Introduction

The Lord’s Prayer in this chant contains probably some of the exact words that Jesus taught his disciples. The chant begins with the greeting of the angels to the shepherds at Christmas night: “And on earth peace and good hope to all people” (Lk 1:14). Following the East Syriac tradition, the prayer is further interpolated four times with text based on the hymn of angels mentioned in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 - “holy, holy, holy are you” (qandiś, qandiś, qandiśat). The chant belongs to the category of slōţā (prayer or supplication) and is part of the solemn vespers, known in Malayalam as pātturamśā (literally, ‘sung-ramśā’). The celebrant and the choir alternate the verses, and the deacon concludes the chant with a wish for peace (n’salle ślāmmā amman).

In the Syro Malabar church tradition, immediately after the Nativity Hymn, the Celebrant begins the “Our Father.” The format of the Lord’s Prayer is unique to the Chaldean liturgy. It has two forms: the ordinary form and the solemn form. The solemn form includes the heavenly hymn of the angels, “Holy, holy, Thou art holy” (Is 6:3; Rev 4:8), and the Doxology (“For Thine is the Kingdom …”). The Thrice Holy appears as a trope twice in the first part of the prayer. The simple form (i. e., without the Thrice holy and doxology), is recited during the communion rite. It may be noted that the text of the Lord’s Prayer in the Chaldean rite uses the phrase “deliver us from the evil one” (Mt 6: 13, Jn 17: 15), instead of “deliver us from evil.” Practice Session.

The Thrice holy has a significant place among the prayers and hymns in the Chaldean liturgy. It appears at least six times in the various sections of Qurbānā. According to the vision of Isaiah, and the author of the Book of Revelation, the heavenly liturgy consists of the angels constantly singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” There are innumerable references throughout the Qurbānā to this heavenly liturgy. Early on, in the solemn form of the Lord’s Prayer, angels and men create a bond by crying out together the Thrice holy. The Syriac text reads: īre w’nāśā qāēn lāk: qaddiś qaddiś qaddiśat / “Angels and men cry out to you: holy, holy, Thou art holy.” [Notably, the nuances of the meaning of the original text are lost in some of the vernacular versions]. The Trisagion (Greek, “Thrice holy,” to be discussed later) is sung three times at the beginning of the liturgy of the Word. In the Anthem of the Mysteries (to be discussed later), the choir will invite the congregation to “join with the heavenly choir to sing” the Thrice holy. Thus, the Thrice holy serves as a frequent reminder of the connection between the earthly and heavenly liturgies.

Available Resources

Qambel Māran | Syriac Chants from South India

Available recordings

Aramaic Project Recordings

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