In Christian liturgical worship, ; ), also known in Anglican prayer as the Suffrages or Responses, describe a series of short petitions said or sung as

versicle A versicle (from Latin , ) is a short two- or four-line verse that is sung or recited in the liturgy alternating between the celebrant, hebdomadarian or cantor and the congregation. It is usually a psalm verse in two parts. A series of versicl ...

s and responses by the officiant and the gathered

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

pers respectively. Versicle-and-response is one of the oldest forms of prayer in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, with its roots in Hebrew prayers during the time of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

. In many prayer books the versicles and responses comprising the are denoted by special

glyphs A glyph ( ) is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A ...

: *Versicle: ℣, a letter V crossed by an oblique line

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

2123,

HTML entity In SGML, HTML and XML documents, the logical constructs known as ''character data'' and ''attribute values'' consist of sequences of characters, in which each character can manifest directly (representing itself), or can be represented by a series ...

℣ *Response: ℟, a letter R crossed by an oblique lineUnicode 211F, HTML entity ℟

In Anglicanism

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

liturgy (and

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

, in their Matins services) the or Responses refer to the opening and closing versicles and responses of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

'' and other more modern service books. The two prayer services each begin with the following: :''Versicle:'' O Lord, open thou our lips: :''Response:'' And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise. :''Versicle:'' O God, make speed to save us: :''Response:'' O Lord, make haste to help us. :''Versicle:'' Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. :''Response:'' As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. :''Versicle:'' Praise ye the Lord. :''Response:'' The Lord's name be praised. The closing , also known as the Lesser Litany, occur later in the service, after the Apostles' Creed. Originally, the Creed was placed after the Lord's Prayer, following pre-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

use, and as in the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

(see below): :''Versicle:'' The Lord be with you. :''Response:'' And with thy spirit. :''Versicle:'' Let us pray. :Lord, have mercy upon us. :''Response:'' Christ, have mercy upon us. :Lord, have mercy upon us. :Our Father... :''Versicle:'' O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us. :''Response:'' And grant us thy salvation. :''Versicle:'' O Lord, save the King. :''Response:'' And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. :''Versicle:'' Endue thy Ministers with righteousness. :''Response:'' And make thy chosen people joyful. :''Versicle:'' O Lord, save thy people. :''Response:'' And bless thine inheritance. :''Versicle:'' Give peace in our time, O Lord. :''Response:'' Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God. :''Versicle:'' O God, make clean our hearts within us. :''Response:'' And take not thy Holy Spirit from us. These derive from the of the pre-Reformation liturgy, which generally quote verses of the

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 ...

. In particular, the closing of the two daily offices of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' were adapted by

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

mainly from the

feria In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...

l of

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 ...

Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

and

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 ...

. The in the other occasional offices are similarly mostly derived from their pre-Reformation counterparts in the Sarum Use. There are many musical settings of the text, usually referred to as the Responses, ranging from largely

homophonic Homophony and Homophonic are from the Greek language, Greek ὁμόφωνος (''homóphōnos''), literally 'same sounding,' from ὁμός (''homós''), "same" and φωνή (''phōnē''), "sound". It may refer to: *Homophones − words with the s ...

settings such as those by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

and Thomas Morley, to more elaborate arrangements that may even require organ accompaniment. Other common choral settings of the Responses include those by Thomas Tomkins, William Smith, Richard Ayleward, Bernard Rose and Humphrey Clucas.

In Catholicism

Roman Rite

In the

, the term is not applied in a specific sense to the versicles and responses of the different liturgical hours, on which those used in the Anglican services are based. In the Roman Rite's

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 ...

, the word is used in the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

text with the generic meaning of 'prayers', but it also has a specialized meaning in reference to the prayers said at Morning and Evening Prayer after the Benedictus or Magnificat and followed by the Lord's Prayer and the concluding prayer or

collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects come up in the liturgies of Catholic, Lutheran, or Anglican churches, among others. Etymology The word is first seen as Latin ''collēcta'' ...

. They vary with the seasons (

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

tide,

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

tide, and

Ordinary Time Ordinary Time () is the part of the liturgical year in the liturgy of the Roman Rite, which falls outside the two great seasons of Christmastide and Eastertide, or their respective preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent. Ordinary Time thus inc ...

), being repeated generally only at four-week intervals, and with the celebration of saints. In the most widely used English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours, they are referred to as ''Intercessions'', and are very similar to the General Intercessions found within the confines of the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. An example is that of Morning Prayer on Thursday of Week 2 in

: :''Versicle:'' Blessed be our God and Father: he hears the prayers of his children. :''Response:'' Lord, hear us. :''Versicle:'' We thank you, Father for sending us your Son:let us keep him before our eyes throughout this day. :''Response:'' Lord, hear us. :''Versicle:'' Make wisdom our guide,help us walk in newness of life. :''Response:'' Lord, hear us. :''Versicle:'' Lord, give us your strength in our weakness:when we meet problems give us courage to face them. :''Response:'' Lord, hear us. :''Versicle:'' Direct our thought, our words, our actions today,so that we may know, and do, your will. :''Response:'' Lord, hear us.

Pre-1962 Roman Rite

In iterations of the

Roman Breviary The Roman Breviary (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Breviarium Romanum'') is a breviary of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. A liturgical book, it contains public or canonical Catholic prayer, prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notat ...

before

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, however, the proper referred to a series of versicles and responses which were said either standing or kneeling, depending on the day or liturgical season in which the prayers were to be uttered. There were two forms, the dominical or abridged , and the ferial or unabridged . These were said, as in the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, at both morning (

) and evening (

) prayers. The dominical from the common Prime prayer, from an English translation of the pre-1962

Breviary A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviar ...

, is: :''Versicle:'' Lord, have mercy upon us. :''Response:'' Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. :Our Father. aid aloud, and the rest silently until::''Versicle:'' And lead us not into temptation. :''Response:'' But deliver us from evil. : I believe in God. aid aloud, and the rest silently until::''Versicle:'' The Resurrection of the body. :''Response:'' And the Life everlasting. Amen. :''Versicle:'' Unto thee have I cried, O Lord. :''Response:'' And early shall my prayer come before thee. :''Versicle:'' O let my mouth be filled with thy praise. :''Response:'' That I may sing of thy glory and honour all the day long. :''Versicle:'' O Lord, turn thy face from my sins. :''Response:'' And put out all my misdeeds. :''Versicle:'' Make me a clean heart, O God. :''Response:'' And renew a right spirit within me. :''Versicle:'' Cast me not away from thy presence. :''Response:'' And take not thy Holy Spirit from me. :''Versicle:'' O give me the comfort of thy help again. :''Response:'' And stablish me with thy free Spirit. :''Versicle:'' Our help is in the Name of the Lord. :''Response:'' Who hath made heaven and earth. After which would follow the General Confession of sins. This form of prayer has ceased to be used in the wider Roman Rite, except amongst Traditional Catholic groups.

Mozarabic Rite

In the Mozarabic Rite the or ''preca'' are chants of penitential character used only in

. They are in the form of a

litany 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 ...

, with a short response (usually 'have mercy on us') to each invocation.

In Opus Dei

In the Catholic prelature of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

, the are a special set of prayers said by each member daily. The prayer was originally composed by Josemaría Escrivá by December 1930. It was the first common activity of the members of the group. Escrivá composed the prayer by putting together phrases that he took from established liturgical prayers, and from the psalms in accordance with what he preached in '' The Way'', about "using the psalms and prayers from the missal" for prayer. The prayers have undergone several changes over time. The , also called the "universal prayer of the work" by members of the group, are described by one journalist as including a "blessing of everyone from the Pope to heVirgin Mary to the prelate of Opus Dei". John L. Allen describes its contents as follows: "invocations to the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the Guardian Angels, and Saint Josemaría, then prayers for the Holy Father, the bishop of the diocese, unity among all those working to spread the gospel, the prelate of Opus Dei and the other members of the Work, and invocations to Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Peter, Paul, and John (the patrons of Opus Dei)".

References

{{Authority control Liturgy of the Hours Opus Dei Roman Catholic prayers