St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - News Releases News Release Deacon Kevin Smith Addresses Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly on the Pastoral Ministry of Liturgical Music

Crestwood, NY—At the invitation of His Grace, SERAPHIM, Bishop of Ottawa and the Archdiocese of Canada, Dn Kevin Smith, instructor of liturgical music at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary delivered a liturgical music workshop on Thursday, July 24, 2004, at the Canadian Archdiocesan Assembly in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The assembly theme was "Without a Vision the People Perish: Scripture in the Orthodox Parish," and Dn Smith remarked that in Orthodox worship the remembrance of the Gospel message, the apostolic preaching of Christ, reaches its climax when the assembly hears and sings all the prayers of the anaphora. He referred each prayer and chant to the message of St Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, in which he urged them to share the eucharistic meal as one body (1 Cor 11), and admonished them to remember the death, burial, "as of first importance" (1 Cor 15).

His talk, entitled "A Sacrifice of Praise: Effective Music Ministry in the Orthodox Church," focused on the eucharistic dialogue and prayers—or the anaphora—of the Divine Liturgy. Dn Smith led over seventy-five participants from the clergy and laity first to consider the intimate connection between the anaphora prayers and chants in the Eucharist, then to explore how the work of liturgical theology relates to singing these and other chants in Orthodox worship.

Music ministry is a pastoral calling, Dn Smith said, because Orthodox worship requires leadership and service from conductors and singers alike. How we behave as Church is one of the main keys to interpreting what we are saying when we pray together. Thus, Dn Smith asserted, the mission of the Church is manifest not only in hearing and singing the prayers, but also in bringing the gospel to the world outside "Like an icon, liturgical music is meant to draw the assembly and the whole world into a story, a reality that is already present, namely that God is saving the world through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ."

Singing activities coached participants in vocal techniques like breath support and diction, maintaining a rhythmic pulse in singing liturgical chants, and the necessity of steady communication between conductor and singers. All participants sang old and new liturgical chants which illustrated that all liturgy, from the anaphora down to the smallest litany, is "divine" since it recalls God's plan that He works out forever on our behalf, and is also "congregational" in that the whole Church is to pray not only "Lord, have mercy," but also "It is meet and right…."

Dn Smith reflected on the inherent dialogue of the anaphora, as an exchange between God and the Church, and between celebrant and assembly. He spoke about the value of the whole assembly hearing these prayers aloud in their fullness: "If we were to make one firm pastoral decision for the sake of missions and evangelism, for religious education, and for music ministry, it would be to provide the clearest possible proclamation of the anaphora at every celebration of the Divine Liturgy."

Daily services at the Assembly featured full congregational participation in evening Vespers and morning Divine Liturgy. Dn Smith conducted the singing on Friday morning at the Divine Liturgy as His Beatitude, Metropolitan HERMAN, presided.

As representatives from the seminary are encouraged to do when traveling, Dn Smith also used his time in Saskatoon as an opportunity to organize a get-together for nearby alumni. Alumni from every decade since the 1960s attended the reception. Dn Smith briefed them on recent seminary news, focusing especially on SVS2010, the seminary's strategic plan.