Matins begin with prayers for the Tsar, and, after these prayers,
consist chiefly in praises of the Lord, Who hath given us not daylight alone,
but spiritual Light: Christ the Saviour. Therefore, this entire service is
filled with memories of the time when Christ appeared upon the earth, and lived
here unrecognized by nearly all men. The service of Matins is divided into
three parts. The first part consists in the singing of Psalms expressive of
penitence and hope in the Redeemer, and general prayers for mercy. The
psalm-singing begins with the Doxology which the angels sang on the night of
the Nativity: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among
men”; then is interrupted by a more direct glorification of the Incarnation of
Christ: “God is the Lord and hath appeared unto us: blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord”; and ends with the glorification of the person or
event, to the memory of whom or which the day is consecrated. The second part
is entirely consecrated to the glorification of the Saint of the day or of the
event commemorated on that day. It consists of hymns from the Old Testament,
which refer to the coming Saviour, and others from the
New Testament, showing that the expectations of the righteous men of old have
been realized. The third part consists of hymns of praise and prayers for the
granting of spiritual gifts to Christians.
The Hours, or Hour offices, is the name given to brief sets of
prayers recited at the hours which begin each of the four watches of the day,
and which, to Christians, are associated with special memories. All these
offices are alike in their composition. Every Hour begins with an invitation to
worship Christ and consists of the reading of three Psalms. Then follow: the troparion
for the day, the Theotokion (a hymn in honor of the Mother of God), the
Lord’s Prayer, the kontakion* for the day, the prayer “Thou Who at all times
and in every hour...,” and the concluding prayers of the hour. But with all
this similarity, the office of one Hour differs from that of another in so far
that each Hour has its own Psalms and concluding prayers, to conform with the
events commemorated and with the feelings, thoughts,
and wishes which these memories call forth in the soul of the believer. The
office of the First Hour commemorates the bringing of Christ before Pilate;
that of the Third Hour commemorates Pilate’s judgment of Christ, the scourging
and the mocking, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; the
office of the Sixth Hour commemorates Christ’s going forth to Golgotha, the
Crucifixion, the insults offered to Him on the Cross, the darkness which
covered the earth; while the office of the Ninth
Hour commemorates Christ’s Passion and death.
The All-Night Vigil is the name of a service composed of
Vespers and Matins, which is performed with great solemnity, especially in the
parts consecrated to the memories of the day.