Saturday, April 8, 2017

"Whither, also, all we mortals wend our way, making of our funeral dirge the song: Alleluia."

"Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and unto earth shall we return.  For so thou didst ordain when thou createdst me, saying, 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'  All we go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia."

     The Oikos or Ikos (Ὁ Οἶκος) to the Kontakion for the Orthodox funeral service in the church (Νεκρώσιμος, ἤτοι εἰς Κεκοιμημένους . . . ἐν τῳ ναῳ), as translated on p. 482 (Burial I) of the 1979 Book of common prayer.  For the Greek, see p. 411 of this 1869 printing of the Euchologion to mega (Ευχολόγιον το μέγα):
Αὐτὸς μόνος ὑπάρχεις ἀθάνατος, ὁ ποιήσας καὶ πλάσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον·  οἱ βροτοὶ οὖν ἐκ γῆς διεπλάσθημεν, καὶ εἰς γῆν τὴν αὐτὴν πορευσόμεθα, καθὼς ἐκέλευσας ὁ πλάσας με, καὶ εἰπών μοι·  Ὅτι γῆ εἶ, καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ·  ὅπου πάντες βροτοὶ πορευσόμεθα, ἐπιτάφιον θρῆνον ποιοῦντες ᾠδὴν τὸ, Ἀλληλούϊα.
Other translations exist, e.g.
You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return.  For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, 'You are dust, and to dust you shall return.'  All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia [(p. 499 (Burial II) of the 1979 Book of common prayer)].
Thou only art immortal, who has created and fashioned man.  For out of the earth were we mortals made, and unto the earth shall we return again, as thou didst command when thou madest me, saying unto me:  For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.  Wither, also, all we mortals wend our way, making of our funeral dirge the song:  Alleluia [(The service book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church (Boston:  Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, 1906), as reproduced on p. 215 (pp. 185-234) of Alexander Schmemann, The liturgy of death:  four previously unpublished texts (Yonkers, NY:  St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2016))].
You alone are immortal, who made and fashioned mankind; we mortals then were formed from earth and to that same earth we shall go, as You who formed me commanded saying: You are earth, and you will go back to earth; to which all we mortals will go making our funeral lament a song: Alleluia [(Fr. Ephrem Lash)].
Thou alone art immortal, who hast created and fashioned man. For out of the earth were we mortals made, and unto the same earth shall we return again, as Thou didst command when Thou didst fashion me, saying unto me: Earth thou art, and unto the earth shalt thou return. Whither, also, all we mortals wend our way, making of our funeral dirge the song: Alleluia [(http://www.kiilehua.com/services/The_Funeral_Service.pdf)].
Cf. the post Cantemus Alleluia.

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