Reader Fred Struck and Chanters Cary O'Keeffe, Sophie Zumout, Ellen Hosein photo by Fr. Brendan

Have you ever wondered about all those books that Reader Fred consults during the Divine Liturgy, Vespers, or a Memorial service? We did — so we conducted an interview with Reader Fred to find out.

What is a reader and what is his function in the Melkite Church? A reader in the Melkite Church is one who is set apart by the Bishop for chanting. It is the reader's responsibility to chant the Psalms, the Old Testament readings, and, in the absence of a sub-deacon, to chant the Epistle at the various liturgical services. The reader, along with the other chanters, sings the various troparia and leads the congregation in singing the responses and the common parts at all liturgical services. In the absence of a priest, the reader (or for that matter any layperson), may conduct most of the services, other than the Divine Liturgy and other Sacramental services, with some modifications.

What exactly is a troparia? That's plural for troparion, which is a stanza from a hymn. There are many different kinds of troparia. For example, a theotokion refers to a troparion for the Theotokos.

How do you know what to chant during a particular service? Our tradition is very rich — the troparia and responses depend on the interaction of four independent liturgical cycles.

The first liturgical cycle is the yearly cycle — the Church year begins on September 1st. Every day of the year has its own set of troparia to be chanted at the various services in commemoration of Christ, the Theotokos, and the Saints.

Overlapping the yearly cycle is the Paschal cycle. This cycle begins 10 weeks before Pascha in the period we call the Triodion, which includes Great Lent and all of Holy Week. The Paschal cycle continues with the period we call the Pentecostarion. The Pentecostarion begins with Pascha and continues until a week after Pentecost, when we commemorate All Saints Sunday. After that, there is the recurring cycle of eight tones. We begin on Thomas Sunday with tone one, and continue to the next tone every Sunday until we have used all eight tones, at which time we start again with tone one.

Next, we have the weekly cycle, which includes a commemoration for each day of the week: on Sunday we commemorate the Resurrection of Christ, on Monday the Angels, on Tuesday the Forerunner, on Wednesday the Cross and the Betrayal of Christ, on Thursday the Apostles, Hierarchs, and Wonder Workers, on Friday the Crucifixion and the Cross, and on Saturday the Martyrs, Monastics, All Saints, and the Dead.

Finally, there is the daily cycle of services. The ecclesiastical day begins with the service of Vespers, which is meant to take place at the setting of the sun. Next in the daily cycle is the service of Compline, which takes place prior to bedtime. Then we have the service of Mesonyktikon that takes place at midnight. At the rising of the sun we have the service of Orthros followed by the First Hour. At 9 a.m. we celebrate the Third Hour, at noon the Sixth Hour, and at 3 p.m. the Ninth Hour, which is the last service of the liturgical day.

How many and which books do you use in a typical service? I typically use three or more books during an average service!

First, I use either the Liturgikon or the Horologion (“Book of Hours”), which contains the text for most services. I also use a hymnal that contains the music that we typically use, though I often use a book which combines the text and the music for a service into one book.

Then there is the Octoechos (“Eight Modes”), which contains the text for the various troparia that are chanted according to the tone of the week. There is a book for each tone that contains the troparia for the services for each day of the week.

Then there is the Menaia (“Books of the Months”), which contains the various troparia for each day of each month. Each month has its own book, called a Menaion.

Finally, if an Epistle is to be read, I use the Apostolos, if there are Old Testament readings, I use the Prophetologion, and, if there are readings from the Psalms I use the Psalter.

Sometimes I hear a harmony or perhaps a humming in our music. What is this and why is it done? The sound you hear is called the ison, which really isn't a harmony. An ison is the final note of a chant that is also used throughout the chant to provide a foundational tone. The ison provides a point of reference for the chanters and adds richness to the chant.

Why do we sing everything and why don't we use musical instruments? All of our services are sung rather than spoken because singing is an elevated and more solemn way of speaking. It has been said that when we sing, we pray twice. We don't use instruments because they are mechanical devices — and are therefore incapable of prayer.

Who decides which troparia are to be sung at the various services? That decision was made over a thousand years ago by the Holy Fathers of the Church. We use a book called the Typicon that contains directions for all of the services including which troparia to sing and how the services are to be conducted.

Our services are like a “holy puzzle” with many pieces put together in the proper order to paint a beautiful picture. For us, Liturgy is part of Holy Tradition as are the writings of the Holy Fathers, the Icons, and the Holy Bible. All are set before us to teach us the Faith and to draw us closer to God.