From a Theotokion in the Great Canon: 'worship'?

[J. M. Gregory]

Hello all,

I printed up the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete from this site for devotional use during Lent. (BTW - A big thank you to whoever posted it!) I was surprised to see, however, that the Theotokion from Ode 7 has the phrase, "We sing of thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, O Mother of God." I have no desire to start any arguments, but the word "worship" here certainly set off alarm bells in my still-Protestant brain. Rather, I just wanted to ask: is that an accurate translation? If it is, is it an example of "poetic license?" (To me, "worship" has always been a word reserved for God.) Any clarification that anyone might provide would be greatly appreciated!

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Mr Gregory,

Thank you for the interesting question. For other to see at ready access, here is the Theotokion from Ode 7 of Monday's segement (http://www.monachos.net/content/lent/476) of the Great Canon:
Theotokion: We sing of thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, O Mother of God, for thou gavest birth to one of the inseparable Trinity, the one Son and God, and to us on earth thou hast opened the heavenly realms.
I don't have the Greek to hand at the moment, but if memory serves, the Slavonic for the phrase translated above as 'we worship thee' is покланяемся Ти; and this is indeed the same word used as 'worship' in such prayers as that after the reception of communion ('We have seen the True Light...'), where the prayer reads '...we have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity (нераздельней Троице покланяемся)...'.

It seems to me that St Andrew has in mind two prayers from the Divine Liturgy as he writes this Theotokion: firstly, the hymn sung at the anaphora as the priest calls down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts ('We praise Thee, we bless Thee...'), and secondly the prayer of thanksgiving I've just mentioned. Here are those two prayers, with the portions I find significantly related highlighted in boldface:
'We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks unto Thee, O Lord; and we pray unto Thee, our God'
(Тебе поем, Тебе благословим, Тебе благодарим, Господи, и молим Ти ся, Боже наш)
'We have seen the true Light! We have received the heavenly Spirit! We have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity, who has saved us'.
(Видехом свет истинный, прияхом Духа небеснаго, обретохом веру истинную; нераздельней Троице покланяемся: Та бо нас спасла есть)
In the Slavonic translation of the Great Canon, which closely mimics the Greek, the structures of these prayers are paralleled quite closely. Here is the Theotokion from Ode 7 of Monday's portion, in Slavonic (though I'll type it here in modern script):
Поем Тя, благослобим Тя, покланяемся Ти Богородительнице, яко Нераздельныя Троицы еси Единаго Христа Бога, и Сама отверзла еси нам сущым на земли небесная.

We sing of thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, O Mother of God, for thou gavest birth to one of the inseparable Trinity, the one Son and God, and to us on earth thou hast opened the heavenly realms.
St Andrew has brought together the three-fold veneration of the prayer at the anaphora, with the confession of the encounter with 'one of the Holy Trinity' - Christ Himself - that follows the reception of Communion, combining these in a confession of the Virgin as Birth-giver of this very God. This seems, to me, a masterful drawing together of the prayers of the Divine Liturgy in a confession of the Lord's true incarnation from His Mother.

As to the specific translation of покланяемся Ти: it is possible to translate it 'worship' (as here) or 'venerate', as at its root it means to bow down before someone. It is probably worth reminding ourselves that, while the Church clearly distinguishes between the theological worship given to God alone and the relative veneration given to the saints, the actual vocabulary used in the hymnography is interchangeable. This is in fact theologically correct, of course: for the very notion of relative veneration (by which the Church identifies that paid to the saints, to their icons and relics, etc.) indicates a veneration which passes through the type to the prototype; and so the veneration paid to a saint is in fact divine worship - just as this hymn would have it.

I hope this helps in offering some initial food for thought. It is perhaps a bit strange for me to have concentrated on the Slavonic version of the Canon, rather than the original Greek; but I simply don't have the Greek to hand at the moment (and the points made are roughly identical in both languages).

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Ryan]

In older English usage, the use of the word "worship" could range from the religious devotion due to God to the respect due to honorable persons. See, for instance, Luke 14: 10 in the KJV: "But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee."

[Anthony Stokes]

I have two English translations: The Lenten Triodion by Mother Mary and Met. Kallistos Ware uses "venerate," and I think they used the Greek.

The other is from Jordanville, probably from the Slavonic, and they use "worship."

Sbdn. Anthony

[Paul Cowan]

In older English usage, the use of the word "worship" could range from the religious devotion due to God to the respect due to honorable persons. See, for instance, Luke 14: 10 in the KJV: "But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee."

So to clarify my PC prickly hairs...the word worship here does not equate to obeiscence we are only to offer to God. Right?

[Ryan]

So to clarify my PC prickly hairs...the word worship here does not equate to obeiscence we are only to offer to God. Right?

Right. In this case it pertains to honor or glory. I faintly remember reading middle English and early modern English texts where knights "worship" their more admirable peers, and it is no way meant in a religious sense.

[Nina]

Right. In this case it pertains to honor or glory. I faintly remember reading middle English and early modern English texts where knights "worship" their more admirable peers, and it is no way meant in a religious sense.

Yes, yes. In no Greek text I have read doksa &/or latreia about Theotokos. (although many pop singers use the lateria world left and right for the object of their love).

Our Church teaches our Theotokos is our Mother. I never worshiped my mom. However we are taught to worship God.

[Kosta]

The greek word proskuneo can be interchanged as either worship or venerate, it can actually have a wide range of meanings and also means prostration. Latreia is generally more reserved for absolute worship of God. These terms also change thru the ages. In the OT times 'proskinise' simple meant veneration, by the time of the NT it was a term reserved soley for the worship of God. In modern times it has reverted back to simply mean venerate. Hence in the OT LXX prokuneo is used to prostrate and do obesiance to men and to angels, but this same practise using the same word is condemned in the NT.

[J. M. Gregory]

Thanks for all of your help, everyone. I guess there is a degree of cultural sensitivity necessary. I'd imagine most American protestants would say that worship is for God alone, but at the same time, you might hear them use phrases like, 'hero worship'. Are there any other English words that denote the honor given to God alone, besides 'worship'?

[Nina]

Are there any other English words that denote the honor given to God alone, besides 'worship'?

Hmmm maybe we should reserve praise and glory for God. However in lots of languages these words are borrowed and used for other purposes also.

[Edward Henderson]

You will find the word "worship" referring not only to God in many Orthodox liturgical texts. "Before Thy Cross, We bow down and worship..." (Troparion to the Cross), "We worship Thine immaculate icon" (Troparion for the Sunday of Orthodoxy).

It is commonly held that "worship" denotes the honor and praise given to God alone. This is not really the case. The root of "worship" is "worth" and thus worship means give something its worthy. Thus, anything we respect and honor, we could technically say we worship. It is interesting that in England, the title for a mayor would be "your worship". According to one etymological dictionary, "worship" does not begin to have religious connotations until the 14th century. Yes, we worship God, but by honoring the Theotokos, the Saints, icons, relics, and perhaps even showing respect and love towards one another could constitute "worship". The Greek word used in this sense is "prokenisis", which also means "to bow". Often in the Greek Old Testament, this verb is used when someone bows to another. One could translate "bow" as "worship". Thus, "worship" and "venerate" (which has its root in the Latin words for "love") are synonymous.

The Greek word "latrea" denotes the honor and praise given to God alone. "Latrea" is often translated into Latin as "adoratio", from which English gets the word "adoration". Thus, if we were to use a more precise language, being faithful both to English etymology and the terminology employed by the Church, we could use "worship" and "venerate" to denote the honor and praise given to God, the Theotokos, the Saints, relics, icons, even each other. "Adoration" should be that honor and praise given to God alone.

[Olga]

I quite agree with your analysis, Edward. However, the vagaries of English being what they are, it is particularly important that English translations of liturgical and other such material be as clear and precise as possible, in the light of the notorious mutability of English, which, in my experience, is a real mongrel (in the truest and most charitable sense) of a language, far more so than any other language with which I am familiar, which include Russian/Slavonic, Greek and German.

The Slavonic poklon, the Greek proskynesis, are well-understood by Slavs and Greeks, and have been so for centuries. They are well aware of the shades of meaning of this word. But the English word worship is a word which, in this age, must be used with great care. For instance, whenever the subject of iconography is raised, it is wise to make the distinction between worship/adoration and veneration clear from the very beginning, lest there be any misunderstandings, particularly when dealing with non-Orthodox folks. English translations of liturgical and other texts should also be treated in the same way.

[D. W. Dickens]

Edward is correct, however, I think that given the heresies of the west it would be reasonable for those translating texts into English in the Church to select words deliberately to maintain the theology, even if such maintenance is a little strained or lacks a natural poetic voice.

Worship is a good word for reserving that which is for God alone. I would not speak the words as they've been translated.

I'm not sure it's important what the word is, but it important that we reserve that highest form (pick a magic word) for God and no one, not even the Most Glorious Theotokos, whom I have finally become comfortable bowing to, should have such a word. Nor the cross, nor any other created thing. Worship (a rose by any other name) should be reserved for the Uncreated alone.

[Vasiliki D.]

If this page has any merit:

http://homepage.mac.com/paulbeedle/worship.html

then, technically, there is strictly nothing wrong in using the word "worship" in context with the Theotokos since we would not be 'worshipping' "divinity" but rather her extreme 'value' as a human being that we are aspiring to be like ...

(if the word Worship is the combination of the two words worth and ship to mean "shape worth".)

Here is another page that discusses the derivation of the word "worship" (in their opinion) ... I dont know that the source is dogmatically trustworthy however its good to read information for comparitive purposes, I guess.

http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/worship.htm

[Andreas Moran]

I agree with D. W. Dickens. In English usage, the word 'worship' should be reserved for God. In the Great Canon, where the word is used in relation to the Theotokos, we could say 'fall down before' which preserves something of the etymology of 'proskenisis' which, according to Liddell & Scott, can mean 'fall down before' and originates in the affection of a dog for its master. 'Proskeinisis' in some form is often translated as 'worship' in the KJV New Testament where some deep respect is meant.

[Andreas Moran]

I haven't got Liddell & Scott with me because I arrived here in Moscow yesterday. But isn't there an ancient Greek word 'kuno' or 'kuneo' which mean 'dog'?

[Anthony Stokes]

I haven't got Liddell & Scott with me because I arrived here in Moscow yesterday. But isn't there an ancient Greek word 'kuno' or 'kuneo' which mean 'dog'?

I have mine here, and yes, you are correct. There are many words based on kuna that refer to dogs.

Sbdn. Anthony

[Andreas Moran]

A similar point to that first raised occurs here. Lenten Triodion has: 'Therefore, as Bride and Mother of God, with true worship all generations magnify thee.'

HTM Jordanville has: 'So, in all generations we magnify thee in orthodox fashion as theh Mother and bride of God.'

Maybe, 'Wherefore all generations glorify thee and magnify thee as Mother and Bride of God', may do?

Some texts refer to the Mother of God's 'pregnancy'. This seems not right since 'pregnacy' implies impregnation with seed. Some term such as child bearing seems better.

[Andreas Moran]

generations rightly glorify thee