Question: What are the Liturgical Books and Tones used in the Orthodox Church? JS
Answer:
Liturgical Books.
The Acolouthies and Sequences and other materials are distributed among the following Liturgical Books: we mention only those most commonly used by the Clergy:
(a) The Great Euchologion (in Greek) contains Vespers, Orthros, the three Liturgies, the Mysteries, the Burial Service, the Acolouthies for professing Monks, and other Acolouthies less frequently used, together with many special Prayers for particular occasions.
(1) the Litourgicon contains Vespers, Orthros, the three Liturgies, and some materials required by the Clergy in connection with these Acolouthies; (2) the Archieratikon contains the Acolouthies performed by a Bishop; (3) the Euchologion and adds numerous Prayers and minor Acolouthies (like those for blessing Iconostases, Holy Vessels, and Vestments).
(b) The Horologion contains the Acolouthies of the Daily Cycle; the Apolytikia and Kontakia for all the days of the three secondary cycles (Menaeon, Paschal, and Weekly), with the Remembrances by dates (or Paschal reckoning) for the whole year; the Prayers for Communion, and other devotions.
(c) The Triodion contains all the Acolouthies of the ten weeks before Pascha, beginning with the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee and including the Great Tessaracoste and Great Holy Week.
(d) The Pentecostarion contains all the Acolouthies of the season beginning with Pascha and ending with the Sunday of all Saints.
(e) The Paracletike contains all the Acolouthies of the Weekly Cycle in their Eight Tones (In Greek the name Octoechos is restricted to the separately printed Sunday Acolouths of the Weekly Cycle in Eight Tones).
(f) The Menaeon contains the Acolouthies of the Menaeon Cycle, usually in twelve volumes, one for each month.
(g) Two exceedingly useful Slavonic Books have no Greek equivalents: (1) the Festal Menaeon , which contains the Acolouthies of all the Great Feasts except Pascha; and (2) , which supplies complete Common Acolouthies for Feasts of the Lord and of the Theotokos, and for Remembrances of Saints by classes (Angels and Bodiless Powers, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, etc.).
(h) The "Synopsis of Feasts and Remembrances" (Anthology), supplies the Festal Propers needed at Liturgy, Vespers, Orthros throughout the year.
Tones.
There are eight Plain Chants, or Tones. During the Bright Week -Easter week the Tone changes in regular order every day. On the second Sunday after Trinity Sunday (Pentecost), and during the week which follows, the First Tone is used, with its appointed Gradual (Prokimenon), Canon, Hymns (Troparia), Verses (Stikhera of the, Hymns to the holy Birth-giver of God, Collect-Hymn (Kondakia), and so forth. Thereafter the Tone changes on each successive Sunday, until all eight Tones have been used. On the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, the First Tone is used again; and so on, throughout the year.