Friday, July 18, 2014

"Psalms 91/121, Prayer of Severus, Praise of Cherubim"

These are some very nice chants posted by "Malankara Syriac Orthodox" at YouTube; this one is actually part of a 22-video playlist, which is well worth listening to all the way through.   The YouTuber writes that these are "Three prayers during the evening prayer."  You can hear the Kyrie at the opening - then the Compline Psalm 91 begins: 



Another YouTuber writes that this is "Sung by Fr. Aju Philip Mathews and Tenny Thomas. © Copyright 2012 Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church."

Here are the texts of the Compline Psalms and the Prayer of Severus, from the website of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church:
Psalm 91
You, that sit in the shelter of the Most High, and abide in glory, in the shadow of God.
Say to the Lord: 'My trust and my refuge; the God in whom I confide.'
For He shall deliver you from the snare of stumbling, and from idle talk.
He shall keep you under His feathers, and by His wings, you shall be covered; and His truth shall encompass you like an armor.
You shall not fear from the terror by night, and from the arrow that flies by the day:
And from the voice that travels in the darkness, and from the devastating wind in the noon.
Thousands shall fall at your side, and ten thousands at your right side. They shall not come near to you, but with your eyes you shall see only; You shall see the revenge of the wicked.
(Since you have said), 'Thou art the Lord, my trust, who hast placed Thy abode in the heights.'
There shall no evil come near to you; neither shall any plague draw near to your dwelling place.
For He shall give His angels command concerning you, who shall protect you in all your ways.
And they shall bear you up in their hands, lest your foot stumble.
You shall tread upon the adder and the basilisk; and you shall trample down the lion and the dragon.
(For the Lord has said): 'Since he has sought me, I will deliver him and strengthen him;'
'Since he has known my name he shall call upon me, and I will answer him, and be with him in affliction.' I will strengthen him and honor him. With long life, will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Psalm 121
I will lift up my eyes to the mountain, from whence comes my helper.
My help is from the Lord who has made the heaven and the earth.
He will not suffer your foot to tremble; Your keeper shall not slumber:
For neither slumbers, nor sleeps the keeper of Israel.
The Lord is your keeper. The Lord shall overshadow you with His right hand.
The sun shall not smite you by day; nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall take care of you from all evil; the Lord shall take care of your life.
He shall watch over your exit and your entrance, henceforth forever.
And to You belongs the praise O God. Barekmor.
Glory be to the Father...Halleluiah, Halleluiah, Halleluiah now and always and forever Amen.

Prayer of St. Severus
O Lord who sittest in the secret place of the Most High, shelter us beneath the shadow of the wings of Thy mercy, and have compassion upon us.
Thou, who hearest all things, in Thy loving kindness, hearken to the supplications of Thy servants.
Grant us, O Messiah; our Savior; a peaceful evening and a sinless night, for Thou art a glorious king, and unto Thee, are our eyes lifted up.
Forgive our debts and our sins; have mercy upon us, both in this world and in that to come.
May Thy loving kindness shelter us O Lord, and Thy grace be upon our faces. May Thy cross protect us from the evil one and his hosts.
Let Thy right hand overshadow us all the days of our lives, and Thy peace reign among us, do Thou give hope and salvation to the souls that pray to Thee.
By the prayers of St. Mary, Thy Mother, and of all Thy Saints, O God, forgive us our debts, and have mercy upon us. Amen.

Praise of the Cherubim
† Blessed is the Glory of the Lord, from His place forever;
† Blessed is the Glory of the Lord, from His place forever;
† Blessed is the Glory of the Lord; from His place forever and ever.
Holy and glorious Trinity, have mercy upon us;
Holy and glorious Trinity, have mercy upon us;
Holy and glorious Trinity, have compassion and mercy upon us.
Holy art Thou, and glorious forever,
Holy art Thou, and glorious forever,
Holy art Thou, and blessed is Thy Name forever and ever.
Glory be to Thee, O Lord,
Glory be to Thee, O Lord,
Glory be to Thee, ever our hope, Barekmor.

Our Father who art in Heaven ...

Hail Mary, full of grace ...

Barekmor is apparently Syriac for "Bless me, O Lord."


I've posted video from this YouTuber before; s/he points at the YouTube page to the GoogleSite syrianorthodox.

"Malankara" is a designation applied to the Indian Orthodox Church; the connection with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch is explained in this article:
The Malankara Church is the church of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, with particular emphasis on the part of the community that joined Archdeacon Mar Thoma in swearing to resist the authority of the Portuguese Padroado in 1653. This faction soon entered into a relationship with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, and was thereafter often known as the Malankara Syrian Church[1] (Malayalam: Malankara Suriyani Sabha).

As part of the Saint Thomas Christian community, the church traced its origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.[2] As an independent faction, it originated in the first major split within the Saint Thomas Christian community. Historically, the Thomas Christians had been united in leadership and liturgy, and were part of the Church of the East, based in Persia. However, the collapse of the Church of the East's hierarchy in Asia left the province of India effectively isolated, and through the 16th century, the Portuguese, recently established in Goa, forcefully drew the Thomas Christians into Latin Rite Catholicism. Resentment of these measures led the majority of the community to join the archdeacon, Thoma, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese in the Coonan Cross Oath. Several months later Thoma was ordained as the first indigenous Metropolitan of Malankara.

I'm assuming that "Severus" is St. Severus of Antioch.

Beautiful chant.....


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been looking for this version of Psalm 91 for a while. Being Syrian Orthodox, it is the version I remember that was said during our family prayer time....a very long time ago.
Please don't ever remove it.
THANK YOU AGAIN!

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