Home - Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 200 Third Street, Passaic, N.J. 07055

LITURGICAL COMPOSITIONS BY FATHER JOSEPH HAVRILIAK

Father Joseph A. Havriliak was well known as a gifted musician, composer and choir director. In 1945 he published The Liturgy/Mass of St. John Chrysostom of the Uhro-Carpatho-Russian Common Church Hymnology for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The work was printed in Prostopinije or "Plain Chant" the traditional liturgical chant of the Rusyn people of the Carpathian Mountains and their decendents who immigrated to many places around the world, including here to our Cathedral. The primary characteristics of Prostopinije are its suitablity for congregational singing, its deep spirituality, and its great beauty. The spirit of sung prayer embodied in Prostopinije is a precious heritage and possession of the churches which utilize this form of chant.

This work, highly valued and performed within many churches of the Carpatho-Russian tradition, is printed in parallel pages. The left side contains Prostopinije as it was sung by the Rusyns written out in the Latin alphabet, while the right side contains the Prostopinije melodies written out in Cyrillic, with the proper accentuation marks for Slavonic text. Both texts were written for four-part harmony with no re-writing of the Prostopinije melodies to accomodate choral work.

In 1946, Father Joseph printed an Orthodox Missal for Priest and Choir in English, for which he composed the music. As stated in the preface, the work was the first attempt to present a complete setting for an Orthodox Mass to be sung in English. This work was dedicated not only to the present and future generations of American-born and English-speaking children and faithful converts in our holy Faith, but more especially to the young generation of priests and singers and choir directors through those efforts....the number and fervency of our converts shall be increased. The composition/book was approved and authorized for use in all Orthodox Churches in American by Metropolitan Benjamin, the Patriarchal Exarch for the Americas, and its publication marked a major milestone in the history of American Orthodoxy.