Page - 174 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

174 | Christos Kakalis www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 173–190 Introduction In 2011, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, under Archbishop Gregorios, published the Divine Liturgy as translated from ancient Greek to English by the priest Ephrem Lash.1 The book, in a dark red cover, is small (slightly smaller than A5) and made to be held by parishioners during the service. Each spread of the book has the ancient Greek text on the left page and its English translation on the right page, as well as instructions for the choreography of the rituals and clearly marked gaps for the parts of the liturgy that change depending on the date. Underlining the significance of English as a common language in Orthodox Christian parishes of the United Kingdom, this small red book is acquired by most of the parishioners of St Andrew’s Orthodox Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, from the very beginning of their participation in the services. The congregation does not need the book, however, to contribute actively to the chanting, a tradition that has long since faded out, giving to the choir and deacon the role of living bridge between congregation and clergy. The parishioners of St Andrew’s use this small red book to ease their unfamiliarity with the worshipping environment by follow- ing the texts on the right page; the text on the left pages may not relate to their background, which for some worshippers is Russian, British or Ruma- nian or even French or Chinese and therefore associated with languages that are not traditionally connected to Orthodox culture. Books have played an important role in Orthodox Christian rituals since Byz- antine times.2 Handwritten manuscripts preceded the invention of typogra- phy, which enabled the texts’ production and wider dissemination, while their liturgical use has developed and become an important way of communicating knowledge. Religious books can be divided into two main categories: books of personal/private/individual prayer and books used during services of collective prayer – the Divine Liturgy, Matins, Vespers and so forth. In both cases, there is a performative element in the way the book as an object is carried and used, contributing to the materiality of private prayer spaces and the church. In the case of collective services, the rituals and the texts constantly interact. In this article, I examine the role of language in the creation of inclusive religious auralities at the multinational Orthodox Community of St Andrew in Edinburgh. With the term “aurality”, I describe the materiality of a place’s 1 https://orthodoxwiki.org/Ephrem_(Lash) [accessed 20 July 2020]. 2 Aston 2004, Földváry 2008.