HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The All-night vigil is a service of the
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
and
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
churches consisting of an aggregation of the canonical hours of Compline (in Greek usage only), Vespers (or, on a few occasions, Great Compline), Matins, and the First Hour. This service may be performed (commencing the evening before) on any Sunday or major feast, any feast for which a Litia is prescribed; these feasts are marked in the Typikon and in liturgical calendars by a
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
printed in
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
in a properly-shaped semicircle pen at the top().


Order

When celebrated at the all-night vigil, the orders of Great Vespers and Matins vary somewhat from when they are celebrated separately. In parish usage, many portions of the service such as the readings from the Synaxarion during the Canon at Matins are abbreviated or omitted, and it therefore takes approximately two or two and a half hours to perform. Note that the Psalms cited below are numbered according to the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...
, which differs from that found in the Masoretic.


Great Vespers

''Note that on the Eves of Nativity, Theophany, and the Annunciation, Great Compline is usually prescribed rather than Great Vespers. * Great Censing of the entire church by the priest with a deacon going before him holding a large candle. In Greek practice, this is during compline, but in Russian practice, in silence * The opening blessing that is otherwise used for matins by the priest: "Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-creating, and indivisible
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages" * "Come let us worship God our king" and "Psalm of creation", Psalm 103 * Great Litany * First Kathisma, only the first stasis on a feast day, but in its entirely on a Sunday otherwise * Little Litany * "Lord I have cried" (psalms 140, 141, 129, 116), with appointed
stichera A sticheron (Greek: "set in verses"; plural: stichera; Greek: ) is a hymn of a particular genre sung during the daily evening (Hesperinos/Vespers) and morning ( Orthros) offices, and some other services, of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Cat ...
, ending with the ''Dogmatic
Theotokion A Theotokion (; pl. ) is a hymn to Mary the Theotokos (), which is read or chanted ( troparion or sticheron) during the canonical hours and Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the praises of the Or ...
'', a hymn addressed to the Theotokos * Entrance * O gladsome light * Prokeimenon for the day of the week * Old Testament readings on a feast day * Augmented Litany * The prayer, "Vouchsafe, O Lord" * Litany of Askings * Litia on a feast day * Aposticha * Now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace recited by the ecclesiarch (although sung in Russian parish usage) * The Trisagion prayers * Apolytikion appointed for the feast or on a Sundays otherwise, "Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos..." * Artoklasia if there was a Litia * "Blessed be the name of the Lord", Psalm 33 (first ten verses), and a
blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
by the priest


Matins

* "Glory to God in the highest", "O Lord, open Thou my lips" * Six Psalms (Psalms 3, 37, 61, 87, 102, and 142) * Great Litany *
Theos Kyrios ''Theos Kyrios'' (Greek: Θεὸς Κύριος, "God is the Lord", or "The Lord is God") 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 ...
, verses from Psalm 117 * Apolytikion—on Sundays: from the
Octoechos Oktōēchos (here transcribed "Octoechos"; Greek: ;The feminine form exists as well, but means the book octoechos. from ὀκτώ "eight" and ἦχος "sound, mode" called echos; Slavonic: Осмогласие, ''Osmoglasie'' from о́с� ...
; otherwise, for the feast—and its appropriate Theotokion * Kathisma * Little Litany * Sessional hymns * Kathisma * Little Litany * Sessional hymns * Polyeleon or Kathisma * Megalynarion , in Russian usage, on a feast day * Resurrectional Troparia, "The Angelic Council..." on Sundays and during Pascaltide * Little Litany * Anabathmoi * Hypakoe * Matins Prokeimenon * Matins Gospel * "Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ" on Sundays and during Pascaltide * Psalm 50 ("Have mercy on me, O God", ''Miserere'') * Prayer by the priest, "O God save thy people and bless thine inheritance..." *
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
* Little Litany *"Holy is the Lord our God" on Sundays * Exapostilarion * Praises (Psalms 148 to 150, with stichera) * Great Doxology ("Glory to God in the highest") * Appointed troparia * Augmented Litany * Litany of Askings * Dismissal * Polychronion * First Hour


Modern classical musical compositions

Besides numerous traditional chants of several schools, the following classical compositions by famous composers include: The
vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...
has been set to music most famously by Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose setting of selections from the service is one of his most admired works.
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's setting of the all-night vigil, along with his
Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...
and his collection of nine sacred songs were of seminal importance in the later interest in Orthodox music in general, and settings of the all-night vigil in particular. Other musical settings include those by Chesnokov,
Grechaninov Alexander Tikhonovich GretchaninovAlso commonly transliterated as ''Aleksandr/Alexandre'' ''Grechaninov/Gretchaninoff/Gretschaninow'' ( rus, Алекса́ндр Ти́хонович Гречани́нов, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲɪtɕɐˈnʲin� ...
,
Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 28 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era ...
, Alexander Kastalsky, Clive Strutt and
Einojuhani Rautavaara Einojuhani Rautavaara (; 9 October 1928 – 27 July 2016) was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a great number of works spanning various styles. ...
. It is most often celebrated using a variety of traditional or simplified chant melodies based on the
Octoechos Oktōēchos (here transcribed "Octoechos"; Greek: ;The feminine form exists as well, but means the book octoechos. from ὀκτώ "eight" and ἦχος "sound, mode" called echos; Slavonic: Осмогласие, ''Osmoglasie'' from о́с� ...
or other sources.


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Description of a "real" All Night vigil in Russia
By Professor Mikhail Skaballanovich (1911) * * {{Byzantine Rite, state=expanded Eastern Christian liturgies Byzantine Rite Liturgy of the Hours Prayer