www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Jordanville's cycle of services

Dear Friends,

I read the outline of Jordanville Holy Trinity Monastery's cycle of daily services.

They begin at 5:00 am with the Midnight Hour and morning prayers - then proceed to the Divine Liturgy.

But they do Vespers AND Matins together each day beginning at four in the afternoon. Compline is served the usual time and I imagine the other Hours are celebrated with Matins, Vespers and the Liturgy.

It does make sense to serve the two major hours with the most psalms and canons together.

But I thought that one only did Vespers and Matins like that before major feasts by way of an All-Night Service.

Can someone explain this to me?

Also, Eastern monasteries do "bunch up" the hours.

Is there a rule governing the saying of the Office every three hours, as obtains in the Coptic tradition and which is also the ideal Latin tradition?

Alex

Alex, this is a bit confusing at first. The "All-Night" Vigil combines Vespers and Mattins into a single service (Mattins is already a combination of several services into one, but let's not go there in this thread). It is appointed in the Sabaite Typikon for Sundays and feasts. It was unknown in the Studite Typikon and of course in the old choral service of the Typikon of the Great Church; it is served rarely in the predominant parish practice in Greece and in the entire area that follows the Konstantinos/Violakis typika, and is also not served in parishes in Western Rus'; in these areas it is a monastic service. In Russian usage, in contrast, it is part of regular parish practice (although the history is complex and as far as I know not yet studied); and there is a further Russian practice that is the one you are asking about: in monasteries and cathedrals, on non-festal weekdays Mattins is served right after Vespers. The content is the same as that of the All-Night Vigil, but in this case they are simply two separate services, sung back-to-back, and not a vigil. Vespers has the usual closing prayers, instead of segueing seamlessly into Mattins as in the Vigil.

About the Hours: just about everywhere, they are structurally services to be sung every three hours: First Hour, Third, Sixth, and Ninth. And just about everywhere what is actually done is that they are bunched together with each other or with other services and not sung at the theoretical hour.

In Russian parish usage, on Sundays, the vigil is sung on the eve, and in the morning the Third and Sixth Hours are read back to back, followed by Liturgy. Greek and Ukrainian/Rusyn usage is Vespers in the evening, Mattins and Liturgy in the morning; the hours, like the Vigil, are pretty much restricted to monasteries as a result.

Stephen

Alex, as usual with any question of a very particular and specific development of liturgical usage in the Constantinopolitan tradition such as that at Holy Trinity, the answers are complicated.

For one thing it involves the question of monastic vigils. In Egypt and Palestine the all-night vigils occurred nightly and lasted all night. On Mt. Athos you can still find sketes or monasteries that practice this. Then there is the question of Greek vs. Russian usage, urban monasteries vs. desert, etc. etc. etc.

The "cathedral" and urban monasteries had vigils generally only for Saturdays and greater feast days, and certainly not every night and not of the same length as the desert monasteries.

There is also another question of a vigil before receiving the Eucharist, as at Holy Trinity they do have daily Divine Liturgy.

Part of the schedule may also reflect consideration for the seminarians, and what a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to the vigil and the riches of theology from those vigil services every night with that reasonable vigil schedule.

I think it is a brilliant approach by the Fathers of Holy Trinity to marry the genius of both the monastic and cathedral offices, an approach with which I am sure the reposed fathers of the Studion are very pleased with in their heavenly abodes.

I also love how the Jordanville Horologion incorporates the usual evening and morning daily prayers into Small Compline and the Midnight Office, respectively. It is in my opinion absolutely the finest horologion in English.

Fr. Alexander Schmemann spoke of his great concern for the "absolutization" of the Typikon into something it never was nor never was intended to be.

This is a wonderful example of how the best elements of the monastic typika can be used with economia to have a rule both completely faithful to the monastic tradition and yet very accessible to those who are not monastics and suitable for the conditions of the community.

Dear Diak,

I'm convinced that I was never meant to be a priest in our Church as I would absolutely fail liturgics! (Thank you too, Stephen!)

Could you expand your comment on the participation in a vigil before the Divine LIturgy and Holy Communion?

I have their Horologion too and the way they put the daily prayers in at Compline and Nocturns truly do ensure that they get said!

Now the two of you go out there and soak up some sunshine!

Alex

You are exactly right. The monastic Typicon prescripts All Night Vigil on the eve of great feasts while apart from them both Vespers and Matins have to be performed separately. But despite the latter rubrics the Russians celebrate even ordinary Vespers, Matins, and First Hour together as one service. Liturgically it is ridiculous. (Imagine, you say morning prayers before going to bed!) But since the full Matins is rather elaborated part of a day cycle there is nothing to do. You can either pitilessly abridge it following the Greek pattern to combine the morning service with Liturgy, which is not acceptable for some worshippers devoted to the traditional rite, or do Matins in its entirety but mush time before Third and Sixth Hours, and Liturgy, that is in the preceding evening.

In this case Compline and Nocturne are usually omitted. But some monasteries somehow manage to fit them even into the revised order of daily services. They perform Vespers and Compline, which is Liturgically right, but then immediately Matins and First Hour, which is Liturgically strange. Then, next morning they do Nocturne (that actually must be placed BEFORE Matins!), and Third-Sixth Hours with Liturgy immediately follow Nocturne. People think that transferring morning service (Matins) to preceding evening is by far better then omitting or abbreviating it. But in Russia all the same there at least a few parishes that celebrate the whole Matins, Hours, and Liturgy together in mornings though it takes around four hours so they have to kick off at 6:30 am or so.

Valerius

For those who aren't already familiar with them, below are the URLs for the Jordanville websites.

For the Monastery: http://www.jordanville.org/

For the Seminary: http://www.hts.edu/

I was a little excited at the beginning of this week, since there was a possibility that I was going with a group to Jordanville for the feast of the Elevation of the Cross this coming Sunday and Monday. However, plans changed. Such is life. Perhaps another time.

Dave

Alex, participation in the Vigil if the services are available and/or a personal vigil rule of preparatory prayers on the eve of receiving the Mysteries have been recommended by many spiritual fathers throughout the ages.

There are various private preparatory rules in English, Canons, Akathists, various prayers of the Fathers, etc. Some very good ones in English are, you guessed it, the Jordanville rule in their Horologia, [which is from the pre-Revolutionary books printed at the Pecherska Lavra], the Jordanville Prayer Book [the blue or red ones] and the Erie Old-Rite prayer book.

For the Greek/Athonite rule, Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline has a nice pocket-sized book with the Small Compline and Canon of Preparation as well as all of the pre- and post-Communion prayers and usually only runs a few dollars [but the print is very small].

Metropolitan Andrey, at the Russian Catholic Synod, recommended Ninth Hour, Vespers and Matins as a minimum preparation for all of the Russian Catholic faithful [or, if they were unable because of health, imprisonment, etc., the Prayer of the Heart using the chotki].

Dave, sorry it didn't work out. It truly is heaven on earth. Our next project is to visit the Holy Cross Skete in West Virginia. They raise goats [which already has me hooked].

Dear Valerius,

Z Praznikom of the Holy Cross!

I understand that there is an upcoming Sobor of the Russian Church and that saints will be considered for glorification.

You wouldn't happen to know who would be proposed for sainthood then, would you?

All the best,

Alex

Dear Diak,

Thank you!

And even the Copts serve Compline at six o'clock in the evening so that they can retire early to get up at midnight for the long Nocturnal Hour.

Also, I remember reading about the medieval "Books of Hours" and how wonderfully decorated they are.

As I understand it, these were private books of hours for laity for prayer at the canonical hours, but not following the church's Daily Office.

Instead, the Little Office of the Virgin Mary were used, the Seven Pentitential Psalms, the 15 Gradual Psalms and other devotions.

Ultimately, it would be good for all Christians to take some time at the seven daily Hour times to pray and meditate in their own way, if not by using liturgical prayer . . .

Alex

Alas! By and large we, ordinary believers, have no idea concerning the agenda that hierarchy is going to come up with at the Council. It seems to happen every time when a Council is coming up. So it is one of the main problems of the Russian Church life of today.

Many thanks for your greetings on Holy Cross Day.

God Bless,

Valerius

I served at Jordanville for 10 days following ordination to the priesthood in 1977.Matins is served in the afternoon for conviance sake, since it is a working monastery,I agree it dosn't quite make sense,since Complines is served then after the evening meal,then Nocturnes early in the morning which should be served BEFORE Matins. However, on Sunday evenings, Vespers would be served alone(Great or Daily depending on next days feast), then supper, then complines.So, on Monday mornings, Matins would follow Nocturnes, then the Hours and Liturgy would follow Matins. If, however, a Great Feast fell on Monday, of course Vigil would be served Sunday evening.A similar practice of serving Daily Matins after Vespers was practised at St.Tikhon's where I studied.I've heard that they have since switched to doing Matins in the morning, except for Great Feasts.

As far as I know, the current practice at St. Tikhon's is to serve Matins at 5:00 AM on weekdays, followed by the Hours and Divine Liturgy. If I remember right, Matins is served joined to Vespers on Fridays. Also, Vigil is served on Saturday evening and on the eves of feasts.

I was only to the 5 AM "Royal Office" and the beginning of weekday Matins once, after pulling an all-nighter at summer camp. Of course, being tired, me and my little group of friends left after "God is the Lord" and the Troparia.

Dave