So that someone who is not necessarily familiar
with liturgical terminology in general, or with the terminology of the Orthodox
Church in particular, can profitably read or study the following texts, the
following definitions and descriptions are provided :
Vespers: Any
of the evening services. These services follow a basic format which is as
follows: a:
the opening Psalm 103/4, b:
the "Lamplighting" or "Lord I have cried" Psalms, c: the Hymn "O Joyful (or Gladsome)
light, d:
the evening Prokeimenon (the Orthodox equivalent of the Western
"Gradual"), e:
the prayer sequence beginning "Vouchsafe O Lord", f: the Aposticha (lit. Verses on Verses, i.e. hymn verses based upon or relating
selected Psalm verses to a given observance), g: Song of Simeon (the western Nunc Dimittis) h: the trisagion prayers (a sequence of
prayers beginning with the prayer Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal. .
.), i:
the Lords Prayer, j:
the Apolytikion (dismissal hymn or Troparion proper to the observance), k: Conclusion. Interspersed among these basic
elements are various litanies, readings from the Psalter (kathismata-- i.e. readings from the
Psalter which is divided into twenty sections or kathismata which are meant to be read through every week),
readings from the Old and New Testaments, and other blessings particular
to given observances. In the service book which is translated here, Great
Vespers is treated as the normal service with all the other forms of Vespers
are treated as variations of Great Vespers
Compline: The services offered after dinner and before
bedtime. There are two kinds Great or Grand Compline and Small compline. This
service began as a rite observed by monastics in their cells before going to
bed. In time it was given a more public expression and developed as we have it
today.
The Midnight
Office: The
office or service which begins during the middle of the night i.e. anytime well
after sundown and well before daybreak. In ordinary parishes, practically the
only time the midnight office is served is at the Paschal services.
The Hours: Offices or services which mark the various
principal hours of the day. The First Hour is about 6:00 a.m., or early morning
just after sunrise, the Third Hour is about 9:00 a.m., or
mid-morning. The Sixth Hour is about noon or midday, the Ninth Hour is
about 3:00 p.m. or mid-afternoon. While the original intent of these services
was to mark the passage of the day, it is now usual for them to be combined or
"aggregated" with other services so that there is a block of services
served together in the morning and another block of services served together in
the evening.
Matins: The Liturgy of Morning Prayers of the the
Church. Matins consists of a:
the Six Psalms, b: The Great
Litany and the verses on "God is the Lord" with the troparion
for the day, c: the kathisma
readings, d: Psalm 50/1 e: the Canon (a type of hymnography
in which Biblical "Odes" are augmented by hymnography appropriate to
a particular occasion -- not to be confused with the prayer of consecration of
the Roman Catholic Mass) f: Lauds
or Psalms of Praise with appropriate verses, g: the Doxology h:
Conclusion. As with Vespers, there are various litanies and other prayers and blessings
interspersed according to the observance of the day.
Vigil: The service created by combining Vespers and
Matins. Vigil is usually prescribed on the eves of Sundays and Great feasts or
Holy Days. This is often called the All Night Vigil because when it is done in
its absolute entirety it takes all night (12-14 hours)
Divine Liturgy: The Eucharistic Liturgy. The Orthodox
equivalent to the Roman Catholic Mass or to the Protestant service of Holy
Communion. In the Orthodox Church there are four Eucharistic Liturgies used.
The most common is the Divine Liturgy of St. John
Chrysostom, the liturgy used on all Sundays except those which fall during
the Great Lent, and all holy days on which a eucharistic liturgy is served
except for the eves of Pascha, Christmas and Theophany, Holy Thursday,
and the feastday of St. Basil the Great (January 1). The
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the Sundays of Great Lent,
Holy Thursday, the Eves of Pascha, Christmas, and Theophany, and the Feast of
St. Basil the Great. The Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts which is actually an extended Vespers service at which
Holy Communion which was consecrated on the previous Sunday is distributed. The
Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts is used during weekdays of Great Lent when the
full celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy is prohibited. The Liturgy of St. James, is served only in certain places on the
feastday of St. James the "Brother of the Lord" and first Bishop of
Jerusalem.
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