''Orthros'' (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: , meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") or ''útrenya'' (
Slavonic ѹ́тренѧ) in the
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...
of the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
and the
Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
, is the last of the four
night offices (church services), the other three being
vespers
Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
,
compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English wor ...
, and
midnight office.
Traditionally, in
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
it is held daily so as to end immediately following sunrise, in contrast to
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
where it is held only on
Sunday
Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...
s and
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
s. It is often called
matins after the office it most nearly corresponds to in
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches.
Orthros is the longest and most complex of the daily cycle of services. It is normally held in the early morning, often — always in
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
— preceded by the midnight office, and usually followed by the
First Hour. On
great feasts it is held as part of an
all-night vigil
The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic 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 ...
commencing the evening before, combined with an augmented great vespers and the first hour. In the Russian tradition, an all-night vigil is celebrated every Saturday evening, typically abridged, however, in spite of its name, to as short as two hours. In the Greek parish tradition, orthros is normally held just before the beginning of the
divine liturgy
Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service.
The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...
on Sunday and feast day mornings.
The ''akolouth'' (fixed portion of the service) is composed primarily of
psalms
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of B ...
and
litanies
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. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...
. The ''sequences'' (variable parts) of matins are composed primarily of hymns and
canons 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 ...
(an eight-tone cycle of hymns for each day of the week, covering eight weeks), and from the
menaion (hymns for each calendar day of the year). During
great lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...
and some of the period preceding it, some of the portions from the octoechos and menaion are replaced by hymns from the
triodion and during the
paschal season with material from the
pentecostarion
The Pentecostarion (, ; , , literally "Flowery Triodon"; ) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches that includes the texts for the Paschal Season, but varies in exact span between different tradition ...
. On Sundays there is also a
gospel reading and corresponding hymns from the eleven-part cycle of resurrectional gospels.
Outline
:''All of the psalms used herein are numbered according to the
Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, which is the official version of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
used by the Byzantine Rite. To find the corresponding
KJV
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...
numbering, see the article
Kathisma
A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ''kai-isma''), literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a ...
.''
* Matins usually opens with what is called the "Royal Beginning", so called because the psalms (19 and 20) speak of a king. The royal beginning is not used in Greek parish practice; also, it is omitted at all-night vigil (during Paschal season it is replaced by the
paschal troparion sung thrice):
** The
priest's opening
blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will.
Etymology and Germani ...
: ''Blessed is our God ...'',
reader: ''Amen.'' and the usual beginning.
**Psalms 19 and 20, during which the priest performs a full
censing of the
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
(church building and worshippers).
**''Glory... Both now...'' and the Trisagion prayers.
** The Royal
troparia:
** A brief litany by the priest (not the deacon as is usual for litanies)
**
Ekphonesis by the priest: ''Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-giving and undivided trinity, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages''
* The Six Psalms (3, 37, 62, 87, 102, and 142), during which the priest says twelve silent prayers: six in front of the
Holy Table (altar), and six in front of the
Holy Doors. The monastic typikon orders the priest to read them in front of the closed altar doors.
**The Six Psalms (Greek: Ἑξάψαλμος, ''Hexapsalmos'') were originally associated with the Midnight Office, whose theme was primarily on the Second Coming and the Final Judgement. For this reason, there is traditionally no movement in the church including no reverencing of icons or making the sign of the cross.
* The Litany of Peace
* ''God is the Lord ...'' and the
apolytikion (
troparion
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 wi ...
of the day)
**Verses from Psalm 117 are interspersed between each chanting of ''God is the Lord.'' These are Psalm 117:1, 117:10 & 117:23.
**Many traditions recite Psalm 105:1 as the first verse. This is the result of a scribal error due to the similarities of that verse with the original verse quoting Psalm 117:1.
* The
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 emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...
(either two or three sections, depending upon the liturgical season). For each section the following order is followed:
** The
kathisma
A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ''kai-isma''), literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a ...
(section from the Psalter)
** The Little Litany
**Feast Days: If a third section of Psalter readings is appointed, it may consist of the Polyeleos (many mercies), or other Psalms as outlined below.
***Feasts of the Lord: The Polyeleos, consisting of Psalms 134 & 135 is chanted.
***Feasts of the Mother of God: Psalm 44 is chanted.
***Meatfare Sunday & Cheesefare Sunday: Psalm 136 is chanted.
***Eklogarion: Depending on the feast day, additional Psalm readings might be chanted.
** The
sessional hymns (Greek: ''kathismata'', Slavonic: ''sedalen'')
* On Sundays: ''Evlogetaria'' (''Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes'')
* On
Saturday of Souls
Saturday of Souls (or Soul Saturday) is a day set aside for the commemoration of the dead within the liturgical year of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Saturday is a traditional day of prayer for the dead, because Christ lay ...
: ''Evlogetaria for the dead''
* The Little Litany
* On Sundays and Feast Days:
** The ''
Hypakoë'' is chanted to prepare for the message of the Gospel reading
** The ''
Anavathmoi
Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 (119–133 in the Septuagint and the Vulgate), each starting with the Psalms#Superscriptions, superscription "Shir Hama'aloth" (), or, in the case of Psalm 121, Shir Lama'aloth ...
'' ("hymns of ascent") based on Psalms 119-133, called the
Song of Degrees)
** The
Prokeimenon
** The order of the
Matins Gospel
** On Sundays, and every day during Paschal season: Choir: ''Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ ... ''
*
Psalm 50 (Plain-read in Slavic traditions; Chanted in Greek traditions)
** Pentecostarion (not to be confused with the Liturgical Book deriving its name from the 50 days after Easter):
***Sundays and Feast Days: ''Glory ..., followed by an Idiomelon... then both now ... followed by a Theotokion... Have mercy on me... followed by a final festal Idiomelon.''
*** Sundays, Feast Days and Lenten Days, the petition: O God, save your people and bless your inheritance ..."
* The
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
:
** First and Third Odes (Second Ode is always skipped except during certain Lenten services)
** Little Litany
** Sessional hymns
** Fourth through Sixth Odes
** Little Litany
**
Kontakion
A kontakion (Greek , ''kondákion'', plural κοντάκια, ''kondákia'') is a form of hymn in the Byzantine liturgical tradition.
The kontakion form originated in Syriac hymnography and gained prominence in Byzantium during the 6th century, ...
and
oikos
''Oikos'' ( ; : ) was, in Ancient Greece, two related but distinct concepts: the family and the family's house. Its meaning shifted even within texts.
The ''oikos'' was the basic unit of society in most Greek city-states. For regular Attic_G ...
**
Synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...
(commemorating the saints of the day)
** Seventh and Eighth Odes
** Ninth Ode, on most days preceded by the
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...
, during which the deacon
censes the church
* Little Litany
** On Sundays, ''Holy is the Lord our God'', three times
** The
exapostilaria (hymns related to the day's gospel, or the day's feast; the name is derived from Psalm 42:3 which was originally chanted at this point)
* The
Lauds
Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59).
Name
The name is derived from the three la ...
(Greek: Αἶνοι, ''Ainoi'', "Praises"): Psalms 148, 149, 150;
stichera
A sticheron (Greek language, Greek: "set in verses"; plural: stichera; Greek language, 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 Ea ...
are interspersed between the final verses on days the great doxology is sung,
* The ending:
*The
doxastikon (the glory hymn), when chanted properly in
Byzantine music is the longest, and usually the richest, hymn of the service. This is sometimes followed by another doxastikon or theotokion. On Sundays it is almost always the Theotokion: "You are Supremely Blessed...".
*Doxology
** Sundays and feast days: the
Great Doxology is chanted, followed by the apolytikion, the two litanies and the dismissal
** Weekdays: the Small Doxology is read, followed by the first litany, the
aposticha, ''It is good to give praise unto the Lord...'', the trisagion sequence followed by the apolytikion, and the second litany (there is no dismissal)
* The
First Hour
In very traditional monasteries, readings from the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...
are read after each of the sessional hymns.
Types of Orthros
There are seven types of Matins:
Basic forms
* Sunday orthros—The longest of the regular orthros services - Gospel Reading and Great Doxology. If this service is celebrated in its entirety it can last up to six hours but is typically abridged.
* Daily orthros—Celebrated on most weekdays - No gospel reading, Small Doxology.
* Feast-day orthros—Very similar to Sunday orthros, excluding those parts which are strictly resurrectional in nature - gospel reading and Great Doxology.
Special forms
*
Lenten
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthe ...
orthros—Weekdays during great lent, the Wednesday and Friday of
Cheesefare Week, and, optionally when there is no divine liturgy, on the weekdays of the lesser fasting seasons (
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 Churc ...
,
Apostles' Fast and
Dormition Fast
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac Rit ...
). The service follows the order of daily orthros but with penitential material added (hymns and prayers), most days have three kathismata from the Psalter, "God is the Lord" is replaced by "
Lenten Alleluia" (from which fact these days are identified as "days with Alleluia"). The petition: "O God, save your people and bless your inheritance ..." is read by the priest. There is no gospel reading. The Small Doxology is read and there is special lenten ending of the service, including the
Prayer of St. Ephraim.
*
Great and Holy Friday Orthros — Twelve Passion Gospels are interspersed throughout the service; Antiphons are used between the Gospels (these originated in a different office).
*
Great and Holy Saturday Orthros—Lamentations are chanted around the
epitaphios, interspersed between the verses of
Psalm 118. Contains some elements of the old cathedral office: reading of three pericopes (lessons from the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
,
epistle
An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...
and
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
) at the end - Great Doxology followed by the procession with epitaphios.
*
Paschal orthros—Celebrated during
Bright Week
Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week () is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is k ...
, from the Sunday of Pascha (Easter) through
Bright Saturday. The service is vastly different from the rest of the year; only the litanies,
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
(the canticles of which are omitted) and lauds are the same; everything else, including the psalms, are replaced by special paschal hymns. The priest vests fully in his eucharistic
vestments
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; amo ...
throughout the week. There is no doxology at all.
See also
*
Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...
*
Canonical hours
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or sel ...
*
Diurnum
*
Compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English wor ...
*
Matins
*
Vigil (liturgy)
*
Anglican Morning Prayers
*
Book of Hours
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
*
Matins in Lutheranism
Notes
References
{{reflist
External links
Sunday OrthosGreek Orthodox Church in America
Russian Orthodox (in English)
Liturgy of the Hours
Eastern Christian liturgies