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The Inter-Hours ( grc, Μεσώρια; el, Μεσώριον; chu, Междоча́сие or поча́сие, translit=Mezhdochásie or pochásie) are brief services in the
Daily Office In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In t ...
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 "canonica ...
and Greek Catholic Churches. The Inter-Hours are called for during the Lenten seasons of the Church year. They are styled after the
Little Hours In Christianity, the Little Hours or minor hours are the canonical hours other than the three major hours. In the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Indian Orthodox Church, two denominations in Oriental Orthodox Christianity, these fixed prayer ti ...
First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, and
Ninth Hour Nones (), also known as None ( la, Nona, "Ninth"), the Ninth Hour, or the Midafternoon Prayer, 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 pm ...
—only briefer. The Inter-Hours are called for during the Lesser Fasts (
Nativity Fast In Christianity, the Nativity Fast—or Fast of the Prophets in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Chur ...
, and the
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, Eastern Catholic, and Reformed Orthodox Christians. In the Byza ...
. According to ''Nikolsky Ustav'', they are to be read during
Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, ( Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denomin ...
if the '' Ladder of Divine Ascent'' is not read during the Little Hours. Each Inter-Hour follows one of the Little Hours is named for the Hour it follows (i.e., the Inter-Hour of the First Hour, etc.). The structure of each Inter-Hour is as follows: *O come, let us worship... *Three
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
(these are fixed for the particular Inter-Hour, and do not vary from day to day) *
Trisagion The ''Trisagion'' ( el, Τρισάγιον; 'Thrice Holy'), sometimes called by its opening line ''Agios O Theos'', is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox, Western Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Cathol ...
and the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
*
Troparia A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The w ...
*Lord, have mercy (40 times) *Concluding prayers and blessing * Prayer of St. Ephraim *Final prayer *Dismissal by the PriestIf another service immediately follows the Hour, there will be no dismissal. The Fixed Psalms are as follows: *Inter-Hour of the First Hour—45, 91, 92 (
LXX 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 th ...
) *Inter-Hour of the Third Hour—29, 31, 60 *Inter-Hour of the Sixth Hour—55, 56, 69 *Inter-Hour of the Ninth Hour—112, 137, 139 The Inter-Hours are only done on "days with Alleluia"; that is to say, days when the services follow a Lenten format and, as a result, the
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 Co ...
may not be celebrated. According to present-day usage, the Inter-Hours are often said only on the first day of the Lesser Fasts.


Notes

{{Reflist Little Hours Byzantine Rite