Re: CHAT: Prayer Versions

>>OTOH we don't hear any more Latin or Greek, and this has
>>been like that since a long time ago (before I was born,
>>at least).
>
>The only Greek I have ever heard in Mass was "Kyrie Eleison". Other than
>that, no other greek. One of the former pastors of my parish did an entire
>mass in Latin though. Quite interesting. Th mass was performed  as it was
>traditionally done, pre Vatican II.
>>
>>I don't know what the local Orthodox Church does, though.
Since 1967, the Greek Orthodox in America have been allowed to perform the
liturgy in English, though many still use Greek--Byzantine Greek, not modern
Greek.  Many American churches have also adopted pews and organs, which
often scandalizes visitors from the Old World.   Of course, in Greece,
Cyprus, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, they still use Greek.  But in the
Churches associated with Antioch, once a Greek episcopate, they have gone
entirely to Arabic during this century.  The Slavic Orthodox Churches, of
course, all continue to perform their services in Old Bulgarian/Church
Slavonic--ie, in Europe.  In America, some have transitioned to English, and
some have not.  They tend to be more conservative than the Greeks.

>>The catholics here seem to prefer to know what they're
>>singing/praying -- no Latin, except, notably, they still
>>sing 'Salve Regina' sometimes...
>
>Well, once Vatican II happened, here in the states masses were done in
>English and church songs began to be written in a more contemporary style.
>We've even sung Baptist hymns also (the person who does all of the songs
>in church, as well as leading the choir used to be Baptist). We hardly
>ever hear any songs like "Salve Regina" at all (unless theyre for a
>special mass or something).
A friend of mine told me he once attended an Americanized Orthodox Church
during the New Calendar Christmas season (the Churches of Russia, Serbia,
Jerusalem, Georgia, and some others are still using the Old or Julian
Calendar, as do all Orthodox Churches for the Easter cycle) and they sang
Silent Night.  This church had a notoriously modernistic bishop--he even
shaves his beard off, except when he returns to the Middle East to hobnob
with the other bishops in his synod--but I don't think even he would
tolerate an impropriety of this magnitude if word of it ever got back to
him.  ~alypius, the scandal-monger