Orthros [Matins]
"The morning service of the
Church is called Matins. It
opens with the reading of six
morning psalms and the intoning
of the Great Litany. After this,
verses of Psalm 118 are sung:
God is the Lord and has revealed
himself to us. Blessed is he who
comes In the name of the Lord.
The Troparian is then sung and,
if it be a monastery, various
groups of psalms which differ
each day are read. Once again
there are hymns on the theme of
the particular day. On major
feast days, special praises and
psalms are sung, which on the
Lord's Day sing of Christ's
Resurrection. On major feasts
and on Sundays, the Gospel is
also read.
After the Gospel there is a long
intercessory prayer followed by
a set of hymns and readings
called the Cannon. These songs
are based on the Old Testament
Canticles and conclude with the
song of Mary, the so-called
Magnificat. (Luke 1: 46-55) The
Great Doxology is chanted
followed by the morning
litanies. The Troparian is also
repeated once again before the
congregation is dismissed to
begin the activities of the day.
The Matins service of the Church
unites the elements of morning
psalmody andprayer with
meditation on the Biblical
canticles, the Gospel reading,
and the particular theme of the
day in the given verses and
hymns. The themes of God's
revelation and light are also
always central to the morning
service of the Church.
Sometimes, particularly in
churches of the Russian
tradition, the matins and the
vesper services are combined to
form a long vigil service. On
special days, the blessing of
bread, wheat, wine and oil is
added to the Vespers, even when
it is served separately from
Matins. The faithful partake of
the blessed food and are
anointed with the oil as a sign
of God's mercy and grace."
Excerpt from Father Thomas
Hopko, Worship: An Elementary
Handbook on the Orthodox Church,
v. 2, The Department of
Religious Education, The
Orthodox Church in America, New
York, 1976, p. 66.
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