prayer liturgical
The Agape Vespers
Gospel of John
Translated from Homeric Greek
By tradition, the Gospel of John (20:19-25) proclaimed at Agape Vespers on the Sunday of Pascha is read in multiple languages to highlight the universality of the Resurrection of Christ and its impact upon all mankind.
This Gospel has never been possible in Homeric Greek because many of the words used in the Gospel were not a part of the Homeric Greek language. For example, it would be impossible to describe that the doors were closed for fear of the Jews, as there was no word for Jews in the Homeric epic dialect.
But in the 18th century, Saint Nicodemos the Hagiorite brilliantly and beautifully set this Gospel to Homeric Greek and meter. In order to do so, the Gospel had to be paraphrased while capturing and retaining its message. The Saint skillfully crafted …