“Prayer began with Vespers, as evening was given the first place in the book of Genesis: And the evening and the morning (Gen. 1:5). The beginning of human history was joyous, but it was quickly darkened by the Fall.

 

St. John Cassian the Roman describes Compline as a service done “after evening,” or after dinner. Initially, it was a prayer “for the coming sleep” for monks. Unsurprisingly, it became its own peculiar form of evening prayers for the laity at a later time. The rite of forgiveness with a kneeling plea to God to forgive one for all the trespasses of that day has been preserved in Compline to our day.

Midnight Office recalls the imminence of the Second Coming of Christ. This service, the first to be served after sleep, became an unspoken morning prayer rule in Rus’. In Edinovertsi parish practice it’s usually read as the first service of morning worship.

The events of Matins are dedicated to the appearance of Christ in the world and His Resurrection. Today, Matins is more often served in the evening in parishes. In ancient times, it could also be prayed early in the morning, when they woke up at midnight for the Midnight Office.

The First Hour is dedicated to the remembrance of the judgment of Pilate and the high priests over the Lord, the Third to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, the Sixth to the Crucifixion and sufferings of Christ on the Cross, and the Ninth to His death on the Cross.

Instead of Liturgy, they would usually serve Typika in the lay rank and a moleben dedicated to the feast of the day. It should be noted that in this way, the laity would serve the full cycle more often, of course, collectively in churches and chapels, in the absence of a priest. It was a rarity at home, but that didn’t rule out the possibility. In any case, Christians tried to live in a liturgical cycle, as the Church services in Rus’ were the best school of theology—hence their length, which allowed people to immerse themselves in attentive listening to the words of the sacred texts. Today it seems nearly impossible to do the services under our home conditions. Work, family, a million cares… But we should at least try, and if we don’t pray the entire daily cycle, then at least part of it.”

– Article in orthochristian.com

***Now and then we include a particularly thought provoking or inspiring excerpt not from one of our regular ‘Elders’***