Shehimo (, ; English: Book of Common Prayer, also spelled Sh'himo) is the West Syriac Christian

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 ...

of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

and the West Syriac

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...

, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church,

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...

, Marthoma Syrian Church and Thozhiyur Church) that contains the seven

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 ...

of prayer. The Shehimo includes Bible readings, hymns and other prescribed prayers from the West Syriac Liturgical system. Within the breviary there are certain prayers that are recited at seven fixed prayer times, while facing the east at home or at church. The Shehimo also provides communal prayers as an introduction to the Holy Qurbono. The practice of praying during the canonical hours has its roots taken from , in which the prophet

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

prays to God seven times a day. The Shehimo breviary can be prayed either by reading or

chanting A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of note ...

the prose or singing the verses. The different versions of the breviary are available in Syriac,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, English, among other languages.

History

The Shehimo is considered a treasury of Syriac Christianity, dating back all the way to the

4th century The 4th century was the time period from 301 CE (represented by the Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Mid ...

. Traditionally, the early texts were originally in Syriac only but, with the work and translations of the late Mr. C. P. Chandy, the prayers were made available in Malayalam while still preserving the original Syriac meter. In the 1960s, Fr. Bede Griffiths of Kurisumala Ashram translated an English prose version of the Pampakuda edition Shehimo which was the only English Shehimo version existing among the Syrian scholars. This 2016 version of the Shehimo is a versified edition of the two works by a team of theologically trained individuals in America. Baby Varghese writes, "This publication is a first attempt at the English versification stemming from these individuals' love for the Syriac liturgy." There are currently no active attempts at a revision.

Order of Canonical Hours

The seven hours of prayers begin the day before with Ramsho (Evening) and end the day of with Tsha' sho'in (9th Hour), following the definition of a day in the

Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

(cf. ).

Themes

At the beginning of the week, which is Sunday, believers participate in the public celebration of the Holy Qurbono. The Holy Qurbono or divine liturgy remembers the

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

, public ministry,

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, death,

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

, ascension and

second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

of Christ. The overarching theme for Sunday is celebrating the

Resurrection of Christ The resurrection of Jesus () is Christian belief that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, starting—or restoring—his exalted life as Christ and Lord. According to the New Testament writing, Jesus w ...

. The themes for the remaining days of the week are as follows. *Monday and Tuesday –

Repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

*Wednesday – The

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

*Thursday – The Holy

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s *Friday – The Holy Cross,

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s, Confessors *Saturday – The Faithful Departed

Usage

Worshipers pray the Shehimo at seven

fixed prayer times Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism Jewish law requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as Shachari ...

every day, corresponding to the number of

in the breviary. They pray while facing the eastward direction; towards an altar or

Iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

. This tradition is derived from the book of in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. The vast majority of the people who use the Shehimo books have learned the songs and prayers of the Shehimo at an early age, from their church life and daily family prayers at home. Before beginning each hour of Shehimo prayers, one must wash their hands and face in order to be clean before and present their best to God; and their shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. In this Christian tradition, and in many others as well, it is customary for women to wear a

head covering Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's Human head, head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protective clothing, protection against t ...

or shawl when praying. The offices used in the Shehimo, with the exception of Sunday and major feast days (Christmas, Easter, etc.) all involve prostrating; prostrations are done thrice during the Qaumo prayer, at the words "Crucified for us, Have mercy on us!", thrice during the recitation of the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

at the words "And was incarnate of the Holy Spirit...", "And was crucified for us...", & "And on the third day rose again...", as well as thrice during the Prayer of the Cherubim during "Blessed is the glory of the Lord, from His place forever!" Members of the

Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...

(Reformed Syrians), pray the Shehimo seven times a day, omitting the

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

prayer and intercession to saints, veneratory prayers are regarded optional and said following the recitation of the Qaumo. Incense is offered by the priest or a bishop (if present) into a censor which is swung by either a priest or deacon. When incense is offered inside of the church, the veil is opened and the altar, icons, relics, church and people are censed. Incense is offered during the Promion, Etro, Gospel and Quqlions. The practice of offering burnt incense comes from the Bible; in Exodus where God instructs Moses to build an altar and burn incense there. During the season of

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 ...

in the Christian calendar, forty prostrations are done daily after the completion of 6th Hour (Sheth sho`in). The Shehimo book is available for purchase on the official LRD website. The book is also accessible online using the free LRD mobile app for the App Store and Google Play Store.

Structure

Monks praying at the Syriac Orthodox monastery of Saint Matthew overlooking the Nineveh Plains

The hours of each day follows a similar theme or pattern. For example, the Soutoro of each day has a theme of repentance. During the Watches of Lilio, the first qaumo commemorates the Mother of God, second qaumo the saints, third qaumo varies on the day, and the fourth qaumo is a general theme. The theme of Tloth sho`in is reflective of the theme of the day. The prayers of Sheth sho`in commemorates the Mother of God, the saints and the faithful departed. The prayers of Tsha' sho`in always commemorates the faithful departed. Each office or hour begins with the reciting of the Qaumo or Trisagion ("Thrice Holy"). Then followed by that is the Introductory prayer. To end each of the hours of worship there is again a Qaumo with the exception of at the end of Soutoro where th
Praise of the Cherubim
is used. Additional all of terminal offices ends with the

Eight Modal System

In the West Syriac Orthodox Tradition, there are originally 8 modes for singing, in Malayalam they are referred to as "Nirams", and in West Syriac as "T'mone Rekne". The 8 modes correspond to the 7 days of the week. This system has fallen out of practice in Malankara in favor of easy to remember and catchy Contemporary Christian melodies. It is uncertain when or where 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 ...

originated, but many credit the theologian St. Severios of Antioch. The different days, themes and tones for the fixed hours are included below. (Please note R = Ramsho. S = Soutoro and M = Sapro). The rekne' for each Sunday is found in the

Beth Gazo Beth Gazo ( ; literary "the house of treasure") is a Syriac liturgical book that contains a collection of Syriac chants and melodies. The book is considered a reference of Syriac Hymnody and without it clerics belonging to the West Syrian Rite, Wes ...

. For the remaining four hours, the "''Two Rekne' Per Week''" system is followed. When using the two rekne' alternating system, if the week starts with rekno' 1 on the first day (Sunday) it will follow with rekno' 5 on the second day (Monday). The week will continue alternating between rekne' 1 and 5 until the next Sunday. The following week on Sunday, rekno' 2 will be used with rekno' 6 alternating. An 8-week model has been included below. (Please note the system may vary or reset depending on certain feast days occurring during the week. It is a custom to seek the intercessions of the Mother of God and all the saints and to pray for the faithful departed while praying the Shehimo. These are done through the Quqlions (Greek) in English they are called "cycles". When sung, all of the Quqlions follow the same structure. The Pethgomo' (word or verse), Eqbo (foot or base), Qolo (song) and Bo'utho (petition). The Quqlions, respected Pethgomo', the Psalm excerpt and general rekno' are listed below. (Please note syr = Syriac. mal = Malayalam. eng = English).

References

External links

Liturgical Resource Development - Shehimo and Holy QurbanakramamShehimo Recordings - St. Thomas Indian Orthodox ChurchLiturgical Resource Development Ministry - Shehimo
{{Oriental Orthodoxy footer Breviaries Christian prayer books Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Oriental Orthodoxy in India