Vespers #

The All-Night Vigil consists of three parts: Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. Vespers is the first service of the daily church cycle. The cycle begins with Vespers because in ancient times the day was considered to begin in the evening: “And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5). Vespers may be likened to the early dawn of human history — joyful and bright was the beginning of man’s story, yet not for long: soon man fell into sin and made his life into a dark and sorrowful night. These events are symbolically portrayed in the service of Vespers.

The priest and deacon process around the church with incense. The censing with incense symbolizes the movement of the Spirit of God, who, according to the words of Scripture, “moved upon the face of the waters,” bringing forth life by His divine power: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). At this time, the doors of the altar are open. The altar represents, on the one hand, heaven — the dwelling place of God; and on the other, paradise — the former dwelling place of Adam and Eve, and the abode of the righteous in both the present and the age to come. Thus, the open doors at this point symbolize the blissful state of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise.

Then the Royal Doors are closed, and in this act is recalled the sorrowful event when “the gates of Paradise were shut because of Adam’s sin.” The forebears were cast out from the place of blessedness “into toil and sorrow.” Portraying the sorrowful Adam, weeping at the gates of lost Paradise, the priest, standing before the altar, in the prayers of Vespers entreats the Lord that He, being gracious and merciful, would hear our supplication: “neither rebuke us in Thine anger, nor chasten us in Thy wrath, but deal with us according to Thy mercy.” Through the deacon and the choir, the faithful in the Great Litany ask for mercy upon their souls, and, recalling Adam’s sin and the loss of Paradise, they grieve — with the words of the first psalm — over the wretched fate of those who walk in the way of sin, while rejoicing in the blessedness of the righteous who keep the law of the Lord.

The Singing of Psalms and Stichera #

“Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1). Blessed is the one who does not join the assembly of the wicked, nor walks in the paths of the unrighteous, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; rather, his will is in “the law of the Lord,” and upon that law he meditates day and night. Following the first psalm, the second and third are read. They unfold the same theme: the Lord does not abandon the righteous. The plots of the wicked against the just are in vain — the Lord is his protector (Psalm 2); He defends the righteous by day and during their sleep at night, so that they need not fear the assaults of their enemies (Psalm 3).

The “Lament of Adam” before the shut gates of Paradise is expressed with even greater force and vividness in Psalms 140, 141, and 129. These are pleas to the Lord that He would accept our evening prayer as an evening sacrifice, as fragrant incense.

Verses from the Old Testament are joined with those of the New, in which the joy of mankind over the saving work of the Lord is proclaimed, and a feast or saint is glorified. These hymns are called stichera on ‘Lord, I have cried’. As a transition toward the “dawn of salvation,” the dogmatic hymns, known as dogmatika, are sung — hymns to the God-bearer. These dogmatika are a complete exposition of the doctrine concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, of the divine and human natures united in Him. This teaching is revealed in the third article of the Creed and was clarified by the labors of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Ecumenical Councils. The Most Holy God-bearer, praised in these hymns, is the “heavenly gate” for the fallen, the ladder to heaven by which the Son of God descended to earth, and by which mankind may ascend to heaven.

The Entrance and the Readings #

The altar doors are opened. The priest, preceded by the deacon, exits through the side doors, not the Royal Doors, symbolizing the Lord, who came to earth not in kingly glory, but in the form of a servant — like the gentle light of evening, veiling His divine glory as with the twilight. He reenters the altar through the Royal Doors, signifying that through the Lord Christ and through His death, the “royal gates of heaven” have been lifted up by the “princes” and are now opened to all who follow the Lord. The deacon proclaims, “Wisdom, stand aright.” Then is sung the hymn O Gladsome Light (Svete Tikhii): thus, having lived to see the setting of the sun and the light of evening, we glorify God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Tradition tells us the origin of the church hymn Svete Tikhii (O Gladsome Light). One day, on a hill near Jerusalem, sat a wise elder, Patriarch Sophronius. His thoughtful gaze stretched far across the vast horizon, finally resting upon the fading rays of the Palestinian sun. All around was deep silence. The refreshing evening air was filled with coolness and the strong fragrance of mountain flowers. One scene after another passed before the patriarch’s mind’s eye. He imagined how the Savior, before His Passion, had looked upon Jerusalem from this very hill. Then, just as now, the gentle light of the setting sun fell upon the walls and streets of the glorious city. And the setting of the material sun turned the patriarch’s mind to the contemplation of the immaterial Sun — the Son of God, who descended to darkened humanity in order to bring it light. Joy filled the heart of the wise elder, and from his enraptured lips flowed a hymn of inspiration. Ever since, for many centuries, this sacred hymn has resounded in our churches, and it shall never lose its beauty or tenderness.

On feast days, after the prokeimenon, paremias are read. These are selected passages from the Old Testament Scriptures, which in the form of prophecies or types point to the event commemorated by the feast. On feasts of the God-bearer, for example, the reading includes Jacob’s vision of the ladder, which prefigured the Mother of God as our ladder to heaven. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, there is the reading about the tree which Moses cast into the bitter waters of Marah to sweeten them — a type of the Lord’s Cross.

After the paremias, the ektenia of fervent supplication is pronounced: “Let us all say.” Following this fervent litany, and after the prayer which asks the Lord to help us complete the day without sin — “Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin” — there comes the supplicatory litany. In it, just as in the preceding prayer, we entreat the Lord that He would grant us to pass the entire evening in completeness, holiness, peace, and without sin.

The Litia and Stichera on the Stikhovnye #

Next follows the litia. The litia originated from the practice of offering penitential prayer during times of public calamity, sometimes in the midst of the city or even outside its walls. Blessed Symeon of Thessalonica refers to this: “The litia,” he writes, “takes place in the narthex on Saturdays and feasts, but in times of plague or other disasters, it is performed in the midst of the city, or outside it near the walls, with a gathering of the people.” The content of the prayers of the litia also reflects this origin. Its meaning is as follows: standing “afar off,” like the publican, we pray as he did — “Lord, we are unworthy of Thy temple, unworthy to lift our eyes to the height of heaven; but do Thou receive us, and bring us into the heavenly Eden, the mansions of heaven, which have been opened to us by the Blood of the Son of God, and which we close again by our life in impurity and sin.”

In keeping with the penitential spirit of the litia, the prayer “Lord, have mercy” is repeated 40, 30, or 50 times — the prayer of the repentant. At the litia, we pray that the Lord would save His people, bless them as His own children. We pray for the land, for the bishop, and for all the clergy; for every Christian soul in sorrow or distress, and in need of God’s help; and for the departed fathers and brethren. All these petitions the Church offers, invoking the intercession of the Most Holy God-bearer and all the saints. Then, in the bowing-of-heads prayer, the priest entreats the Lord, through the prayers of the saints, to grant us forgiveness of sins, deliver us from every enemy, and have mercy on and save us all, for He is good and loves mankind.

After completing the litia, the priest reenters the church; before him go the lamp-bearers, who, as in every procession, represent the divine light of the saints. After the priest — as though he were entering heaven — follow the others, accompanying the presiding celebrant as though he were Jesus Christ, showing the way to all. Then the usual continuation of Vespers begins, starting with the singing of the stikhovnye stichera. These are chanted antiphonally by two choirs, which join together in the center of the church. These hymns are called stikhovnye (from stikhos, “verse”) because they are interwoven with verses from the Psalms.

On Sundays, the stikhos verses of the Resurrection are sung — “The Lord is King.” If the service falls on another feast, different psalm verses are appointed. When the commemoration is of a saint, then verses are chosen from the psalms appropriate to the person being commemorated — for a hierarch, a martyr, or a monastic saint.

As we welcome the Lord, our Savior, we pray with the joyful and hope-filled words of the righteous Symeon the God-receiver:
“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

In weekday services, the hymn Now lettest Thou (Nunc dimittis) bears not only the meaning of a confession of our joy in the Lord who has come; it is also a prayer of farewell before sleep — a reminder of the final sleep, the sleep of death — so that we may lie down to rest with our thoughts fixed on the Lord and His judgment.

The Blessing of the Loaves #

After the singing of the stikhovnye stichera, the priest approaches a table placed in the center of the church. On it lie a dish with five loaves and vessels containing wheat, wine, and oil. During the thrice-repeated singing of the tropar, incense is offered in a circle around the table. When the hymn concludes, the deacon proclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord,” to which the choir responds: “Lord, have mercy.” The priest then recites a special prayer, concluding it by tracing the sign of the Cross with one of the loaves over the others. In this prayer, he asks the Lord — who once blessed the five loaves and fed five thousand — to bless the loaves now set forth, along with the wheat, wine, and oil, to multiply them throughout the world, and to sanctify the faithful who partake of them.

The custom of the blessing of the loaves is an echo of the ancient agape meals — the suppers of the faithful that followed the vigil services. In the early centuries, when the Church still gathered in the darkness of the catacombs — and in part even in the time of St. John Chrysostom — the All-Night Vigil lasted from evening until morning, through the entire night (cf. Cassian, Conferences, Book III, chs. 8 and 9). Therefore, to strengthen the faithful who intended to remain in church all night, after the singing of Vespers, loaves, wheat, wine, and oil were customarily distributed.

At the conclusion of Vespers, after the priest had invoked the Lord’s blessing upon all those present, he and the deacon would exit the altar, sit down in their place among the congregation, and all would partake together of the blessed food and oil.

Order of Vespers #

Priest: “Blessed is our God…”

Reader: “Amen.” Then follows “O Heavenly King,” the Trisagion prayers, and after the “Our Father,” “Lord, have mercy” 12 times; “Glory… Both now…”; “O come, let us worship…” (thrice); Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul…”; the Great Litany (ekténia); the appointed kathisma (portion of the Psalter); then the Little Litany.

After the Little Litany, “Lord, I have cried” is chanted with six stichera: three from the Octoechos and three from the Menaion. Then: “Glory… Both now…” and the Bogorodichen (or on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Cross-Bogorodichen from the Menaion). If the Menaion prescribes a sticheron for the saint at “Glory,” then at “Both now” a Bogorodichen is sung in the same tone as that sticheron.

After the Bogorodichen, “O Gladsome Light” (Svete Tikhii) is chanted; then the prokeimenon of the day; then “Vouchsafe, O Lord…”

Then follows the Litany of Supplication: “Let us complete our evening prayer to the Lord.” After this litany, the stichera on the stikhovnye are sung — these are from the Octoechos. After the stichera, the reader recites “Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart…”, then the Trisagion and “Our Father.” After the Our Father, the tropar of the saint from the Menaion is chanted; then “Glory… Both now…” and the Bogorodichen in the same tone as the tropar and according to the day.

Then follows the Fervent Litany: “Have mercy on us, O God…”

After the Litany comes the Dismissal:

Deacon or Priest: “Wisdom!”

Priest: “O Most Holy Lady God-bearer, save us.”

Choir: “More honourable than the Cherubim…”

Priest: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.”

Choir: “Glory… Both now…” “Lord, have mercy” (twice); “Lord, bless.”

Priest: “Christ our true God…” followed by the proper dismissal.

Choir: “Amen.” “Lord, have mercy” (thrice).

Order of the Great (Festal) Vespers #

The Great Vespers or Polyeleos Vespers differs from daily Vespers in the following ways:

1. The stichera at “Lord, I have cried” and those on the stikhovnye are sung only from the Menaion; the Octoechos is not used. The Bogorodichens after the stichera and the tropar are those of Sunday.

2. Instead of the appointed kathisma, “Blessed is the man” (the first antiphon of the first kathisma) is sung.

3. After the stichera at “Lord, I have cried,” during the singing of the Bogorodichen, a Small Entrance is made with the censer. After the prokeimenon, three paremias (Old Testament readings) are read.

4. After the paremias, the order of service continues as follows: the litany “Let us all say”; then “Vouchsafe, O Lord…” is read; then the litany “Let us complete our evening prayer…”; then the stichera on the stikhovnye; then “Now lettest Thou…”; the Trisagion; “Our Father”; the tropar; “Glory… Both now…”; the Bogorodichen, followed by the Dismissal as in daily Vespers.

Order of Little Vespers #

Little Vespers differs from daily Vespers in the following ways:

1. It omits the Great Litany, the appointed kathisma, the Little Litany, and also the Litany of Supplication.

2. Instead of the full Fervent Litany, a shortened form is read, containing only three petitions:

   1. “Have mercy on us, O God…”

   2. “For this land…”

   3. “For all our brethren and all Christians…”

3. The stichera at “Lord, I have cried” are sung only on four verses.

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