I exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; for kings and all that are in high place. (1 Tim., ii. 1, 2.) Mindful of this Apostolic instruction, we are lead by the Orthodox Apostolic Church to pray for the powers that be in the beginning of Matins, which is the service appointed for the morning, at the very break of day. The xix and xx Psalms having been read, the first part of Matins is completed, and we feel secure in the hope that a tranquil and quiet day will be granted us if we but continue determined to make it one of all godliness and gravity. After this, we continue exercising ourselves in earnest prayer, and the next part of Matins is begun when a reader, in the quiet of early morn, the prayers and all sound in the church having ceased, commences to sing the angelic praise, the same which the shepherds had heard in the fields of Bethlehem at the birth of Him who had come to save.
At this time the greater lights in the church are extinguished. All is deep attention while the appointed reader chants: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. This he chants three times in honor of the most glorious Trinity, and then proceeds to read in an even tone the six morning psalms. They are: iii, xxxvii, lxiii, lxxxviii, ciii, cxlii. This reading is then followed by the priest’s or deacon’s peaceful supplications for each and all, in every place, and in all sorts of conditions, during which we often repeat: Lord have mercy, but with quiet heart, peacefully, being already assured of God’s good will. At the end of these supplications of peace, solemnly from the whole church comes the Amen. This word means verily, or so be it.
By this time the pitch of music is raised, (how well it corresponds with the gladness of souls, which were once depressed) and straightway is sung according to the tone of the Troparion of the day or of the Saint, whose memory is kept, this verse (from Ps. cxviii): God is the Lord, and is manifested unto us, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. While the choirs sing this in turn the reader, vested in a sticharion, or according to his office, repeats other verses of the same psalm, and then is sung the Troparion. The Troparion is a hymn in which collectively and yet briefly are included the characteristics and history of a religious event, or the traits of the life of some saint whose memory is celebrated. Therefore the Troparion is an essential of the first service in the day, and may be often repeated, as it is in other services and private prayers, or praise in different places—such as the homes of families.
Now the Kathisma are read with the singing of Alleluia at certain intervals. The Kathisma are composed of the Psalms of the holy Prophet—king David. During this reading we sit, but the Christians who are bent on listening must be aware that they have a right to their seat, only when no elder person, or a sick one, or a stranger and a visitor may be accommodated. If the day be a feast or one of the greater saints’ days, the polyeleos is triumphantly sung. This psalm is designated polyeleos, which means much mercy, because of the word mercy, which is often repeated. Then follows the Magnificat—a verse in beatification of the saint of the day; but if it be a feast of great importance—the glory of God is proclaimed accordingly by His humble creatures.
At the Matins the Gospel is always read by a priest, but not by a deacon, and the reason for this is the fact, that the priest first must feed the people with the divine word, as after—in the Liturgy he will feed them with the mystical bread, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself setting the example. It was He Who also commanded His disciples: first to teach , and then to baptize. After the Gospel is read, it is carried into the center of the temple by the priest himself, and this reminds us of the Angel on the stone who declared the Resurrection of Christ—of which the priests had preached. The congregation kiss the holy book; we sing: Having seen Christ’s Resurrection, at the same time being reminded of the Apostles, who worshipped together with the women, who brought to the tomb sweet smelling myrrh.
Now the canon is in order. The Canon sung at Matins is a collection of hymns made up in accordance with a certain rule. The canon is divided into nine parts (odes); the first stave of each ode is sung and is called hyrmos (meaning band—by means of the hyrmoi the entire canon is as it were made into one whole), the remaining are mostly read and are called troparia. In the composition of these Odes more especially labored St. John Damascene, Cosmas of Maium, Andrew of Crete, (the great penitential canon belongs to him), and others. In composing the same they guided themselves by the hymns and the prayers of certain holy ones, namely: of the prophet Moses (for the first and second hyrmi), of the prophetess Anna, Samuel’s mother (for the third hyrmos), of the prophet Habbakuk (for the fourth), of the prophet Isaiah (for the fifth), of the prophet Jonah (for the sixth), of the three youths (for the seventh and eighth), and of the priest Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father (for the ninth). Before the ninth Ode is sung the hymn of the Mother of God: My soul doth magnify the Lord, etc.
Before the conclusion of Matins, the Great Doxology is sung—if it be an uncommon day, and read if no celebration be held. In the Great Doxology is glorified the All-holy Trinity, and more particularly the accomplisher of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Day-dawn service, as well as Vespers, is closed by the ectenia of earnest prayer when we chant: Lord have mercy, thrice, and the supplicatory ectenia, when we chant: Grant O Lord.
When the Vespers, a Litany, the Matins, and the First Hour are united in one service, it is called the Nocturnal, or All-night Vigil. It is in monasteries only that this Vigil on certain occasions is fully carried out. But in cathedrals and in some other churches it is somewhat abbreviated, and held at the eve of Sundays and the twelve great Feasts, which are: 1, The Nativity of the Mother of God, 8th of September; 2, Her Entrance into the Temple, 21st of November; 3, The Annunciation to the Mother of God, 25th of March; 4, the Nativity of Christ, 25th of December; 5, Epiphany, 6th of January; 6, The Lord’s presentation in the temple as a child, 2nd of February; 7, The Transfiguration of the Lord, 6th of August; 8, Palm Sunday—before the Resurrection; 9, The Ascension—forty days after Easter; 10, Pentecost—fifty days after Easter; 11, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, 15th of August; 12, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14th of September. The holy Pascha, or Easterday, is the most joyful Festival of the Church; and on this occasion, all the services are distinguished by an especial solemnity.
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