The word "hallelujah" came to contemporaries from the Aramaic language. It, like the word "amen, " was not translated literally, but everyone knows its meaning. Hallelujah means praise God.
The origin of the word hallelujah
The word "hallelujah" many pronounce and do not think about its meaning and origin. So people usually say when they manage to solve a problem, overcome difficulties or avoid danger. "Hallelujah" is pronounced not only by believers, but also those who are far from religion, but the expression is of religious origin.
The word came from Aramaic. According to Hebrew interpretation, it consists of two parts: "hallelujah" and "I". The first part is literally translated as "praise, " and the second is an abbreviation of the word "Yahweh, " which translates as "God." Hallelujah thus means "praise God." Some interpret this term as "thank God, " "our God is great." The word may have several meanings, but they have the same meaning and it consists in gratitude to God, recognition of his greatness.
In the Hebrew Bible, the word was found 24 times and 23 times in the book of Psalms. In the New Testament part of the Bible, "hallelujah" occurs only 4 times.
When use the word
The word "hallelujah" is used by both Christians and Catholics. This proves once again that these religions have a common root - Jewish. People belonging to the Catholic religion say and sing "hallelujah" in the following cases:
- before reading the gospel;
- while singing psalms;
- after the mass.
There are no strict restrictions on the use of the word. It can be pronounced freely when you want, but in the above cases it is necessary to use. Hallelujah is not sung only in funeral services.
In Orthodoxy, the word is used during:
- Divine Liturgy (when celebrating the Small Entrance or Entrance with the Gospel - the passage of a priest or deacon through a side door into the gates of the altar during worship);
- communion of the clergy (performed kinonik, which ends with triple glorification of God);
- communion of parishioners (a prayer of thanks always ends with triple glorification of the Lord);
- weddings;
- baptism.
At the end of the reading of the psalms, they also say "hallelujah." On non-public days of central fasting in the morning services, "hallelujah" replaces some other words.
During the funeral service, the word is not used in prayers in all churches. Earlier it was believed that "hallelujah" is a clergy call for a response. It was pronounced in the imperative plural mood. Singing this word, the priests called on the parishioners not only to pray, but also to praise God. Hallelujah means "Praise the Lord!" Now this is not only an appeal, and an independent exclamation.
Orthodox services are characterized by saying "hallelujah" three times. This symbolizes the worship of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Orthodoxy there is an unspoken prohibition on pronouncing a word in everyday life. Many clergymen consider this unacceptable. When a person says "hallelujah" himself or hears it, he seems to touch God, the highest values. Expression distinguishes between the earthly and the divine. If you pronounce it in a fuss, in between, it’s wrong. In this case, there is some disrespect for God and the depreciation of prayers. Moreover, you can not pronounce the word in anger, in a bad mood and when not very good wishes come true in the address of another person. This behavior is a great sin.
If a person says “hallelujah” not in prayer, but as an independent exclamation, but at the same time puts a special meaning into the word, he sincerely wants to thank the Lord for everything that happens to him, which he managed to achieve or avoid, in such a free expression of love for There is nothing unnatural to God.
In Islam, the word "hallelujah" is not used. Instead, believers use the phrase "La ilaha illa Allah." It translates as "there is no God but Allah."
The split of the church associated with the use of the word
The word "hallelujah" has caused serious disagreement among representatives of the Orthodox Church. Many even believe that it led to a split that divided the believers into 2 camps. Of course, not only this factor was the basis of separation, but the contradictions turned out to be significant.
Until the 15th century, the word "hallelujah" was sung and did not think about what it meant. Some people, who were not very close to the church, even believed that it should be said in order to make church prayers more sonorous.
Once, the Metropolitan was brought a deed of letters. The essence of the question was how many times you need to sing "hallelujah" and whether to do it. It was customary to say it 3 times during prayer, but some believers believed that once was enough.
Efrosin Pskovsky went to Constantinople in order to clarify this point. Upon arrival, he said that he received a response from the Blessed Virgin Mary. In prayers, he told him that he could sing "hallelujah" only 1 time. Some time later, the word began to be used 2 times, and then 3 times. In all the Greek temples they sang just the triple (triple) "hallelujah."
Patriarch Nikon did not oppose this custom and accepted it. But in 1656 the Old Believers appeared. They disagreed that the word should be used in prayer 3 times. They also called into question the triple baptism.
Thus, the number of uses of the word "hallelujah" led to a serious clash of theologians. The Great Moscow Cathedral was convened in order to resolve this issue. And after that a final ban was imposed on the pure pronunciation of "hallelujah." Currently, in all Orthodox churches praise to God is used in prayers 3 times. The exception is only the Old Believer churches. Old Believers did not accept this rule and still use "hallelujah" 2 times in the conduct of services.
