Vespers - WikiHQ

thumb|300px|right|[[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine monks singing vespers on Holy Saturday]]

Vespers () is a liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic, Orthodoxy (Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox), Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies.

Vespers typically follows a set order that focuses on the performance of psalms and other biblical canticles. Eastern Orthodox liturgies recognised as vespers (, ) often conclude with compline, especially the all-night vigil. Performing these liturgies together without break was also a common practice in medieval Europe, especially outside of monastic and religious communities.

Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became evensong in modern English. The term is now usually applied to the Anglican variant of the liturgy that combines vespers with compline, following early sixteenth-century worshippers who conceived these as a single unit. The term can also apply to the pre-Reformation form of vespers or forms of evening prayer from other denominations.

Vespers is usually prayed around sunset. In Oriental Orthodox Christianity, the office is known as Ramsho in the Indian and Syriac traditions; it is prayed facing the east by all members in these churches, both clergy and laity, being one of the seven fixed prayer times.

Current use

Roman Rite

thumb|200px|Incensing the congregation during the [[Magnificat at an Advent celebration of Vespers]]

Vespers, also called Evening Prayer, takes place as dusk begins to fall. Evening Prayer gives thanks for the day just past and makes an evening sacrifice of praise to God (Psalm 141:1).

The general structure of the Roman Rite Catholic liturgy of vespers is as follows:

Vespers begins with the singing or chanting of the opening responsory consisting of the verse Deus, in adiutorium meum intende, followed by the Gloria Patri, and the Alleluia. The Alleluia is omitted during Lent. This opening formula is common to all the liturgical hours apart from the first of the day where it is replaced by the Invitatory.
The appointed hymn (from the hymnaria) is then sung;
The appointed psalmody is then sung: in the liturgy in general use since 1970 there are two psalms and a New Testament canticle. In older forms of the Roman Office five psalms were sung. Each psalm (and canticle) concludes with a doxology (Gloria Patri) and is preceded and followed by an antiphon. Additionally, most Psalms also have a short caption explaining how the Psalm/Canticle relates to the Church in a Christological or spiritual way; lastly, English translations oftentimes have a psalm-prayer said after the Gloria and before the antiphon.
After the psalms, there is a reading from the Bible.
Following the reading, there is a short responsory consisting of a verse, a response, the first half only of the Gloria Patri, and then the verse again.
The Magnificat follows – the canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Luke 1:46–55 – the key daily canticle of Vespers. Like the psalmody, the Magnificat is always preceded by an antiphon, and followed by the Gloria and the repeated antiphon. While singing the Magnificat the altar may be incensed, followed by the ministers and the people.
The preces (intercessory prayers) are then said, followed by the Lord's Prayer, and then the collect (oratio) and blessing.
The office is sometimes followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

First and Second Vespers

Sundays and solemnities have two Vespers. The church worship day begins in the evening with the setting of the sun or at sunset. This practice follows the tradition of the Old Testament which says in the story of creation: "Evening came, and morning followedthe first day." (Gen1:5). The solemnity begins with First Vespers prayed around sunset on the day before the observance, with Second Vespers held around sunset on the day itself.

===Byzantine Rite===

The Byzantine Rite has three basic types of vespers: great, daily, and small. Great vespers is used on Sundays and major feast days (those when the Polyeleos is prescribed at matins) when it may be celebrated alone or as part of an All-Night Vigil, as well as on a handful of special days e.g., Good Friday and Pascha afternoon; on certain days of strict fasting when, in theory, fasting before communion should be day-long, vespers also commences the divine liturgy and always commences the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Daily vespers is otherwise used. Small vespers, which is seldom used except in monasteries, is a very abbreviated form used only on the afternoon before a vigil and is redundant to the subsequent great vespers, being a placeholder between the ninth hour and compline.

Since the liturgical day begins at sunset, vespers is a day's first liturgy and its hymns introduce the day's themes.

Outline

200px|thumb|Orthodox [[priest and deacon making the Entrance with the censer at Great Vespers]]

The general structure of the liturgy is as follows (psalm numbers are according to the Septuagint):

Vespers opens with a blessing by the priest and then "Come, let us worship ..."; when part of an All-Night Vigil, the blessing that normally begins matins is used; when part of the Divine Liturgy, the blessing that is part thereof is used.
Proemial Psalm (Psalm 103 (104)): "Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly...".
The "Litany of Peace".
A kathisma, a portion of the Psalter is read, or on Saturday evening, when it is the First Kathisma (Psalms 1–8), it is sung, and on major feast, the first third of that (Psalms 1–3) is sung. For about half the year, and for five of the six weeks of Lent, on weekdays, it is the Eighteenth Kathisma (Psalms 119-133 [120-134]).
The church is censed while "Lord I have Cried" (Psalms 140 (141), 141 (142), 129 (130), and 116 (117)) is sung with stichera (stanzas) about the feast day (or resurrection on a Saturday) inserted between the last several verses.
The Entrance is made with the censer unless there is a Gospel reading, in which case the Gospel Book is carried.
The hymn Phos Ilaron ("O Gladsome Light") is recited or sung.
The Prokeimenon is chanted.
On feast days, there are three or more readings from the Old Testament, called Prophecies.
The Litany of Fervent Supplication
The prayer "Vouchsafe, O Lord", is read.
The Litany of Supplication
On major feast days, a Litiy is inserted. The clergy and the cantors process to the narthex or outside while hymns pertaining to the feastare sung. Then the deacon recites a litany with several long petitions, the response to each petition beings Kyrie eleison ("Lord, Have Mercy") many times. The priest ends with a long prayer invoking the intercessions of the saints and the Theotokos.
The Aposticha are chanted. These are verses that teach about the feast day (or on a Saturday evening, Christ's resurrection).
The Nunc dimittis, the Canticle of St. Simeon ("Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace...") (Luke ), is read.
Then are sung the Apolytikia of the day (or an All-Night Vigil on Saturday night the hymn "Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos").

thumb|Table set with five loaves, wheat, wine and oil for [[artoklassia]]

On major feast days, the artoklasia is performed, at which the priest blesses five loaves of bread which have been prepared in the center of the church, together with wheat, wine and oil which are later distributed to the faithful. The beginning of Psalm 33 (34) is then sung.
The dismissal is given by the priest. If it is an All-Night Vigil this is a simple blessing by the priest; otherwise, it is the full dismissal sequence.

On strict fast days when food and drink are prohibited before vespers, e.g., Christmas Eve, the Annunciation when it falls on a weekday of great lent, or Holy Saturday, Vespers is joined to the Divine Liturgy, functioning in place of the typica as the framework of the hymns of the Liturgy of the Catechumens. After the readings from the Old Testament, the Trisagion is chanted, followed by the Epistle and Gospel, and the Divine Liturgy proceeds normally from that point. On these occasions, as at other times when the Gospel is read at vespers, the Little Entrance is made with the Gospel Book instead of the censer.

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts always is similarly combined with Vespers, with the first half of Vespers (up to and including the Old Testament readings) making up a significant portion of the liturgy.

East Syriac liturgy

Vespers are known by the Aramaic or Syriac term Ramsha in the East Syriac liturgy which was used historically in the Church of the East and remains in use in Churches descended from it, namely the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Oriental Orthodoxy

Armenian liturgy

The office of vespers commemorates the hour when "the Son of God descended from the Cross, and was wrapped in the winding sheet, and laid in the tomb."

Vespers is the only liturgy in the Armenian daily office other than the Morning Service which has hymns proper to the commemoration, feast, or tone assigned to it: a vespers hymn after Psalm 142 (or after Gladsome Light if it is appointed for the day) and the "Lifting-up Hymn" after Psalm 121.

Vespers undergoes a wide range of changes depending on the liturgical season. The following outline contains only some of these variations.

Outline of Armenian Vespers

"Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father..."

Psalm 55:16 "I cried unto God, and he heard me in the evening...()"; Psalm 55:17 "I waited for my God...()"; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; "And again in peace..."; "Blessing and glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; "Peace to all."

Psalm 86; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; "Glory to you, O God, glory to you. For all things, Lord, glory to you."; "And again in peace..."; "Blessing and glory...Now and always...Amen."; "Peace to all."

Psalm 140 "Rescue me...(...)"; Psalm 141 "Lord I called unto you...(...)"; Psalm 142 "With my voice I called out unto the Lord...(...)"; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."

At Sunday Vespers (Saturday Evening): "Alleluia, Alleluia. Gladsome light...(...)"; Exhortation for the blessing of candles: "Blessed Lord who dwells in the heights...(...)"; Proclamation: "Having assembled...(...)"; Exhortation: "Having assembled...(...)"

Vespers Hymn (varies)

At Sunday Vespers (Saturday Night): Proclamation: "Let us all say...(...)"; Exhortation: "We have the intercessions...(...)"

During Fasts: Proclamation: "Let us beseech almighty God...(Aghach`ests`ouk` zamenakaln Astouats...)"

Otherwise continue here:

Prayer: "Hear our voices...(...)"; "Holy God...(varies)"; "Glorified and praised ever-virgin...(...)"; Exhortation: "Save us...(...)"; Proclamation: "And again in peace...That the Lord will hearken to the voice of our entreaty...(...)"; "Blessing and Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; "Peace to all."

Psalm 121 "I lifted my eyes...(...)"; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."

Hymn After Psalm 121 (varies); Proclamation: "For the peace of the whole world...(...)"; Prayer: "Father compassionate...(...)"

On fasting days:

Exhortation: "Almighty Lord...(...)"; Proclamation; Prayer

On fasting days and lenten days which are not Sundays (Saturday evenings), continue here:

The Prayer of Manasseh; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; Exhortation; Proclamation; Prayer; "Remember your ministers...(...)"; "Merciful and compassionate God (...)"

On Sundays (Saturday Evenings) and during the 50 days of Easter:

Psalm 134: "Now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord...(...)"; Psalm 138; Psalm 54; Psalm 86:16-17; "Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen."; Proclamation: "Let us entreat...(...)"

On Sundays: Prayer: "King of peace...(...)"

On Sundays during Eastertide: Prayer: "By your all-powerful and joyous resurrection...(...)"

On Feasts of the Cross: Proclamation: "By the holy cross...(...)"; Prayer: "Defend us...(...)"

All liturgies conclude with: "Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father..."

Coptic Orthodox Church

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, Vespers refers to a series of liturgies:

The Vespers Prayer – This is taken from the Canonical Book of Hours. In the liturgical context, the 9th, 11th, 12th and Veil hours are prayed.
The Vespers Praises – This is taken from the Psalmody and is described in greater detail below.
The Vespers Raising of Incense

Vespers, as a whole, is an introduction and preparation for the Eucharistic Liturgy, consisting of a collection of prayers, praises and Thanksgiving prayers which request the Lord's blessings upon the sacramental liturgy.

The rite of Vespers Praises in the Coptic Orthodox Church is as follows:

The hymn Ⲛⲓⲉⲑⲛⲟⲥ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ (Psalm 116)
The Fourth Canticle (Psalms 148, 149, 150)
The Psali for the day (each day of the week has its own Psali)
The Theotokion for the day (each day of the week has its own Theotokion)
The Lobsh or Explanation of the Theotokion
The reading of the Antiphonary
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday: The Conclusion of the Adam Theotokia
On Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: The Conclusion of the Batos Theotokia
Ⲥⲱⲑⲓⲥ ⲁⲙⲏⲛ (Saved Amen.)
The Lord's Prayer

The rite of Vespers Raising of Incense in the Coptic Orthodox Church is as follows:

The Thanksgiving Prayer – As with all Coptic Orthodox liturgies, Vespers first thanks God "for everything, concerning everything, and in everything"
Minor Circuit of Incense and Three Inaudible Litanies
The Verses of the Cymbals
The Litany for the Departed
Major Circuit of Incense
Graciously Accord O Lord...
The Trisagion
The Doxologies – commemorating the saints of the church and the liturgical season of the church
The Creed
The Prayer of Ⲫⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲛⲁⲓ ⲛⲁⲛ (O God have mercy upon us...)
The Prayer for the Gospel
The Reading of the Psalm and Gospel
The Absolution, Conclusion, and Blessing

Indian Orthodox Church and Syriac Orthodox Church

In the Indian Orthodox Church, Vespers (Ramsho) is one of the canonical hours given in the Shehimo.

Daily office books that conform to the historic structure of Vespers have also been published by the Pilgrim Press (The New Century Psalter) and Westminster John Knox Press (Book of Common Worship Daily Prayer). Both publishing houses are affiliated with churches in the Reformed tradition.

From its traditional usage, the term vespers has come to be used more broadly for various evening services of other churches, some of which model their evening services on the traditional Latin Catholic form. Presbyterians and Methodists, as well as congregationalist religious bodies such as Unitarian Universalism, often include congregational singing, readings, and a period of silent meditation, contemplation, or prayer.

Some regular community vespers services are completely areligious (or at least are not sponsored by any church) and serve simply as a time for quiet contemplation in the evening hours.

In addition, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, synagogues in the Classical Reform tradition sometimes referred to their Friday evening worship services as "vespers". Nowadays, such services are instead called kabbalat shabbat, which means "welcoming the Sabbath".

Historical development

This section incorporates information from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917. References to psalms follow the numbering system of the Septuagint, and said in the Latin of the Vulgate.

Origins

From the time of the early Church, the practice of seven fixed prayer times have been taught; in Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion."

Before the fourth century allusions to the evening prayer are found in the earlier Fathers, Clement I of Rome (Clemens Romanus), St. Ignatius, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, the Canons of St. Hippolytus, St. Cyprian. Vespers is, therefore, together with Vigil, the most ancient Office known in the Church.

Office of Vespers in the Middle Ages: variations

As has already been remarked, the institution of the office of compline transformed the lucernarium by taking from it something of its importance and symbolism, the latter at the same time losing its original sense. St. Benedict called it only Vespera, the name which has prevailed over that of lucernarium (cf. Ducange, "Glossarium med. et inf. lat.", s.v. Vesperae). The Gallican liturgy, the Mozarabic Liturgy, and, to a certain extent, the Milanese, have preserved the lucernarium (cf. Bäumer-Biron, l. c., 358). The Eastern Orthodox Church retains the "Lumen hilare" and some other traces of the ancient lucernarium in the offices of vespers and compline (cf. Smith, "Dict. Christ. Antiq.", s.v. Office, Divine). In the Rule of St. Columbanus, dated about 590, Vespers still has twelve psalms, amongst which are Pss. cxii and cxiii, the Gradual psalms, Pss. cxix sqq. (cf. Gougaud, "Les chrétientés celtiques", 309; "Dict. d'arch. chrét. et de liturgie", s.v. Celtique, 3015). The "Antiphonary of Bangor", a document of Irish origin, gives for vespers Ps. cxii and also the "Gloria in Excelsis". For modifications since the 12th century, cf. Bäumer-Biron, l. c., II, 54 sqq.

the first, "Lucis creator optime", on Sunday, to the creation of light;
the second, "Immense coeli Conditor" on Monday, to the separation of the earth and the waters;
the third, "Telluris alme Conditor", on Tuesday, to the creation of the plants;
the fourth, "Caeli Deus sanctissime",, on Wednesday, to the creation of the sun and moon;
the fifth, "Magnae Deus potentiae", on Thursday, to the creation of the fish;
the sixth, "Hominis supernae Conditor",, on Friday, to the creation of the beasts of the earth;
Saturday is an exception, the hymn, "Iam sol recedit igneus",, on that day being in honour of the Blessed Trinity, because of the Office of Sunday then commencing.

Solemn Vespers before the Second Vatican Council

On weekdays that are not major feasts Vespers features hardly any ceremonies and the celebrant wears the usual choir dress. However, on Sundays and greater feasts Vespers may be solemn. Solemn Vespers differ in that the celebrant wears the cope, he is assisted by assistants also in copes, incense is used, and two acolytes, a thurifer, and at least one master of ceremonies are needed. On ordinary Sundays only two assistants are needed while on greater feasts four or six assistants may be used. The celebrant and assistants vest in the surplice and the cope, which is of the color of the day. The celebrant sits at the sedile, in front of which is placed a lectern, covered with a cloth in the color of the day. The assistants sit on benches or stools facing the altar, or if there are two assistants, they may sit at the sedile next to the celebrant (the first assistant in the place of the deacon and the second assistant in place of the subdeacon).

The celebrant and assistants follow the acolytes into the church wearing the biretta. Upon arriving in the sanctuary the acolytes place their candles on the lowest altar step, after which they are extinguished. The celebrant and assistants kneel on the lowest step and recite the Aperi Domine silently, after which they go to their places and recite the Pater noster and Ave Maria silently. A curious practice which exists from ancient times is the intoning of the antiphons and psalms to the celebrant. The rubrics presuppose that the first assistant or cantors will intone all which the celebrant must sing by singing it to him first in a soft voice after which the celebrant sings it again aloud. The five antiphons and psalms are sung with the first assistant intoning the antiphons and the cantors intoning the psalms. During the singing of the psalms all sit. After the psalms, the acolytes relight their candles and carry them to each side of the lectern for the chapter. The assistants follow, standing facing each other in front of the lectern. The celebrant then sings the chapter, after which all return to their places. The first assistant intones the hymn to the celebrant, and all stand while the hymn is sung. The first assistant intones the Magnificat to the celebrant, who sings the first line aloud. The celebrant and the first two assistants go to altar, and the altar is then incensed as at Mass while the first two assistants hold the ends of the cope. Other altars in the church may be incensed as well. The first assistant then incenses the celebrant, after which the thurifer incenses the others as at Mass. If there are commemorations, the acolytes and assistants again go to the lectern as described above for the chapter. The choir sings the antiphons, the cantors sing the versicles, and the celebrant sings the collects. After all commemorations, the celebrant sings Dominus vobiscum, the cantor sings Benedicamus Domino, and the celebrant sings Fidelium animae.... The Marian antiphon is said in the low voice. Especially in English-speaking countries, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament often follows Solemn Vespers.

Musical settings

The psalms and hymns of the Vespers liturgy have attracted the interest of many composers, including Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Anton Bruckner. (Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Vespers" is really a setting of the Eastern Orthodox all-night vigil; calling it "Vespers" was an error in judgement made by a translator.)

References

External links

The text of Vespers for today's date (Roman Catholic)
The Roman Catholic General Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours
An explanation of First Vespers
Vespers in the Orthodox Church
Sunday Vespers in Latin and with Gregorian chant (Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite)
An Order for Methodist Evening Prayer (PDF)
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh