Vespers

The Vespers (Latin vespera " evening ") is the liturgical evening prayer of the Church. As early Christianity from the Jewish tradition, and seven - praying three times a day, developed the precursor of today's Divine Office with time still worship community character, while the evening prayer, as was the Maariw the Jewish tradition played an important role. The custom here to pray the Psalms, retained the Christians and widened it out. For the Vesper psalms in particular were chosen with evening designs. Other components of the Vespers are hymns and the Lord's Prayer.

Catholic Church

The Vespers is part of the Divine Office of the Church. It forms together with Lauds, the morning prayer, the Angel points of the liturgical hours of prayer. In the Roman Book of Hours Vespers consists of opening hymn, two psalms and a New Testament canticle, scripture reading, responsory, Magnificat, intercessions, Our Father, daily prayer and blessing. High-strength and Sundays have a special form for the so-called first Vespers on the eve and the second vespers on the evening of the day itself

If the Vespers the last Hore of the day, which is prayed in community, the time is often added appropriate Marian antiphon in the church year, the otherwise decides Compline. In the past five psalms were provided; this has been preserved in the liturgy of the hours of some contemplative orders (about Benedictines, Cistercians, Carthusians ).

The daily recitation of Vespers is mandatory for priests, deacons and the people of consecrated life, the layman, it is recommended.

Anglican Church

With the model of the Daily Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican church in the 16th century again tied to the tradition of the evening community prayer. She is currently probably the only church that succeeded in keeping the daily evening prayer in the communities alive. For patristic heritage belongs to the daily hymn " O Gracious Light" ( Phos hilaron ). In today's lectionary (1979 ) are the psalms arranged in a seven-week cycle. This evening prayers called Evening Service, Evening Prayer or Evensong.

Lutheran Church

The Lutheran Church has retained the Vespers as evening prayer and further developed. So it is held consistently to the age of rationalism and enlightenment. A total of five different forms of Vespers be celebrated:

Since the 1920s, circles formed as the Berneuchener movement that Michaels or Ansverusbruderschaft who committed themselves to daily prayer times and forms an evangelical Tagzeitengebets, mostly through the development of a German Gregorian tested. In 1998 the "Protestant Tagzeitenbuch " published in new completely redesigned edition.

With the liturgy II was an order for the Vespers offered in 1960 in the Lutheran churches as a community service; this work was not yet reissued in the reform agendas and probably had little overall effect. The Thuringian church was 1959, the so-called Protestant breviary out (5th edition, 2001 under the title " Biblical Breviary "). Next morning prayers ( matins ) and Opening Prayer ( Lauds ) It contains an order for the Vespers, which is substantially similar to the Catholic order listed above, but at two points goes its own way: a) instead of the responsory delivers the explanation of the Creed from Luther's Small Catechism; b ) instead of the whole Lord's Prayer every day is a father of the Our assigned, connected to the corresponding verse of Luther 's Prayer Song. Thus, this model takes old traditions of Protestant weekday services that served the teaching of the catechism, and combines them with the structure of the Divine. The ELKG ( Evangelical Lutheran Church hymnal ) for the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ) prints based on Liturgy II from the morning prayers ( matins ), Vespers and Compline.

Byzantine rite

Vespers in the churches of the Byzantine rite (especially the Orthodox churches ) is celebrated especially before the great festivals festive with the whole community, in the monasteries she is celebrated daily. A distinction is made between the Great and Little Vespers. The Great Vespers consists of: Opening and Introduction prayers, Psalm 104 with light prayer, Great Litany, Kathisma, Little Litany, incense with Psalm 141, catchment, the hymn -friendly light, Prokimenon, reading, fervent litany Kataxioson, Bittlitanei (possibly Litija ), Aposticha, canticle of Simeon, Trisagion, our Father, troparia (possibly Artoklasia ), Psalm 34, blessing and dismissal. The Small Vespers is celebrated less festive, certain prayers omitted.

Coptic rite

The Coptic rite, which aired its part, the Ethiopian Church is strongly influenced by monasticism, which is reflected in an extensive Psalms stint. That the Coptic Book of Hours ( " Agpeya " ) form looks every day for each hour of prayer, the same psalms and the same readings before, for prayer at the eleventh hour ( Vespers ) Psalms 51, ​​117, 118, 120-129, the Gospel Lk 4.38 to 41, many other prayers and the Our Father.

Vespers in the history of music

The Psalms and Hymns of the Vespers prayer have inspired many composers, including Claudio Monteverdi ( Vespro della or Vespers of the Blessed Virgin ), Antonio Vivaldi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Bruckner and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Musical settings of generally follow the old order, so that a complete Vespers setting usually has five Psalms. In the Sunday Vespers are ( from the latin count) Psalms 109-112 and 113 or 116