Very, very short history of typikon

For a good little introduction to the history of the development of the Byzantine Typikon with clear sources, there is a small title that can probably be easily accessed in the US (I believe the publisher is online):

Taft, Robert F.
The Byzantine Rite: A Short History
American Essays In Liturgy
Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992

I can't speak for the Slavic development, but the Typikon that has come down to the Greek Church is a Palestinian-Studite synthesis. The key period, of course, is immediately after the Iconoclastic controversy (9th c). This is a key period as far as the establishment and appearance of the Oktoechos and the popularity of the canon genre as far as hymnography is concerned. All around a developmental period of recuperation and growth for the worship life of the Church. After the Studite adaptation of monastic (St Sabas monastery—Palestinian) and cathedral (Great Church—Constantinopolitan) practice, the Palestinian monks again make changes that appear by the 11th century (very important source is the typikon of Nikon of the Black Mountain). It would be this final, what Taft calls, "Neo-Sabaitic" synthesis that would find its way back North to Constantinople and, eventually, Mount Athos and the other Greek speaking monasteries.

To summarize, for Greek practice we have a back and forth influence between Palestinian and Constantinopolitan, and monastic and cathedral practices, not to mention the musical influences rising out of these new hymnological forms and their performance (cf. Edward V Williams, John Koukouzeles' Reforms of the Byzantine Chanting for Great Vespers in the Fourteenth Century, PhD diss., Yale, 1968).

Another interesting site to consider is .

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Many local 'official' and 'unofficial' developments have contributed to minor differences of practice between the Slav and Greek usages witnessed today, but the major difference comes in 1838 with the publication of the first edition of the Typikon Ekklesiastikon of Konstantinos Byzantios, the Protopsaltes at the Great Church at that time. For the first time since Byzantium the Greek Church institutes a separate Typikon for the city churches just as it comes out from under the Turkish yoke. A second (1851) and third (never published) edition will be prepared by Konstantinos, but in 1888 another patriarchal committee headed by Georgios Violakes, also a Protopsaltes of the Great Church, will revise Konstantinos' Typikon and is basically the order used to by the Greeks, Bulgarians, Romanians and Serbs, as far as parish order is concerned. While the Konstantinos typikon did have influences on monastic practice, theoretically, each monastery retains its own typikon.

This, to answer your question, is the basic difference between contemporary practice for the Slav (Russian) and Greek Typika as observed in parishes today.

Pascha Apodosis

XPICTOC ANECTH!

I've already been asked three times today regarding the apodosis tomorrow, specifically, regarding the taking up of the icon, cross, epitaphion and gospel, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it here before the frantic inquiries tomorrow! This, of course is the practice for the Greek tradition.

If you look at the Diataxeis from Kalamos Publications and the Diptycha from Apostolike Diakonia this year (the later copies the former now) there is a note in the order for Thursday of Ascension at the point of the Ninth Hour. Before I tell you that, though, the older monastic Typika speak of the 'aspasmos' (veneration) of the icon of the Resurrection (in the middle of the Church during the entire Pentekostarion period) during the final chanting of the Christos Aneste, normally mode II, argon (some places I've seen use Chrysaphes the New's 'Anastaseos hemera' in the old sticheraric melos). Once everyone venerates, the priest takes the icon into the hieron and the typikarios places the icon of the Ascension.

Then the priest comes out, preceded by the censer. Censing the Cross that has been outside the holy bema since the Great Friday 'apokathilosis', he venerates it and procedes into the holy bema and places the icon of the King of Glory upon it, once again venerating. Then, moving to the holy table, he censes and venerates the epitaphion, which has been on the holy table since the Orthros of Great and Holy Saturday, folds it and places it where it is normally stored. Finally, venerating it, the priest then takes the Gospel, turning it so that the icon of the Crucifixion faces upward and begins the vespers of the Ascension.

Except for the order of the aspasmos of the Gospel, the rest I don't believe is found in any older typika, but represents contemporary practice.

Canon 90 of Penthekti

It's even more specific stating that we should not kneel from the point of the entrance of the clergy during the lychnikon on Saturday evening until the entrance of the clergy during the lychnikon on Sunday evening.

This has to do with the penitential character of evening worship and its appropriateness on the day of the Resurrection or, as is now the case, during the period of the Joyful Triodion or Pentekostarion. The canon is not primarily concerned with the D. Liturgy.

The first point of patristic phronema to research is the connection of the beginning of the liturgical day as a time when the Lord sends forgiveness to those who repent for the days works (i.e. Apostolic Constitutions VIII, 34-5; Basil the Great, Great Rule 37—PG 31, 1016; Theodore the Studite, Interpretation of Presanctified—PG 99, 1688c). Also, read closely the evening prayers of the Church, whether they be from the Vespers or even the simple pocket daily prayer books.

Now, it is important not to get too scholastic about the issue. Typikon, first and foremost, is imitation. The earliest 'rules' for liturgical life even before the appearance of Typika—foundational or liturgical—are the imitation of the prayer of the holy fathers and saints (i.e. Basil, Pachomius) and the monastic practices joined with the Antiochian, Jerusalemite and, later, Constantinopolitan practices.

The fact that repentance in the American Church—especially the Greek—is a relatively new phenomenon (a greatly few of the faithful are familiar with the mystery of confession and repentance) most do not comprehend the penitential character of the vespers, hence, it is impossible to understand the Resurrectional character of the Pentekostarion period or even a 'simple' Sunday! In this way, all kinds of 'reasons' for it's ok to kneel on Sunday can be devised. The simple fact is that a specific liturgical practice has come down to us.

Another story. When I was in the Atlanta Diocese (GOA) I would normally chant in the Diocesan Church of the Archangel Michael when there were clergy meetings. It happened to be a Saturday morning and like most, the orthros called for Ainoi, Small Doxology, Aposticha, etc. Once we began reading the small doxology a priest stuck his head out the North Door to angrily shout: "We're going to have liturgy; that means we chant the Great Doxology. This is America!" He was a visiting priest and not even the celebrant. Needless to say, no one payed any attention, neither the bishop nor the other priests, but it does illustrate how the dynamics and variety of celebration from the daily to the Resurrectional services are in danger of being forgotten in the US, anyway. Most clergy, lower or higher, only go to Church and pray/serve on feast days. Hence, they've never seen a 'normal' weekday service. The dynamic of a celebrated saint or feast is fuzzy (enough of this).

Back to your topic. As for the group of questions at the end of your snip, the question of continuity is not threatened with the kneeling in conjunction with ordination on a Sunday or during Pentekostarion. If one goes to confess during Pentekostarion he or she will kneel for the prayer of forgiveness. The opportunity with your research is to rediscover the penitential character of the 'Evening Sacrifice' and you have all the troparia of the Great Parakletike, the writings of the fathers and the mystical prayers of the priest for the vespers. Add the instances of penitence in the Scriptures and you've got alot at your fingertips I think. A final and most beautiful source would also be the actual 'kneeling prayers' for the Vespers of the Holy Spirit!