Daily cycle of worship: definition and scheme

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Daily circle of services are those services that are performed daily at the same time. Here it is necessary to make some reservation that not all divine services included in this circle are performed in modern churches and parishes. This is due to the fact that this daily circle was compiled by the monks and for the monks. Lay people do not always have the opportunity to participate in all such services, so there is a certain discrepancy between theory and practice. In our article, we will first consider the theory, that is, how they should actually be performed, according to the charter, and then we will move on to practice, that is, how these services are performed in reality.

Theory

Speaking of theory, it should be clarified that those services that are held in churches now are far from the only example of how services were performed in the Orthodox Church. For example, in ancient monasteries there was a practicecalled 24-hour services. That is, in the monastery the service was going on all the time. The priests succeeded each other and did not interrupt the prayer for a minute. There is something similar to this service in our time in many monasteries: we are talking about the reading of the Indestructible Ps alter.

There are other practices. For example, some monastics, mostly hermits, replaced worship with the Jesus Prayer. This practice is now used by many monastics.

Practice

We will talk about the practice that is laid down by the current charter and which includes seven main services in the daily circle of services. Initially, each such service was held separately, respectively, the prayer was performed seven times a day. The prophet David spoke of such a prayer in Psalm 118: “Seven times a day I praised You for Your righteous judgments.” That is, it was such a kind of prophecy about the daily circle, that the church would also praise the Lord seven times a day in the form of seven separate services. All these services originate from apostolic times. The foundations were laid already in the 1st century. According to the original practice, each service is tied to a certain time of day and there is a certain sequence of services.

Midnight Office

As the name implies, it takes place at midnight, more precisely, in the middle of the night, from the darkest time of the day. Night prayer is also mentioned in the Gospel, in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus Christ went to the mountains at night to pray, the apostles performed night services, so in the first centuriesChristians tried to pray at night. The monastics who got up at night to pray never went to bed again, so the Midnight Office became the morning prayer at the same time.

Currently Midnight Office is celebrated mainly in monasteries in the morning. The center of this service is Kathisma 17, Psalm 118. It is called the Great Psalm because it differs in its size and content. There are daily Midnight Offices, Saturdays and Sundays. The first is read on weekdays, and the second and third on weekends, respectively.

Mains

The second service in the daily cycle of worship, which follows the Midnight Office, is called Matins. As the name implies, according to the church charter, it is performed in the morning, at dawn. In modern times, in most churches, this prayer is transferred to the evening, so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to participate in this service. Matins has several parts.

• Six Psalms - six psalms, which speak of morning time, are read at the very beginning of the day. There is a legend that the Six Psalms is connected with the Last Judgment. Allegedly, it will last exactly as long as the Six Psalm is read. The liturgical books call upon us during the Six Psalms to remember the Last Judgment and what awaits us after it. The reading of these psalms should be done in reverence, in complete silence, so the lights are extinguished in the temples at this time.
• Kathisms. In general, the whole service is built on the Ps alter. There is no service in which one would not read at leastone psalm. In the Holy Scriptures, standards of prayers are given; therefore, the Ps alter is a very special book, and all divine services are built on it. According to the church charter, the Ps alter is read in full in a week.

• Canon is the central part of Matins. Initially, this was the name of a certain prayer rule that the ancient monks observed. It consisted of nine passages taken from Holy Scripture. Later, hymns were added to these passages in honor of the holiday, in honor of those events or saints that are remembered on this day. Over time, biblical passages were no longer read, and such chants began to be called canon.
• Instructive readings - readings from the works of the Holy Fathers, which are dedicated to this or that holiday, this or that saint. During the service, they were read several times.
• Reading or singing a doxology. On weekdays it is read, on holidays it is sung. This is a text composed of various passages of Scripture.

Clock

There are four such services in the daily cycle of worship: the First Hour, the Third Hour, the Sixth Hour and the Ninth Hour. Initially, the Lord's Prayer was read at this time, and later they began to perform divine services at the services of the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours. They are dedicated to three events: the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, the crucifixion of the Savior and His death on the cross.

Vespers

This is the evening service during the lighting of the lamps. The central part of this service is the chant of the Quiet Light. During the evening service, Christians seem to be cleansed of all the sins committed during the day.

Compline

This is the service that takes place after Vespers, the prayer for the coming sleep. There are two types of Compline - Small (taken daily) and Great (taken during Great Lent).

Liturgy

During the Liturgy, the earthly life of Christ is remembered and Communion is performed.

Scheme of the daily cycle of worship

Evening.

1. Ninth hour (3pm).
2. Vespers.
3. Compline.

Morning.

1. Midnight Office (12 a.m.).
2. Mains.
3. First hour (7am).

Day.

1. Third hour (9 am).
2. Sixth hour (12 noon).
3. Liturgy.

The order of the daily cycle of worship changes on the days of the All-Night Vigil only. At present, not all churches and parishes fully observe all the services prescribed by the church charter.