To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity

1. Syriac Strophic Poetry: Intercalated Psalms

3 Joseph P. Amar 1. Syriac Strophic Poetry Intercalated Psalms Beginning with the New Testament itself, early Christian literature abounds with references to the use of the psalms in Christian worship.1 Although the psalms were employed in a variety of ways, the evidence suggests that the simplest , and perhaps earliest, method of praying the psalms consisted of a soloist who chanted each verse of the psalm, to which the congregation then responded with a simple word (“Alleluia”) or a phrase (“Glory to you”) or a set psalm verse. From this basic “responsorial” pattern, there emerged the more highly developed “antiphonal” form of praying the psalms in which each verse of the psalm was followed by a liturgical composition which was inspired by the psalm verse which preceded it. For example, Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion, wipe out my offense (Ps 51:1). This contribution is intended to make available for the first time in English translation the proper variable texts of an hour of the Syriac Maronite Divine Office for the purpose of observing the use of intercalated psalmody in its full liturgical setting. To the best of my knowledge, none of the texts that appear here has been translated before into English. I want to express sincere gratitude for the generous help and guidance offered by Aelred Cody, O.S.B., and Robert Taft, S.J., when I first began research on this topic. 1. For the history of the use of the psalms in Christian worship, see Robert Taft, S.J., The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1986). For what follows, see especially pp. 39–41, 48–55, 116–20, 123–30. 4   J o s e p h P . A m a r David, son of Jesse, said, “Have mercy on me” in his hymn inspired by the Holy Spirit ; “for I have killed Uriah by deceit (Cf. 2 Sm 11:1–26) and I am marked with human blood.” Sprinkle me with the hyssop of your mercy, alleluia, and wash away my impurity , O Jesus, Savior of the world.2 Although this elaborate and time-consuming antiphonal pattern was often modified so that the antiphon was chanted only at the beginning and end of the psalm, as in the case of the Roman Divine Office, the ancient pattern survived more fully in the West Syriac family of churches where the antiphons are called enyōnô (pl.enyōnê), “responses.”3 Theenyōnê are early examples of the Syriac genius for liturgical poetry modeled on the psalms, a genius already well developed in The Odes of Solomon, arguably the earliest extant work in Syriac. The Odes, with their pseudonymous attribution to a biblical author, represent a continuation of Jewish psalmic poetry in a Christian liturgical (baptismal) context.4 Among the Syriac Orthodox, the psalms are not entirely intercalated with enyōnê; eitherenyōnê will accompany only the initial verses of a psalm, or several enyōnê, usually between six and eight, will be gathered at the end of a psalm to be chanted together, and are not intercalated with psalm verses. It is impossible to say to what extent intercalating verses of a psalm might have been present originally and were then reduced at a later time. However, according to the liturgical tradition of the Syriac Maronite Church, psalm verses are always entirely intercalated withenyōnê which are chanted according to a specific qōlô or “melody.”5 The renaissance in Maronite studies that has taken place in recent times allows us to view that tradition with greater clarity than was heretofore possible.6 2. Maronite še h . īmtô (Daily Office), ramšô (Vespers) for Thursday. 3. It could be argued thatenyōnê are not, strictly speaking, antiphons, if by antiphon one means to refer to identical words that are repeated after each psalm verse. Although someenyōnê in the present translation are similar, no two are identical. For a general introduction to the subject, see Anton Baumstark, Liturgie Comparée: Principes et Méthodes pour l’étude historique des liturgies chrétiennes, Collection Irénikon, ed. Dom Bernard Botte, O.S.B. (Paris: Éditions de Chevetogne, 1953), 102–16. On the relationship between enyōnê and verses intercalated with biblical odes in the Byzantine rite, see P. Odilo Heiming,Syrischeenyōnê und...