by Brent Kostyniuk
It goes without saying that language is central to any society. It allows the members of that society to exchange thoughts and ideas and, in turn, prosper. While the language of a particular society may not be totally unique, it will have developed individual characteristics. Often this takes the form of slang, understood only by members of the society. For example, during the Second World War, Royal Air Force pilots referred to the aeroplanes as “kites.” In other cases, a society will have developed specific meanings for otherwise common words or have invented words unique to itself. Understanding the complexities of a society’s particular language are essential for proper communication. So it is with the society of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
In Canada, the religious language of the Ukrainian Catholic Church is largely English, although it is sprinkled with many borrowed from others. These have become commonplace for us, however, sometimes we may not appreciate their full and true meaning.
Amen
Amen is one of those religious words we tend to use like a punctuation mark at the end of a prayer instead of an exclamation mark or period. It appears at least 20 times in responses during the Divine Liturgy. However, it is much more than a way to end a prayer. Amen is of ancient Hebrew origin, first appearing in the Old Testament as an Abrahamic declaration meaning to be firm or confirmed, to be reliable or dependable, to be faithful, to have faith or to believe. As such, it is sometimes translated into English as verily, truly or let it be so.
Interestingly, however, the linguist Ghil’ad Zuckermann suggests amen is generally used in its original form rather than in translation because it is an instance of iconicity, a belief that there is something intrinsic about the relationship between the sound of the word and its meaning. Thus, Amen, in its original form, was imported into Greek from the Judaism of the early Church (and biblical Aramaic), then into Late Latin and eventually English.
Alleluia
Alleluia (also Hallelujah) is another of those words frequently repeated in the Divine Liturgy and even in secular conversation. In the Old Testament it was actually written as two words – hallu and Yah. The first stems from halel which in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song or to boast in God. Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, and is a shortened form of his name God, Jah, or Jehovah. This abbreviation came about by the 3rd century BC when religious beliefs forbade uttering the name of God aloud. The resulting word, Alleluia, expresses not just praise of God, but joyous praise of God in the deepest sense possible.
Divine Liturgy
The Divine Liturgy is our ultimate form of prayer and sacrifice. It is Divine simply because through it we bond with the Divine. Liturgy is more complex. In ancient Greece, wealthy citizens would often make expensive offerings in service of the people. This was known as leitourgia – work or service for the people. Through the leitourgia, the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige. For us, the Divine Liturgy is our participation in the salvific work of God. Christ Our Pascha, the Catechism of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, puts it this way. “In the Divine Liturgy, the Father leads us into the fullness of his life by giving us his Son. The Son then gives himself to us as nourishment, in the banquet of the Word, and in the banquet of the Body and Blood. He does so in order that we might become one body and blood with him and partake of his Divinity.”
Eucharist
Eucharist is a very distinct word with only one meaning. It is the Mystery, celebrated during the Divine Liturgy, whereby bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Precious Blood and Body of Jesus Christ and are distributed to the Faithful. Eucharist is another case of iconicity, from the Greek in which the New Testament was originally written. It comes from the Greek noun εὐχαριστία (eucharistia), meaning thanksgiving. Christ of Pascha explains how we are prepared for this act of thanksgiving.
The prayer of thanksgiving is preceded by the dialogue between the clergy and the faithful. There we hear the basic conditions of the Eucharistic mystery: receiving the ‘mercy of peace’ – God’s gift of reconciliation – we respond with the ‘sacrifice of praise.’ Our response is praise, blessing, thanksgiving, worship, and offering – the entire Eucharistic work. We are able to bring this ‘holy oblation’ because we have received ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship [i.e., communion] of the Holy Spirit.’ The mystery of the Eucharist takes its name from this prayer of thanksgiving in which we express gratitude for all that we have received from God.
By understanding the full meaning of the words we use in prayer, those prayers are more complete, and we might be said to be praying with both lungs.
