Irina Chudinova

The article considers the principle of correlation between auditory gestures and the liturgical space of the temple based on the most important provisions of Byzantine theology and the data of Byzantine and Slavic church Typicons, and gives evidence of Greek and Slavic liturgical writing, confirming special significance of the connection between the spoken liturgical word and the auditory space of the church for the Orthodox tradition. What matters is the location of the sound source and the place of its auditory perception — the place of standing and moving of those praying, proclaiming and singing, as well as those idiophones that are used in accordance with the custom and whose sound is “woven” into the auditory fabric of the worship. Statutory indications determine importance of distance, as well as spatial orientation when pronouncing a word. Due to the originality of the auditory atmosphere, each temple has its own special “voice”, which is in harmony with all other Orthodox churches. The diversity of the components of the auditory-gestural system of worship is subject to the basic idea expressed by the entire space of the temple, the idea of the cross and circle, a circular movement that focuses attention and directs to the perception of the Church Sacraments. Modern man is characterized by internal fragmentation, isolation, splitting, which can be traced in all manifestations of human existence. The way out of this state is given by the Divine Liturgy, the power that unites man with himself and with God.

This article deals with the sung gesture in the context of the auditory space of the temple. The research comprises a comparison of various gradations of intonation from the recitative-style pronunciation of a word with a ‘small’ gesture at one end of the spectrum, to extended melismatic singing with hands raised in chironomy at the other. This range of gestures is considered in combination with changes in the location of choristers within the temple and changes in light levels, all of which forms the intonational-gestural relief of the rite captured in iconography and liturgical writing.

This study examines the acoustic dimension of monastic polity, the monastic mode and locus of life as a unified auditory landscape, which expresses man’s path towards his existential integration in his communion with God, “in the image and in the likeness”. Examining the monastic landscape from a theological and ascetic point of view and by taking recourse to the testimonies of liturgical practice show that the unity of speech and gesture and formations (“gesture”, “sound-neumatic system”) are found at the basis of its ideal resonance as an expression of man’s attempt to attain to divine mimesis. We focus on the dominance of the voice within the acoustical ideal of Orthodox worship (of both the Greek and Russian tradition), which has a deep historical and theological core, expressing the meaning of Christianity as memesis of divine nature. It is shown that living, oral speech in combination with gesture and silence is fundamental to the art of worship. The human voice, as an integra...

Στην παρούσα εργασία εξετάζεται η ακουστική διάσταση της μοναχικής πολιτείας, του μοναστικού τρόπου και τόπου ζωής ως ενιαίο ηχοτοπίο, το οποίο εκφράζει την πορεία του ανθρώπου προς την υπαρξιακή ολοκλήρωσή του στην κοινωνία του με τον Θεό, στο «κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν». Η μελέτη του ηχοτοπίου της μοναχικής λατρείας από τις θεολογικές, ασκητικές απόψεις και τις μαρτυρίες της λειτουργικής πρακτικής αποδεικνύει ότι στη βάση του ηχητικού ιδεώδους της βρίσκεται η ενότητα του φθεγγομένου λόγου και των σωματικών κινήσεων και σχημάτων («χειρονομία», «ήχο-νευματικό σύστημα»), ως έκφραση της προσπάθειας του ανθρώπου προς την θεϊκή μίμηση. Εστιάζουμε στην κυριαρχία της φωνής στο ακουστικό ιδεώδες της Ορθόδοξης λατρείας (της ελληνικής και ρωσικής παραδόσεως), η οποία έχει μια βαθειά ιστορική και θεολογική βάση, εκφράζοντας το νόημα του Χριστιανισμού ως θείας φύσεως μίμησιν. Αποδεικνύεται ότι ο ζωντανός, φθεγγόμενος λόγος σε συνδυασμό με την χειρονομία και την σιωπή είναι θεμελιώδ...

В докладе раскрывается значение словесности и книжности в проповеди Православия и распространении монашества на русском Севере (до XVII века). На примере святых Кирилла Белозерского, Нила Сорского и Елеазара Анзерского показывается, что в христианизации этих далеких северных земель важнейшим оружием монахов было «слово Божие» явленное их жизнью и словесными трудами.

The study of audio-spatial symbolism of St.Petersburg's urban rituals in the contexts on the imperial ideology. The church singing and bells ringing had been crucial in ritual system on medieval Russia.  The artical presents an essay, which examines the ceremonies, rituals, and juxtaposition of public gestures in St. Petersburg (XVIII).

http://hdl.handle.net/10442/hedi/48753 This study examines the acoustic dimension of monastic polity, the monastic mode and locus of life as a unified auditory landscape, which expresses man's path towards his existential  integration in communion with God, "in the image and in the likeness".