BROTHER-MAKING IN LATE ANTIQUITY AND BYZANTIUM: MONKS, LAYMEN, AND CHRISTIAN RITUAL reviewed by Kevi
- sidebresources
- Jan 2, 2018
- 1 min read
"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.”
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