Attire in Church
Lest we forget, please remember that when we come to church our attire should conform to the rules of the Church. This is especially important for those who wish to confess and receive Communion. Women should wear skirts or dresses, at least knee length, and should have their heads covered. Men should wear long pants. Even in warm weather no one should have bare shoulders. We should wear our better clothing and avoid jeans and sneakers. Ladies who have forgotten may borrow one of the head scarves that are available at the Candle Desk.
Cellular Telephones
Cellular telephones should not be used in church. The ringing disturbs the spirit of prayer and disrupts the service. We sometimes forget that we have the telephone with us. If it should ring while we are in church, please either turn it off immediately, or mute it and leave the church quietly before answering it. Most calls are not urgent and can be answered later. We thank you for your cooperation.
On Freemasons and Secret Societies
Q: Are we allowed to join the Freemasons? I think it would open so many opportunities for me, and I just got an invitation.
A: No, you may not join the Masons and remain an Orthodox Christian in good standing.
Q: Why not? What is wrong with being a Freemason?
A: We as Orthodox Christians are not allowed to join the Freemasons because they are a religious organization.
Q: But how can that be? They themselves claim not to be a religion, they call themselves a fraternal organization.
A: Although they may deny it, their organization is religious in character. They claim universal brotherhood of mankind under the leadership of the Masonic Lodge, and they hold doctrines and teachings contrary to the Orthodox Faith.
Q: In what way? How is this contrary to Orthodoxy?
A: First of all, they call on the name of God. But the God of Freemasonry is not our God, but rather a generic Deity, not Personal, not a Trinity. They claim an esoteric, that is to say, secret teaching handed down from King Solomon, and from St John the Baptist, and other Biblical figures. They have an altar before which they perform their rituals, and these rituals are of a religious character. They claim a knowledge imparted by these rituals that is outside the received Christian Faith, and they bind their members to secrecy by hideous and blasphemous oaths. They claim a brotherhood that transcends all religions, and thus put the Christian faith on the same standing as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and others. In fact, in non-Christian countries, they do not have the Holy Bible on their altars, but scripture held sacred by the prevailing religion, such as the Koran, or some other.
Q: But isn't it harmless? After all, they are only ceremonies. And in this country they use the Holy Bible.
A: It is not harmless. By participating in these ceremonies the member confesses that this esoteric wisdom is superior to the Apostolic Faith, and that the brotherhood of the Lodge is superior to the Brotherhood of the Faith. It is a divided loyalty, and a hypocritical comprimise for those who do not really believe in the very ceremony that they are participating in. Our Christian ancestors suffered martyrdom and death rather than offer a hypocritial pinch of incense to the Roman gods. Their own tormentors urged them to do so without having to believe in it, and then go about believing whatever they wanted, but just offer that incense. The Martyrs refused such a thing and now have a heavenly crown.
Q: But it offers so many opportunities for advancement in society. It is a shame to pass it up.
A: What is more important? Our material benefit, or our eternal soul? Let us look at how the Apostles handled a similar situation. In the 15th Chapter of the Book of Acts the Apostles considered in Council what obligations should be placed on gentile converts to the Faith. Should they follow the Law of Moses or not? The Council decreed, That we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood (Acts 15:19-20). What did this mean? In fact this was not a vestige of the Law of Moses, but a demand to be separate from Roman society, for at that time almost all social organizations, fraternities, clubs, guilds and societies were connected with a shrine to a god. The mentioned practices were part of pagan worship, and to separate from these, and from the premises in which these were done, cost the converts most of their social connections. If the first Christians could make such a sacrifice, how much more should we, who are not called to make as great a sacrifice. Furthermore, in a free and open society such as ours, it is easier to advance ourselves by our own merits and diligence, and help from such an organization is not needed to succeed in life.
Q: But don't they do good works? They endow hospitals and clinics. Surely that counts for something?
A: While they in fact do all these good works, that is not the main purpose of their organization. All religions endow charitable organizations, and charity is part of our basic human nature put there by God when He created man. False religion does not destroy that instinct. On the other hand, just because the Catholics, Protestants, Moslems and Jews also have hospitals, relief organizations, and other charities, does not mean that we need to join their faiths. So likewise, it is good that the Freemasons do these things, but that does not mean that we agree with their doctrines.
Q: What about church N which is Orthodox that my cousin goes to Their Parish Council members are Freemasons.
A: Just because something is tolerated in another parish does not make it right. In fact Freemasonry was banned by the Holy Synods of the various Orthodox Churches, including Russia and Greece, and these bans have never been lifted. If other jurisdictions choose to ignore their own bans, that is their responsibility. It is not good pastorship, and they will have to give account of it before our Lord. Let it suffice that the Russian Church Abroad will not permit her members to be participants in the Lodge.
Q: That same church has a society called X for Orthodox Christians, but it is secret. Is this all right?
A: No, not at all. Years ago, before I was ordained, I had a conversation with a member of this organization. I asked whether this organization binds its members by oath; he said yes. I asked further, seeing that these were all Orthodox Christians, whether this oath was expected to be observed even in Confession; and he said yes.ÊIn other words, their organization, of, for and by Orthodox Christians, was supposed to be superior to the Sacraments of the Church. Can anything be more foolish than that?
Q: Are we forbidden to have membership in all social organizations? Or are there organizations that we are allowed to join?
A: This must be decided on a case by case basis. In general, we are forbidden to join religious organizations outside the Orthodox Faith. If, however, the organization is educational, social, professional or political, and is not contrary to good morals, if the organization does not bind to secrecy by oaths, and does not teach doctrines contrary to the Orthodox Christian Faith, then membership in such organizations is permitted. If you have any doubts about any particular organization consult your priest or spiritual father.
On Attendance at the Divine Services and on the Lord's Day
A recent article in the Connecticut Post asked why it is that Sunday has become just like any other day. This, of course, ought not to be so, but for many of us it is. We remember our mothers would never mend clothes, or do the wash on Sundays, and we never used to go to the stores on Sundays. When we go to the stores, we make it possible for others to have to work on the Lord's Day. There was a time when Sundays were special, when we prayed together and spent time together as a family. If this is not the case today, let us ask ourselves why? When we go to the House of the Lord it is a visit to the Kingdom of God. It is like going to a beloved relative's house where things are special, and beautiful and solemn. Not rushed, not hurried, but prayerful.
Master, it is good for us to be here (Mk 9:5), these are the words of St Peter as he was on the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John as our Lord spoke with Moses and Elias. The Psalmist says, I was glad because of them that said unto me: Let us go into the house of the Lord (Ps 121 [122]:1). Let it be our joy to stand before the Lord in His holy House.
At the same time, let us not forget that the Lord's Day begins at sunset the evening before, and make a point of attending the Vigil. This is an indispensible part of our weekly worship, and it is our obligation to be present unless we are aged and infirm or we have no transportation. Attendance at the Vigil makes it possible for us to go to confession without being rushed as we are before the Divine Liturgy, and it gives us time to give prayerful thought to what we are about to say.
Whether we commune or not on Sunday, we still have the obligation to keep the day holy and abstain from entertainments such as movies, television, parties, and theater on Saturday nights. Instead let us say our prayers quietly and engage in spiritually profitable reading from the Scriptures, or from the Holy Fathers.
Scripture Readings
Q: I noticed that the Scriptural readings listed on my church calendar are not consecutive, and there are gaps in the readings. Why is this so?
A: The Church's Lectionary (selection of readings) was developed over many centuries, and each region had its own schedule. The first to be settled were the readings for Sundays and major holy days.The selections were chosen to highlight various events or teachings. So, for example, in the period after Pascha we have various healings by Christ. Later Saturdays and weekdays were filled in to provide readings for the daily Divine Liturgy. These were taken roughly in sequence, but omitted the readings that were already appointed for Sundays or holy days. If you take the sum total of all the readings over the course of the year, you will find that they cover almost the entire New Testament with the exception of the Apocalypse (Book of Revelations) which is never read. While a few verses are omitted here and there, the fullness of the Gospel teaching is covered over the year.
Sin and Theodicy
By Frederica Mathewes-Green July 31, 2003
Often in conversations with Christians of other traditions I find myself explaining the Orthodox view of sin. For most Western Christians, sin is a matter of doing bad things, which create a debt to God, and which somebody has to pay off. They believe that Jesus paid the debt for our sins on the Cross — paid the Father, that is, so we would not longer bear the penalty. The central argument between Protestants and Catholics has to do with whether "Jesus paid it all" (as Protestants would say) or whether, even though the Cross is sufficient, humans are still obligated (as Catholics would say) to add their own sacrifices as well.
Orthodox, of course, have a completely different understanding of Christ's saving work. We hold to the view of the early church, that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." Our sins made us captives of Death, and God in Christ went into Hades to set us free. The penalty of sin is not a debt we owe the Father; it is the soul-death that is the immediate and inevitable consequence of sin. We need healing and rescue, not someone to step in and square the bill. The early Christians always saw the Father pursuing and loving every sinner, doing everything to bring us back, not waiting with arms folded for a debt to be paid. When the Prodigal Son came home, the Father didn't say, "I'd love to take you back, but who's going to pay this Visa bill?"
This was the common view for the first thousand years of Christianity, until Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of the Great Schism, offered an alternative view. Anselm believed that God could not merely forgive us, because our sins constituted an objective wrong in the universe. It could not be made right without payment. No human could pay such a huge debt, but Jesus' blood was more than sufficient to pay it, which gave Jesus a "claim" on God the Father." If the Son chose to make over the claim He had on God to man, could the Father justly forbid Him doing so, or refuse to man what the Son willed to give him?"
We would say that Western Christians, Protestant and Catholic, have mixed up two Scriptural concepts: "sacrifice/offering" and "ransom/payment. "Jesus couldn't have paid the "ransom" for our sins to the Father; you pay a ransom to a kidnapper, and the Father wasn't holding us hostage. No, it was the Evil One who had captured us, due to our voluntary involvement in sin. It cost Jesus his blood to enter Hades and set us free. That's the payment, or ransom, but it obviously isn't paid to the Father. Yet it is a sacrifice or offering to the Father, as a brave soldier might offer a dangerous act of courage to his beloved General.
If I haven't lost you yet, I'd like to take this one step further. As I said, I often have this conversation with other Christians, and make the point that sin is not infraction, but infection; sin makes us sick.The Christian life is one of healing and restoration; it's not merely about paying a debt.
It recently occurred to me that this difference between Western and Eastern Christianity explains something else I hadn't noticed till now: that Orthodoxy doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about the problem of evil. The question of why bad things happen is a major one in the West; it seems to refute the assertion that God is good and loves us. If He's all-powerful and loves us completely, why does He let bad things happen? I expect that this lingering image of a God who is reluctant to forgive, waiting to be paid, feeds a suspicion that maybe He doesn't really love us.
I think the Orthodox view of sin as illness, rather than rule-breaking, answers this. There is evil in the world because of the pollution of our sins. Our selfishness and cruelty don't merely hurt those around us, but contribute to setting the world off-balance, out of tune. It has a corporate nature. Anyone can observe that life isn't fair; bad things happen to "good" people. But even good people contribute some sin to the mix, and we all suffer the consequences of the world's mutual sin.
The radio humorist Garrison Keillor used an image for this that has always remained in my mind. He told a story about a man considering adultery, who contemplated how one act of betrayal can unbalance an entire community: "I saw that we all depend on each other. I saw that although I thought my sins could be secret, that they would be no more secret than an earthquake. All these houses and all these families, my infidelity will somehow shake them. It will pollute the drinking water. It will make noxious gases come out of the ventilators in the elementary school. When we scream in senseless anger, blocks away a little girl we do not know spills a bowl of gravy all over a white tablecloth."
What we Orthodox keep in mind, and Western Christians often forget, is the presence of the Evil One. In Anselm's theory of the Atonement, there's no Devil. The whole transaction is between us, the Father, and Jesus (and when the Devil is ignored, he has a field day). But Orthodox know who our true enemy is, and we cling to the Lord Jesus as our deliverer. When we see evil in the world, we know immediately that "an enemy has done this" (Matthew 13:28). We're not surprised that life is unfair and that "good" people suffer; when we see innocent suffering, we know that our own sins helped cause it, by helping to unbalance the world and make a climate of injustice possible. The Evil One loves to see the innocent suffer, and the fact that such events grieve and trouble us delights him all the more. This is in fact one of the ways we bear the burden of our sins: that we must feel the wrenching pain of seeing innocence suffer, and know that we helped make it happen. Western Christians, on the other hand, who see sin as a private debt between an individual and God, and who forget the presence of the Evil One, can't figure out how God could let an innocent person suffer, and are left with the chilly thought of questioning the goodness of God.
"Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25). We do not trust in our own strength to get out of this mess, but rely entirely on the power of Jesus Christ, who has "trampled down death by death." Day by day growing in grace, we can contribute to the world's healing, by forgiving our enemies, loving those who hate us, and overcoming evil with good. The first place it needs to be overcome, we know, is in our hearts.
–From Again magazine by permission of the author. Frederica Mathewes-Green is a regular contributor to many religious publications and a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition. She is the author of several books including The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Illumination (Paraclete Press). She attends the Holy Cross Parish in Linthicum, Maryland, of the Antiochian Archdiocese where her husband Fr Gregory Mathewes-Green is the Rector.
Since some may not know these things, it might be a good idea to present a few reminders:
Wearing a Cross: The Cross is the sign of our Salvation and of Christ's victory over death. Every Orthodox Christian from the time of his or her baptism should wear a cross around the neck. We should not go to church without it. In fact, we should not even leave our house without a cross. It is our confession of our faith and the sign of our protection. Wearing the cross is a prayer. The cross is not an ornament, and should be worn inside the shirt. Infants too small to wear a chain or a cord around the neck may have the cross pinned or buttoned to their clothing.
Standing in Church: When we stand in church we should focus our attention on the Altar and the service. We should not move around unnecessarily, and we should keep our hands either at our sides or clasped in front of us.
Candles: The act of lighting a candle is a prayer, and should be done prayerfully. Let us be mindful of the service and not disturb those praying. We may purchase candles at the Candle Desk and place them on the candle stands except at the most solemn times of the service, namely during the reading of the Gospel, and at Liturgy from the time the Choir starts singing, A mercy of peace (Milost mira) until they finish singing, It is truly meet (Dostoina est). At these times the candle desk will be closed.
During Pannychidas and certain other services we sometimes hold candles. When you hold a candle, please hold it carefully: upright and with the drip guard underneath. Candle drippings are hard to clean up and make a lot of extra work for our caretaker.
Sometimes people help the caretaker by extinguishing and removing the candles on the candle stands. Please remember that these represent the prayers of those that offered them, and do not remove them before they have burned down sufficiently. A good rule of thumb is one or two fingers width in height. Also please be aware of the service, and do not move around during those parts of the service when candles may not be purchased.
Prayer
Q: I was wondering, how should I say my prayers each day? What prayers should be said in the morning and at night? Where should I say my prayers? Can I say them while I am in my car? Should they be said out loud or silently? If I say them out loud should I read them in chant or in a normal voice?
A: We should pray in the morning some time soon after we rise from bed, and in the evening some time before going to sleep. There is a section in the Prayer Book for morning and evening prayers, and every Orthodox Christian should have a Prayer Book. Some may not be able to say all the prayers of the Morning and Evening Prayers, especially when so many of us are busy with work and family and have so many demands on our time. Yet we should find time to say some prayers. If we cannot say all of the appointed prayers, we should say as many as we can. We should be reasonable about this. In other words, we should not excuse ourselves by making only the Sign of the Cross or maybe the Lord's Prayer and leaving it at that, but on the other hand it is better to say some prayers with attention than many prayers in a hurry. If you have any questions as to which ones to say, you can as your spiritual father in confession. It is best to say the prayers calmly, and quietly. If you are reading them by yourself and not with your family, you may read them silently. If you read them out loud, it is best to read them as they are read in church, that is in chant, but not to an exaggerated degree. If you find it more natural, read in a normal reading voice. Since we should say our prayers with as little distraction we should say them in a quiet corner, and not in the car. However, it is better to say some prayers than no prayers, and if under the press of duties, the car is the only place to say them, then say them there.
Communion, Menstruation and Head Coverings
Q: Father, someone told me that it is all right for women to receive Communion during their period. Is this correct? My mother always taught me otherwise. I wanted to commune on Pascha, but I did not. I felt bad about that.
A: Your mother is absolutely right. It is in the Canons or Laws of the Church, and just as a woman would not approach Communion with her head uncovered, so also should she not show disregard for the other laws and customs of the Church. It is not so much a matter of being unclean as it is that when we receive Communion we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. And when we receive His Blood, it becomes our blood. Therefore, if we have a running sore we should abstain from Communion until it heals, and if we accidentally cut ourselves on the day we receive Communion, we should take the bandage and burn it. This rule applies to men as well. You did well to abstain on Pascha, but you should take heart and remember that Pascha lasts for forty days, and that you will also have another opportunity next year.
On Forgiveness and Asking Forgiveness
Q: Father, at the beginning of Lent you talked a lot about forgiveness and how important it is. All priests I know keep talking about this, but none have mentioned anything about asking for forgiveness. Isn't this a bit one-sided? N. once said something hurtful to me, but has never apologized. Why or how should I forgive?
A: In the Lord's Prayer it says, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. It does not say, "And forgive us as we forgive those that ask our forgiveness," but, as we forgive our debtors. This means as we forgive those who are in debt to us whether they know it or not, whether they admit it or not. Why? Because we too have offended God in many ways, knowingly and unknowingly, and God forgives us for all of these if we also forgive others. This is why we should forgive.
Q: But he really hurt me, and has said nothing about it.
A: Have you tried speaking with him calmly and without accusation? It may be that he does not realize that he has offended you, or perhaps he might have forgotten it. Perhaps he did not consider it an important matter, or perhaps he might be too embarrassed to bring it up. You could tell him that what he said really hurt you and perhaps he did not realize how much it hurt, and that you wish to be at peace over this. Sometimes we might have misunderstood the intent. If we do not ask we cannot find out. The Bible says, Admonish a friend, it may be he hath not done it: and if he have done it, that he do it no more. Admonish thy friend, it may be he hath not said it: and if he have, that he speak it not again. Admonish a friend: for many times it is a slander, and believe not every tale (Sirach 19:13-15).
Q: But there you put the burden on the one who was offended. Shouldn't the offender take some responsibility?
A: Actually, when we forgive, we are the first to benefit. Why? Because we no longer carry the burden of all that resentment, and we are able to get on with our lives. Also because we are at peace with God, and we are assured that He has forgiven us as well. On the other hand, perhaps we have given provocation ourselves? Perhaps when others say or do things hurtful to us, it is because we have also said or done something hurtful to them? If no one makes the first move, then the offense is never resolved and peace never comes.
If, however, he resolutely refuses to ask forgiveness, at least we can let our resentment go, and hand the matter over to God, to resolve as He sees best. Our Lord says, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you (Mt 5:44). We will have done as much as is in our power to do. But if we continue to harbor resentment, then we sin, and we tie shackles to our souls, and will find no forgiveness for our own offenses. Why should you let someone who has offended you wound your soul so badly? Why give the Enemy of our salvation the victory? However grievous his offense against you might be, it is a pinprick compared to the offenses we commit against God every day.
On the other hand, if we are at fault, we do have the duty to ask forgiveness. It is always hard for us to see our own faults. Let us therefore examine our own conscience and open our eyes. Is there anyone angry with us? Have we made peace? Are we willing to make amends? If someone is angry with us, and we happen to be in the right, is it still possible to be reconciled? Can we at least apologize for the offense without compromising our principles? If this is the case, then it is our duty to reconcile. We must not let our pride get in the way.
St Patrick and Western Saints
Q: Father, on March 30 you greeted us with congratulations on St Patrick's Day. Is he an Orthodox Saint?
A: He certainly is. And more than that, he was with the Old Calendar, for all Christians used the Old (Julian) Calendar before Pope Gregory changed the calendar for the Roman Catholics in 1582. All the Saints recognized by the Western Church before they seceded from the Orthodox in 1054 are Orthodox Saints. There are a great many of them: Ss Patrick, Kevin, and Bridget of Ireland, St Alban of Britain, St Genevieve of Paris, St Augustine of Hippo and his mother St Monica, St Edward King of England, St Ambrose of Milan, St Martin of Tours, Ss Leo and Gregory Popes of Rome (whose writings were approved by the Ecumenical Councils), and many, many others. In fact, the Russian Church Abroad has a Monastery of St Edward in England where his relics are kept. This year Pascha falls on 27 / 14 April, which is the memory of St Martin the Confessor, Pope of Rome, who upheld the Orthodox Faith against a heretical Emperor and suffered many years of imprisonment for it. He reposed in AD 655.
Q: Then we can baptize our children after these Saints?
A: You certainly can. Just be sure that the name you choose is an Orthodox Saint, for there were many others that were canonized by the Roman Catholic Church after the Schism, and we do not recognize them, and we man not name our children for them. Some of these are Francis of Assisi, Clare, Theresa, Bernard of Clairveux, Ignatius Loyola, Thomas Aquinas, Rose of Lima, Bernadette, and others.
Q: Why is the first group acceptable but not the second?
A: Because the Saints in the first group shared our beliefs and confessed the same Orthodox Faith as do we, while the other group did not. The post-Schism Western saints held doctrines and practices contrary to our historic Apostolic Faith and promulgated and supported strange new teachings, and were outside the communion of the Orthodox Church. When we name a child for a Saint, we put him under his protection and ask him to emulate his Saint's virtues, faith, and way of life.
On Gambling
Q: Is gambling a sin? Why? You mentioned that in your talk on Confession.
A: Yes gambling is a sin and should be mentioned in Confession, and we should stop if it has become a habit. The reasons are many: First it is a hope to get something for nothing, something that is neither a gift nor earned by honest labor. When God exiled Adam from Paradise He intended that we should gain our daily bread by honest work. St Paul said, If any would not work, neither should he eat (2 Thess 3:10). Secondly, there are some for whom gambling is a passion, and they throw everything away in the forlorn hope of making good their losses. When we gamble we support an establishment that causes the destruction of these people's financial wellbeing, families, health, and even their very souls. A parishioner from our parish in Norwich told me that the casinos in his part of the state have crews that sweep the parking lots for suicides and other unfortunates in the hours before dawn. Also, when we engage in a sinful pastime, there is always a danger that we could become ensnared, and find ourselves on that very same path to destruction. Thirdly, we are taking money from people that really cannot afford to give it, even if they give it voluntarily when they place their bets. This is not charitable or kind. As a matter of fact, it is Canon Law that clergy cannot attend races or other places of gambling on pain of deposal from the priesthood.
What is a Troparion?
Q: What is a Troparion? Are these prayers meant only for church, or can we say them at home? What about a Kontakion?
A: A troparion is a hymn. It comes from the Greek word tropos meaning turn or roll, and the plural is troparia. Other hymns are called kontakia, stichera (singular, sticheron), heirmoi, and kathismata (or sessional hymns). The troparion is usually understood to be that hymn that sums up in one stanza (a short paragraph) the holy day or observance, as for instance the eight Troparia of the Resurrection sung on Sundays in the tone of the week. As for example, First Tone: When the stone had been sealed by the Jews. Second Tone: When Thou didst descend. Third Tone: Let the heavens rejoice, etc. Each feast day has one: For Christmas we have (First Tone), Thy Nativity, O Christ our God. For Pascha (Fifth Tone) it is, Christ is risen from the dead. For Holy Cross (First Tone) we have, Save, O Lord, Thy people, and so on.
The appointed place for the troparion of the day is after the Song of Symeon at Vespers, Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, and at Matins at the singing of God is the Lord. It is also sung at the Small Entrance at the Divine Liturgy.
The names of the other hymns have to do with their place in the service. The kontakion is the hymn that is sung at the end of the Sixth Ode of the Canon at Matins, and it is also sung after the appointed troparia at the Small Entrance at the Divine Liturgy. The sessional hymns (kathismata or sedal'ny) are sung after the readings of the Psalter at Matins and are so called because we are allowed to sit at those times in the service. The heirmoi (or irmosy) are the pattern hymns sung at the beginning of each ode of the Canon at Matins and comes from the Greek word meaning link, because they link together the parts of the Canon.
Slavonic uses the Greek names for most of these hymns, but typically shortens them. Thus for the Greek tropárion (plural, tropária) Slavonic has tropár' (plural troparí); for the Greek kontákion (plural, kontákia) Slavonic has kondák (plural, kondakí).
You certainly may say or sing any of these hymns at home, either as part of your prayers, or as you go about your daily business. Since hymns are prayers, they certainly deserve a place in our private worship.