Continuation of an article written by Dn. Sergius Halvorsen,
offering helpful insights for readers. This article is
copyrighted, and used by permission.
What Does a Church Reader Do?
The task of the church reader is to chant scriptural
texts: the Acts of the Apostles or the Epistles in the Divine Liturgy;
Old Testament readings at Vespers for certain feasts; sometimes the
Canticle of St. Simeon (Luke 2:29–32) and the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9–13);
and at all of the daily offices, excerpts from the Psalms. In
fact, aside from short texts like the Trisagion prayer or the
"Glory . . . Now and ever . . ." that concludes readings from
the Psalter, the church reader is fundamentally a reader of Scripture.
This should not be surprising, since Orthodox
liturgical worship is scriptural, first and foremost. Not only are
the services themselves composed largely of texts taken directly from
the Bible, but the church year is based on Scripture. The content
of most of the church feasts is taken directly from the New
Testament. It is only through the evangelist's account of such
events as the Nativity or the Transfiguration that we celebrate these
feasts of our Lord and Savior. Could we imagine celebrating the
Feast of the Nativity without hearing St. Matthew's account of our Lord
and Savior's birth (Matt. 2:1–12), or the Feast of the Transfiguration
without hearing the evangelist's account of that stunning revelation on
Mount Tabor (Matt. 17:1–9)? Consider as well the Vesperal
Liturgy of St. Basil on Holy Saturday with its fifteen Old Testament
readings.
In all of these instances, it is our encounter with
Scripture that forms and defines our encounter with God—Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. We could say that our liturgy is an entrance into
a scriptural reality, or an opportunity for us to attain the mind of
Scripture. And who is it (unless there is more than one deacon
serving at the Liturgy) that proclaims the scriptural texts that define
the Feasts of Ascension (Acts 1:1–12), Pentecost (Acts 2:1–11), and
St. Stephen the Protomartyr (Acts 6:9—7:59)? It is the reader.
Before the reader begins chanting a scriptural text,
its words are merely ink on paper, marks that do nothing by
themselves. These graphic markings, however, become the
life-giving words of Holy Scripture when they are given utterance by the
reader. This is the fundamental task of the church reader: to give
life to the Word of God contained in Holy Scripture. Through the
voice of the reader chanting the scriptural text, we have the
opportunity to encounter the Word of God—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Copyright ©2002 PSALM, Inc. Used by permission.
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What Does a Church Reader Do?
The Principles of Church Reading
The Practical
Sides of Church Reading:
Read It First
A Chant Strategy
Endings
Speed
Diction
Volume and Pitch
The Celebrant's Pitch
The Prokeimenon and Alleluia Verses
Movement and Presentation
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