Panikhida

[Greg the byzantine]

Does anybody know the etymology of the word Panikhida? I've always heard it used in reference to the the memorial service for the dead (mnymosino), but does anybody know if it's used for any other set of prayers, more specifically the lytia (artoklasia).

 

[seashale76]

Not knowing my Greek, I'll tell you the answer that I thought off the top of my head, which could be wrong, but they are a different set of prayers. So a panakhida (memorial) and the artoklasia service aren't the same. Yeah, probably shouldn't have answered then, eh?

 

[Greg the byzantine]

Not knowing my Greek, I'll tell you the answer that I thought off the top of my head, which could be wrong, but they are a different set of prayers. So a panakhida (memorial) and the artoklasia service aren't the same. Yeah, probably shouldn't have answered then, eh?

Hmm as far as I know the word Panikhida is Slavonic, but I'm asking because now I'm not sure. The reason I ask is because My aunts keep on referring to the artiklasia in their heavy Cypriot as a "panishida". The word (at meat to me) seems Too similar to the word Panikhida. I think either the word is a faulty adaptation of the Russian word into Cypriot, or the word is originally Greek and was adopted by the Russian (thinking possibly because of the prefix pan-, which is Greek), or it's a false cognate since pan- is alsobread in the romance languages (and Cypriot definitely has some words from Italian.

Anyway thanks for your response

 

[Anhelyna]

Hmm - as your local Catholic Slav

We only use it , Panakhyda for the Memorial Service for the dead.

 

[rusmeister]

панихидапанихи́да
народн. панахи́да, панафи́да, укр. панахи́да, блр. панахвíда, цслав., др.-русск. панихида (с 1390 г.; см. Срезн. II, 874), панафида (Домостр. Заб. 31), понахида (там же, 41). Заимств. из ср.-греч. παννυχίδα от παννυχίς "всенощная" (Фасмер, Гр.-сл. эт. 140 и сл.; ИОРЯС 12, 2, 262).


OK, we have an ancient Russian connection (1390), but it says THAT comes from Greek -
παννυχίδα от παννυχίς
So now get the Greek experts on it.
I thought "pan" looked Greek to me.

 

[Kreikkalainen]

It could originally mean vigil, well, literaly, "all-nighter".

παν-νυχίς (nyx/nykta for night)

Then it could make sense that it's used for mnymosino, because if you think about it, in older times when people died (especially if they died late in the evening & the burial was next day), the body was either brought to church or left at home & people took turns to read prayers over it (mainly the psalter) all night. So that was the first prayer service for the departed, which was a literal all-nighter.

But I'm only speculating there. It's almost completely disused in greek these days. I think I've only once seen the Paschal Service (before Christos Anesti) refered to as the Paschal παννυχίδα in a greek church.

Are your aunts in the US or in Cyprus? If in the US, then it might be that they heard and adopted/adapted the russian word. If in Cyprus, then that's interesting .

 

[Kreikkalainen]

OK, we have an ancient Russian connection (1390)

I didn't know you were that old .

 

[Kreikkalainen]

It could originally mean vigil, well, literaly, "all-nighter".

παν-νυχίς (nyx/nykta for night)

Hmm... somehow I don't like my previous response. If the second constituent is "night", then παν-νυχίς would probably mean "every-nighter" rather than "all-nighter". Which doesn't really fit with anything I can imagine.

To recap, I don't know .

 

[Greg the byzantine]

панихидапанихи́да
народн. панахи́да, панафи́да, укр. панахи́да, блр. панахвíда, цслав., др.-русск. панихида (с 1390 г.; см. Срезн. II, 874), панафида (Домостр. Заб. 31), понахида (там же, 41). Заимств. из ср.-греч. παννυχίδα от παννυχίς "всенощная" (Фасмер, Гр.-сл. эт. 140 и сл.; ИОРЯС 12, 2, 262).


OK, we have an ancient Russian connection (1390), but it says THAT comes from Greek -
παννυχίδα от παννυχίς
So now get the Greek experts on it.
I thought "pan" looked Greek to me.

It could originally mean vigil, well, literaly, "all-nighter".

παν-νυχίς (nyx/nykta for night)

Then it could make sense that it's used for mnymosino, because if you think about it, in older times when people died (especially if they died late in the evening & the burial was next day), the body was either brought to church or left at home & people took turns to read prayers over it (mainly the psalter) all night. So that was the first prayer service for the departed, which was a literal all-nighter.

But I'm only speculating there. It's almost completely disused in greek these days. I think I've only once seen the Paschal Service (before Christos Anesti) refered to as the Paschal παννυχίδα in a greek church.

Are your aunts in the US or in Cyprus? If in the US, then it might be that they heard and adopted/adapted the russian word. If in Cyprus, then that's interesting .

THANK YOU RUSMEISTER That is awesome.

Yes, with a Cypriot accent the word they use is παννυχίς. And yes that makes perfect sense. They do not use the term for the "Mnymosino" they use it in reference to the "Artoklasia". If παννυχίς is a reference to the all-night vigil then I have my answer, because the custom of the Artoklasia is taken directly from the practice of the All Night Vigil in order to sustain everyone during the night-long prayers.

My Aunts live here, but when I asked them they told me it was the term they used in Cyprus. Cypriot developed separately from Greek spoken on the mainland and it seems this is one of those words that stuck around.

 

[ikonographics]

Yes παννυχίς- παννυχίδα means all-night vigil. It was a Byzantine asmatic (sung) service that was celebrated until the beginnings of the 15th century during Great Lent on the eves of the feasts of major saints. It belonged to the Byzantine Parochial Typikon that from the 12th to 15th centuries was slowly abandoned and replaced by the Monastic Typikon in the cities.

The Service consisted of an opening Psalm 6 (90?), three sets of antiphons (that is intercessions, prayers and psalms 119,120 ans 121. Between the psalm verses troparia verses were sung). These were followed by a double prokeimenon and the Gospel reading, the ancient hymn "The bodiless nature", the "Great Kyrie Eleison." the dismissal prayer, prayer of the bowing of the heads and Dismissal.
In recent years, the Παννυχίς is celebrated in the Cathedral of Athens on the last Monday of Lent before Palm Sunday.
How exactly the Russians came to use this word for the memorial I'm not sure, probably due to the original all-night vigil character of the service.