Habakkuk will I cry unto thee: Glory to thy might, O thou who lovest mankind. R. and Hi.

V. Wherefore hast thou cast me away from thy presence, 0 Light which knowest no setting? And why hath hostile darkness encompassed me, the wretched one? But turn thou me again, and guide thou my paths in the light of thy commandments, I beseech thee. R. and Hs. VI. Cleanse thou me, O my Saviour, for many are my transgressions; and lead me forth from the abyss of iniquity, I beseech thee, for unto thee have I cried: And hear me, O God of my salvation. R. and Hs.

VII. The fire in Babylon of old was put to shame by God’s comingdown; for which cause the Children dancing in the furnace with joyful feet as in a flowery mead, did sing with exultation: Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers. R. and Hr.

VIII. With seven-fold heat did the Chaldæan tyrant in his rage cause the furnace to be heated for the Godly Ones; but when he beheld them saved by a better power, he cried aloud unto their Maker and Deliverer: Ye Children, bless; ye Priests, sing praises; ye People, exalt him unto all the ages! R. and Hs.

IX. Heaven was affrighted, and the ends of the earth were amazed; For God revealed himself unto men in the flesh, and thy womb became more spacious than the heavens. For which cause the Chieftains of men and of Angels do glorify thee, O Birth-giver of God. R. and Hs.

APPENDIX B

I.

THE ALL—NIGHT VIGIL OFFICE.

(I) The Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church of the East reckons its day after the pattern of the Jewish Church, from sunset. Therefore the worship of God begins with the Evening Service, which typifies, in general, the Old Testament times, as foreshadowing our Lord Jesus Christ and his life on earth, and precedes the Divine Liturgy of the morning, wherein is typified the life of our Lord as set forth in the New Testament and his life in heaven.

On ordinary evenings, Great or Lesser Vespers is used. On Saturday evening, and on the eves of the Great Feasts, is celebrated the Vigil Service, which consists of portions of Great Vespers, combined with Matins. In the early Church, the Vigil Service lasted all night, as its name, the "All-Night Vigil Service," denotes; and at the present day, in the monasteries of the East, where the service is read and chanted slowly, and in its completeness, it so lasts. In the monasteries, also, are used the Great and Lesser Later Evensong (Compline), and the various midnight services.

At the Saturday evening Vigil Service, the Resurrection of our Lord is more particularly commemorated and exalted.

On Christmas Eve, and on the Eves of the Epiphany and sometimes of the Annunciation, the All-Night Vigil Office consists of Great Later Evensong (Grand Compline) and Matins.

THE SYMBOLISM OF GREAT VESPERS.

(2) This Exclamation the Priest utters after the Deacon has said to the brethren who have assembled for Divine Service, and are seated: “Stand,” and asks from him a blessing 0n the service: “Bless, Master."

(3) By these acts of devotion the thoughts of the Christian are carried back to the epoch of the Creation of the world, to the blissful state of our first parents. The censing typifies the saying of Genesis, that at the Creation the Spirit of God, the true Light and Incense unto the elect, moved over the face of the waters. The opening of the Holy Doors signifies that, from the creation of the world, man was appointed to dwell in Paradise. But the blissful condition of mankind was of brief duration. As a token of the fact that men were banished from Paradise after the Fall, the Holy Doors are closed after the Temple has been censed.

(4) The Priest stands before the Holy Doors, which are closed, and

reads secretly the Prayers of Light, thereby typifying Adam sorrowing in repentance before the gates of Paradise. The Priest reads these prayers with uncovered head, in token of penitence and humility. In the Service Books of the Church these prayers are called “The Prayers of Light" because in them the Priest glorifies the Lord, who dwelleth in Light ineffable, for the gift of material light, and prays for illumination of soul.

(5) All the Exclamations pronounced by the Priest after the Litanies bear a close relation either to the preceding litanies, to the prayers read secretly by the Priest, or to the chants of the singers.

(6) "Kafísma" signifies “sitting.” The term may have had its rise in the fact that sitting was appointed while certain parts of the Kafísma were being read, verse by verse; but at some points standing was enjoined. In ancient times these verses were chanted.

(7) These verses express two thoughts: Adam’s repentance for his sins, with his regret for the Paradise which he has lost; and the exhortation from the mouth of Adam to his posterity that they shall utterly obey the will of God.

(8) The Bogoréditclmy (Hymns to the Birth-giver of God) are called "Dogmatiki," from the Greek word dogma, or doctrine; so that, together with the praise of the All-holy Birth-giver of God, they contain dogmatic teaching concerning the person of jesus Christ, and in particular concerning the incarnation of the Lord and the union in his person of two natures — the divine and the human. The Hymn to the Birth-giver of God is sung at this point to remind us that she was the Mediatrix through whom, by the birth of her Holy Son, the life of those who were under the dispensation of the law was assuaged.

(9) The Entrance typifies in action that which is expressed by the chant: “O gladsome radiance;" that is to say, that the Gladsome Radiance has shone for men in the person of the Saviour, who, for the sake of men’s infirmities, humbled the immortal glory of the heavenly Father, and came down from heaven.

The Holy Doors are opened, in token that with the coming of the Lord the Paradise of God was opened to men. The Priest comes forth from the Sanctuary standing erect, with his chasuble hanging straight, to typify humility and majesty. The Deacon precedes the Priest, as if he were the Forerunner, holding the censer in his hand. The censer with its incense signifies that, through the mediation of the Lord, our prayers are borne upward to the Lord like incense, and that the Holy Spirit is present in the Temple. The Deacon is preceded by a taper, which denotes the spiritual light brought by the Lord to earth.

(to) The Gradual (Proklmcn) (from the Greek, signifying that which precedes), is the verse which precedes the Lessons from Holy Scripture, namely, the Parables (Paremií), the Epistle and the Gospel, and serves as a preface to the Lesson. The Gradual, generally in the words of Holy Writ, expresses either the contents and application of the Lesson

which follows it, or the significance of the day; that is, of the prayers and hymns which relate to the day.

(11) The Lessons from Holy Scripture of the Old Testament (and also sometimes from the New Testament) are called Parables (Paremií), and contain the prophecies of the event commemorated on the day; or explain the force of the Feast, and the intent with which it was established; or set forth the praise of the Saint whose festival it is.

(12) The Litiya (from the Greek, Liti, litomai, — a fervent prayer). The fervent prayer is expressed in the "Lord, have mercy many times repeated. The Litiyd is sometimes performed in the porch of the Temple, or on the steps; sometimes inside the Temple. It reminds us of the ancient Processions of the Cross in the streets, more especially by night; and of the fervent petitions which the early Christians offered up during those processions, on the occasion of divers public calamities. This going forth into the porch for the Litiyd, at the All-Night Vigil, after the Entrance and the Evening Litany (Exténiya), on the one hand, typifies for those who stand in the porch (the penitents) the same thing as is typified for those who stand in the Temple by the Entrance at Vespers; that is to say, that our Lord jesus Christ, the Gladsome Radiance, came down to us here below; that they who stand in the porch may expect mercy from the Lord, and the remission of sins. On the other hand, the going-forth of the faithful to the porch, the place of catechumens and penitents, denotes the profound humility of the Faithful, who are ready to put themselves in the place of the learners and penitents, and pray in company with them.

(13) At the Blessing of the Loaves God’s blessing is asked on the fertility of the earth for the nourishment of men. In the early Church, when the All-Night Vigil lasted until the morning, it was customary to distribute the common offerings of bread, wine and oil after the Vespers; to the end that the Faithful who intended to remain throughout the service might be strengthened and refreshed thereby. After the Priest had pronounced the final Benediction upon the people, he and the Deacon descended from the Sanctuary, and sitting down with the people, they consumed with them the food which had thus been blessed. During this time selections from the Acts of the Apostles, or from the Epistles, were read aloud. This custom is still observed in certain monasteries, notably in those on Mount Athos. The distribution of the blessed bread during Grand Matins, to the Faithful who have received the benediction by the anointing with the blessed oil, commemorates this in ordinary churches.

II.

MATINS.

(I) Thereby expressing that those present in their prayers have sincere faith and love towards the Lord Jesus Christ; like the Wise

Men, who brought unto him offerings of frankincense and myrrh, and so honoured God in the flesh.

(2) The Six Psalms represent the wretched condition of the human race in the Old Testament days, which the Oflices preceding the Divine Liturgy chiefly set forth; and the hope of a Saviour from on high.

(3) When our Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself to the people assembled beside the Jordan, John the Baptist hailed him with joy and reverence. Therefore the Priest, or the Deacon, now solemnly makes proclamation, beholding, as it were, our Lord himself come to minister to the world.

(4) During Fasts Alleluia is sung four times instead of: "God is the Lord and bath revealed himself unto us."

(5) Thereby reminding us of the time when the Holy Women hearing spices, and other Disciples of the Lord, came early to his sepulchre, even before the dawn, and there learning of our Saviour’s Resurrection, imparted to his remaining Disciples the glad tidings. The incense typifies the sweet spices which the women brought to the tomb of the Lord; the taper typifies the light and joy of the glad tidings of the Resurrection, and the light of faith therein, and in our future life. The procession of the Priest about the Temple typifies the return of the Holy Women and the Disciples from the sepulchre of the Saviour, bringing the tidings to the remaing Disciples.

(6) It is so called from the Greek words poll (much) and elea (oil or mercy); because the latter word-mercy is frequently repeated in these Psalms; and from the lighting of the shrine-lamps filled with pure oil, while the Psalms are being sung.

(7) Our Lord Jesus Christ, after that he was risen from the dead, speedily manifested himself to his Disciples. Wherefore the Church, by the reading of the Gospel after the Song of the Holy Women, announces to the People one of the ten Manifestations of the risen. Saviour to his Disciples. The appointed Gospels for Matins in their order will be found on p. xxi. All the eleven Lessons from the Gospels, appointed to be read in rotation, refer to the Resurrection of our Lord 0n the third day.

(8) While the Choir sings, the Priest and Deacon first salute the Holy Gospels. And after them the people, in the presence of the Priest, as it were of the Angel-Messenger of the Resurrection, joyfully do homage to the Holy Book, as to Christ himself, and kiss it, in that it contains the redeeming tidings of the Resurrection.

(9) On Feast Days, the holy image of the Feast or of the Saint is saluted in token of devotion and gratitude to God for his mercy; and the Priest bestows the blessing, signing each one of the Faithful on the brow, in the form of a cross (with the oil which has been blessed at the Vespers), in the Name of the Holy Trinity, for the enlightenment and sanctification of their minds and hearts, and protection against all evil.