None (liturgy)
Encyclopedia
None or the Ninth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office
of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m. Its name comes from Latin
and refers to the ninth hour of the day after dawn.
This hour is now described more generally as the "midafternoon prayer" and may be said whenever convenient during the day, or omitted entirely. However, bishops and priests are still expected to recite the full sequence of hours, as closely as possible to the traditional time of day.
and Greek Catholic Churches the office of the Ninth Hour is normally read by a single Reader and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Third Hour: Psalms 83, 84, and 85 (LXX). The only variable portions for most of the year are the Troparia
(either one or two) and Kontakion
of the Day. The service ends with the Prayer of the Ninth Hour by Saint Basil the Great.
During Great Lent
a number of changes in the office take place. On Monday through Thursday, after the three fixed psalms, the Reader says a kathisma
from the Psalter
. The Troparion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten hymns that are chanted with prostrations. Then a portion of the Ladder of Divine Ascent may be read. The Kontakion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten troparia. Near the end of the Hour, the Prayer of St. Ephraim
is said, with prostrations.
During Holy Week
, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent, except that there is no kathisma
, and instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the Royal Hours
are chanted.
During the Lesser Lenten seasons (Nativity Fast
, Apostles' Fast
and Dormition Fast) the Little Hours undergo changes similar to those during Great Lent, except the Lenten hymns are usually read instead of chanted, and there are no kathismata. In addition, on weekdays of the Lesser Fasts, an Inter-Hour
(Greek: Mesorion) may be read immediately after each Hour (at least on the first day of the Fast). The Inter-Hours may also be read during Great Lent if there is to be no reading from the Ladder of Divine Ascent at the Little Hours. The Inter-Hours follow the same general outline as the Little Hours, except they are shorter.
The remainder of this article uses the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917; note that it describes the office before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council
; the numbering system of psalms is that of the Septuagint and are said in Latin
:
and Roman
custom, the day was, like the night, divided into four parts, each consisting of three hours. As the last hour of each division gave its name to the respective quarter of the day, the third division (from noon to about 3) was called the None (Latin
nonus, nona, ninth). This division of the day was in vogue also among the Jews
, from whom the Church borrowed it. The following texts, moreover, favor this view: "Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer" ; "And Cornelius said: Four days ago, unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth hour, and behold a man stood before me" ; "Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour" . The most ancient testimony refers to this custom of Terce
, Sext
, and None, for instance Tertullian
, Clement of Alexandria
, the Canons of Hippolytus
, and even the "Didache
("Teaching of the Apostles"). The last-mentioned prescribed prayer thrice each day, without, however, fixing the hours.
Saint Clement of Alexandria and likewise Tertullian, as early as the end of the 2nd century, expressly mention the Canonical Hours
of Terce, Sext, and None, as specially set apart for prayer. Tertullian says explicitly that we must always pray, and that there is no time prescribed for prayer; he adds, nevertheless, these significant words: "As regards the time, there should be no lax observation of certain hours—I mean of those common hours which have long marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the ninth, and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn than the rest."
Clement and Tertullian in these passages refer only to private prayer at these hours. The Canons of Hippolytus
also speak of Terce, Sext, and None, as suitable hours for private prayer; however, on the two station days
, Wednesday and Friday, when the faithful assembled in the church, and perhaps on Sundays, these hours were recited successively in public. St. Cyprian
mentions the same hours as having been observed under the Old Law
, and adduces reasons for the Christians observing them also. In the 4th century there is evidence to show that the practice had become obligatory, at least for the monk
s.
The prayer of Prime
, at six o'clock in the morning, was not added until a later date, but Vespers
goes back to the earliest days. The texts we have cited give no information as to what these prayers consisted of. Evidently they contained the same elements as all other prayers of that time—psalms recited or chanted, canticle
s or hymn
s, either privately composed or drawn from Holy Writ
, and litanies
or prayers properly so-called.
(between 343 and 381) orders that the same prayers be always said at None and Vespers
. But it is not clear what meaning is to attached to the words, leitourgia ton euchon, used in the canon. It is likely that reference is made to famous litanies
, in which prayer was offered for the catechumen
s, sinners, the faithful, and generally for all the wants of the Church. Sozomen
(in a passage, however, which is not considered very authentic) speaks of three psalms which the monk
s recited at None. In any case this number became traditional at an early period. Three psalms were recited at Terce, six at Sext, and nine at None, as St. John Cassian informs us, though he remarks that the most common practice was to recite three psalms at each of these hours
St. Ambrose speaks of three hours of prayer, and, if with many critics we attribute to him the three hymn
s Jam surgit hora tertia, Bis ternas horas explicas, and Ter horas trina solvitur, we shall have a new constitutive element of the Little Hours in the 4th century in the Church of Milan
.
In the Peregrinatio ad loca sancta of Etheria, (end of 4th century), There is a more detailed description of the Office
of None. It resembles that of Sext, and is celebrated in the basilica of the Anastasis
. It is composed of psalms and antiphon
s; then the bishop
arrives, enters the grotto
of the Resurrection, recites a prayer there, and blesses the faithful. During Lent
, None is celebrated in the church of Sion; on Sundays the office is not celebrated; it is omitted also on Holy Saturday
, but on Good Friday
it is celebrated with special solemnity. But it is only in the succeeding age that we find a complete description of None, as of the other offices of the day.
of the day (Prime, Terce, Sext and None) are conceived on the same plan, the formulae alone varying. The Divine Office
begins with Deus in adjutorium
, like all the Canonical Hours
; then follows a hymn
, special to None; three psalms
, which do not change (Psalm 125, 126, 127), except on Sundays and Mondays when they are replaced by three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118; then the capitulum, a versicle
, the Kyrie
, the The Lord's Prayer, the oratio, and the concluding prayers.
In the Roman Liturgy
the office of None is likewise constructed after the model of the Little Hours of the day; it is composed of the same elements as in the Rule of St. Benedict, with this difference: that instead of the three psalms (125-127), the three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118 are always recited. There is nothing else characteristic of this office in this liturgy. The hymn, which was added later, is the one already in use in the Benedictine
Office—Rerum Deus tenax vigor
. In the monastic rules prior to the 10th century certain variations are found. Thus in the Rule of Lerins, as in that of St. Caesarius, six psalms are recited at None, as at Terce and Sext, with antiphon
, hymn and capitulum.
St. Aurelian follows the same tradition in his Rule Ad virgines, but he imposes twelve psalms at each hour on the monks. St. Columbanus
, St. Fructuosus
, and St. Isidore
adopt the system of three psalms Like St. Benedict, most of these authors include hymns, the capitulum or short lesson, a versicle, and an oratio. In the 9th and 10th centuries we find some additions made to the Office of None, in particular litanies, collect
s, etc.
sees in the hours of Terce, Sext and None, which come after a lapse of three hours, an allusion to the Trinity
. He adds that these hours already consecrated to prayer under the Old Dispensation
have been sanctified in the New Testament
by great mysteries—Terce by the descent of the Holy Spirit
on the Apostles; Sext by the prayers of St. Peter, the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, or yet again by the crucifixion
of Christ
; None by the death of Christ. St. Basil merely recalls that it was at the ninth hour that the Apostles Peter and John
were wont to go to the Temple
to pray. St. John Cassian, who adopts the Cyprian
interpretation for Terce and Sext, sees in the Hour of None the descent of Christ into hell
. But, as a rule, it is the death of Christ that is commemorated at the Hour of None.
The writers of the Middle Ages
have sought for other mystical
explanations of the Hour of None. Amalarius of Metz
(III, vi) explains at length, how, like the sun which sinks on the horizon at the hour of None, man's spirit tends to lower itself also, he is more open to temptation, and it is the time the demon selects to try him. For the texts of the Fathers on this subject it will suffice to refer the reader to the above-mentioned work of Cardinal Bona (c. ix). The same writers do not fail to remark that the number nine was considered by the ancients an imperfect number, an incomplete number, ten being considered perfection and the complete number. Nine was also the number of mourning. Among the ancients the ninth day was a day of expiation and funeral service—novemdiale sacrum, the origin doubtless of the novena
for the dead.
As for the ninth hour, some persons believe that it is the hour at which our first parents were driven from the Garden of Paradise
. In conclusion, it is necessary to call attention to a practice which emphasized the Hour of None—it was the hour of fasting
. At first, the hour of fasting was prolonged to Vespers
, that is to say, food was taken only in the evening or at the end of the day. Mitigation of this rigorous practice was soon introduced. Tertullian's
famous pamphlet De jejunio, rails at length against the Psychics (i. e. the orthodox Christians) who end their fast on station days at the Hour of None, while he, Tertullian, claims that he is faithful to the ancient custom. The practice of breaking the fast at None caused that hour to be selected for Mass
and Communion
, which were the signs of the close of the day. The distinction between the rigorous fast, which was prolonged to Vespers, and the mitigated fast, ending at None, is met with in a large number of ancient documents (see Fasting
).
, s.v., None
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...
of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m. Its name comes from Latin
Latin
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...
and refers to the ninth hour of the day after dawn.
This hour is now described more generally as the "midafternoon prayer" and may be said whenever convenient during the day, or omitted entirely. However, bishops and priests are still expected to recite the full sequence of hours, as closely as possible to the traditional time of day.
Eastern Christian Office
In the Eastern OrthodoxEastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and Greek Catholic Churches the office of the Ninth Hour is normally read by a single Reader and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Third Hour: Psalms 83, 84, and 85 (LXX). The only variable portions for most of the year are the Troparia
Troparion
A 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...
(either one or two) and Kontakion
Kontakion
Kontakion 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 Day. The service ends with the Prayer of the Ninth Hour by Saint Basil the Great.
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...
a number of changes in the office take place. On Monday through Thursday, after the three fixed psalms, the Reader says a kathisma
Kathisma
A Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite...
from the Psalter
Psalter
A 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...
. The Troparion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten hymns that are chanted with prostrations. Then a portion of the Ladder of Divine Ascent may be read. The Kontakion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten troparia. Near the end of the Hour, the Prayer of St. Ephraim
Prayer of Saint Ephrem
The Prayer of Righteous Ephrem , is a prayer attributed to Saint Ephrem the Syrian and used during the Great Lent by the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine rite...
is said, with prostrations.
During Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent, except that there is no kathisma
Kathisma
A Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite...
, and instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the Royal Hours
Royal Hours
The Royal Hours are a particularly solemn celebration of the Little Hours in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. The Royal Hours are celebrated only three times a year: on the Eve of the Nativity, the Eve of Theophany, and Great Friday....
are chanted.
During the Lesser Lenten seasons (Nativity Fast
Nativity Fast
The 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' Fast
Apostles' Fast
The 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 Little Hours undergo changes similar to those during Great Lent, except the Lenten hymns are usually read instead of chanted, and there are no kathismata. In addition, on weekdays of the Lesser Fasts, an Inter-Hour
Inter-Hours
The Inter-Hours are brief services in the Daily Office of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches. The Inter-Hours are called for during the Lenten seasons of the Church year...
(Greek: Mesorion) may be read immediately after each Hour (at least on the first day of the Fast). The Inter-Hours may also be read during Great Lent if there is to be no reading from the Ladder of Divine Ascent at the Little Hours. The Inter-Hours follow the same general outline as the Little Hours, except they are shorter.
The remainder of this article uses the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917; note that it describes the office before the reforms of 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 numbering system of psalms is that of the Septuagint and are said in Latin
Latin
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...
:
Origin of None
According to an Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
custom, the day was, like the night, divided into four parts, each consisting of three hours. As the last hour of each division gave its name to the respective quarter of the day, the third division (from noon to about 3) was called the None (Latin
Latin
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...
nonus, nona, ninth). This division of the day was in vogue also among the 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...
, from whom the Church borrowed it. The following texts, moreover, favor this view: "Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer" ; "And Cornelius said: Four days ago, unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth hour, and behold a man stood before me" ; "Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour" . The most ancient testimony refers to this custom of Terce
Terce
Terce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn....
, Sext
Sext
Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon...
, and None, for instance Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
, Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
, the Canons of Hippolytus
Canons of Hippolytus
The Canons of Hippolytus is a Christian text composed by 38 decrees and belongs to genre of the Church Orders. The work can be dated on about 336 to 340 CE even if a slightly later date is sometime proposed...
, and even the "Didache
Didache
The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is a brief early Christian treatise, dated by most scholars to the late first or early 2nd century...
("Teaching of the Apostles"). The last-mentioned prescribed prayer thrice each day, without, however, fixing the hours.
Saint Clement of Alexandria and likewise Tertullian, as early as the end of the 2nd century, expressly mention 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....
of Terce, Sext, and None, as specially set apart for prayer. Tertullian says explicitly that we must always pray, and that there is no time prescribed for prayer; he adds, nevertheless, these significant words: "As regards the time, there should be no lax observation of certain hours—I mean of those common hours which have long marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the ninth, and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn than the rest."
Clement and Tertullian in these passages refer only to private prayer at these hours. The Canons of Hippolytus
Canons of Hippolytus
The Canons of Hippolytus is a Christian text composed by 38 decrees and belongs to genre of the Church Orders. The work can be dated on about 336 to 340 CE even if a slightly later date is sometime proposed...
also speak of Terce, Sext, and None, as suitable hours for private prayer; however, on the two station days
Station days
Station days were days of fasting in the early Christian Church. The practice of keeping stations died out during the Avignon papacy, but it has been revived in the twentieth century by popes Leo XIII and John XXIII....
, Wednesday and Friday, when the faithful assembled in the church, and perhaps on Sundays, these hours were recited successively in public. St. Cyprian
Cyprian
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
mentions the same hours as having been observed under the Old 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...
, and adduces reasons for the Christians observing them also. In the 4th century there is evidence to show that the practice had become obligatory, at least for the 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 prayer of Prime
Prime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
, at six o'clock in the morning, was not added until a later date, but 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...
goes back to the earliest days. The texts we have cited give no information as to what these prayers consisted of. Evidently they contained the same elements as all other prayers of that time—psalms recited or chanted, 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 or 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, either privately composed or drawn from Holy Writ
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...
, and 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 prayers properly so-called.
None from the fourth to seventh centuries
The eighteenth cannon of the Council of LaodiceaCouncil of Laodicea
The Council of Laodicea was a regional synod of approximately thirty clerics from Asia Minor that assembled about 363–364 AD in Laodicea, Phrygia Pacatiana.-Historical context:...
(between 343 and 381) orders that the same prayers be always said at None and 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...
. But it is not clear what meaning is to attached to the words, leitourgia ton euchon, used in the canon. It is likely that reference is made to famous 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...
, in which prayer was offered for the 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, sinners, the faithful, and generally for all the wants of the Church. Sozomen
Sozomen
Salminius Hermias Sozomenus was a historian of the Christian church.-Family and Home:He was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christian family of Palestine....
(in a passage, however, which is not considered very authentic) speaks of three psalms which the 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 recited at None. In any case this number became traditional at an early period. Three psalms were recited at Terce, six at Sext, and nine at None, as St. John Cassian informs us, though he remarks that the most common practice was to recite three psalms at each of these 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....
St. Ambrose speaks of three hours of prayer, and, if with many critics we attribute to him the three 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 Jam surgit hora tertia, Bis ternas horas explicas, and Ter horas trina solvitur, we shall have a new constitutive element of the Little Hours in the 4th century in the Church of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
In the Peregrinatio ad loca sancta of Etheria, (end of 4th century), There is a more detailed description of the Office
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...
of None. It resembles that of Sext, and is celebrated in the basilica of the Anastasis
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. It is composed of psalms and 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....
s; then the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
arrives, enters the grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
of the Resurrection, recites a prayer there, and blesses the faithful. During Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, None is celebrated in the church of Sion; on Sundays the office is not celebrated; it is omitted also on 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...
, but on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good 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...
it is celebrated with special solemnity. But it is only in the succeeding age that we find a complete description of None, as of the other offices of the day.
None in the Roman and other liturgies from the seventh century
In the Rule of St. Benedict the four Little HoursLittle Hours
The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Christians, in both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church. These Hours are called 'little' due to their shorter and simpler structure compared to the Night Hours...
of the day (Prime, Terce, Sext and None) are conceived on the same plan, the formulae alone varying. The Divine Office
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...
begins with Deus in adjutorium
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...
, like all 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....
; then follows a 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...
, special to None; three psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, which do not change (Psalm 125, 126, 127), except on Sundays and Mondays when they are replaced by three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118; then the capitulum, a versicle
Versicle
A versicle is the first half of one of a set of preces, said or sung by an officiant or cantor and answered with a said or sung response by the congregation or choir...
, the Kyrie
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
, the The Lord's Prayer, the oratio, and the concluding prayers.
In the 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...
the office of None is likewise constructed after the model of the Little Hours of the day; it is composed of the same elements as in the Rule of St. Benedict, with this difference: that instead of the three psalms (125-127), the three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118 are always recited. There is nothing else characteristic of this office in this liturgy. The hymn, which was added later, is the one already in use 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...
Office—Rerum Deus tenax vigor
Rerum Deus Tenax Vigor
Rerum Deus Tenax Vigor is the daily hymn for None in the Roman Catholic Breviary.It comprises only two stanzas of iambic dimeters together with a doxology, varying according to the feast or season....
. In the monastic rules prior to the 10th century certain variations are found. Thus in the Rule of Lerins, as in that of St. Caesarius, six psalms are recited at None, as at Terce and Sext, 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....
, hymn and capitulum.
St. Aurelian follows the same tradition in his Rule Ad virgines, but he imposes twelve psalms at each hour on the monks. St. Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
, St. Fructuosus
Fructuosus
Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona was a bishop and Christian saint and martyr, the outstanding name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. He was bishop of Tarragona and was arrested during the persecutions of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian . Along with him were two deacons,...
, 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"...
adopt the system of three psalms Like St. Benedict, most of these authors include hymns, the capitulum or short lesson, a versicle, and an oratio. In the 9th and 10th centuries we find some additions made to the Office of None, in particular litanies, collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
s, etc.
Meaning and symbolism of None
Among the ancients the hour of None was regarded as the close of the day's business and the time for the baths and supper. At an early date mystical reasons for the division of the day were sought. St. CyprianCyprian
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
sees in the hours of Terce, Sext and None, which come after a lapse of three hours, an allusion to the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
. He adds that these hours already consecrated to prayer under the Old Dispensation
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...
have been sanctified in 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....
by great mysteries—Terce by the descent of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
on the Apostles; Sext by the prayers of St. Peter, the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, or yet again by the crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
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...
; None by the death of Christ. St. Basil merely recalls that it was at the ninth hour that the Apostles Peter and John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
were wont to go to the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
to pray. St. John Cassian, who adopts the Cyprian
Cyprian
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
interpretation for Terce and Sext, sees in the Hour of None the descent of Christ into hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. But, as a rule, it is the death of Christ that is commemorated at the Hour of None.
The writers of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
have sought for other mystical
Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
explanations of the Hour of None. Amalarius of Metz
Amalarius of Metz
Amalarius of Metz was a liturgist. He wrote extensively on the Mass and was involved in the great Medieval debates regarding predestination. We must rely on his enemy, Florus of Lyon, for an account of Amalar's condemnation at Quierzy, 838. While the exact date of his death is not known, it is...
(III, vi) explains at length, how, like the sun which sinks on the horizon at the hour of None, man's spirit tends to lower itself also, he is more open to temptation, and it is the time the demon selects to try him. For the texts of the Fathers on this subject it will suffice to refer the reader to the above-mentioned work of Cardinal Bona (c. ix). The same writers do not fail to remark that the number nine was considered by the ancients an imperfect number, an incomplete number, ten being considered perfection and the complete number. Nine was also the number of mourning. Among the ancients the ninth day was a day of expiation and funeral service—novemdiale sacrum, the origin doubtless of the novena
Novena
In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...
for the dead.
As for the ninth hour, some persons believe that it is the hour at which our first parents were driven from the Garden of Paradise
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. In conclusion, it is necessary to call attention to a practice which emphasized the Hour of None—it was the hour of fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
. At first, the hour of fasting was prolonged to 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...
, that is to say, food was taken only in the evening or at the end of the day. Mitigation of this rigorous practice was soon introduced. Tertullian's
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
famous pamphlet De jejunio, rails at length against the Psychics (i. e. the orthodox Christians) who end their fast on station days at the Hour of None, while he, Tertullian, claims that he is faithful to the ancient custom. The practice of breaking the fast at None caused that hour to be selected for 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...
and Communion
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...
, which were the signs of the close of the day. The distinction between the rigorous fast, which was prolonged to Vespers, and the mitigated fast, ending at None, is met with in a large number of ancient documents (see Fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
).
External links
- Basil the Great's Prayer of the Ninth Hour Eastern Orthodox
- The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions
, s.v., None