The life of an Orthodox Christian
can be seen as being composed of five cycles. There is, first of all, the great
cycle of life, which embraces the whole life of a man from birth to death, and
which consists in liturgical actions which are not repeated, occurring only
once in a person's lifetime. These are Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation, and the
Burial Service. In addition, there also belongs in this great cycle the
Sacraments or Sacramental Blessings which bestow special grace for a particular
office or vocation with the community. These are Holy Matrimony, the Monastic
Tonsure and Holy Orders.
Another major cycle which involves
the entire life of an Orthodox Christian is the daily cycle of prayers and
praises offered by the Church, once every twenty-four hours. These services
express our remembrance of events which happened at certain hours and contain
petitions relevant to these memories.
In antiquity the day was considered
to begin at sunset and thus was divided according to the following order. Night
began at 6:00 p.m. (according to our reckoning) and was divided into four parts
(called watches — the time of changing guards): Evening (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.); Midnight (9:00 p.m.
to 12:00 midnight); Cock-crow
(12:00 midnight to 3:00 a.m.); and Morning (3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.). Day
began at 6:00 a.m. (our reckoning) and it, too, was divided into four watches (or
hours). First Hour (6:00
a.m. to 9:00 a.m.); Third Hour (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon); Sixth Hour (12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.); and Ninth Hour (3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.).
Following this ancient pattern,
Orthodox Christians begin each portion of the day with common prayer, which has
resulted in the following eight Services, customarily divided into three groups:
Ninth Hour, Vespers, and Compline; Nocturns (Midnight Service), Matins, and
First Hour; Third and Sixth Hours. In addition to this daily pattern, in
certain monasteries during certain periods of fasting, each of the Hours is
followed by an intermediate Office called the Interhour. Also included in the
daily cycle are the Offices for the Blessing of the Table and the Morning and
Evening Prayers.
The Divine Liturgy is often included
in this daily cycle, normally being served after the Sixth Hour (although,
during Fast Periods it is celebrated after Vespers). Often treated as part of
the daily cycle, the Divine Liturgy is not prescribed to be celebrated every
day (as it is in many cathedrals and monasteries) and in a theological and
mystical sense actually stands outside of chronological time since it also
serves as a point of contact with the eternal, where its participants (by
virtue of their partaking of the Holy Eucharist) are transported to a point
outside of time “where there is no past, present or future, but only the
eternal Now” [The Festal Menaion, trans. Mother Mary and Archimandrite
Kallistos Ware, p. 40]. On days when the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated, the
Service of the Typical Psalms is celebrated in its place after the Sixth Hour
(it also sometimes precedes the Liturgy), thus forming part of the third group
of Daily Services with the Third and Sixth Hours.
In addition to these two cycles,
there are also three others: The Weekly Cycle of the Eight Tones (Octoechos),
the Annual Cycle of Movable Feasts (dependent upon Pascha), and the Annual Cycle
of Fixed Feasts, beginning on the first day of the Church Year — September 1.
These three cycles are combined and superimposed on each other, giving the
Liturgical Year a constant and unfailing variety.
In addition to these two cycles,
there are also three others: The Weekly Cycle of the Eight Tones (Octoechos),
the Annual Cycle of Movable Feasts (dependent upon Pascha), and the Annual Cycle
of Fixed Feasts, beginning on the first day of the Church Year — September 1.
These three cycles are combined and superimposed on each other, giving the
Liturgical Year a constant and unfailing variety.
Each day of the Weekly Cycle is
dedicated to certain special memorials. Sunday is dedicated to Christ's
Resurrection; Monday honors the Holy Bodiless Powers (Angels, Archangels,
etc.); Tuesday is dedicated to the prophets and especially the greatest of the
Prophets, St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord; Wednesday is
consecrated to the Cross and recalls Judas' betrayal; Thursday honors the Holy
Apostles and Hierarchs, especially St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia;
Friday is also consecrated to the Cross and recalls the day of the Crucifixion;
Saturday is dedicated to All Saints, especially the Mother of God, and to the
memory of all those who have departed this life in the hope of resurrection and
eternal life.
Each week of the Weekly Cycle is
centered around the Eight Tones (the basis for Orthodox Church music) and each
Week has its appointed Tone. On Saturday Evening of Bright Week (the Eve of St.
Thomas Sunday), the cycle of Tones begins with Tone One and, week by week, the
sequence continues through the successive Tones, One to Eight, changing to a
new Tone every Saturday Evening, throughout the year.
The yearly cycle of Movable Feasts
is that centered around Holy Pascha and is called movable because, being linked
with the Feast of Feasts, it shifts from year to year as Pascha itself falls on
a different date each year. The Feasts which comprise this cycle are Palm
Sunday (the Sunday before Pascha), Holy Ascension (the fortieth day after
Pascha) and Holy Pentecost (the Descent of the Holy Spirit — the fiftieth day
after Pascha).
Each day of the year is dedicated to
the memory of particular events or Saints and these memorials always fall on
the same Calendar date each year. Thus, in honor of each event or Saint(s),
special hymns have been composed which are added to the usual hymns and prayers
of the day.
Among the feasts of the Church Year,
a place of special honor belongs to the Feast of Feasts, Holy Pascha. Next in
importance come the Twelve Great Feasts, which can be divided into two groups:
Feasts of the Lord and Feasts of the Mother of God.
1. The Universal Exaltation (or
Elevation) of the Life-creating Cross (Sept. 14)
2. The Nativity of Our Lord God and
Savior Jesus Christ (Christmas — Dec. 25)
3. The Theophany (or Epiphany) of
Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ (Jan. 6)
4. The Entrance of Our Lord Jesus
Christ into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday — Sunday before Pascha)
5. The Ascension of Our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ (40 days after Pascha)
6. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
(Holy Pentecost — 50 days after Pascha)
7. The Transfiguration of Our Lord
God and Savior Jesus Christ (Aug. 6)
1. The Nativity of the Most-Holy
Theotokos (Sept. 8)
2. The Entrance (or Presentation) of
the Theotokos into the Temple (Nov. 21)
3. The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Temple (Feb. 2)
4. The Annunciation to the Most-Holy
Theotokos (Mar. 25)
5. The Falling-Asleep (or Dormition)
of the Most-Holy Theotokos (Aug. 15)
All of the Feasts listed above, with the
exception of Palm Sunday and Holy Pentecost are preceded by a period of
preparation known as the Forefeast. In addition, The Nativity of Christ and the
Dormition are preceded by a special fasting period (the Nativity Fast begins on
November 15 and the Dormition Fast begins on August 1). Three of the Feasts are
followed, on the next day, by a distinctive commemoration known as a Synaxis:
The Nativity of Christ is followed, on Dec. 26 by the Synaxis of the Most-Holy
Theotokos; the Theophany is followed, on Jan. 7 by the Synaxis of St. John the
Baptist; and the Annunciation is followed, on Mar. 26 by the Synaxis of the
Archangel Gabriel. In addition, all except one (Palm Sunday) are followed by a
festal period called the Afterfeast, during which the prior Feast is
continually observed. The last day of the Afterfeast — the actual close of the
Feast — is called the Leavetaking.
The services of the Daily Cycle are
divided into three groups of three services each, conveniently entitled:
Evening Service (9th Hour, Vespers and Compline), Morning Service (Nocturns,
Matins and 1st Hour), and Midday Service (3rd Hour, 6th Hour and Divine Liturgy
or Typical Psalms). In addition, on Saturday evenings, as well as on Major
Feasts, All-Night Vigil, which consists of a joining of Great Vespers and
Matins into one Service, may be served. In ancient times and now in many
monasteries, this service literally lasts all night (from early evening until
daybreak of the following day), but in parish life, as well as certain
cathedrals and monasteries, the All-Night Vigil may last for only two to four
hours.
The first service of the Evening
Service is the 9th Hour, which is usually appointed to be said at 3:00 p.m. (the “9th Hour” in antiquity). The structure of each of the
canonical Hours is basically the same. The 3rd and 9th Hours begin with the
full beginning — “O Heavenly King...,” the Trisagion, etc., since they begin
their respective Service groups whereas the 1st Hour (joined to Matins) and the
6th Hour (joined to the 3rd Hour) begin with the next part of all the Hours,
“Come, let us worship...” and then three Psalms appropriate to that Hour. Then
follows the Troparion of the day (connected with the Yearly or Weekday Cycle),
the Theotokion (a hymn in honor of the Mother of God), the Trisagion and Lord's
Prayer, the Kontakion of the day, “Lord, have mercy!” (40 times), the Prayer of
the Hour, “Thou Who at every season and every hour...,” and the concluding
prayers (one is especially appointed for each Hour). The general theme of the
9th Hour is the Passion and Death of Our Lord: And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”...And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and
yielded up His spirit (Matt. 27:46-50).