www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Vespers, Matins & the Divine Liturgy Vespers

I'm thinking of attending a Vespers service tonight, but I'm curious how long a Vespers service is? Just need to know so I can tell my wife when to expect me home.

Or does it depend on the parish?

Thank you!

Well, Vespers can be about 50 minutes-one hour on its own, or 30 minutes if with A Vigil Divine Liturgy.

Daily Vespers can be celebrated properly in 30-45 minutes, Great Vespers usually takes a bit longer, but it is never as long as Orthros.

At St. Michael's Russian Catholic Chapel we do a rather complete Great Vespers every Saturday evening. We use the standard obikhod abbreviation of the First Kathisma but take all the stikhera and apostikha. It rarely takes more than thirty-five minutes.

My former parish has great vespers on Saturday night and the service takes almost an hour.

About an hour, or close to, for Great Vespers at my former parish.

Thank you, everyone! I went to Vespers on Saturday. I had a hard time understanding some of what was said because I didn't have a booklet to follow along, but it was a nice service with beautiful music. This was at an Orthodox parish, there are no vespers that I could see at our Eastern Catholic churches. I did feel peaceful afterwards, it was nice. It was about an hour long.

Since we're on this topic, forgive my woeful ignorance, but why is there a "Little Vespers" and a "Great Vespers" in the Sunday Octoechos?

Are both done, one after another? (I once read the Old Believers do this). Is it dependent on the feastday?

Could someone please enlighten me?

Alex

Little Vespers is taken when the All-Night Vigil is served, and begins earlier (before supper) than the usual Great Vespers as the All-Night Vigil begins later (after supper). Little Vespers is most often seen in monastic usage and is rarely taken in parishes.

If the Vigil is not served, i.e. Great Vespers and Matins are taken separately, Little Vespers is generally not taken at all.

Dear Father DIAKone!

Thank you very much!

You always enlighten me so well - I need so much to begin with!

Your use of "taking Little Vespers" reminds me of the priest who didn't like serving Compline in Church, but in private.

When asked by a visiting priest when they should come back after Vespers for Compline, that priest replied, "I usually don't take anything after Supper . . ."

I guess it's one of those insider jokes . . .

Alex

Dear Father DIAKone,

Also, can one, from devotion, pray the Inter-Hours daily?

The Old Believers, as you well know, have "Middle Compline." Why can't we do that?

Alex

You wouldn't be the only one around here using the Old Rite Horologion... According to the ORH, Small Compline is to be used for polyeleos and higher rank feasts, Great Compline for fasts and fasting vigils (Christmas, Theophany, etc.) and Middle Compline for everything in between.

Regarding the Interhours, the limitation of these to the first day of the Lesser Fasts is a recent Nikonian development, and of course they could be used in a penitential way outside of any great feast. I don't recall the ORH English or any of the original Slavonic Chasoslovs listing any limitation of these to the Lesser Fasts.

On a related tangent, the Prayer Book is one of our few marital disagreements - I prefer the Old Rite and the wife Jordanville for our respective personal prayer rules...

Dear Father DIAKone!

Thank you for your teaching!

Ah, so you are in a "mixed" marriage!

As am I . . .

It makes for a more interesting marital life, one could say.

Alex