Names of monastic church services

[Mary Stavroula]

Can someone please enlighten me on the names of the prayer services that are used by the church/monasteries? I ask because a priest suggested I pray Matins, and he described it as the services after dinner, or apodipno. I am totally confused because I see Matins being referred to as the same as Orthros in the Greek Orthodox. I bought the prayer book he wanted me to get which seems to indicate a morning service for Matins. Isn't Apodipno the same as Compline?

[Irene]

Dear Mary,

As far as I understand:-

Vespers: Services at night time
Compline: Before Sleep/After dinner prayers
Small Compline: shorter version
Matins: The Six Psalms Served immediately before the Divine Liturgy at our Church and I see it as the same as Orthros too, although I suppose some Churches must do this at night.
Vigil: Vespers and Matins together.
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the liturgy used on all Sundays except during Great Lent. Also used on other Holy Days during the week - ie Feast days that don't fall always fall on Sundays.
The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the Sundays of Great Lent.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: Holy Communion which was consecrated on the previous Sunday is distributed. Used during weekdays of Great Lent.
The Hours, originally marked the time of day with prayer so were prayed at the time stated.
Molieben: special prayer to a particular Saint or Saints after Church or separately in cases of need.

In Christ
Irene

[Herman Blaydoe]

There is more specific information on formal services at:

On Worship (OCA website) (http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Worship/index.html)

[Alex Haig]

These are only rough times:
6pm - Vespers (first service of the new day)
9pm - Compline
Midnight - Midnight Office
3am - Matins (Othros in Greek)
6am - 1st Hour
9am - 3rd Hour
Midday - 6th Hour
3pm 9th Hour
(Please don't think that everyone does all of these, even many Monasteries omit and/or combine some services, but this is apporoximately how they pan out)

The confusion comes when Greek and Russian practices are mixed up (like often happens in 'western' countries). In the Russian practice, the services of Vespers and Matins are combined to form what is called the Vigil[*], held in the evening: hence it is easy to think that Matins is an evening service.

I hope this helps.

With love in Christ

Alex

[*] This is just Vespers and Matins with the end prayers of the former and the introductory prayers of the latter left out, but does not include Compline nor the Midnight Office.

[Justin]

This might be of some benefit: The Order of the Church’s Divine Services (http://www.roca.org/OA/53-54/53m.htm)

[nurse-aid]

i have a question: what is the inter hour of 6th hour for example...is it suppost to read both 6th hour and then inter hour of 6th, or it is different things and can be read one or other???? Thanks in advance!http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/talker.gif

[Alex Haig]

This is my understanding of it:

The Inter Hours are said between the Hours services, so Inter Hour of the Third hour is said at 10:30 am, between the Third and Sixth Hours, the Inter Hour of the Sixth Hour at 1:30 pm (based on the timings in my previous post above).

I know of nowhere where the Inter Hours are read, most Parishes will only do the Third and Sixth Hours before a Liturgy in place of Matins or if they do the Vigil the night before.

With love in Christ

Alex

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

According to the Nikol'sky Ustav the Interhours (Sl:Mezhdochasiya; Gk- mesorion) may be done on any weekday that is not Festal (by Festal is also meant a post-Feast ie the period after a Feast during which it is still celebrated). One can especially find mention of them during Lenten periods.

It is true that these Interhours are rarely done nowadays. Writing in 1900 the Nikol'sky Ustav says, "As a rule the Interhours are served in monasteries".

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Justin]

According to The Great Horologion by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, "The Mid-hours are not read during the Holy and Great Fast or on Saturdays and Sundays, but are read on fast days in which 'Alleluia' has been chanted at Matins." (p. 11). On that, The Great Horologion says:

"The phrase 'If it is an Alleluia' (or 'If Alleluia was chanted'), found in rubrics throughout the daily services, refers to week days... in the Fasts of the Nativity and of the Holy Apostles thus designated in the Great Horologion, on which a threefold Alleluia is chanted in place of 'God is the Lord' at Matins, and on which other variations appropriate to a solemn day of fasting are observed; the full Divine Liturgy is not celebrated on these 'Alleluia' days: the Service of Typica is read after the Ninth Hour and during the Great Fast the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts may be celebrated... the Alleluiaa of the week days of the Great Fast (specified in the Triodion are universally observed. According to current usage, however, those at other times of the year are optional, and we have inidcated them as such ('If Alleluia is chanted'). According to the Typicon of some monasteries, Alleluias are also observed on other days during the Holy Fasts." (p. 13)

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Justin,

Could you check again that the Holy Transfiguration Great Horologion says that, "The Mid-hours are not [my emphasis] read during the Holy and Great Fast or on Saturdays and Sundays, but are read on fast days in which 'Alleluia' has been chanted at Matins."

This sentence appears to contradict itself since it is precisely during Great Lent that Alleluia is chanted at weekday Matins (except for a Polyeley service such as the Finding of the Head of St John the Baptist & the Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebasteia).
Perhaps there is a difference between Byzantine & Slavic practice?

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Justin]

Fr. Raphael,

After I read your post, I was somewhat confused to. The Horologion does say "The Mid=hours are not read during the Holy and Great Fast".

I did omit a phrase in the one part though because it totally confused me, though I guess it would have been better to leave the confusing part in. While I have three periods (...) in the above quote in one spot, in the Horologion it says:

"The phrase 'If it is an Alleluia' (or 'If Alleluia was chanted'), found in rubrics throughout the daily services, refers to week days in the Great Fast and in the Fasts of the Nativity and of the Holy Apostles thus designated in the Great Horologion.

The problem with the word "not" being a typo is that the rest of the paragraph wouldn't make sense grammatically, as it would say:

"The Mid-hours are read during the Holy and Great Fast or on Saturdays and Sundays, but are read on fast days in which 'Alleluia' has been chanted at Matins." (p. 11)

"or" and "but" here wouldn't make much sense, unless preceeded by the "not". I'm totally confused. http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif

[Justin]

The Horologion published by St. Tikhon's Seminary Press says the following (on p. 529): "According to the Typikon, the Inter-hours are said only on weekdays (but not on Sundays) throughout the year, with the following exceptions. They are not said: 1) on the Great Feasts (e.g., The Nativity of Christ; the Theophany, etc.), nor on their Forefeasts and Afterfeasts; 2) the week of Pentecost; 3) Meatfare and Cheesefare Weeks. During Great Lent they are not said when Kathismas and readings from The Ladder are appointed at the Hours. They also are not said during Bright Week, but are said beginning with the Monday after St. Thomas Sunday. When the Inter-hours are said, there is no Divine Liturgy; the Typical Psalms are said, instead. ...In contemporary practice, however, the Inter-hours usually are said only in Monasteries and, generally speaking, only on the first day ofthe Apostles' Fast, on ethe first day of the Nativity Fast."

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Justin,

Ah it's wonderful that you quoted from the St. Tikhon's Horologion just as I was re-reading what the Nikol'sky Ustav says again. As it turns out it appears that St Tikhon's has translated almost exactly from Nikol'sky especially where it says, "During Great Lent they are not said when Kathismas and readings from The Ladder are appointed at the Hours." I also recall reading this in one of the St John of Kronstadt service books.

In other words the Typikon is saying that the Interhours may be read if one does not read the Kathisma & from the Ladder of St John Climacos during the regular Lenten Hours. I am guessing the instruction from the Holy Transfiguration Horologion arises from the fact that they do normally read the Kathisma & from the Ladder- as is quite normal in any case also in Russian parishes & monasteries during Greal Lent. Thanks for helping to clear this up.

In Chrst- Fr Raphael