Psalms, or Spiritual Cants

The collection “Psalms, or Spiritual Cants” consists of poetic chants, the author of which is St. Dimitry Rostovsky. These are the prayerful outpourings of a soul that knows nothing higher than love for its Lord and Savior. The work consists of 8 psalms, in which praise is exalted to Christ and the Mother of God, themes of prayer, repentance, joy in God, hope for God’s mercy, and expectation of eternal life are raised. Psalm in honor of St. Demetrius Living in the city of Rostov, Yaroslavl province and fulfilling the duties of a Priest at the Nativity Convent for 45 years (since 1842), in the first years of my service there I received as a gift from the Abbess of the monastery, Abbess Pavla, two ancient handwritten books containing psalms, or spiritual cants 1, by different authors, written in verse. The first verse of the verses in each psalm is set to three voices in square notes. Among these psalms, both in one and the other book, there are psalms written by St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, who, with his other talents, possessed the art of poetry. I gave one book, six years ago, to the Rostov merchant Andrei Aleksandrovich Titov; and the other book, as a rarity, is kept in my possession to this day. The paper in this book is thick and bluish. It depicts with watermarks: the Yaroslavl coat of arms - a bear with a halberd on the shoulder, the year 1787, and on some sheets 1784 and the letters - Y. M. S. Ya. In 1885, on June 4, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich deigned to visit the city of Rostov and, turned into the Museum of Rostov Antiquities, the White Chamber, in which St. Demetrius once treated Peter the Great. Here, in the presence of His Highness, the students of the Rostov Demetrius Theological School, 12 people, sang a psalm composed by St. Demetrius, beginning with the words: I will bring praise to Sweet Jesus. This psalm, borrowed from a book kept by me, was arranged by me into four voices, two trebles and two altos and, with the blessing of His Eminence Jonathan, Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov, it was sung by the students under my leadership. The singing of this psalm aroused the approval of the Grand Duke (“Yaroslav. Governor. Vedomosti” 1885 No. 45, and “Moskov. Vedomosti” No. 162). In 1887, on May 30, when His Eminence Ioannikis Metropolitan of Moscow and His Eminence Misail Bishop of Dmitrovsky, Senior Vicar of Moscow, now Bishop of Oryol and Sevsky, visited the Rostov Museum, located in the White Chamber, the singing of this psalm, performed by students of the same Dimitrievsky School, also aroused the approval of His Eminence and His Eminence (“Yaroslav. Gubern. Vedomosti” 1887, No. 44). This psalm of St. Demetrius, as well as his other psalms, both in tune and in content, make a touching impression on everyone who has heard or ever sung them. It used to be that in the past, clergymen, including women, sang these psalms with special tenderness. This effect of the psalms of St. Demetrius aroused in me the desire to transpose all of them, which were only found in my old handwritten book, into four voices - two trebles and two altos, and add another bass voice, so that they could be sung by a choir of not only minors, but also adult singers. The transcription of these psalms is now almost complete. I retain their original melody and transcribe almost all the verses of each psalm into notes, because it is difficult to sing all the others following the example of the first verse, since the words very often come out against the stresses. Soon this arrangement will be presented for viewing at the Imperial Court Singing Chapel. But finishing this work, I found it necessary, first of all, to submit one text, that is, these very psalms of the elements, without notes, to the Moscow Spiritual Censorship Committee, in order to print them separately and give the opportunity to every Orthodox Christian to read them. Moreover, the separately printed text of the psalms of St. Demetrius will not be superfluous for those who sing: having read it in advance and familiarized themselves with the content of the psalm, they will sing more consciously and expressively. All the psalms of St. Demetrius published by me are eight. But to them I added from my book a psalm composed in honor of St. Demetrius, at the opening of his relics 2, and beginning with the words: Triumph today, Russian country, grace has been given to us from heaven. And that the eight psalms that I published here were actually composed by St. Demetrius, I cite the following as proof of this: 1) In the life of St. Demetrius it is said that just before his death he called his singers to him and forced them to sing some of the spiritual hymns he composed: My Most Loverly Jesus; I place my hope in God; You are my God Jesus, You are my joy. 2) These three and the other five psalms are marked in my book that they belong to St. Demetrius. Finally 3) In the book: “St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov" (composition by a student of the Moscow Theological Academy Vasily Nechaev, now His Grace Vissarion Bishop of Dmitrovsky 1st Vicar of Moscow. M. 1849) on page 105 it is printed: “Several touching chants of St. Demetrius, known as psalms, or spiritual ones, have come down to us edges. These are prayerful outpourings of the soul. knowing nothing higher than love for your Lord and Savior. Touching melodies enhance their effect on the soul. Let us list these chants, according to the legends of the Rostov Yakovlevsky monastery and other testimonies, belonging to St. Demetrius: 1. “My dear Jesus, sweet to my heart; One joy in sorrow is my joy!” and so on. Beautiful Jesus! and so on. 3. “I place my hope in God, I give myself all to His providence.” and so on. 4. “You are my God, Jesus, You are my joy; You are my joy, you are my sweetness!“ and so on. Who will help us with this?” and so on. 6. “Christ my God, sweetest Jesus, My Savior, the greatest.” and so on. 7. “I cry out to God in my trouble, and 8. In honor of the Mother of God: “Mother of mercy! You are the fence Always keep me safe from the fierce enemy of evil. Archpriest Aristarchus of Israel The words of my soul: “Yours I am No one is in my troubles Give me You, Christ, in my heart Me, a sinner, unworthy, You give me strength and health, I cry to God in my misfortune - Turns my crying into joy We don’t know where the wind will blow from If only he had disappeared underground - Even if he was encased in stone - From my younger years in this life All day, all night I exclaim, Grant me Your mercy, A strong cry, Mother, to you, To You, to You, Queen of all Hear my voice, make me cry, Soul, heart, in sighs Celebrate today, Russian country, Grace has been given to us from heaven, Have fun today in the city of Rostov, Behold Demetrius the Saint of Christ, Now revealed to us from the depths of the earth. The streams are beneficial to everyone, Everyone hastily flows to him with faith, Will you accept help, health, healing, Just pour out a fervent prayer; Whenever he asks, he does everything. The hail did not hide on top of the mountain, But God has clearly revealed it to everyone, And in the end, putting those who are contrary to shame. All his flock show off in vain, Let everyone who opposes you be put to shame, See, having shaken off your darkness, The eradicator of misconceptions. Glorify the Creator for this. God! look, see your grapes, Don't let the thorn grow in it. Give the same to your shrine. You, now an imperishable crown Crowned, standing before the Creator, Do not be absent from us in spirit, But be present and inspire our voice; Direct every path for good. His holy relics were found on September 21, 1752. From the initial letters of the verses of this psalm an acrostic is composed: “Hieromonk Demetrius.” This psalm is borrowed from the akathist to Jesus and written in his likeness. P.A.I. You might be interested in: