The Shepherd, January 2005
“THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE CHURCH SERVICES”, 2
§ 97. The Symbolic and Morally Instructive Meaning of the Various Parts of Mattins. The Lesser Doxology before the Six Psalms reminds us of the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the essence of His teaching. The Six Psalms themselves depict the earthly life of Christ, and in particular the enmity of people against Him. The chanting of “God is the Lord” commemorates Jesus Christ’s sojourn in the flesh and more particularly His coming to His voluntary Passion. The troparion speaks of the event or festival being celebrated. On Sundays the kathismata foretell the Passion, Death and Burial of Christ. In the polyeleos the majesty and glory of His Resurrection is declared. The bringing out of the Gospel Book into the centre of the church and the chanting of the evlogitaria depict the appearances of Christ after His Resurrection. In the magnification, the sacred persons or events commemorated on that day are glorified. In the antiphons, the grace-filled aid which is imparted to the believers through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church is spoken of. The Gospel is read to acquaint the believers with the event being celebrated. On Sundays, we read in order one of eleven sections taken from the four Gospels regarding the Resurrection. In the hymn “Let us who have beheld the Resurrection of Christ,” the believers are invited to come and worship the Risen Christ, by kissing the Gospel Book. And the intoning of the prayer, “Save, O God, Thy people,” denotes God’s mercy towards the people, which is imparted to His “inheritance” through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the canon, we praise the Resurrected Christ in the persons of those in the kingdom of glory, that is the saints. The hymns of light or exapostilaria tell of the light of a Christian spirit, which is received through Jesus Christ. In the praises, all nature offers praise to the Resurrected One. In the verses on the praises, we hymn the festival being celebrated. The Theotokion is chanted for the glorification of the Mother God, who has opened unto us an entrance into the Heavenly Kingdom. The Great Doxology tells of the praise of the Lord offered from the kingdom of grace, which is the Church on earth. The dismissal troparia speak of the preaching of the Apostles regarding the Resurrection of Christ. Thus, the general theme of the second part of the Vigilservice, the Mattins part, consists in representing the Christian, New Testament events.
§ 98. The Outer Indications of the Component Parts of Vespers and Mattins in the All-Night Vigil. So that we might better understand what are the various parts of the Vigil Service and where we are in the service, we can list the following indications of the most important of them, from the rites being employed. Thus, when the Proemial Psalm is being read or chanted, there is a censing of the whole church and the believers within it, by the priest and the deacon. On “Lord, I have cried,” there is a second censing but done by the deacon alone. On the dogmatic theotokion, the Royal Gates are opened and we have the Vespers Little Entrance. While “O Joyous Light,” and the prokeimenon are being chanted, the deacon and priest stand behind the Holy Table in the High Place. In the reading of the Paremia, or Old Testament lections in Vespers, the reader stands in the centre of the church before the soleas, and in the Russian practice gradually raises his voice, verse by verse, as he does in reading the Epistle at the Liturgy. On the verses for the Liti, there is a procession of the clergy and people to the back of the church or the narthex. The petitions of the Liti are distinguished by the fact that the chanters respond to them with many Lord, have mercies. At the aposticha, or verses on the verses, the clergy move forward to stand before the small table on which the loaves, wheat, wine and oil have been prepared for blessing. At the intoning of “Blessed be the Name of the Lord,” and the reading of the thirty-third psalm, the clergy move up to the soleas, and after the blessing of the people re-enter the sanctuary. During the Six Psalms, when the people stand perfectly still, the priest comes out from the sanctuary after the third psalm and stands before the Royal Gates, reading the prayers appointed in his service-book. The kathismata are distinguished by the fact that each one is divided into three “Glories” at the end of which we insert a threefold “Alleluia,” “Glory, Both now,” a threefold “Lord, have mercy” and a repeated “Glory to the Father….” At the polyeleos the Royal Gates are opened wide, candles and lamps are lit, and the clergy cense the whole church. In the Russian practice, at the magnification, the clergy stand around the icon of the feast, and chant the magnification, being followed by the choir. And during the antiphons, in the Russian practice the deacon prepares to bring the Gospel into the centre of the church, or according to other usages places himself near the High Place to intone the prokeimenon. On feastdays in Russian practice, during “Let every breath,” the deacon would stand with the Gospel Book on the ambon, before bringing it down into the centre of the church for the priest to read. The deacon intones, the “Save,O Lord,” which, like the petition on the liti, is responded to by the choir with many Lord, have mercies. During the Canon, the faithful come to kiss the Gospel Book or icon of the festival, and on feastdays they are usually anointed with holy oil, and given a portion of blessed bread dipped in blessed wine to eat - these things were blessed after the liti. The deacon leads up to the chanting of the Magnificat by first censing the sanctuary and the Lord’s side of the iconostas, and then, standing before the icon of the Mother of God, he exclaims, “The Theotokos and Mother of the Light, let us magnify in hymns.” At the chanting of the theotokion on the Praises (“Most blessed art thou, O Virgin Theotokos”), in preparation for the Great Doxology itself, the Royal Gates are again opened, and when the priest introduces the Doxology itself with the words, “Glory to Thee, Who hast shown us the light,” he raises his hands on high. During the First Hour, the doors are closed and the veil is drawn, and the priest only appears outside the sanctuary for the prayer, “O Christ, the true Light,” and for the dismissal, and at this time he is vested only in his stole. 
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