November: Day 2:
Holy Martyrs Akindynos, Pegasios, Anempodistos and Those With Them
(On Common Church Singing)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
(On Common Church Singing)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The saints of God who lived in the deserts, as is sometimes mentioned in their biographies, loved at times to delight in sacred songs; and in the stories about the holy martyrs it is often said that they, especially in difficult moments of their lives, when, for example, they were kept in prison, even when they were subjected to torture, strengthened their spirit with sacred songs. So it is said about the Holy Persian Martyrs Akindynos, Pegasios and Anempodistos, who are remembered on this day, that they glorified the Lord with holy song even at the time when their tormentors kindled fire under them, having hung them on the torture tree. They strengthened themselves with sacred songs even when they were tortured on fiery iron beds. “God is our refuge and strength, a helper in the sorrows that have come upon us greatly. For this reason we will not be afraid, when the land is troubled... Arise, O Lord, help us, and deliver us for Your name's sake," they sang in the words of the Psalm. Thus the souls of the righteous were filled with holy, reverent feelings for the Lord - they sang, sang both in joy and in sorrow. Holy singing, as an expression of holy feelings of an ecstatic soul, is a holy work, it is our holy duty.
II. a) The word of God also teaches this. The Apostle Paul in his time commanded Christians: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (James 5:13), the Holy Apostle James also teaches.
b) The Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church highly praise common church singing.
Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer († 107), a disciple of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian, says: “Therefore in your concord and harmonious love, Jesus Christ is sung. And man by man, become a choir, that being harmonious in love, and taking up the song of God in unison, you may with one voice sing to the Father through Jesus Christ, so that He may both hear you, and perceive by your works that you are indeed the members of His Son." "Neither endeavour that anything appear reasonable and proper to yourselves apart; but being come together into the same place, let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and in joy undefiled. There is one Jesus Christ, than whom nothing is more excellent. Therefore run together as into one temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ." "Let no man deceive himself: if any one be not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two possesses such power, how much more that of the bishop and the whole Church! He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride, and condemned himself. For it is written, 'God resists the proud.'" "Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith."
Saint Justin the Philosopher († 166), speaking in his apologies, or defensive speeches, about Christians, expresses himself thus about the prayer of the Church of Christ: “We lead the illumined (by baptism) to the so-called brothers in the general assembly in order to perform with all zeal the common prayers for all, so that we may be deemed worthy, having known the truth, to appear as fulfillers of the commandment for receiving eternal salvation. Here we greet one another with the kiss of love. Here Christians sing their songs in the triumph of the soul and have no need to increase this triumph with the sound of dead instruments; their language is a melodious zither and their sacrifice is the sacrifice of the spirit, which sings and glorifies the Lord and prays to Him with the feelings of the heart alone.”
Saint Athanasius the Great († 373), a zealot of common unanimous singing in the church, answers the question - "Why are psalms sung in church in measured time and in a chant?" desiring that the melody of the words be a symbol of the spiritual harmony of souls (of those praying), he appointed to sing psalms in a measured time and read them in a chant; to accompany psalms with singing does not mean concern for euphony, but a sign of a harmonious state (of those praying)." ("Historical Review of Hymns", Chernigov, 1864, part I, p. 83).
c) How desirable it would be after this that holy songs were sung among us, everywhere and as often as possible. How desirable it would be that in our holy churches they were sung not only by the voices of modest church servants, but also by the common choirs of all those present. How desirable it would be that our sacred songs were heard not only in our churches, but also in our homes and outside them: in the fields, meadows, workshops, and in general at work and during our leisure time.
Unfortunately, we hear songs everywhere, but not those. Let us still sing songs about our holy homeland, about our native land, about its glory and past grief; let them sing about the everyday aspects of our life; let them sing about love, but pure, holy love, family love, marital love, brotherly love and the like. But are all our so-called folk songs like that? Look, near a house where intoxicating drinks are sold, you can hear the wild, ugly voices of drunks, or half-drunks; and how much shamelessness, foul language, disgrace there is in these songs! There, in the distance, you can hear the voices of youth, and in these songs will you always hear something serious, heartfelt, highly moral? And in our so-called riotous, dance songs, do not look for anything sensible. And why shouldn't our lofty, highly moral sacred songs find a place for themselves among our singing youth and in general among our people, instead of various sinful, obscene songs? It is not so with other heterodox Christian peoples. A common, unanimous religious song is very often heard in their churches; it is often heard in their families, and in work teams, in workshops.
d) How can we establish and spread common religious singing in our churches and outside the churches, in homes? The answer to this question, in our opinion, is simple: children must be taught church songs from an early age. Let the children be accustomed to singing church songs at school, and these sacred songs will gradually become ingrained in them, will become a habit and will subsequently become a necessity for them. (see the appendix to the Manual for Rural Pastors for October 1886).
III. Here is a reliable way for you to introduce into common use and spread general choral singing of sacred songs in homes and churches. Thank God, our parish school is now taking care of this. And all that remains for us, then, is to assist the school in this matter with some material donations, and most importantly, by sending our children to both school and church. Amen.
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.