The Prayer Book Explained | Page 5

Mattins and
Evensong, O Lord, open thou our lips. It might be inferred from this
that the Psalms and Canticles were intended to be sung in the same way.
But it is more likely that it was designed to continue an ancient
freedom of choice which is now represented in our custom of using the
Antiphonal Method when we sing, and the Responsorial when we say
them. The division of Gloria Patri into two verses was, no doubt,
intended in any case. The Prayer Book does not recommend the fourth
method; many rubrics indicate that the congregation should take a
substantial share in the services with voice and heart.
(c) Variations in the Component Parts of Services.
1. Praise and Prayer. 2. Variations; from Service to Service, " Day to
Day, " Week to Week, " Morning to Evening, " Season to Season.

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CHAPTER II.
ORIGIN OF MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER.
The Services in the Prayer Book may be roughly classed as (1) those
which are used every week: and (2) those which are used more rarely.
The principal service is the Holy Communion; which is provided with a
special Collect, Epistle and Gospel for each week, and for Holy Days
of special importance as being connected with the Lord's life on earth,
or with His immediate disciples.
The weekly Collection, enjoined by S. Paul in the churches of Galatia
and Corinth (1 Cor. xvi. 2), suggests that the Holy Communion was
from the first the usual Sunday Service. And this is confirmed when we
find S. Paul making a rapid journey from Greece to Jerusalem (Acts xx.
16), but waiting seven days at Troas so as to be with the disciples there
upon the first day of the week, when they came together to break bread
(Acts xx. 6, 7): cf. also a similar sojourn at Tyre on the same voyage
(Acts xxi. 4). But the Holy Communion was not the only regular
Service. Peter and John went to the Temple (Acts iii. 1) at the hour of
prayer, being the ninth hour. Peter went up upon the housetop to pray
(Acts x. 9) about the sixth hour.
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Cornelius saw the vision about the ninth hour (Acts x. 3). They were all
together in one place (Acts ii. 1) upon the day of Pentecost--and it was
the third hour of the day (Acts ii. 15). These hours may have been
suggested to them as Christians by the solemn scenes of the crucifixion
of our Lord (S. Mark xv. 25, 33, &c.)[1].
The constant sense of responsibility and danger tended, of course, to
the frequent assembling for united prayer. It was natural to adopt some
such method as that in Psalm lv. 17, evening, morning and noon (cf.
Daniel vi. 10).
To these were added others: in the 3rd century for example we hear of
one at dawn and one at sunset: the former, being especially a praise

service, came to be known as Lauds or Mattin-lauds; the latter was
soon called Vespers (vesper=evening).
In the 4th century we hear of two more, making up the seven times a
day of Psalm cxix. 164. During this growth of daily services there is
sometimes a {7} doubt whether the night Service is included in the
reckoning: but eventually we find for the daytime Mattin-lauds, Prime,
Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline.
The precise time of each is not defined by its name. If Mattins (i.e.
Lauds) was not finished when Prime was due, these two Services were
united.
But the office for Terce might be said at the 2nd hour or at the 3rd: and
in like manner Sext belonged to any of the three hours before 12; and
None to the three hours between 12 and 3.
Thus the day was divided into portions of three hours each: each
portion had its own Service, named from its close, but said at a variable
time according to the appointment of the Ordinary[2]. The tendency
was to appoint an early part of the three hours for the Service; and this
is visible in the word 'noon,' if it is true that 12 o'clock is so named
from the custom of saying None at that time.
Compline (completorium) is so called from its completing the services
of the day.
It will be noted that many of the names of Church Officers and many
other terms having a technical Church meaning are Greek in their
derivation. Archangel, Angel, Bishop, Priest, Deacon, Church,
Ecclesiastical, Apostle, Prophet, Martyr, Baptism, Epistle, Evangelical,
are instances of this; and many languages show by these and other
terms that Christian Churches derive much of their organization from
times and places where the Greek tongue was prevalent.
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It might be thought perhaps that the Latin derivation of the names