Talk:Moleben

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[edit] Russian or Eastern?

It's my understanding that molebens are unique to the Russian Orthodox Church? Or are they common to all Eastern churches? Buddhagazelle 18:00, 2 March 2007 (UTC)Buddhagazelle

all web-references I can find to molebens are specifically Slavic in nature; the fact that moleben is a Slavonic word lends strength to this. I'm reverting "Eastern Orthodox Church" to "Russian Orthodox Church" to clarify that it's not a pan-Orthodox custom. Buddhagazelle 18:38, 2 March 2007 (UTC)Buddhagazelle

Of course, other Slavs besides the Russians use molebens-- perhaps this could be rephrased as "custom within the Orthodox Christian Church," and a paragraph appended to indicate that molebens originated in and are limited to Slavic-speaking churches. Buddhagazelle 18:42, 2 March 2007 (UTC)Buddhagazelle

My understanding is that the form of service known as Moleben is particular to the Slavic usage. The related service in use among Greek-speaking Orthodox is the Paraklesis. In outline both are very similar (both being based on the outline of Matins on a Feast Day). But over the years, the Moleben greatly abbreviated the Canon to the point where all that is left are the Refrains. The Paraklesis, on the other hand, still contains a full Canon. I once found a very good article on the Internet about the history and development of the Moleben. If I can locate it again, I'll post the URL here. MishaPan 07:27, 3 March 2007 (UTC)