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Singing the services >

Singing the Betrothal Service

This article covers the practical aspects of singing the betrothal service which precedes the Mystery of Crowning in the Byzantine tradition.

The betrothal service

The service is ordinarily held in the narthex (porch or vestibule) of the church, with the clergy, the couple intending to be married, and a cantor.

• In some parishes, a betrothal taking place well in advance of a wedding is a parish event, and though it may start in the narthex, the pastor may choose to have it move into the nave of the church.
• If celebrated immediately before the Crowning, the betrothal takes place in the narthex, and is followed by a procession into the nave.
• If celebrated immediately for a Crowning with the Divine Liturgy, then the betrothal may be celebrated relatively privately in the narthex, with just the couple, clergy and cantor, and the procession into the church marks the formal beginning of the public part of the service.

So as cantor, you should adapt your singing based on how large a congregation should be responding with you: either just those present, or everyone in church.

The music for the betrothal is very simple:

• The opening "Amen" is the ordinary short Amen; during the Paschal season, the priest will sing the Paschal troparion, and the cantor and people sing it twice.
• If the betrothal is being celebrated as a separate service, this is followed by the usual beginning prayers, chanted to a psalm tone.
• The responses at litanies are the usual ones.
• The responses at prayers by the priest are "Lord, have mercy" (before the prayer) and "Amen" (after the prayer.
• If the betrothal is being celebrated as a separate service, it concludes with a dismissal ("Glory...now and ever.... Give the blessing... Amen").

"Lord, have mercy"

This service highlights one of the essential working tools of the cantor:

Any time the deacon or priest unexpectedly intones, "Let us pray to the Lord," the proper response is for the people and cantor to sing

This is an exceptionally common pattern in occasional and special services: the Holy Mysteries, blessings of people and things, and special prayers such as the kneeling prayers of Pentecost. As a cantor, you should be able to sing this response immediately upon hearing the cue ("Let us pray to the Lord"). In most cases, there will be a prayer for some particular need, after which you wiill lead the singing of

Once you can always respond to "Let us pray to the Lord" with "Lord, have mercy" (preferably in the deacon's or priest's key), you will be much less likely to be startled or confused if a special blessing or ceremony is added to one of our services.

The dismissal

If the betrothal is being celebrated as a separate service, it concludes with a dismissal ("Glory...now and ever.... Give the blessing... Amen").

You can sing the dismissal to a psalm tone, beginning on the tonic, do:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
     now and ever and forever. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
     Give the blessing.

use or the music from the Divine Liturgy (DL 89-90), which begins on the third degree of the scale, mi:

The latter is more festive.