No. 11 (2011): The chanted word in the orthodox oikoumene

         Byzantine civilization has been relentlessly attracting researchers from various scientific disciplines for many years. Its rich heritage of melodies, especially those written in liturgical chant books now kept on the shelves of all the world's most important libraries, began to be systematically investigated in the early 20th century in the countries of the Orthodox Oikoumene, bothi n the narrower and the wider sense. Certainly, not all aspects of the synergy between words and melody that contribute to making the incarnated Logos miraculously present have been fully exhausted. In recent decades, however, Byzantine musicology has been greatly improved by findings that provide wider and broader perspectives on the function and purpose of the art of chanting and its synergy with hymnography in Orthodox liturgy. Numerous historical and analytical studies have been carried out, palaeographic and codicological studies undertaken, and chanting ensembles from all over the world contribute in a specific manner to both the restoration and the affirmation of the sacred chant of various Orthodox nations.