Redeeming the Time

The hours are 10 minute prayer services appointed by the Church for certain hours of the day. While most of us do not generally have time to pray these prayers regularly, they are a valuable resource for reflection and prayer.

The sixth hour is the prayer appointed for noontime. This is a time when many of us may be able to set aside five minutes for reflection, reading and prayer. It is also a time when we can be prone to despondency or depression, which the fathers call “the demon of noonday.” In the morning, we may have awoken with high hopes for the day. Reading our morning prayers, we gave glory to God for a new day and asked to be guided on the path of his commandments. But since then we have been exposed to numerous temptations, and are probably conscious of a number of sins. The prayers of the sixth hour reflect this struggle, and they also remind us that the answer, the solution, is to hope in God. In the words of Psalm 90, “thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the thing that walketh in darkness, nor for the mishap and demon of noonday.”

We also read the sixth hour in church just before the Divine Liturgy every Sunday. We also read the third hour (the church’s mid-morning prayer) at that time.

I’ve included below several of the prayers of the sixth hour, any of which could be an excellent resource for us in the middle of a difficult day.

Psalm 54

Give ear, O God, unto my prayer, and disdain not my supplication; attend unto me, and hear me. I was grieved in my meditation, and I was troubled at the voice of the enemy and at the oppression of the sinner; Because they have turned iniquity upon me, and with wrath were they angry against me. My heart is troubled within me, and the terror of death is fallen upon me. Fear and trembling are come upon me, and darkness hath covered me. And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly, and be at rest. Lo, I have fled afar off and have dwelt in the wilderness. I waited for God that saveth me from faintheartedness and from tempest. Plunge them into the depths, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen iniquity and gainsaying in the city. Day and night they go round about her upon her walls; iniquity and toil and unrighteousness are in the midst of her. And usury and deceit have not departed from her streets. For if mine enemy had reviled me, I might have endured it. And if he that hateth me had spoken boastful words against me, I might have hid myself from him. But thou it was, O man of like soul with me, my guide and my familiar friend, Thou who together with me didst sweeten my repasts; in the house of God I walked with thee in oneness of mind. Let death come upon such ones, and let them go down alive into hades. For wickedness is in their dwellings, and in the midst of them. As for me, unto God have I cried, and the Lord hearkened unto me. Evening, morning, and noonday will I tell of it and will declare it, and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from them that draw nigh unto me, for they among many were with me. God will hear, and He will humble them, He that is before the ages. For to them there is no requital, because they have not feared God; He hath stretched forth His hand in retribution. They have defiled His covenant; they were scattered by the wrath of His countenance, and their hearts have convened. Their words were smoother than oil, and yet they are darts. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He will nourish thee; He will never permit the righteous to be shaken. But Thou, O God, shalt bring those men down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but as for me, O Lord, I will hope in Thee.

Psalm 90

He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High shall abide in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say unto the Lord: Thou art my helper and my refuge. He is my God, and I will hope in Him. For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters and from every troubling word. With His shoulders shall He overshadow thee, and under His wings shalt thou have hope. With a shield will His truth encompass thee; thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the thing that walketh in darkness, nor for the mishap and demon of noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousands at thy right hand, but unto thee shall it not come nigh. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and thou shalt see the reward of sinners. For Thou, O Lord, art my hope. Thou madest the Most High thy refuge; No evils shall come nigh unto thee, and no scourge shall draw nigh unto thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. On their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Upon the asp and basilisk shalt thou tread, and thou shalt trample upon the lion and dragon. For he hath set his hope on Me, and I will deliver him; I will shelter him because he hath known my name. He shall cry unto me, and I will hearken unto him. I am with him in affliction, and I will rescue him and glorify him. With length of days will I satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation.

Seeing that we have no boldness on account of our many sins, do thou beseech Him that was born of thee, O Virgin Theotokos for the supplication of a mother availeth much to win the Master’s favor. Disdain not the prayers of sinners, O all-pure one, for merciful and mighty to save is He Who deigned also to suffer for our sake.

Let Thy compassions quickly go before us, O Lord, for we are become exceedingly poor. Help us, O God our Savior, for the sake of the glory of Thy name. O Lord, deliver us and be gracious unto our sins for Thy name’s sake.

Prayer of the 6th Hour, by St. Basil the Great

O God and Lord of Hosts, and Maker of all Creation, Who by the tender compassion of Thy mercy which transcendeth comprehension, didst send down Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race, and by His precious Cross didst tear asunder the handwriting of our sins, and thereby didst triumph over the principalities and powers of darkness: Do Thou Thyself, O Master, Lover of mankind, accept also from us sinners these prayers of thanksgiving and entreaty, and deliver us from every destructive and dark transgression, and from all enemies, both visible and invisible, that seek to do us evil. Nail down our flesh with the fear of Thee, and incline not our hearts unto words or thoughts of evil, but pierce our souls with longing for Thee, so that ever looking to Thee, and being guided by Thy Light as we behold Thee, the unapproachable and everlasting Light, we may send up unceasing praise and thanksgiving unto Thee, the Unoriginate Father, with Thine Only-begotten Son, and Thine All-holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The entire text can be found here: http://www.saintjonah.org/services/third&sixth.htm.

St John Cassian talks about the demon of noonday: http://hagioipateres.wordpress.com/2005/06/17/the-demon-of-the-noonday/

see also http://orthodoxwiki.org/Akedia/ While we are not a desert dweller, many of us know this demon too well.

(see below for Russian)

Preface

CHRIST DENOUNCED THE SCRIBES of His time for elevating rituals and ceremonies to the level of exalted religious virtues, and He taught that only service offered "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24) is appropriate to be offered to God. Denouncing the legalistic attitude toward the Sabbath day, Christ said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). While the Savior's harshest words were directed against the Pharisaical devotion to traditional ritual form, Christ Himself visited, taught, and prayed in the Temple in Jerusalem, as did His apostles and disciples. 

Not only did Christianity not abandon ritual, but also in time, in the course of its historical development, it established its own complex system of worship. Does this constitute a self-contradiction? Is not private prayer sufficient for a Christian?

Faith expressed only in the soul becomes an abstraction rather than a living faith. For faith to become a living faith, it must be realized in life. Participation in church religious ceremonies is the realization of faith in our lives, and those who not only reflect upon their faith, but also live it, of necessity participate in the liturgical life of the Church of Christ; they attend Church and they know and love the order of Church services. 

In his book Heaven on Earth: Worship in the Eastern Church, Archpriest Alexander Men' explains the need for external forms of worship: "Our life, in all of its most diverse manifestations, is clothed in rituals. In the Russian language the noun "obryad" is derived from the verb that means "to dress in" or "to clothe." Joy and sorrow, daily greetings, approval, delight, and indignation, all assume external forms in human life. So what right do we have to strip these forms from our feelings toward God? What right do we have to reject Christian art and Christian rituals? The words of prayers, and the hymns of thanksgiving and repentance that poured forth from the depths of the hearts of great theologians, great poets, and creators of great melodies are not without benefit for us. Immersion into them schools the soul, educating it in genuine service to the Eternal One. Worship services lead to the enlightenment and elevation of man; they ennoble his soul. Thus, Christianity, serving God 'in spirit and truth' preserves both rituals and ceremonies." 

Christian worship, in the broad sense of the term, is collectively known as liturgy; that is, communal activity and common prayer, while the science of worship is known as liturgics. 

Christ said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I" (Matthew 18:20). One may call divine services the focus of a Christian's entire spiritual life. When a multitude is inspired by common prayer, the people find themselves surrounded by a spiritual atmosphere that enables true prayer. At that point, the faithful enter into a mystical, sacramental communion with God, a state essential to genuine spiritual life. The holy fathers of the Church teach that just as a branch broken from a tree dries up because it is deprived of the sap it needs to live, so a person severed from the Church no longer receives that strength, that grace, which lives in the divine services and mysteries of the Church, and which is essential for man's spiritual life. 

Fr. Pavel Florensky, a famous Russian theologian of the early 20th century, called divine services "the synthesis of the sciences," because within the temple all of the substance of man's being is ennobled. Everything in an Orthodox church is essential: its architecture, the smell of incense, the beauty of the icons, the singing of the choir, the homily, and the actions performed. 

The actions carried out in Orthodox divine services are distinguished by their religious realism; a realism that engenders a sense of immediacy in the faithful to the principal events commemorated in the Gospel by removing the barriers of time and space between the events and those who pray. 

During the Nativity services, we not only remember the birth of Christ, but Christ is actually mystically born, just as He is resurrected on Holy Paskha (Easter). Similar statements can be made about His Transfiguration, His Entry into Jerusalem, the Mystical Supper, His Passion, His Burial, and His Ascension; and about all of the events in the life of the Most Holy Theotokos, from her Nativity to her Dormition. Through its divine services, the life of the Church is revealed to be the mystical accomplishment of God's Incarnation. The Lord continues to live in the Church and in the same human image which, once manifested, continues to exist throughout all time; and to the Church is given the ability to bring to life the commemorations of divine events; to endow them with power, so that we might become their new witnesses and participants. Thus all of the divine services together acquire the meaning: the life of God, and the temple, which is His dwelling place.

This begins a series of commentaries on the meaning and structure of the All-night Vigil. We hope that our work will help our readers to appreciate and love this marvelous divine service of the Orthodox Church.

In the service of the All-night Vigil, the Church conveys to the faithful a sense of the beauty of the setting sun and turns their thoughts toward the spiritual light of Christ. The Church also points the faithful toward prayerful consideration of the coming day and of the eternal light of the Heavenly Kingdom. The All-night Vigil is a service that sets before us the turning point in time between the day now passing and the day now coming. 

St. Basil the Great described the aspirations that guided the ancient composers of evening hymns and prayers as follows: "Our fathers did not wish to receive the grace of evening light in silence; rather, they offered thanks as soon as it appeared." 

In participating in the All-night Vigil, the faithful in a sense prayerfully bid farewell to the past and welcome the future. Moreover, in the All-night Vigil they are prepared for the Divine Liturgy and for the Mystery of the Eucharist.

As its name suggests, the All-night Vigil is a service that in principle lasts all night. True, in our times, such services, lasting all night, are infrequent, and take place for the most part in some monasteries, such as those on Mount Athos. In parish churches, an abbreviated form of the All-night Vigil is served. 

The All-night Vigil transports the faithful into a time long ago, into the services of the earliest Christians. For the earliest Christians, their evening meal, their prayers and commemorations of the martyrs and of the reposed, as well as the Liturgy itself, comprised one whole; traces of these observances have been preserved even to this very day in the various evening services of the Orthodox Church. These traces include the blessing of bread, wine, wheat, and oil, as well as those times in which the Liturgy is combined in one whole with Vespers; for example, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, celebrated during Great Lent; the liturgies on the eves of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and of His Baptism; the Liturgies of Great Thursday and Great Saturday, and the midnight Liturgy of the Resurrection of Christ. 

In fact, the All-night Vigil consists of three services: Great Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. Sometimes the first part of the All-night Vigil consists not of Great Vespers, but of Great Compline. Matins is the central and most substantial part of the All-night Vigil. 

Reflecting on what we hear and see in Vespers, we are transported into the historical Old Testament times of humanity, and we experience in our hearts what those people experienced. 

Knowing what is recounted in Vespers and Matins makes it easy for us to understand and learn the flow of Church services; the order in which they proceed, as well as the hymns, readings, and the religious ceremonies they contain.

(Archpriest Victor Potapov, http://www.stjohndc.org)

??????????

????? ??????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??, ??? ??? ????????? ??????? ? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????????? ??????????? ? ????, ??? ???????????? ????????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????? "? ???? ? ??????" (????. 4:24). ??????? ????????????? ????????? ? ?????????? ???, ??????? ??????, ??? "??????? ??? ????????, ? ?? ??????? ??? ???????" (????. 2:27). ????? ??????? ????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ??????????? ?????????????? ? ???????????? ????????? ??????. ?? ? ?????? ???????, ??? ??????? ??????? ????????????? ????, ???????????? ? ??????? ? ? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???????? ? ???????.

???????????? ? ????? ???????????? ???????? ?? ?????? ?? ????????? ?????, ?? ?? ???????? ?????????? ???? ??????????? ??????? ????????????? ???????. ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????????????? ?? ?????????? ?? ??????????? ???????? ??????? ????????

???? ?????? ? ???? ?????????? ???????????, ?? ????????? ?????. ??? ????, ????? ???? ????? ?????????, ??? ?????? ?????????????? ? ?????. ??????? ? ???????? ???????????????? ? ??? ????????????? ???? ? ????? ?????. ? ?????? ???????, ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ? ????, ? ????? ?????, ??????????? ????? ??????????? ? ????????????? ????? ????????? ??????, ?????? ? ????, ????? ? ?????? ???????????????? ???????????? ??????.

? ????? "???? ?? ?????: ???????????? ????????? ??????" ????. ????????? ???? ??? ????????? ????????????? ??????? ???? ????????????? ? ????? ????????: "??? ???? ????? ? ????? ????????????? ?? ???????????, ???????? ? ??????. ????? "?????" ?????????? ?? "????????", "??????". ??????? ? ????, ???????????? ???????????, ? ?????????, ? ??????????, ? ??????????? ? ??? ??? ????????? ? ???????????? ????? ??????? ?????. ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????????? ? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ????? ?? ????????? ???????????? ?????????, ???????????? ??????? ????? ??????, ????? ???????????? ? ????????, ??????? ???????? ?? ??????? ?????? ??????? ??????????, ??????? ??????, ??????? ??????????? ?? ?????????? ??? ???. ?????????? ? ??? ? ???? ????? ????, ?????????? ?? ??? ?????????? ???????? ???????. ???????????? ????? ? ????????????, ?????????? ????????, ??? ?????????????? ??? ????. ??????? ????????????, ????? ???? "? ???? ? ??????", ????????? ? ?????? ? ?????".

???????????? ???????????? ? ??????? ?????? ????? ?????????? "?????????", ?? ???? ????? ?????, ????? ????????, ? ????? ? ???????????? ?????????? "??????????".

??????? ???????: "??? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ??? ???, ??? ? ??????? ???" (??. 18:20). ???????????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ???? ???????? ????? ???????????. ????? ????????? ????? ???????????? ????? ????????, ?????? ??? ????????? ???????? ?????????, ?????????????? ????????? ???????. ? ??? ????? ???????? ?????? ? ????????????, ??????????????? ??????? ? ????? ? ??????????? ??? ????????? ???????? ?????. ?????? ???? ?????? ????, ??? ??? ?????, ???????????? ?? ??????, ????????, ?? ??????? ?????, ?????? ??? ?? ??????????? ?????????????, ??? ? ???????, ???????????? ?? ??????, ????????? ???????? ?? ????, ?? ?????????, ??????? ????? ? ????????????? ? ????????? ?????? ? ??????? ?????????? ??? ???????? ????? ????????.

????????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ????, ????????? ????? ??????????, ?????? ???????????? "???????? ????????", ?????? ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ???????????????? ? ?????. ??? ????????????? ????? ????? ???: ? ???????????, ? ?????? ??????, ? ??????? ????, ? ????? ????, ? ????????? ? ????????.

???????? ????????????? ???????????? ?????????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ? ?????? ????????? ? ???????????????? ???????? ? ???????? ????????????? ????????? ? ??? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ? ???????????? ????? ?????????? ? ?????????????? ?????????.

? ?????????????? ???????????? ?? ?????? ????????????? ????????? ????????, ?? ? ?????????????, ??????? ??????????? ?????????, ??? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??????????, - ? ?? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ??? ????????????, ????? ? ?????????, ? ? ????????? ?????? ??????, ? ? ???????? ? ?????????? ? ??????????; ?????? ??????? ? ? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????????? - ?? ????????? ?? ?? ???????. ????? ?????? ? ???????????? ?????? ????? ??????????? ????????????? ??????????????: ??????? ?????????? ???? ? ?????? ? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????? ???????, ??????? ???????????? ???????, ?????????? ???????????? ?? ??? ???????, ? ?????? ???? ???????? ????????? ????????????, ??????? ?? ? ????, ??? ??? ?? ?????????? ?? ?????? ??????????? ? ???????????. ??? ?????? ???????????? ??????????? ??????? ???????? ?????????, ? ???? ? ????? ??? ????.

????? I. ??????? ???????

? ???????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ? ???????? ?? ????? ? ????????? ????? ????????. ??????? ????? ?????????? ???????? ?? ??????????? ??????????? ? ??????????? ??? ? ? ?????? ????? ??????? ?????????. ????????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????????????? ????? ????? ????????? ???? ? ???????????.

??. ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?? ??????????, ???????? ????????????????? ??????? ??????????? ???????? ?????????? ? ??????: "???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ???????? ????????? ????????? ????????? ?????, ?? ??? ???, ??? ?? ????????, ????????? ????????????".

???????? ?? ????????? ??????, ???????? ??? ?? ?????????? ????????? ? ????????? ? ???????????? ???????????. ?????? ? ???, ????????? ???????? ????? ?????????????? ? ???????????? ????????, ? ???????? ??????????.

????????? ?????????? ??????

????????? ??????, ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ? ??? ????????????, ??????? ? ???????? ???????????? ??? ????. ?????? ? ???? ????? ????? ?????????????? ??? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????, ? ???????? ?????? ? ????????? ??????????, ??? ????????, ?? ?????. ? ?????????? ?? ?????? ????????? ?????? ??????????? ?????? ? ??????????? ????.

????????? ?????? ????????? ???????? ? ????? ????????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????????. ? ?????? ???????? ???????? ???????, ??????? ? ??????????? ????????? ? ???????, ? ????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ????? ? ????? ???? ? ?????? ??????????? ? ????????? ???????? ??????? ???????????? ??????. ???? ????????? ? ????????? ??????, ????, ??????? ? ????, ? ????? ? ?? ??????, ????? ???????? ??????????? ? ???? ????? ? ????????, ????????, ????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ?????, ???????? ????????? ? ?????? ?????????? ????????? ???????? ? ????????, ???????? ???????? ????????, ??????? ??????? ? ?????? ???????? ??????????? ????????.

??????????, ????????? ?????? ??????? ?? ???? ????????????: ??????? ???????, ?????? ? ??????? ????. ? ????????? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??????? ???????, ? ??????? ?????????. ?????? ???? ??????????? ? ????? ???????????? ????? ?????????? ??????.

?????? ? ??, ??? ?? ?????? ? ????? ?? ???????, ?? ??????????? ?? ??????? ?????????????? ???????????? ? ?????????? ? ????? ?????? ??, ??? ???????? ???.

????, ??? ???????????? ?? ??????? (??? ??, ??? ? ?? ??????), ????? ?????? ? ????????? ???? ??? ???????????? ? ??? ???????, ? ??????? ??????? ???? ?? ??????? ? ??????????, ? ??????, ? ????????????????.

(????. ?. ???????, http://www.stjohndc.org)