THE STICHERA ANASTASIMA OF THE FIRST MODE FROM THE OLDEST SINAITIC MANUSCRIPTS OF THE OCTOECHOS
The aim of this article is to analyze the text of the stichera anastasima of the first mode presented in the oldest Mt. Sinai manuscripts of the Octoechos, containing these hymns, and to provide a comparison of it with the modern one of printed Byzantine Octoechos. The main handwriting sources for the investigation are the X-XI cc. greek manuscripts of the library of the St. Catherine’s Monastery of Mt. Sinai: Sin. gr. 778, 779, 780, 790, and 792. The noteworthy aspect of this study is to analyze the degree of conformity of the text and the composition of the stichera anastasima of the Sinaitic manuscripts to the Jerusalem’s liturgy tradition in that period. In this connection, the manuscript Hierosolymitanus S. Crucis 43, known as “Typikon of the Anastasis” and dated to 1122 A. D., but probably containing the liturgy of IX-X cc., provides important data. Note that the hymns of the above-mentioned Sinaitic Octoechoi are arranged not cyclically (liturgically), as in the case of printed Octoechoi, but in systematic (genre) order. Generally, these manuscripts consist of two parts: The Sticherokathismatarion (containing a collection of stichera and kathismata for all week days) and the collection of kanons for Sundays and weekdays (which also contains the anabathmoi and the makarismoi for the Resurrection office). Unlike the other Sinai Octoechoi considered here, the manuscript Sin. gr. 792 is just the Sticherokathismatarion, since it does not contain the kanons part. In this article we show that the text of the stichera anastasima of the first mode in the Sinaitic manuscripts is almost identical to that of the modern printed Octoechos. However, besides the known stichera anastasima, the Sinai manuscripts of the Octoechos contain some obsolete stichera of the Sunday worship, but are unaware of the stichera anatolica and alphabetica, except the manuscript Sin. gr. 790. It is interesting to note that in the Sinai manuscripts the group structure of the stichera of Sunday Octoechos does not correspond to the worship structure accepted in Palestine at that time but similar to the Studite’s one.