The "Apodosis" of Saint John's Nativity

The Typikon is one of the most essential liturgical books in the Orthodox tradition, providing liturgical instructions for individual days throughout the year and giving guidance to chanters on what should be chanted during the services. Yet the Typikon is often misunderstood or, especially in the United States, not consulted at all. Encoded within the Typikon are generations of liturgical tradition that cannot be simply gleaned by looking at the Octoechos or Menaion. This wisdom makes sure that the services are done uniformly (at least in theory), that the saints are glorified appropriately and, on Sundays, without overshadowing the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. This coming Sunday on the Old Calendar, June 25th, presents an interesting scenario that absolutely requires the clarification of the Typikon: The Apodosis of St. John's Nativity.

June 25th, coming a day after the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, actually serves as a rare example of a saint which has an Apodosis. All Feasts of the Master (that is, of Christ) and of the Theotokos have an apodosis, or giving-up, which is the last day that a feast is celebrated. However, a few select saints have celebrations that last longer than one day. St. John the Baptist is one and St. Demetrios is another. (If you know another, please let me know in the comments.) June 25th also commemorates St. Febronia. How do we handle the Apodosis of a saint?

The Typikon of George Violakis, which is to this day the authoritative Typikon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece, indicates the following if June 25th falls on a Sunday:

• On Saturday evening in Vespers, after 'Lord, I Have Cried' we chant six Resurrection stichera and four for the Forerunner, from the Small Vespers of June 24th (not the ones listed on June 25th).
• Glory: "Elizabeth conceived the Forerunner of Grace" 
• Both Now: Dogmatic Theotokion in the mode of the week.
• Aposticha of the Resurrection. 
• Glory, Both Now: "Behold Elizabeth"
• Dismissal Hymns: Resurrection, Forerunner and Theotokion in 4th Mode.

The service for St. Febronia is not chanted at all.

A few interesting notes: One is that the stichera of the Forerunner comes from Small Vespers. Since Small Vespers is generally only chanted in monasteries, Violakis is making sure that these hymns will be heard by those in parishes.

What's even more interesting is the note that follows: "In the morning, only the Resurrection service is chanted." In other words, the feast is given up after Vespers that evening. This is generally done for the Annunciation, since it almost always falls during Great Lent, where an extended period of feasting would be inappropriate. Thus, St. John gets an apodosis, but only the shortest possible one: that of half a liturgical day.

The Typikon of George Rigas, it should be noted, appoints that the feast continues into the next day. And, thus we get into the interesting scenarios where different typika vary from each other. However, this seems like it should be its own separate post. 

That's all for now- please feel free to add comments or corrections!

God Bless,

Panagiotis