In Dahl's dictionary
church (inherent) true, true, or | everlasting, eternal, existing. Ever adv. Always. Complex words with this adverb are understandable on their own. Let us please the ever-blessed Mother of God. You are Mother, ever-blessed, ever-blessed Virgin, eternally. You gave birth to the sun of truth, Ever-Virgin! The womb is ever-virgin. Source of ever-animal drink. Aaron's rod, a green, unfading, ever-living flower. Lifetime abodes. You are magnified to God, like a great martyr, Min. Aug. 22. Ever-memorable, unforgettable. -remembered benefactor, ever-praised, -exalted, etc. Those who honor your ever-joyful memory. Brought(o)viti, glorify unceasingly. The essence, its enduring power and Divinity are visible. Ever-present, ever-existent, beginningless and endless being. Having foreseen his temporary death and imminent departure, and the heavenly things that were ever present, he left the city. The source of an ever-flowing river. Rejoice, ever-reigning city! The garden is ever-blooming; you have appeared, bearing fruits of virtues. Praise Martinia the honorable!
Origin of the Brief Doxology
It is one of the prayers of Christians to the Holy Trinity:
- Presumably this formula was enshrined at the 1st Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in the fourth century AD. e. The reason for this was disagreement with the Arian (one of the movements within early Christianity in the 4th-6th centuries AD) text, which revealed the latter’s opinion about the absence of a single essence in God the Father and the Son. Their expression sounded like “Glory to the Father through the Son ... in the Holy Spirit,” which did not correspond to the generally Christian (including Orthodox) understanding of the Holy Trinity. The Council recognized it as heresy and condemned it.
- Famous Russian theologian M.N. Skaballanovich believed that this expression could have been formed on the basis of the final chants that were part of church liturgies.
- Such doxologies were partially used in certain books of the Holy Scripture, in its New Testament part (the Acts of the Apostles, the Revelation of John the Theologian, or the Apocalypse), and were also found in the prayers of some early Christian holy martyrs - John the God-Bearer and Polycarp in the 1st-2nd centuries AD. e. Now used in the texts of prayers to the Holy Trinity."
In Vasmer Max's dictionary
prisny “true; eternal”, commonly known as “always”, Old Russian. ever - the same, ever brother “half-brother” (Tale of Peter and Fevronia, Pam. old lit. 1, 34), Old Slav. prsn οἰκεῖος, γνήσιος (Supr.), prosno ἀεί (Mar., Zogr., Supr.; see also Dils, Aksl. Gr. 105), Bulgarian. vernacular “always.” Usually interpreted from *pri-jьstьnъ (from *еs- “to be”), for example. Miklosic (Mi. EW 105), Mladenov (523), Ilyinsky (AfslPh 34, 8), or from *prī-sto- from stand, become (as simple), but meaning. “standing nearby, existing” (Transform. II, 126) is not a satisfactory reconstruction; Wed Sobolevsky is also against this, ZhMNP, 1886, September, p. 151. However, the comparison of the latter with the friend also remains doubtful. Possibly, *prīsnъ (from *prīsknъ?) is related to Lat. prīscus “seasoned, worthy”, priоr “before” (prii̯ōs), Greek. πρίν “before”, Homer. πρί̄ν. See about these words Hoffman, Gr. Wb. 284; Walde–Hofm. 2, 363. Phonetically, cf. fresh, cramped. •• (Stang (NTS, 15, 1949, p. 350 et seq.) explains prisny from *pri- and *is; cf. Slav. istъ, Russian ist. – T.)
What is “forever and ever”?
And this is already a classic of church ceremonies. Each of the services cannot do without this almost incantation:
- Always, forever, until the end of time, but usually this phrase is pronounced in a slightly expanded composition, with the addition of the word “now,” and means “ now and forever, forever
.” It can also be interpreted to mean that the first expressions refer to the current time, and the last speaks of eternity; - The most famous saying consists of repeating “glory!” three times. and listing its “addressees”: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the time of action of this prayer: now and ever and forever... amen, that is, now, always and forever. In short, here the praise is pronounced to the Lord, one in three Persons;
- It is also called the Brief Doxology of the Holy Trinity (sometimes called the Small Doxology), which expresses the essence of God. It exists not only in the Church Slavonic (translated from Greek) presentation, but is also present in Catholic and Protestant texts. There are also Great and Daily Doxologies. These are separate types of prayers that are used in strictly defined cases.
What is the Christian Great Doxology?
It belongs to the category of the most ancient temple chants. The highest form of prayer:
- According to Church Rules, it is performed during services called Matins
and
Compline
. Starts with the Gospel of Luke, verse 2:14. Next comes the glorification of the triune God, the singing of psalms, and finally, after a short doxology, there is the prayer “Trisagion.” As a rule, during holidays or Sundays it is sung in the morning and read in the evening; - Analyzing its contents in more detail, we come to the conclusion that it consists of three parts. The first includes glorifying God and praying to the Savior for our pardon. In the second part, the praise of the Lord is mixed with some restraint caused by the mention of our sinfulness. The third part is the most significant and prayerful, where the praise of the Creator is remembered only periodically. The main part of it is occupied by a request and hope for God's mercy. At the end of the song there is a return to its laudatory beginning.
The texts of all parts of this Doxology are compiled on the basis of the Bible and in themselves are quite complete and complete in meaning.
Synonyms of the word
For outdated, obsolete words, and especially Church Slavonic ones, as a rule, there are not many equivalents in modern Russian. The main modern synonym for the word “ever” is “always.” Also, as a replacement for this archaism that is relevant for our contemporaries, we can use words such as “continuously” and “constantly.” In any case, the most general meaning remains unchanged, associated with the constancy of any action in relation to which this adverb is used.
Reading “Now and Ever” at home
A person who considers himself a believer not only attends church services, but also prays at home. The list of his prayers also includes the prayer text of the Brief Doxology.
Of course, time changes the spoken and written style of communication, but knowing, for example, computer slang or youth jargon, it is not at all necessary to use them everywhere and at all times, but only according to circumstances.
During earthly life, a person performs certain material affairs and responsibilities: without them it is also difficult to live in this world, and it is not always worth creating artificial difficulties for oneself. However, as it is written in the Bible, the Lord, when creating man, put his soul into him, and it was this fact, His act, that made him him. Why not thank the Lord for this: “and now” (now), and “forever” (always), “and to the ages of ages” (forever, passing on this wish to your descendants).
What has changed inside a person over time? Never mind. All changes are external, and this is how it always was and will always be.
And the concept of “doxology” is full of synonyms that are quite applicable in our everyday life, but we often call them “copper pipes,” and it is not at all easy to withstand the test of them. And whether they are great or small, it depends on whom.
Perhaps one of the most frequently used expressions relating to the procedures of church services is “ever.” The meaning of the word, which appeared in ancient times, has not lost its relevance today.
Where can you say that?
In its direct meaning, you will never hear the term in everyday speech. It was not only outdated, but was also rarely used even at the moment of its greatest relevance. The word can be carefully woven into a clergyman's speech to give the rhetoric greater meaning.
Do not overuse the word “presno” - the meaning changes to disparaging in a certain context. Are you talking about failure or stupidity? Then the adverb can firmly connect the concepts of “loser” or “fool” with the person you are discussing. Very offensive and extremely impolite.
Source
Meaning of the word today
Amen. Troparion, tone 4: Today we brightly celebrate people of good faith, overshadowed by Your coming, O Mother of God, and looking to Your most pure image, we tenderly say: cover us with Your honorable cover, and deliver us from all evil, praying to Your Son Christ our God, to save our souls. Kontakion, tone 3: The Virgin stands today in the church, and from the faces of the saints she invisibly prays to God for us: the angels and the bishops bow down, the Apostles and the prophets rejoice: for our sake the Mother of God prays to the Eternal God. The Suffering of the Holy Apostle AnaniasThe Holy Apostle Ananias , one of the seventy, was a bishop in the city of Damascus [1].
But it is also added: today I gave birth to Thee, to show birth according to the flesh; because the word “today” indicates time and is used to mean temporary birth.
I only remembered the Trisagion, which I read in a very high voice (at least an octave higher than usual), Vaska, standing with his back to the altar in the Royal Doors (he was already taller than me), and then kneeling down in front of me, his huge autumn a shoe, which I carefully place on his neck, a three-time kiss and my exclamation: “Today you are my son, today I gave birth to you,” fear, congratulations from those present, the feeling of an event - something that cannot be canceled by a decision of the people’s court.
“Today there is sun,” he remembered, “and in the morning there is darkness, rain, and snow; today feasting and marriages, and in the morning weeping and lamenting...” His thought stirred: “Home...” He sharply pulled the curtain and resolutely walked up to the lectern, opened the Psalter lying there, and, straightening the wick in the lamp, began to slowly read in an undertone: “With the prayers of the saints our father, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us, amen..."
... has been and is being sold forever; brothel houses were and are still prohibited, and there are harsh... forcing peasants to work more than three days a week, and this was not observed anywhere... on Sunday, and, secondly, the peasants do not know time days; prohibited in Russia...
listen to the good news, Urus[16] trampled down the filthy army and the evil one, trampled it, crushed it under our feet. Our horsemen [17] arrived in time, Like snow storms came, and the enemy ran to the West. My dear compatriots! This enemy is the ancient Dadzhal, [18 ]Whom Alla sent into the abyss To cast down the angel Already this evil destroyer, the revered desecrator of the sanctities, fell, destroyed, defeated. The wicked paths perished, And the flattering plans disappeared, His raised horn was erased. God directed your right hand, Archangel of the Russian forces! You hit him with his name, And Satan flies to hell, His tracks are all full of blood; Hearts for you are full of love, And the earthly race will bless you. Laurel crowns are woven for you; Hell is preparing for Him - shackles, The Earth is creating a curse. Midnight Pindar, ascend above the Western singers! Like an eagle's youth Renewed, Praise to our eight generations! You gloriously sang the deeds of Felitsa, Today the Davidic girls are Trumpeting the glory of our days. Forgive my steppe pipe, That’s what my compatriots wanted, That I would sing to you on it. <1813>Notes
oh the horror of our days! Like beasts, the Janissaries invaded!.. Inglorious blows will fall... The crowned villain perished. And today learn, O kings: No punishment, no reward, No dungeon shelter, no altars, fences that are not true for you. Bow your first head Under the reliable canopy Law, And freedom and peace will become the eternal guardians of the throne of the people. 1817 To Chaadaev
How was it used?
You can notice the word in the composition “of ever-memorable” and similar epithets. They usually indicate something stable or boring. The specific interpretation of the phrase depends on the context, the reason why the speaker cannot get a specific person, phenomenon or event out of his head.
Outside the Church Slavonic language it is used in a high style, giving speech sophistication and sophistication. But you need to try hard not to distort the meaning of the word “ever” and at the same time harmoniously weave it into the statement. Understanding comes with experience.
