Sext
Sext is a
In
History
The hora sexta of the
From the time of the
Pray also at the sixth hour. Because when Christ was attached to the wood of the cross, the daylight ceased and became darkness. Thus you should pray a powerful prayer at this hour, imitating the cry of him who prayed and all creation was made dark...[9]
The
All these reasons and traditions, which indicate the sixth hour as a culminating point in the day, a sort of pause in the life of affairs, the hour of repast, could not but exercise an influence on
In the 4th century the hour of Sext was widely established as a
Western Office
Despite its antiquity the hour of Sext never had the importance of those of
In the sixth century the
The term siesta derives from the canonical hour Sext. The practice developed from a
Terce, Sext and None have an identical structure, each with three psalms or portions of psalms. These are followed by a short reading from Scripture, once referred to as a “little chapter” (capitulum), and by a versicle and response. The Lesser Litany (Kyrie and the Lord's Prayer) of Pius X's arrangement have now been omitted. In monastic life it is seen as a time for refreshment, reflection, and renewal.[13]
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer's Order of Service for Noonday is based upon the traditional structure of the Little Offices.[14] In the Episcopal monastic tradition, diurnum is a name for the midday service of the Divine Office, which is usually the second of four services. It is alternatively known as Sext.[citation needed]
Oriental Christianity
Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church and Mar Thoma Syrian Church
In the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
In the
Armenian Liturgy
The six hour in the Armenian Liturgy commemorates God the Father, and the sufferings and crucifixion of the Son of God.
Outline of the Service
Introduction: “Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father...”; “Blessed is the Holy Father, true God. Amen.”
Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me...”; “Glory...Now and always...Amen.”; Hymn of the Sixth Hour: “The light of the sun was darkened... (Khawarets`aw lo3sn arewoum...)”; Exhortation: “At every hour this is my prayer...(Amenayn zhamou...)”; Proclamation: “Again and again in peace...”; Prayer: “Blessing and Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen.”
During the Great Fast: The Prayer of John Mandakouni “With a sober mind... (Art`own mtawk`...)”; Proclamation: “That we may pass this hour...(Zzhams ev zarajakay...)”
Otherwise continue here: Prayer: “Clothe us...(Zgets`o mez...)”
Psalm 79:8-9: “Do not remember...(mi yishea...)”; Proclamation: “For the sick...(Vasn hiwantats`...)”; Prayer, “Assuage the pains...(P`aratea zts`aws...)”; Prayer of Sarkawag Vardapet: “Remember, Lord your servants... (Hishea...)”; Prayer: “God, beneficent and full of mercy...(Barerar ev bazoumoghorm Astouats...)”
Psalm 41:1-4: “Blessed the one who considers...(Erani or khorhi...)”; Psalm 91: “The one who dwells in the most high...(Or bnakeanln...)” “Glory to the Father...Now and always...Amen.”; Proclamation: “Again and again in peace...Let us ask with faith...(Khndrests`ouk` havatov...)”; Prayer: “Father of mercies...(Hayr gt`out`eants`...)”
Then they said the prayer of Ephrem the Syrian with prostrations.
“Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father...”
Eastern Christian Office
In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches the office of the Sixth Hour is normally read by a single Reader and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Sixth Hour: Psalms 53, 54 and 90 (LXX). The only variable portions for most of the year are the Troparia (either one or two) and Kontakion of the Day.
During
During Holy Week, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent (including the reading of a kathisma), but instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the Royal Hours are chanted.
During the Lesser Lenten seasons (
Notes and references
- ^ Kurian, Jake. ""Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers". Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer. Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. 2016. p. 5.
The seven hours of prayer create a cycle that provides us with a foretaste of the eternal life we will spend in the presence of God worshipping Him ... We pray standing upright while facing East as we collect our thoughts on God.
- ^ a b Richards, William Joseph (1908). The Indian Christians of St. Thomas: Otherwise Called the Syrian Christians of Malabar: a Sketch of Their History and an Account of Their Present Condition as Well as a Discussion of the Legend of St. Thomas. Bemrose. p. 98.
We are commanded to pray standing, with faces towards the East, for at the last Messiah is manifested in the East. 2. All Christians, on rising from sleep early in the morning, should wash the face and pray. 3. We are commanded to pray seven times, thus...
- ^ a b c d e f One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cabrol, Fernand (1912). "Sext". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-4982-9023-4.
Peterson quotes a passage from the Acts of Hipparchus and Philotheus: "In Hipparchus's house there was a specially decorated room and a cross was painted on the east wall of it. There before the image of the cross, they used to pray seven times a day ... with their faces turned to the east." It is easy to see the importance of this passage when you compare it with what Origen says. The custom of turning towards the rising sun when praying had been replaced by the habit of turning towards the east wall. This we find in Origen. From the other passage we see that a cross had been painted on the wall to show which was the east. Hence the origin of the practice of hanging crucifixes on the walls of the private rooms in Christian houses. We know too that signs were put up in the Jewish synagogues to show the direction of Jerusalem, because the Jews turned that way when they said their prayers. The question of the proper way to face for prayer has always been of great importance in the East. It is worth remembering that Mohammedans pray with their faces turned towards Mecca and that one reason for the condemnation of Al Hallaj, the Mohammedan martyr, was that he refused to conform to this practice.
- ISBN 978-1-101-16042-8.
Hippolytus in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family.
- ISBN 978-0-521-01746-6.
Clement of Alexandria noted that "some fix hours for prayer, such as the third, sixth and ninth" (Stromata 7:7). Tertullian commends these hours, because of their importance (see below) in the New Testament and because their number recalls the Trinity (De Oratione 25). These hours indeed appear as designated for prayer from the earliest days of the church. Peter prayed at the sixth hour, i.e. at noon (Acts 10:9). The ninth hour is called the "hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). This was the hour when Cornelius prayed even as a "God-fearer" attached to the Jewish community, i.e. before his conversion to Christianity. it was also the hour of Jesus' final prayer (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34, Luke 22:44-46).
- ISBN 978-0-567-16561-9.
Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century), this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today. They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. ... Crosses made of wood or stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the east, Latin oriens).
- ^ a b Hippolytus. "Apostolic Tradition" (PDF). St. John's Episcopal Church. p. 16. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ Parsch, Pius. "Introduction to the Canonical Hours", Commentaries on the Breviary
- ^ St. Benedict of Nursia, Regula Chap. 17 Archived 2007-01-03 at the Wayback Machine; cf. Chap. 18 Archived 2007-01-03 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 9780912148151
- ISBN 9781407041063
- ISBN 9780898697018
- ^ "My Life in Heaven & on Earth" (PDF). St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church. p. 31. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ The Agpeya. St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. pp. 5, 33, 49, 65, 80, 91, 130.
See also
- Canonical Hours