He who clothes Himself in light as in a garment stood naked at the judgment; on His cheek He received blows from the hands which He had formed. The lawless people nailed to the Cross the Lord of Glory. Then the veil of the Temple was rent in two and the sun was darkened, for it could not to see such an outrage done to God, before whom all things tremble. Let us worship Him" (Holy Friday: Antiphon 6).

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Christ, "the God of our Fathers" The divine manifestation on Sinai, the burning bush, and everything else connected with the God who spoke to Moses, furnishes another crucial material for hymnographic exegesis: Jesus Christ is the God who showed himself to Moses. The following verses are from the Matins and Vespers of Transfiguration. [APPENDIX 4]:
He who once spoke through symbols to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, I am He who is [Exod 3:14] was transfigured today upon Mount Tabor before the disciples ...13 You have appeared to Moses both on the Mountain of the Law and on Tabor: of old in darkness, but now in the unapproachable light of the Godhead.14 You, O Christ our God, have delivered the written Law upon Mount Sinai, and have appeared there riding upon the cloud, in the midst of fire and darkness and tempest [Exodus 19:18-19; Deut 4:11; 1/3 Kgs 19:12].15

Clearly, the hymns link Tabor with the theophany on Sinai. And this connection is also emphasized by the Old Testament readings for the Vespers of Transfiguration: the texts selected to explicate Christs appearance on Tabor speak of the Old Testament theophanies before Moses (Exod 24:12-18; Exod 33:11-23; 34:4-6.8) and Elija (1/3 Kings 19:3-9.11-13.15-16). The same perspective occurs in the hymns celebrating the Baptism of the Lord. The Baptist is petrified, because it is no less than the OT Lord, the Lord who manifested himself on Sinai, who condescends to be baptized:
"Moses, when he came upon You, displayed the holy reverence that he felt: perceiving that it was Your voice that spoke from the bush, he forthwith turned away his gaze [Exodus 3:6]. 'How then shall I behold You openly, how shall I lay my hand upon You?' " (Ode 4, Sticheron 3, First Canon of Theophany). " " For if I baptize You, I shall have as my accusers the mountain that smoked with fire (Exodus 19:8), the sea which fled on either side, and this same Jordan which turned back (Ps. 113:5)" (Ode 4, Sticheron 4, First Canon of Theophany). "How shall the streams of the river receive You, the unbearable fire that now approaches? How shall the angels of heaven look upon this stripping? How shall John stretch out his hand upon You, O Word of God who were before all things began and who have fashioned him from earth?"16

13 14 15 16

Great Vespers of Transfiguration, Sticheron 1 of the Aposticha. Transfiguration, Second Canon, Ode 1, Sticheron 3. First Canon of Transfiguration, Ode 4, Sticheron 1. Ode 6, Sticheron 3 of the Canon of Theophany

The paradox of Baptism anticipates the scandal of the Cross: the Creator is now stripped bare to receive Baptism, and will later be stripped naked and displayed on the Cross. Compare, for instance, the following two hymns, the first about the stripping in the Jordan, the second about the stripping at the Crucifixion:
Canon of Theophany: Ode 8, Sticheron 2 "He who covers the heaven with clouds (Ps. 146:8) is stripped bare and baptized, cleansing us who sing: Let the whole creation bless the Lord and exalt Him above all forever" Holy Friday Vespers: Glory Apostichon. "Joseph with Nicodemus took You down from the Tree, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment; and looking upon You dead, stripped, and without burial, in his grief and tender compassion he lamented, saying: Woe is me, my sweetest Jesus How shall I bury You, my God? How shall I wrap You in a winding sheet? How shall I touch Your most pure Body with my hands?"

Christ, the Lawgiver Since Moses interlocutor is identified as Christ, it is natural that the hymns also consider him as the giver of the Law on Sinai. The services celebrating what is called The Meeting of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are replete with affirmations to this effect:
Receive, O Simeon, Him whom Moses once beheld in darkness, granting the Law on Sinai, and who has now become a babe subject to the Law, yet this is the One who spoke through the law! (Great Vespers of Meeting of the Lord, Sticheron at Lord I have cried...)

Following the common pattern, the Meeting of the Lord delights in bringing together exaltation and kenosis. The Lawgiver is brought to the Temple to be circumcised, the God who thundered on Sinai continues the kenotic movement leading from the Incarnation to the Cross:
The Ancient of Days, who in times past gave Moses the Law on Sinai, appears this day as a babe. As Maker of the Law, He fulfills the Law, and according to the Law He is brought into the temple(Great Vespers of Meeting of the Lord, Sticheron at Lity).17 See also the following: Today He who once gave the Law to Moses on Sinai submits Himself to the ordinances of the Law, in His compassion becoming for our sakes as we are (Great Vespers of Meeting of the Lord, Sticheron at Lity); Today the holy Mother, who is higher than any temple, has come into the temple, disclosing to the world the Maker of the world and Giver of the Law... (Small Vespers of Meeting of the Lord, Glory ... Sticheron).
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You, O Christ our God, have delivered the written Law upon Mount Sinai, and have appeared there riding upon the cloud, in the midst of fire and darkness and tempest [Exodus 19:18-19; Deut 4:11; 1/3 Kgs 19:12].( Ode 4, Sticheron 2, First Canon of Transfiguration).

Christ, the "Lord" of Paradise References to Christ in Paradise can be found in second-century authors, such as Theophilus of Antioch, or Irenaeus.18 Some of the hymns seem to carry on the same theology. For instance, when affirming that "Adam was afraid when God walked in paradise, but now he rejoices when God descends to hell,"19 the reference is not to "God" in a generic sense, but specifically to Christ! In the Canon of Theophany, the one who clothed Adam with garments of skin after the Fall is identified with the one who is stripped bare at the Crucifixion.20 Finally, I arrive at the hymn of Cassiane, which I have used for the title of my presentation: "The Feet that Eve Heard in Paradise and Was Afraid." Among the hymns of Holy Week, this is one of the most popular ones and, arguably, one of the most beautiful. The hymn about "the woman who had fallen into many sins," penned by the ninth-century nun Cassiane, runs as follows. [APPENDIX 6]:
"The woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Your divinity, O Lord, fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer; and with lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil of myrrh to You before Your burial. Woe is me, she said, for night surrounds me, dark and moonless, and stings my lustful passion with the love of sin. Accept the fountain of my tears, O You who draw down from the clouds the waters of the sea. Incline to the groanings of my heart, O You who in Your ineffable self-emptying have bowed down the heavens. I shall kiss Your most pure feet and wipe them with the hairs of my head, those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise, and hid herself for fear. Who can search out the multitude of my sins and the abyss of Your judgments, O Savior of my soul? Despise me not, Your handmaiden, for You have mercy without measure."21
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Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolichus 2:22; Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

12. Holy Saturday Lamentations, Second Stasis. "You who once has clothed the shameful nakedness of our forefather Adam, are now of Your own will stripped bare; and you who cover the roof of heaven with waters (Ps 103:3) wrap Yourself in the streams of Jordan, O Christ who alone are full of mercy" (Ode 3, Sticheron 4 of the Canon of Theophany). 21 Hymn of Cassiane, Wednesday in Holy Week, at the Aposticha.
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The hymn is structured on an antithetic parallelism with Eve. Unlike Eve, who had sinned, but chose to run away and hide instead of repenting, the sinful woman runs towards Christ, embraces his feet and washes them in her tears. These feet, however, are the feet that walked through Eden at dusk, seeking Adan and Eves' repentance (Gen 3:8): the feet of YHWH. The Christological implication is obvious: Christ is the Lord God of Paradise. The Christological Interpretation of Theophanies Nothing new here! The hymns explicitly identify Jesus Christ as the author of the revelational and saving acts of the OT, the Lord of Paradise, the one who led Israel out of captivity, who gave the Law to Moses, and spoke to the prophets. [APPENDIX 7]:
In the past, Christ led Israel in the wilderness with the pillar of fire and the cloud; and today ineffably He has shone forth in light upon Mount Tabor (Ode 3, Sticheron 2, First Canon of Transfiguration).

3. A Theological Evaluation of the Hymns Source for Theology? The idea that the hymns of the Orthodox Church are loaded with dogmatic content has become a clich. However, the reversal is problematic: in looking to expound Orthodox theology, one rarely thinks of the hymns. Berger's conclusion that "the Orthodox tradition accepts as a foregone conclusion the theological character of liturgical language and the doxological roots and orientation of theology,"22 is correct only inasmuch as it mirrors the statements of several Orthodox theologians about the relationship between theologia and leitourgia. Unfortunately this is very much Orthodox theology in abstracto; in practice, modern Orthodox theologians tend to use
22

Berger, Theology in Hymns 57.

liturgical materials not as a source of theology, but only as to illustrate and confirm dogmatic views articulated on the basis of non-liturgical sources. While Orthodox Systematics often consists of a more or less creative exegesis of patristic writers e.g., the Cappadocians are foundational for Zizioulas, Dionysius the Ps.-Areopagite for Lossky and Yannaras, Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas for Staniloae hymns are hardly ever used in the same way. 23 Can hymnography be treated as a source for theology, to the same extent that patristic writings are? After all, this is patristic literature! The hymns precede such towering theological authorities as Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus, or Gregory Palamas; and their roots go back earlier than Athanasius, and the Cappadocians. In any case, it is quite certain that none of the Fathers has been read so extensively and with such unconditional acceptance throughout the ages, as these hymns, which have been and continue to be chanted, listed to, called to mind by believers over time -- from Antiquity to our own days --, and from Jerusalem to Mount Athos to Moscow to America almost all times and places. The classic criterion of Orthodoxy, articulated by St. Vincent of Lerini ("that is to be regarded as true, which has been believed by all, in all places and at all times") is more than satisfied. So much for "reception" and, implicitly, for the authority that these hymns should command.

Alternative Christology?

Among the very few exceptions are two beautiful pages in Lossky's Mystical Theology (150151), where reflection on the Passion is explicitly based on the hymns of Great and Holy Friday. I do not count here works of popularization, which do not supply a serious theological analysis of the hymns: Julius Tyciak, Das Herrenmysterium im byzantinischen Kirchenjahr (Trier: Paulinus, 1976); Theologie in Hymnen: Theologische Perspektiven der byzantinischen Liturgie (Trier: Paulinus, 1979).

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The hymns appear to develop a sort of "alternative" Christology: instead of "defining" Christ in terms of hypostasis, prosopon, ousia, thelema, energeia, etc, they offer a Christological exegesis of theophanies. The ensuing "YHWH" Christology is coupled with a clear affirmation of His humanity: the glorious OT "Lord" is wrapped in swaddling cloths, suckled like a babe, humiliated, slandered, sentenced unjustly, scourged and beaten bloody; and he learns to die the death of fallen Adam.24

When speaking about the "alternative" Christology of the hymns, I do not mean, of course, that it should or could replace the technical glossary of theology. It must be noted that the distinction between hymnographic and conciliar
Christology corresponds to a distinction of their Sitz im Leben. The Councils articulate the faith of the Church in the face of heretic distortion; the formulae of faith are called and understood as horoi ("definitions"), precisely because they delimitate what is regarded as authentic belief in (and experience of) God from what appears to be false belief and experience. In doing so, the language of the Councils (and, similarly, Christian apologetic literature in general) seeks for the most apt instruments to formulate the definition, instruments that may be borrowed from disciplines such as Philosophy, Logic, Medicine, etc. With the hymns, however, the situation is completely different. Unlike the "dogmatic hymns," the hymns discussed in this essay are not engaged in demonstration, clarification, or polemics, but in worship; they do not address the adversaries of faith, but give expression the spiritual intimacy between the Bride and the Bridegroom, constantly recalling their covenant recorded

24 This last element, exemplified by hymnic exclamations such as "O Life, how can You die?" remains a center-piece of modern Orthodox Christology. See, for instance, the following affirmation by Vladimir Lossky (Orthodox Theology: An Introduction [Crestwood, NY; SVS Press, 1989], 109): " if there is a progress in Christ's consciousness, it is in a descent, not a climb it is terribly necessary that the Word became conscious of our perdition when at the bottom of His descent in our meonic gulf, He became conscious of death, He sees His deified humanity revolt against this 'anti-natural' accursedness ... He knows a frightful anguish before death, for death is a stranger to Him."

in the Scriptures. These two types of language have always coexisted;25 and one finds a perfect illustration this state of affairs in the person of Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem (560-638): on the one hand, he is deeply involved in the monothelite controversy; on the other hand, he is responsible for part of the Holy Friday hymnography.26 To use Berger's term, this is doxological language;27 and in the absence of heresies, this may well have been the only Christology

The issue becomes clearer when one considers its practical application. How to "teach" Christ in catechesis? One way is to introduce and define the consecrated theological terms I just referred to, and offer the essentials about the dogmatic controversies that made it necessary for the Church to respond as she did. One can then only be on guard for people not to reinvent the heresies that have plagued the church in the past.28 A different way of

The difference between the hymnological and conciliar Christology may perhaps be understood by analogy with todays concerns about Christian use of the language. According to Geoffrey Wainwright ("Bible et Liturgie: Danilous Work Revisited," Studia Liturgica 22 [1992], 161), " it would be too simplistic to say that we must choose between the language of Canaan and the language of CNN. Christians may rightly use one language for their internal discouse within the Church, and another for their external work in apologetics, evangelism, or dialogue.". In early Christianity, the philosophical jargon of the councils the era's "language of CNN" was adopted precisely for the purpose of apologetics, evangelism, or dialogue; at the same time, "the language of Canaan" continued to be used "ad intra." 26 The problem of the authorship of the twelve troparia idiomela (in the Royal Hours) cannot be clarified by recourse to manuscript evidence. As Janeras lays out in detail (Le Vendredi-Saint, 235249), some manuscripts indicate no author, others ascribe the idiomela to Cyril of Jerusalem, Cyril of Alexandria (apparently a Byzantine modification of manuscripts that read "Cyril of Jerusalem"), or, as in the case of the Jerusalem Tropologion and other sources, to Sophronius of Jerusalem. Details and manuscript evidence, Janeras, Vendredi-Saint, 250. It seems certain, that Sophronius is somehow involved in the present form of the twelve idiomela; however, it is certain that the material is much more ancient than the seventh-century Sophronius. The exact literary relationship between the texts (from the Byzantine hymns to Asterius, Cyril, and Melito is difficult to establish with certitude; moreover, text-to-text influence and reciprocal influence in the process of oral performance of the hymns must be given comparable weight. Sophronius' contribution may have been a mixture of compilation and/or final redaction, and/or new composition. As Janeras suggests (Vendredi-Saint, 270), where the Byzantine troparia come closer to the Roman Improperia, we may suspect that Sophronius simply transmitted earlier material. 27 Berger defines it as follows: "the explicit and implicit speech of praise, confession of faith, prayer, and thanksgiving, as directed to God for God's glorification. Such doxological speech is found most often in prayers, hymnic confessions, and songs" (Theology in Hymns 17).

25

One is always plagued, both as a catechist and as a catechumen by sophisticated but involuntarily sophistic problems such as "If Christ has two wills, how come he is not two persons? Is not 'will' the mark of personhood?"

28

speaking about Christ is to read the New Testament, together with the hymns, and discern in the icon of Christ painted in the Gospels and the Apostle readings the traits of YHWH, the "God of our Fathers," the Creator of Adam, the "King of Israel." Catechumens are, thus, learning the Christian faith from becoming familiar with their concrete worship of their God. This is essential and spiritually formative, and the only sound basis for engaging the fine distinctions between homo-ousios and homoi-ousios, an-hypostatic and enhypostatic, natural will and gnomic will. In fact, the hymnographic exegesis of theophanies provides the key for
adequately approaching the Christology of the Fathers and the dogmatic definitions of the Ecumenical Councils. This is why the hymns sung on Sundays and feast days require from professional theologians the same attention as patristic writings. Even when it was no longer explicitly used in the debates, the traditional theology of theophanies functioned as the apriori of any discussion. Indeed, if theophanies are transfigurative experiences, and if an exegesis of Old Testament theophanies such as that of the Byzantine hymns is, essentially, a Christological interpretation of this transfigurative experience, then the concrete relevance of who Christ is what we would call Soteriology is defined precisely in terms of transfiguration. In short, a theophanic Christology (that is, a Christology rooted in the traditional understanding of theophanies, such as we find in the hymns) is the only basis for a Soteriology of deification.29

Ecumenical Horizon
29 Reading patristic theology in this light, it becomes evident that [t]he Fathers of the 'Christological centuries', though they formulated a dogma of Christ the God-Man, never lost sight of the question concerning our union with God (Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church [London: Clarke, 1957], 154).

As noted earlier, the hymns have not only traveled from Jerusalem to Constantinople, and disseminated throughout the Christian East. These hymns have also traveled West. Versions of the Byzantine Antiphons for Holy Friday are still present in Roman-Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist hymnals. It is therefore obvious that the hymns presented in this paper also provide a wide horizon for ecumenism namely the horizon of a theological ecumenicity already given in the hymns. Aside from the common Scriptures and the confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the common hymnographic tradition provides a specific theological method (doxological theology), a specific Scripture exegesis (Christological exegesis of theophanies), and a specific Christology (YHWH Christology).

Retrieving the properly doctrinal elements present in hymnography remains, for the time being, a project worthy of serious consideration. If this paper has provided the slightest stimulus in this direction, it has fulfilled its purpose.

APPENDIX 1
Holy Friday: Antiphon 15

Melito of Sardes, On Pascha, 96. He who hung the earth is hanging He who fixed the heavens in place has been fixed in place He who laid the foundations of the universe has been laid on a tree The Master has been profaned God has been murdered The King of Israel has been destroyed

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in the Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Your Passion, O Christ (x 3). Show us also Your glorious Resurrection."

APPENDIX 2: Holy Friday: Antiphon 15 "Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in the Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate Your Passion, O Christ (x 3). Show us also Your glorious Resurrection." Glory Sticheron at the Ninth Hour of the Eve of Nativity "Today, He who holds the whole creation in the hollow of His hand is born of the Virgin. He whom in essence none can touch is wrapped in swaddling clothes as a mortal. God who in the beginning founded the heavens lies in a manger. He who rained manna down on the people in the wilderness is fed on milk from His Mothers breast. He who is the Bridegroom of the Church calls unto Himself the Magi. The Son of the Virgin accepts their gifts. We venerate Your birth, O Christ! (x 3) Show us also Your divine Epiphany!"

APPENDIX 3: Christ, "He who clothes Himself with light as with a garment" "O Savior, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment (Ps. 103/ 104:2), You have clothed Yourself in the waters of Jordan " (Glory Hymn of the Praises at the Matins of Theophany). "He who clothes Himself in light as in a garment stood naked at the judgment; on His cheek He received blows from the hands which He had formed " (Holy Friday: Antiphon 6). "Joseph with Nicodemus took You down from the Tree, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment " APPENDIX 4: Christ the Lawgiver "He who once spoke through symbols to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, I am He who is [Exod 3:14] was transfigured today upon Mount Tabor before the disciples ..." (Great Vespers of Transfiguration, Sticheron 1 of the Aposticha) "You have appeared to Moses both on the Mountain of the Law and on Tabor: of old in darkness, but now in the unapproachable light of the Godhead." (Transfiguration, Second Canon, Ode 1, Sticheron 3) "You, O Christ our God, have delivered the written Law upon Mount Sinai, and have appeared there riding upon the cloud, in the midst of fire and darkness and tempest [Exodus 19:18-19; Deut 4:11; 1/3 Kgs 19:12]." (First Canon of Transfiguration, Ode 4, Sticheron 1)

"The Ancient of Days, who in times past gave Moses the Law on Sinai, appears this day as a babe. As Maker of the Law, He fulfills the Law, and according to the Law He is brought into the temple" (Great Vespers of Meeting of the Lord, Sticheron at Lity) APPENDIX 5: Canon of Theophany: Ode 8, Sticheron 2 "He who covers the heaven with clouds (Ps. 146:8) is stripped bare and baptized, cleansing us who sing: Let the whole creation bless the Lord and exalt Him above all forever" Holy Friday Vespers: Glory Apostichon. "Joseph with Nicodemus took You down from the Tree, who clothe Yourself with light as with a garment; and looking upon You dead, stripped, and without burial, in his grief and tender compassion he lamented, saying: Woe is me, my sweetest Jesus How shall I bury You, my God? How shall I wrap You in a winding sheet? How shall I touch Your most pure Body with my hands?"

APPENDIX 6: The Hymn of Cassiane (sung Wednesday in Holy Week, at the Aposticha). "The woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Your divinity, O Lord, fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer; and with lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil of myrrh to You before Your burial. Woe is me, she said, for night surrounds me, dark and moonless, and stings my lustful passion with the love of sin. Accept the fountain of my tears, O You who draw down from the clouds the waters of the sea. Incline to the groanings of my heart, O You who in Your ineffable self-emptying have bowed down the heavens. I shall kiss Your most pure feet and wipe them with the hairs of my head, those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise, and hid herself for fear. Who can search out the multitude of my sins and the abyss of Your judgments, O Savior of my soul? Despise me not, Your handmaiden, for You have mercy without measure." APPENDIX 7: Christ, the "LORD" of OT Theophanies In the past, Christ led Israel in the wilderness with the pillar of fire and the cloud; and today ineffably He has shone forth in light upon Mount Tabor (Ode 3, Sticheron 2, First Canon of Transfiguration).

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