The chattering class and intellengtsia are convinced of the death of longform video the way Friedrich Nietzsche was convinced of the death of God. Both are dead wrong. Long live longform! I am not against shortform, in fact, it is a part and parcel of my business model. But I would be fibbing if I didn’t say that I saw as much beauty in the longform as I do in the Fibonacci Sequence.
I encourage those of my dear readers and watchers who are most daring to hear and/or watch this entire video (from Virgin Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Cathedral in South Central Los Angeles, California). But I am occasionally reasonable, and will lower my expectations for most of you, and simplify matters so that you can selectively watch and rewatch at your leisure. 7 hrs is no joke.
What do we got here?
-the first 48 mins are the Jaredian mezmur (not to be confused with the modern spiritual songs that imitate its name)
-from 48 mins - 1:25:00 you have a baptismal rite followed by a funerary rite, the circle of life
-the eucharistic liturgy begins at 1:25:00, and technically does not close till the end of the video but functionally closes at 4:10:00. I really recommend you hear this liturgy because it is unique in that in honor of Aba Thomas Finley we kept the chanted portions in Ge’ez, but converted all of the regular Amharic readings into English. It would be misleading to call it an English liturgy, but it’s far more English than you’re accustomed to hearing, and what’s more, in the past (since 2013) it was relegated to once a month on Saturday’s but here it is on a Sunday before the great congregation (300-500 laity)
-from 4:10:00 - 5:09:00 the regular choir and the youth choir sing spiritual songs, then after a brief parish council message, Professor haylé (a recently arrived to America married priest of bahir dar with traditional learning in the schools of poetry and chanting) sings a solo modern spiritual song accompanied by his own krar playing, followed by the special needs choir
-5:09:00 - 5:14:00 Dcn. zéna bluy hadees (and here) honors Aba Thomas with words and singing a hymn he taught us all (the lyrics of the Magnificat, Luke 1:46,47)
-5:14:00 - 5:21:00 I honor Aba Thomas with words, and my wife Choir Singer Mary Magdalene sings him a hymn wishing him lifespan and healthspan, to live long and to live well.
5:21:00 - 5:23:00 Protodeacon alem honors Aba Thomas with words
5:23:00 - 5:26:00 a longtime Sunday School student (now in college) Loza honors Aba Thomas with words
5:26:00 - 5:28:00 an older FBA convert and Sunday School assistant teacher habte’silasé honors Aba Thomas with words
5:28:00 - 5:48:00 as qése gebez yonas (whose timely Jonah / Ninevite Fast has once again begun) continues to MC, the parish council, under the auspices of his beatitude Archbishop bernabas, give gifts to honor aba Thomas
5:48:00 - 6:00:00 the youth choir return for an encore
6:00:00 - 6:03:00 Aba Thomas’ biological son The Very Reverend Fr. Nicholas Finley of Nativity (lideta) of the Virgin Mary OCA in Madison, Illinois honors his father with words
6:03:00 - 6:09:00 Professor haylé returns with an ad hoc Ge’ez poem in honor of aba Thomas, whom this is only his second time seeing
6:09:00 - 6:12:00 Choirmaster aba bernabas (nametwin of our archibishop), who has been living and serving with aba Thomas for about a year, shares words to honor him
6:12:00 - 6:20:00 our parish administrator the Messenger of Zion aba laike’maryam shares words to honor aba Thomas whom he has known and served alongside for 17 years
6:20:00 - 6:22:00 a parishioner gives a testimony
6:22:00 - 6:27:00 Archbishop bernabas honors aba Thomas with words
6:27:00 - 6:33:00 Choirmaster aba bernabas leads us in a traditional hymn in honor of the annual covenant of mercy feast of our lady the Holy Virgin Mary
6:33:00 - end the eucharistic liturgy closes
The Whole Shebang