BROTHER-MAKING IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND BYZANTIUM: MONKS, LAYMEN, AND CHRISTIAN RITUAL reviewed by Kevi
"When abbot Nikon blesses these two, “bending the knee and putting Symeon at his right hand and John on his left,” his prayer recognizes them solely as one: “Let their body and soul and spirit be illumined…unto a perfect man, unto the measure of their stature.” The troparion reflects this same union of soul. Nikon’s prayer continues with singular nouns where one would expect plural: “their heart,” “your face,” instead of “their hearts” and “your faces.” Nikon concludes his prayer with a unifying embrace as he “entwined his arms about their necks.”
