RELIGIOUS CHANTS – THE DIVERSITY OF CHURCH HYMNS TYPES

Abstract

In the Romanian musical space, in the Orthodox Church hymns’ repertoire, there is a great variety of non-liturgical chants intended to be sung in different moments of the liturgy. The moments these chants can be introduced are during the kinonikón, the believers’ communion and the end of the liturgy. Either they are called kinonikón, hymns, Calophonic Hirmos, spiritual or liturgical chants; the religious chants became a part of the Orthodox rite, training the Christians ‘community in the church chant. Having appeared in diverse historical contexts and being written by Byzantine music composers, by priests, by church singers and local liturgical communities, these religious chants have deeply been rooted both in the ancient liturgy ritual, and in the different moments of religious activities, pilgrimages, conferences, spiritual gatherings. Having an extremely accessible melodic line and being constructed on doxological, doctrinarian and moralizing character texts, the religious chants are an efficient means of making the Christian communities more dynamic.

Keywords

• kinonikón, hymn, religious chants.