Matins
Encyclopedia
Matins is the early morning or night prayer
service in the Roman Catholic
, Anglican
, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies
of the canonical hours
. The term is also used in some Protestant
denominations to describe morning services.
The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also known as Lauds
. When the nocturnal service called Vigils
or Nocturns
, celebrated at night only in monasteries, became joined with Lauds, which came to be treated as the concluding portion of that service, the name of "Matins" was extended to the whole of the morning service and later still became attached to what had originally been that of Vigils.
and Oútrenya in Slavonic (Оўтреня). It is the last of the four night offices, which also include Vespers
, Compline
, and Midnight Office
. In traditional monasteries it is celebrated daily so as to end at sunrise. In parishes it is normally served only on Sundays and feast days.
Matins is the longest and most complex of the daily cycle of services. It is normally celebrated in the early morning, sometimes—especially in monasteries—preceded by the Midnight Office, and usually followed by the First Hour. On Great Feasts it is celebrated as part of an All-Night Vigil
on the evening before, combined with Vespers and the First Hour. In the Slavic tradition, an All-Night Vigil is served every Sunday (commencing on Saturday evening). In the Greek parish tradition, Matins is normally served just before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy
on Sunday morning.
The akolouth (fixed portion of the service) is composed primarily of psalms
and litanies
. The sequences (variable parts) of Matins are composed primarily of hymns and Canons
from the Octoechos
(an eight-tone cycle of hymns for each day of the week, covering eight weeks), and from the Menaion
(hymns for each calendar day of the year). During Great Lent
, some of the portions from the Octoechos and Menaion are replaced by hymns from the Triodion
and during the Paschal Season
with material from the Pentecostarion
. On Sundays there are also Gospel readings
and corresponding hymns from the eleven-part cycle of Resurrectional Gospels.
In very traditional monasteries, readings from the Church Fathers
can be added after each of the Sessional Hymns.
matutinum or matutinae, respectively neuter singular (qualifying "tempus", time) and feminine plural (qualifying "vigiliae", vigils) of the adjective matutinus, meaning "of or belonging to the morning". It was at first applied to the office of Lauds
, celebrated at dawn, but later became attached to the prayer originally offered, according to the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions
, at cock-crow.
The night office retained for some time its name of Vigils
, since, as a rule, Vigils and Matins (Lauds) were combined, the latter serving, to a certain extent, as the closing part of Vigils. The name Matins was then extended to the office of Vigils, and the original Matins took the name of Lauds, a term which, strictly speaking, only designated the last three psalms of that office, i.e. the "Laudate" psalms. At the time when this change of name took place, the custom of saying Vigils at night was observed scarcely anywhere but in monasteries, whilst elsewhere they were said in the morning, so that finally it did not seem a misapplication to give to a night Office a name which, strictly speaking, applied only to the office of day-break. The change, however, was only gradual. St. Benedict (6th century) in his description of the Liturgy of the Hours
, always refers to Vigils as the Night Office, whilst that of day-break he calls Matins, Lauds being the last three psalms of that office, those excised in the Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X (Regula, cap. XIII-XIV; see Lauds
). The Council of Tours
in 567 had already applied the title "Matins" to the Night Office: ad Matutinum sex antiphonae. Laudes Matutinae; Matutini hymni are also found in various ancient authors as synonymous with Lauds.
The contradiction between the name (which referred to the morning) and the content of the office, in particular the hymns (which referred to night), was removed in the revision of 1 November 1970, whereby the name was changed to "Office of Readings" (Officium Lectionis) and a new choice of hymns was made so that "the Office of Readings, while retaining its nocturnal character for those who wish to celebrate a vigil, is now of such a nature that it can be said at any time during the day."
There is an allusion to it in the letter of Pliny the Younger
. The liturgical services of these synaxes was composed of almost the same elements as that of the Jewish Synagogue
: readings from the Books of the Law
, singing of psalms, various prayers. What gave them a Christian character was the fact that they were followed by the Eucharistic service, and that to the reading from the Law, the letters of the apostles and the Acts of the Apostles
was very soon added, as well as the Gospel
s and sometimes other books which were non-canonical, as, for example, the Epistles of Saint Clement, that of Saint Barnabas
, the Apocalypse of Saint Peter
, etc.
The more solemn watches, which were held on the anniversaries of martyrs or on certain feasts, were also known by this title, especially during the 3rd century and 4th century. The Vigil in this case was also called pannychis, because the greater part of the night was devoted to it. Commenced in the evening, they only terminated the following morning, and comprised, in addition to the Eucharist
ic Supper, homilies, chants, and divers offices. These last Vigils it was that gave rise to certain abuses, and they were finally abolished in the Church (see VIGILS
). Notwithstanding this, however, the Vigils, in their strictest sense of Divine Office of the Night, were maintained and developed. Among writers from the 4th century to the 6th century we find several descriptions of them. The "De Virginitate", a fourth-century treatise, gives them as immediately following Lauds.
The author, however, does not determine the number of psalms which had to be recited. Methodius of Olympus
in his "Banquet of Virgins" (Symposion sive Convivium decem Virginum) subdivided the night office
or pannychis into watches, but it is difficult to determine what he meant by these nocturns
. St. Basil also gives a very vague description of the Night Office or Vigils, but in terms which permit us to conclude that the psalms were sung, sometimes by two choirs, and sometimes as responses. John Cassian gives us a more detailed account of the night office of the 5th century monk
s. The number of psalms, which at first varied, was subsequently fixed at twelve, with the addition of a lesson from the Old Testament
and another from the New Testament
. St. Jerome defended the Vigils against the attacks of Vigilantius, but it is principally concerning the watches at the tombs of the martyrs that he speaks in his treatise, "Contra Vigilantium".
Of all the descriptions the most complete is that in the "Peregrinatio Aetheriae" the author of which assisted at Matins in the churches of Jerusalem, where great solemnity was displayed. Other allusions are to be found in Caesarius of Arles, Nicetiuis or Nicetae of Treves, and Gregory of Tours
.
s, the choir
repeating one verse, which served as a response, alternately with the verses of psalms which were sung by the cantors; readings taken from the Old
and the New Testament
, and later on, from the works of the Fathers and doctors; litanies
or supplications; prayer for the divers members of the Church, clergy
, faithful, neophytes, and catechumen
s; for emperors; travellers; the sick; and generally for all the necessities of the Church, and even prayer for Jews
and for heretics. It is quite easy to find these essential elements in the Tridentine
Matins.
, chanted or recited in the form of a response, in accordance with the most ancient custom.
The hymn
s, which were but tardily admitted into the Roman Liturgy, as well as the hymn
s of the other hours, formed part of a very ancient collection which, so far at least as some of them are concerned, may be said to pertain to the 7th or even to the 6th century. As a rule they suggested the symbolic signification of this Hour
, the prayer of the middle of the night.
The Sunday office was made up of the invitatory, hymn, three nocturns, the first of which comprised twelve psalms, and the second and third three psalms each; nine lessons, three to each nocturn, each lesson except the ninth being followed by a response; and finally, the canticle
Te Deum
, which was recited or sung after the ninth lesson instead of a response. The office of feasts was similar to that of Sunday, except that there were only three psalms to the first nocturn instead of twelve. The week-day or ferial office and that of simple feasts were composed of one nocturn only, with twelve psalms and three lessons. The Office of the Dead
and that of the three last days of Holy Week
were simpler, the absolutions, benediction
s, and invitatory being omitted, at least for the three last days of Holy Week, since the invitatory is said in the Offices of the Dead.
The Psalms used at Matins in the Tridentine Breviary were made up of a series commencing with Psalm 1 and running without intermission to Psalm 108 inclusive. The order of the Psalter was followed almost without interruption, except in the case of feasts, when the Psalms were chosen according to their signification, but always from the series 1-108, the remaining Psalms being reserved for Vespers and the other Offices.
The lessons formed a unique element, and in the other canonical hours give place to a capitulum or short lesson. This latter was possibly introduced only for the sake of symmetry, and gave but a very incomplete idea of what a true reading or lesson is. The lessons of Matins on the contrary were readings in the proper sense of the term: they comprised the most important parts of the Old and the New Testament, extracts from the works of the principal Doctors of the Church, and legends of the martyrs or of the other saints.
The lessons from Holy Scripture were distributed in accordance with certain fixed rules (rubrics) which assigned such or such books of the Bible
to certain seasons of the year. In this manner extracts from all the Books of the Bible were read at the office during the year. The Invitatory
and, on certain days, the Te Deum also formed two of the principal characteristics of this office.
The Responses, more numerous in this office, recalled the most ancient form of psalmody: that of the psalm chanted by one alone and answered by the whole choir, as opposed to the antiphon
ic form, which consists in two choirs alternately reciting the psalms.
The division into three or two nocturns
was also a special feature of Matins, but it is impossible to say why it was thought by some to be a souvenir of the military watches (there were not three, but four, watches) or even of the ancient vigils, since ordinarily there was but one meeting in the middle of the night. The custom of rising three times for prayer could only have been in vogue, as exceptional, in certain monasteries, or for some of the more solemn feasts.
Pope Pius X's reform of the breviary included radical changes in the office of Matins, reducing on all days the number of psalms or portions of psalms to nine and abandoning the tradition of reserving Psalms 1-108 for Matins. He thus reduced the relative importance of Matins with respect to the other canonical hours.
The 1970 reform of the Divine Office renamed this canonical hour the Office of Readings. In order to facilitate greater participation by the secular clergy and the laity, its character as a night office has been made optional; it can now be celebrated at any time of the day. The invitatory psalm is retained only if the Office of Readings is celebrated as the first canonical hour of the day, otherwise it is attached to Lauds
. The office is no longer organized according to units call "nocturns". The psalmody consists of three psalms or parts of psalms, each with its own antiphon.
After the psalms, two lessons with their responsories are read, the first from the Bible
, but not from the Gospels, and the second being patristic, hagiographical, or magisterial. A third lesson, the Gospel reading of ancient times, may optionally be added to this office if it is celebrated at night on a feast or solemnity, preceded by vigil canticles. These are given in an appendix of the book of the Liturgy of the Hours
.
The 1962 edition of the Roman Breviary
, including the office of Matins (Ad Matutinum), is still used by traditionalist Catholic
communities such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
. Pope Benedict XVI, in his motu proprio
Summorum Pontificum
(2007), permitted any bishop, priest, or deacon (or anyone not bound to pray the Office, but desiring to do so) to use this form of the Divine Office.
, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
. This practice of reading the Gospel has been preserved in the Benedictine
liturgy. In the Tridentine Roman Liturgy
this custom, so ancient and so solemn, was no longer represented but by the Homily
; but after the Second Vatican Council
it has been restored for the celebration of vigils.
The Ambrosian Liturgy
, better perhaps than any other, preserved traces of the great Vigils
or pannychides, with their complex and varied display of processions, psalmodies, etc. The same liturgy also preserved vigils of long psalmody. This nocturnal office adapted itself at a later period to a more modern form, approaching more and more closely to the Roman liturgy. Here too were found the three nocturns, with Antiphon
, psalms, lessons, and responses, the ordinary elements of the Roman Matins, and with a few special features quite Ambrosian.
As revised after the Second Vatican Council
, the Ambrosian Liturgy of the Hours
used for what once called Matins either the designation "the part of Matins that precedes Lauds in the strict sense" or simply "Office of Readings". Its structure is similar to that of the Roman Liturgy of the Hours, with variations such as having on Sundays three canticles, on Saturdays a canticle and two psalms, in place of the three psalms of the other days in the Ambrosian Rite and of every day in the Roman Rite
.
In the Benedictine office, Matins followed the Roman liturgy quite closely. The number of psalms, viz. twelve, is always the same, there being three or two nocturns according to the degree of solemnity of the particular office celebrated. Ordinarily there are four Lessons, followed by their responses, to each nocturn. The two most characteristic features of the Benedictine Matins are: the canticle
s of the third nocturn, not found in the Roman liturgy, and the Gospel, sung solemnly at the end, the latter trait, as already pointed out, being very ancient.
In the Mozarabic liturgy
, on the contrary, Matins is a system of antiphons, collects, and versicles which make them quite a departure from the Roman system.
, the Office of the Church that, in its origin, dates back the farthest, as far as the Apostolic ages, as far even as the very inception of the Church, being doubtless, after having passed through a great many transformations, the ancient Night Office, the Office of the Vigil
. In a certain sense it was perhaps the Office which was primitively the preparation for the Mass
, that is to say, the Mass of the Catechumens
, which presents at any rate the same construction as that Office:- the reading from the Old Testament, then the epistles and the Acts, and finally the Gospel- the whole being intermingled with psalmody, and terminated by the Homily.
According to another theory suggested by the testimony of Lactantius
, St. Jerome
, and St. Isidore
, the Christians, being ignorant of the date of Christ
's coming, thought he would return during the middle of the night, and most probably the night of Holy Saturday
or Easter Sunday, at or about the hour when he arose from the sepulchre.
Hence the importance of the Easter Vigil
, which would thus have become the model or prototype of the other Saturday Vigils, and incidentally of all the nightly Vigils. The idea of the Second Coming
would have given rise to the Easter Vigil
, and the latter to the office of the Saturday Vigil. The institution of the Saturday Vigil would consequently be as ancient as that of Sunday.
Though Lauds or the Morning Office has now eclipsed the Office of Readings or Vigils, it is because Lauds, once but a part of Matins, drew to itself the solemnity, probably on account of the hour at which it was celebrated, permitting all the faithful to be present.
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
service in the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
of the canonical hours
Canonical hours
Canonical hours are divisions of time which serve as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers....
. The term is also used in some Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
denominations to describe morning services.
The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also known as Lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
. When the nocturnal service called Vigils
Vigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
or Nocturns
Nocturns
Nocturns are divisions of Matins, the night office of the Christian Liturgy of the Hours. A nocturn consists of psalms with antiphons followed by three lessons, which are taken either from scripture or from the writings of the Church Fathers. The office of Matins is composed of one to three nocturns...
, celebrated at night only in monasteries, became joined with Lauds, which came to be treated as the concluding portion of that service, the name of "Matins" was extended to the whole of the morning service and later still became attached to what had originally been that of Vigils.
Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Churches, Matins is called Orthros in GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Oútrenya in Slavonic (Оўтреня). It is the last of the four night offices, which also include Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
, Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
, and Midnight Office
Midnight Office
The Midnight Office is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The office originated as a purely monastic devotion inspired by Psalm 118:62, At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness , and also by...
. In traditional monasteries it is celebrated daily so as to end at sunrise. In parishes it is normally served only on Sundays and feast days.
Matins is the longest and most complex of the daily cycle of services. It is normally celebrated in the early morning, sometimes—especially in monasteries—preceded by the Midnight Office, and usually followed by the First Hour. On Great Feasts it is celebrated as part of an All-Night Vigil
All-night vigil
The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox Church consisting of an aggregation of the three canonical hours of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour...
on the evening before, combined with Vespers and the First Hour. In the Slavic tradition, an All-Night Vigil is served every Sunday (commencing on Saturday evening). In the Greek parish tradition, Matins is normally served just before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
on Sunday morning.
The akolouth (fixed portion of the service) is composed primarily of psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and litanies
Ektenia
Ektenia , often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy...
. The sequences (variable parts) of Matins are composed primarily of hymns and Canons
Canon (hymnography)
A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
from the Octoechos
Octoechos (liturgy)
The Octoechos —literally, the book "of the Eight Tones"—contains an eight-week cycle, providing texts to be chanted for every day at Vespers, Matins, the Divine Liturgy, Compline and the Midnight Office...
(an eight-tone cycle of hymns for each day of the week, covering eight weeks), and from the Menaion
Menaion
The Menaion refers to the annual fixed cycle of services in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches. Commemorations in the Menaion are tied to the day of the calendar year.-Service books:...
(hymns for each calendar day of the year). During Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
, some of the portions from the Octoechos and Menaion are replaced by hymns from the Triodion
Triodion
The Triodion , also called the Lenten Triodion , is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during Great Lent, the three preparatory weeks leading up to it, and during Holy Week.Many canons in the Triodion contain only three odes or...
and during the Paschal Season
Paschal cycle
The Paschal cycle in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Pascha . The cycle consists of approximately ten weeks before and seven weeks after Pascha. The ten weeks before Pascha are known as the period of the Triodion...
with material from the Pentecostarion
Pentecostarion
The Pentecostarion is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite during the Paschal Season which extends from Pascha to the Sunday following All Saints Sunday The Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostárion; Slavonic:...
. On Sundays there are also Gospel readings
Matins Gospel
The Matins Gospel is the solemn chanting of a lection from one of the Four Gospels during Matins in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
and corresponding hymns from the eleven-part cycle of Resurrectional Gospels.
Outline
- All of the psalms used herein are numbered according to the Septuagint, which is the official version of the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
used by the Orthodox Church. To find the corresponding KJV numbering, see the article KathismaKathismaA Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite...
.
- Matins opens with what is called the "Royal Beginning", so called because the psalms (19 and 20) are attributed to King David and speak of the MessiahMessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, the "king of kings"; in former times, the ektenia (litany) also mentioned the Emperor by name. (The Royal Beginning is omitted at All-Night Vigil and also during Paschal season, when it is replaced by the Paschal troparionPaschal troparionThe Paschal troparion or Christos anesti is the characteristic hymn for the celebration of Pascha in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
chanted thrice):- The priest'sPriestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
opening blessingBlessingA blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
: Blessed is our God ..., reader: Amen. O Heavenly King ..., and the TrisagionTrisagionThe Trisagion , sometimes called by its opening line Agios O Theos or by the Latin Tersanctus, is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Catholic Churches.In those Churches which use the Byzantine Rite, the Trisagion is chanted...
prayers (Note: Heavenly King ... is omitted between PaschaEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
and PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
) - Psalms 19 and 20, during which the priest performs a full censing of the templeTempleA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
(church building and worshippers). - Glory... Both now... and the Trisagion prayers.
- The Royal Troparia:
- Troparion of the Cross: Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting unto Orthodox Christians [formerly the Emperor] victory over enemies; and by the power of Thy cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.
- Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
- KontakionKontakionKontakion is a form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The word derives from the Greek word kontax , meaning pole, specifically the pole around which a scroll is wound. The term describes the way in which the words on a scroll unfurl as it is read...
of the Cross: O Thou Who was lifted up willingly on the Cross, bestow Thy mercies upon the new community named after Thee, O Christ God; gladden with Thy power the Orthodox Christians, granting them victory over enemies; may they have as Thy help the weapon of peace, the invincible trophy. - Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
- TheotokionTheotokionA Theotokion is a hymn to Mary, the Theotokos , which is read or chanted during the Divine Services of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches....
: O awesome intercession that cannot be put to shame, O Good one, disdain not our prayer; O all-hymned TheotokosTheotokosTheotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
, establish the commonwealth of the Orthodox, save the Orthodox Christians, and grant unto them victory from heaven, for thou didst bring for God, O thou only blessed one.
- The priest offers a brief litany
- Ekphonesis by the priest: Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-giving and undivided Trinity, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages
- The priest's
- The Six Psalms (3, 37, 62, 87, 102, and 142), during which the priest says twelve silent prayers: six in front of the Holy Table (altar), and six in front of the Holy Doors
- The Litany of Peace (also known as the Great Litany)
- Theos KyriosTheos KyriosTheos Kyrios is a psalm response chanted near the beginning of the Matins service in the Rite of Constantinople, observed by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. It is based principally on Psalm 117 , the refrain composed of verses v...
... (God is the Lord ...) and the apolytikionApolytikionThe Apolytikion or Dismissal Hymn is a troparion said or sung at Orthodox Christian worship services. The apolytikion summarizes the feast being celebrated that day. It is chanted at Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy; and it is read at each of the Little Hours...
(troparionTroparionA troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos...
of the day) - The PsalterPsalterA psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
(either two or three sections, depending upon the liturgical season). For each section the following order is followed:- The kathismaKathismaA Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite...
(section from the Psalter) - The Little LitanyLittle LitanyThe Little Litany or Little Ektenia or Little Synapte is a brief ektenia which is recited at various times during the liturgical worship of the Byzantine Rite, as observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Churches....
- The Sessional Hymns (Greek: kathismata, Slavonic: sedalen)
- The kathisma
- On Sundays: Evlogetaria (Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes)
- The Little Litany
- On Sundays and Feast Days:
- The Hypakoë is chanted to prepare for the message of the Gospel reading
- The Anavathmoi ("hymns of ascent") based on Psalms 119-133, called the Song of DegreesSong of DegreesSong of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 , that each starts with the ascription Shir Hama'aloth...
) - The ProkeimenonProkeimenonIn the liturgical practice of the Orthodox Church, a Prokeimenon is a psalm or canticle refrain sung responsorially at certain specified points of the Divine Liturgy or the Divine Office, usually to introduce a scripture reading...
- The order of the Matins GospelMatins GospelThe Matins Gospel is the solemn chanting of a lection from one of the Four Gospels during Matins in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
is as follows:- Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord, Choir: Lord, have mercy, and the priest responds with an ekphonesis
- Deacon Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord
- The GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
is read by the priest
- On Sundays, and every day during Paschal season: Choir: Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ ...
- Psalm 50Psalm 51Psalm 51 , traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God....
- Sundays and Feast Days: Glory ..., both now ... and a hymn
- Sundays, Feast Days and Lenten Days, the petition: O God, save your people and bless your inheritance ..."
- The CanonCanon (hymnography)A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
:- First and Third Odes
- Little Litany
- Sessional Hymns
- Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Odes
- Little Litany
- KontakionKontakionKontakion is a form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The word derives from the Greek word kontax , meaning pole, specifically the pole around which a scroll is wound. The term describes the way in which the words on a scroll unfurl as it is read...
and OikosOikosAn oikos is the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family.... - Synaxarion (commemorating the saints of the day)
- Seventh and Eighth Odes
- The MagnificatMagnificatThe Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
(My soul doth magnify the Lord ...) while the deacon censesThuribleA thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used...
the Church - Ninth Ode
- Little Litany
- Sundays and certain Feast Days: Holy is the Lord our God, three times
- The ExapostilariaExapostilarionThe Exapostilarion is a hymn or group of hymns chanted in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches at the conclusion of the Canon near the end of Matins...
(hymns related to the day's Gospel, or the day's feast)
- The LaudsLaudsLauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
or Praises (Greek: Ainoi): Psalms 148, 149, 150 - if it is Sunday or a feast day, stichera are interspersed between the final verses - The ending:
- The Doxastikon (the Glory hymn), when chanted properly is the longest, and usually the richest, hymn of the service. Both the Glory... and Both Now... are chanted.
- Sundays and Feast Days: the Great DoxologyGreat DoxologyThe Great Doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the Trinity which is chanted or read daily in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches.At each of these hymns, the words “Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin,” will be altered to correspond with the time of day:*At Matins:...
is chanted, followed by the apolytikion, the two litanies and the Dismissal - Weekdays: the Small Doxology is read, followed by the first litany, the ApostichaApostichaThe Aposticha are a set of hymns accompanied by psalm verses that are chanted towards the end of Vespers and Matins in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite....
, It is good to give praise unto the Lord..., the Trisagion sequence followed by the apolytikion, and the second litany (there is no dismissal)
- Sundays and Feast Days: the Great Doxology
- The First Hour
In very traditional monasteries, readings from the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
can be added after each of the Sessional Hymns.
Basic Forms
- Sunday Orthros—The longest of the regular orthros services - Gospel Reading and Great Doxology. If this service is celebrated in its entirety it can last up to three hours. As a result, in most practical situations, abbreviations are made.
- Daily Orthros—Celebrated on most weekdays - No Gospel reading, Small Doxology.
- Feast-day Orthros—Very similar to Sunday Orthros, excluding those parts which are strictly Resurrectional in nature - Gospel reading and Great Doxology.
Special Forms
- LentenGreat LentGreat Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
Orthros—Weekdays (Monday through Friday) during Great Lent, and certain days during the lesser fasting seasons (Nativity FastNativity FastThe Nativity Fast is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, in preparation for the Nativity of Christ, . The fast is similar to the Western Advent, except that it runs for 40 days instead of four weeks. The fast is...
, Apostles' FastApostles' FastThe Apostles' Fast, also called the Fast of the Holy Apostles, the Fast of Peter and Paul, or sometimes St. Peter's Fast, is a fast observed by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians...
and Dormition Fast). The service follows the order of Daily Orthros but with penitential material added (hymns and prayers), most days have three kathismas from the Psalter, "God is the Lord" is replaced by "AlleluiaAlleluiaThe word "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" , which at its most literal means "Praise Yah", is used in different ways in Christian liturgies....
" (from which fact these days are called "days with Alleluia"). The petition: "O God, save your people and bless your inheritance ..." is read by the priest. There is no Gospel reading. At the canon the Biblical Odes are read, the Small Doxology is read. Special Lenten ending of the service, including the Prayer of St. Ephraim. - Great and Holy FridayGood FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
Orthros—Twelve Passion Gospels are interspersed throughout the service; Antiphons are used between the Gospels (these originated in a different office); While the troparion at the 15th antiphon Today is hung upon the cross... (Simeron krematai) is chanted, the priest brings a large crucifix into the center of the church, and all venerate the cross. The BeatitudesBeatitudesIn Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
are chanted with special stichera. Small Doxology. - Great and Holy SaturdayHoly SaturdayHoly Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter...
Orthros—Lamentations are chanted around the epitaphiosEpitaphiosEpitaphios may refer to:* Funeral oration or epitaphios logos* Epitaphios or epitaphion, a cloth icon used during Holy Week in churches that follow the Byzantine rite...
, interspersed between the verses of Psalm 118Psalm 119Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. It is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" . It is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Torah, the sacred law...
. Contains some elements of the old cathedral office: procession with epitaphios, reading of three pericopes (lessons from the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, epistleEpistleAn epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
and GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
) at the end - Great Doxology. - PaschalEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Orthros—Celebrated during Bright WeekBright WeekBright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite for the period of seven days beginning on Pascha and continuing up to the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday...
, from the Sunday of Pascha (Easter) until Thomas Sunday. The service is completely different from the rest of the year; only the EkteniaEkteniaEktenia , often called simply Litany, is a prayerful petition in the Eastern Orthodox/Eastern Catholic liturgy...
s, CanonCanon (hymnography)A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
and Lauds are the same; everything else, including the psalms, are replaced by special Paschal hymns. The Priest vests fully in his Eucharistic Vestments on the Sunday of Pascha, and in EpitrachelionEpitrachelionThe Epitrachil is the liturgical vestment worn by priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches as the symbol of their priesthood, corresponding to the Western stole...
(Stole) and PhelonionPhelonionThe phelónion The phelónion The phelónion (Greek: (plural, , phailónia; Latin paenula) is a liturgical vestment worn by a priest of the Eastern Christian tradition. It is worn over the priest's other vestments and is equivalent to the chasuble of Western Christianity.- Origin :...
(chasuble) for the other days of Bright Week - Gospel only on Sunday, no Doxology at all (neither Small nor Great).
Name
The word "Matins" is derived from LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
matutinum or matutinae, respectively neuter singular (qualifying "tempus", time) and feminine plural (qualifying "vigiliae", vigils) of the adjective matutinus, meaning "of or belonging to the morning". It was at first applied to the office of Lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
, celebrated at dawn, but later became attached to the prayer originally offered, according to the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions
Apostolic Constitutions
The Apostolic Constitutions is a Christian collection of eight treatises which belongs to genre of the Church Orders. The work can be dated from 375 to 380 AD. The provenience is usually regarded as Syria, probably Antioch...
, at cock-crow.
The night office retained for some time its name of Vigils
Vigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
, since, as a rule, Vigils and Matins (Lauds) were combined, the latter serving, to a certain extent, as the closing part of Vigils. The name Matins was then extended to the office of Vigils, and the original Matins took the name of Lauds, a term which, strictly speaking, only designated the last three psalms of that office, i.e. the "Laudate" psalms. At the time when this change of name took place, the custom of saying Vigils at night was observed scarcely anywhere but in monasteries, whilst elsewhere they were said in the morning, so that finally it did not seem a misapplication to give to a night Office a name which, strictly speaking, applied only to the office of day-break. The change, however, was only gradual. St. Benedict (6th century) in his description of the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
, always refers to Vigils as the Night Office, whilst that of day-break he calls Matins, Lauds being the last three psalms of that office, those excised in the Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X (Regula, cap. XIII-XIV; see Lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
). The Council of Tours
Council of Tours
In the medieval Roman Catholic church there were several Councils of Tours, that city being an old seat of Christianity, and considered fairly centrally located in France. Athenius, Bishop of Rennes, took part in the First Council of Tours in AD 461...
in 567 had already applied the title "Matins" to the Night Office: ad Matutinum sex antiphonae. Laudes Matutinae; Matutini hymni are also found in various ancient authors as synonymous with Lauds.
The contradiction between the name (which referred to the morning) and the content of the office, in particular the hymns (which referred to night), was removed in the revision of 1 November 1970, whereby the name was changed to "Office of Readings" (Officium Lectionis) and a new choice of hymns was made so that "the Office of Readings, while retaining its nocturnal character for those who wish to celebrate a vigil, is now of such a nature that it can be said at any time during the day."
Origin (Vigils)
The word "Vigils", at first applied to the night office, also comes from a Latin source, both as to the term and its use, namely the vigiliae or nocturnal watches or guards of the soldiers. The night from six o'clock in the evening to six o'clock in the morning was divided into four watches or vigils of three hours each, the first, the second, the third, and the fourth vigil. From the liturgical point of view and in its origin, the use of the term was very vague and elastic. Generally it designated the nightly meetings, synaxes, of the Christians. Under this form, the watch (vigil) might be said to date back as early as the beginning of Christianity. It was either on account of the secrecy of their meetings, or because of some mystical idea which made the middle of the night the hour par excellence for prayer, in the words of the psalm: media nocte surgebam ad confitendum tibi, that the Christians chose the night time for their synaxes, and of all other nights, preferably that leading to the first day of the week.There is an allusion to it in the letter of Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
. The liturgical services of these synaxes was composed of almost the same elements as that of the Jewish Synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
: readings from the Books of the Law
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, singing of psalms, various prayers. What gave them a Christian character was the fact that they were followed by the Eucharistic service, and that to the reading from the Law, the letters of the apostles and the Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
was very soon added, as well as the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s and sometimes other books which were non-canonical, as, for example, the Epistles of Saint Clement, that of Saint Barnabas
Barnabas
Barnabas , born Joseph, was an Early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. In terms of culture and background, he was a Hellenised Jew, specifically a Levite. Named an apostle in , he and Saint Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts...
, the Apocalypse of Saint Peter
Apocalypse of Peter
The recovered Apocalypse of Peter or Revelation of Peter is an example of a simple, popular early Christian text of the 2nd century; it is an example of Apocalyptic literature with Hellenistic overtones. The text is extant in two incomplete versions of a lost Greek original, one Koine Greek, and an...
, etc.
The more solemn watches, which were held on the anniversaries of martyrs or on certain feasts, were also known by this title, especially during the 3rd century and 4th century. The Vigil in this case was also called pannychis, because the greater part of the night was devoted to it. Commenced in the evening, they only terminated the following morning, and comprised, in addition to the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
ic Supper, homilies, chants, and divers offices. These last Vigils it was that gave rise to certain abuses, and they were finally abolished in the Church (see VIGILS
Vigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
). Notwithstanding this, however, the Vigils, in their strictest sense of Divine Office of the Night, were maintained and developed. Among writers from the 4th century to the 6th century we find several descriptions of them. The "De Virginitate", a fourth-century treatise, gives them as immediately following Lauds.
The author, however, does not determine the number of psalms which had to be recited. Methodius of Olympus
Methodius of Olympus
The Church Father and Saint Methodius of Olympus was a Christian bishop, ecclesiastical author, and martyr.-Life:Few reports have survived on the life of this first scientific opponent of Origen; even these short accounts present many difficulties. Eusebius does not mention him in his Church...
in his "Banquet of Virgins" (Symposion sive Convivium decem Virginum) subdivided the night office
Night Hours
The Night Hours are the fixed times of prayer in the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church, that take place after sunset and before sunrise. In the Latin Rite, the main Office is traditionally Matins, said in the early hours of the morning, and which is joined to the office of Lauds, which is...
or pannychis into watches, but it is difficult to determine what he meant by these nocturns
Nocturns
Nocturns are divisions of Matins, the night office of the Christian Liturgy of the Hours. A nocturn consists of psalms with antiphons followed by three lessons, which are taken either from scripture or from the writings of the Church Fathers. The office of Matins is composed of one to three nocturns...
. St. Basil also gives a very vague description of the Night Office or Vigils, but in terms which permit us to conclude that the psalms were sung, sometimes by two choirs, and sometimes as responses. John Cassian gives us a more detailed account of the night office of the 5th century monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s. The number of psalms, which at first varied, was subsequently fixed at twelve, with the addition of a lesson from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and another from the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. St. Jerome defended the Vigils against the attacks of Vigilantius, but it is principally concerning the watches at the tombs of the martyrs that he speaks in his treatise, "Contra Vigilantium".
Of all the descriptions the most complete is that in the "Peregrinatio Aetheriae" the author of which assisted at Matins in the churches of Jerusalem, where great solemnity was displayed. Other allusions are to be found in Caesarius of Arles, Nicetiuis or Nicetae of Treves, and Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
.
The elements of this office from the fourth to the sixth century
In all the authors we have quoted, the form of Night Prayers would appear to have varied a great deal. Nevertheless in these descriptions, and in spite of certain differences, we find the same elements repeated: the psalms generally chanted in the form of responses, that is to say by one or more cantorCantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
s, the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
repeating one verse, which served as a response, alternately with the verses of psalms which were sung by the cantors; readings taken from the Old
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and later on, from the works of the Fathers and doctors; litanies
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
or supplications; prayer for the divers members of the Church, clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, faithful, neophytes, and catechumen
Catechumen
In ecclesiology, a catechumen , “‘down’” + ἠχή , “‘sound’”) is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...
s; for emperors; travellers; the sick; and generally for all the necessities of the Church, and even prayer for Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and for heretics. It is quite easy to find these essential elements in the Tridentine
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
Matins.
Roman liturgy of recent centuries
In the Tridentine Roman liturgy, Matins, on account of its length, the position it occupied, and the matter of which it was composed, was the most important office of the day, and for the variety and richness of its elements the most remarkable. As the first canonical hour of the day, it commenced more solemnly than the other offices, with Psalm 94 (Psalm 95 in the Masoretic numbering), called the InvitatoryInvitatory
The Invitatory is the psalm Venite exsultemus, traditionally numbered 94 in the Septuagint or 95 in the Masoretic text, used to start Nocturns in the Divine Office. After the reform of the Liturgy of the Hours following the Second Vatican Council, the Invitatory is said either before the Office of...
, chanted or recited in the form of a response, in accordance with the most ancient custom.
The hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, which were but tardily admitted into the Roman Liturgy, as well as the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s of the other hours, formed part of a very ancient collection which, so far at least as some of them are concerned, may be said to pertain to the 7th or even to the 6th century. As a rule they suggested the symbolic signification of this Hour
Canonical hours
Canonical hours are divisions of time which serve as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers....
, the prayer of the middle of the night.
The Sunday office was made up of the invitatory, hymn, three nocturns, the first of which comprised twelve psalms, and the second and third three psalms each; nine lessons, three to each nocturn, each lesson except the ninth being followed by a response; and finally, the canticle
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
, which was recited or sung after the ninth lesson instead of a response. The office of feasts was similar to that of Sunday, except that there were only three psalms to the first nocturn instead of twelve. The week-day or ferial office and that of simple feasts were composed of one nocturn only, with twelve psalms and three lessons. The Office of the Dead
Office of the Dead
The Office of the Dead is a prayer cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper reading on All Souls' Day for all souls in Purgatory, and can be a votive office on other days when said for a particular decedent...
and that of the three last days of Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
were simpler, the absolutions, benediction
Benediction
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
s, and invitatory being omitted, at least for the three last days of Holy Week, since the invitatory is said in the Offices of the Dead.
The Psalms used at Matins in the Tridentine Breviary were made up of a series commencing with Psalm 1 and running without intermission to Psalm 108 inclusive. The order of the Psalter was followed almost without interruption, except in the case of feasts, when the Psalms were chosen according to their signification, but always from the series 1-108, the remaining Psalms being reserved for Vespers and the other Offices.
The lessons formed a unique element, and in the other canonical hours give place to a capitulum or short lesson. This latter was possibly introduced only for the sake of symmetry, and gave but a very incomplete idea of what a true reading or lesson is. The lessons of Matins on the contrary were readings in the proper sense of the term: they comprised the most important parts of the Old and the New Testament, extracts from the works of the principal Doctors of the Church, and legends of the martyrs or of the other saints.
The lessons from Holy Scripture were distributed in accordance with certain fixed rules (rubrics) which assigned such or such books of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
to certain seasons of the year. In this manner extracts from all the Books of the Bible were read at the office during the year. The Invitatory
Invitatory
The Invitatory is the psalm Venite exsultemus, traditionally numbered 94 in the Septuagint or 95 in the Masoretic text, used to start Nocturns in the Divine Office. After the reform of the Liturgy of the Hours following the Second Vatican Council, the Invitatory is said either before the Office of...
and, on certain days, the Te Deum also formed two of the principal characteristics of this office.
The Responses, more numerous in this office, recalled the most ancient form of psalmody: that of the psalm chanted by one alone and answered by the whole choir, as opposed to the antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
ic form, which consists in two choirs alternately reciting the psalms.
The division into three or two nocturns
Nocturns
Nocturns are divisions of Matins, the night office of the Christian Liturgy of the Hours. A nocturn consists of psalms with antiphons followed by three lessons, which are taken either from scripture or from the writings of the Church Fathers. The office of Matins is composed of one to three nocturns...
was also a special feature of Matins, but it is impossible to say why it was thought by some to be a souvenir of the military watches (there were not three, but four, watches) or even of the ancient vigils, since ordinarily there was but one meeting in the middle of the night. The custom of rising three times for prayer could only have been in vogue, as exceptional, in certain monasteries, or for some of the more solemn feasts.
Pope Pius X's reform of the breviary included radical changes in the office of Matins, reducing on all days the number of psalms or portions of psalms to nine and abandoning the tradition of reserving Psalms 1-108 for Matins. He thus reduced the relative importance of Matins with respect to the other canonical hours.
The 1970 reform of the Divine Office renamed this canonical hour the Office of Readings. In order to facilitate greater participation by the secular clergy and the laity, its character as a night office has been made optional; it can now be celebrated at any time of the day. The invitatory psalm is retained only if the Office of Readings is celebrated as the first canonical hour of the day, otherwise it is attached to Lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
. The office is no longer organized according to units call "nocturns". The psalmody consists of three psalms or parts of psalms, each with its own antiphon.
After the psalms, two lessons with their responsories are read, the first from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, but not from the Gospels, and the second being patristic, hagiographical, or magisterial. A third lesson, the Gospel reading of ancient times, may optionally be added to this office if it is celebrated at night on a feast or solemnity, preceded by vigil canticles. These are given in an appendix of the book of the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
.
The 1962 edition of the Roman Breviary
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
, including the office of Matins (Ad Matutinum), is still used by traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
communities such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a traditionalist Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of priests and seminarians in good standing with the Holy See.-Canonical status:...
and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of priests in the Catholic Church that celebrates the Liturgy in Latin in accordance with its constitutions and founding documents. Its goals are to preserve and patronize traditional Latin Rite liturgical art and music...
. Pope Benedict XVI, in his motu proprio
Motu proprio
A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....
Summorum Pontificum
Summorum Pontificum
Summorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
(2007), permitted any bishop, priest, or deacon (or anyone not bound to pray the Office, but desiring to do so) to use this form of the Divine Office.
Non-Roman Western Rites
In the office of the Church of Jerusalem, of which the pilgrim Ætheria gives us a description, the vigils on Sundays terminated with the solemn reading of the GospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan....
. This practice of reading the Gospel has been preserved in the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
liturgy. In the Tridentine Roman Liturgy
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
this custom, so ancient and so solemn, was no longer represented but by the Homily
Homily
A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture. In Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a homily is usually given during Mass at the end of the Liturgy of the Word...
; but after the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
it has been restored for the celebration of vigils.
The Ambrosian Liturgy
Ambrosian Rite
Ambrosian Rite, also called the Milanese Rite, is a Catholic liturgical Western Rite. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century...
, better perhaps than any other, preserved traces of the great Vigils
Vigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
or pannychides, with their complex and varied display of processions, psalmodies, etc. The same liturgy also preserved vigils of long psalmody. This nocturnal office adapted itself at a later period to a more modern form, approaching more and more closely to the Roman liturgy. Here too were found the three nocturns, with Antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
, psalms, lessons, and responses, the ordinary elements of the Roman Matins, and with a few special features quite Ambrosian.
As revised after the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, the Ambrosian Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
used for what once called Matins either the designation "the part of Matins that precedes Lauds in the strict sense" or simply "Office of Readings". Its structure is similar to that of the Roman Liturgy of the Hours, with variations such as having on Sundays three canticles, on Saturdays a canticle and two psalms, in place of the three psalms of the other days in the Ambrosian Rite and of every day in the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
.
In the Benedictine office, Matins followed the Roman liturgy quite closely. The number of psalms, viz. twelve, is always the same, there being three or two nocturns according to the degree of solemnity of the particular office celebrated. Ordinarily there are four Lessons, followed by their responses, to each nocturn. The two most characteristic features of the Benedictine Matins are: the canticle
Canticle
A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
s of the third nocturn, not found in the Roman liturgy, and the Gospel, sung solemnly at the end, the latter trait, as already pointed out, being very ancient.
In the Mozarabic liturgy
Mozarabic Rite
The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...
, on the contrary, Matins is a system of antiphons, collects, and versicles which make them quite a departure from the Roman system.
Signification and symbolism
The Office of Readings is, apart from the EucharistEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, the Office of the Church that, in its origin, dates back the farthest, as far as the Apostolic ages, as far even as the very inception of the Church, being doubtless, after having passed through a great many transformations, the ancient Night Office, the Office of the Vigil
Vigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
. In a certain sense it was perhaps the Office which was primitively the preparation for the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, that is to say, the Mass of the Catechumens
Mass of the Catechumens
The Mass of the Catechumens is an ancient title for the first half of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox worship service known as the Mass or Divine Liturgy. This part of the Mass is now referred to by the Catholic Church as the Liturgy of the Word...
, which presents at any rate the same construction as that Office:- the reading from the Old Testament, then the epistles and the Acts, and finally the Gospel- the whole being intermingled with psalmody, and terminated by the Homily.
According to another theory suggested by the testimony of Lactantius
Lactantius
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son.-Biography:...
, St. Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, and St. Isidore
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
, the Christians, being ignorant of the date of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
's coming, thought he would return during the middle of the night, and most probably the night of Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter...
or Easter Sunday, at or about the hour when he arose from the sepulchre.
Hence the importance of the Easter Vigil
Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...
, which would thus have become the model or prototype of the other Saturday Vigils, and incidentally of all the nightly Vigils. The idea of the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
would have given rise to the Easter Vigil
Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...
, and the latter to the office of the Saturday Vigil. The institution of the Saturday Vigil would consequently be as ancient as that of Sunday.
Though Lauds or the Morning Office has now eclipsed the Office of Readings or Vigils, it is because Lauds, once but a part of Matins, drew to itself the solemnity, probably on account of the hour at which it was celebrated, permitting all the faithful to be present.
See also
- Liturgy of the HoursLiturgy of the hoursThe Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
- Canonical hoursCanonical hoursCanonical hours are divisions of time which serve as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers....
- DiurnumDiurnumIn the Episcopal monastic tradition, the second of four services in regular daily worship:*MatinsDiurnum*Vespers*Compline-See also:*Canonical hours*Vigils*Night Hours*Book of Hours...
- ComplineComplineCompline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
- VigilsVigilsVigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
- Anglican Morning Prayers
- Night HoursNight HoursThe Night Hours are the fixed times of prayer in the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church, that take place after sunset and before sunrise. In the Latin Rite, the main Office is traditionally Matins, said in the early hours of the morning, and which is joined to the office of Lauds, which is...
- Book of HoursBook of HoursThe book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
- Matins in LutheranismMatins in LutheranismA typical order of Matins in Lutheranism is found in the Lutheran Service Book, the recently published hymnal of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod....
External links
- Sunday Orthos Greek Orthodox Church in America
- Daily Matins Russian Orthodox (in English)
- Byzantine Catholic Daily Prayer
- The Office of Readings for today's date (Roman Catholic)