Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe evening services. Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity such... Jump to: navigation, search Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round (also called offices). Canonical hours also refer to the official set of prayer of the Roman Catholic Church that is known variously as... Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

The general structure of the Roman Catholic service of vespers is as follows:

• Vespers opens with the singing or chanting of the words Deus in adiutorium meum intende; Domine ad adiuvandum me festina. (O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.)
• Anywhere from two (since 1970) to five (before 1970) psalms are then sung, with the psalms concluding in a doxology (Gloria Patri) and answered by an antiphon.
• After the psalms, there is a reading from the Bible.
• A hymn is then sung;
• Following the reading, the participants sing the Magnificat, the canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Gospel of Luke I:46-55.
• Then on somber days the preces (prayers) are said, which concludes with a closing prayer. (oratio)

The general structure of the Eastern Orthodox service of vespers is as follows (psalm numbers are according to Greek usage): Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... A doxology is a short hymn sung in praise of God (often the Trinity) in various Christian liturgies. ... This article is about the musical term. ... A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to a god. ... Sandro Boticelli. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... Blessed Virgin Mary A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ...

• Vespers opens with the Trisagion and then the Proemial Psalm 103 (Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly).
• Litany
• A collection of psalms, called a kathisma is read. On Saturday evening, the first kathismata is read (Psalms 1-8).
• Psalm 140 (Lord I have cried unto Thee), 141, 129, and 116 are chanted in the tone of the week. Starting with the last two verses of Psalm 141, verses about the feast day (or Christ's resurrection on a Saturday evening) are chanted alternately with the verses.
• The hymn "O Joyous Light" is sung.
• The Prokeimena are chanted.
• On occasional feast days, there are one or more readings from the Old Testament.
• The prayer "Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin" is read.
• Litany of Fervent Supplication
• The Aposticha are chanted. These are verses that teach about the feast day (or on a Saturday evening, Christ's resurrection).
• The Nunc dimittis, the canticle of St Simeon ("Now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace") is read. (from the Gospel of Luke II:29-).
• The Apolytikia (Troparia) are chanted, which commemorate the feast of the following day.
• The closing prayers are read.

The psalms and hymns of the Vespers service have attracted the interest of many composers, including Claudio Monteverdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Bruckner, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The Trisagion (thrice Holy) is a standard hymn of the Orthodox Christian Divine Liturgy, chanted immediately before the Prokeimenon and the Epistle Reading. ... Psalm 103 is a Hebrew poem recorded as having been written by King David. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ... Nunc Dimittis is the Latin name of the passage in the second chapter of Luke that is commonly called the Canticle of Simeon. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... Simeon or Shimon (שִׁמְעוֹן) is a Hebrew name meaning Hearkening; listening, Standard Hebrew Å imÊ¿on, Tiberian Hebrew Å imʿôn) The Greek form of the name is Simon. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi in Venice, 1640, by Bernardo Strozzi Claudio Monteverdi (May 15, 1567 (baptised) – November 29, 1643) was an Italian composer, violinist and singer. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ... Anton Bruckner Anton Bruckner (September 4, 1824 – October 11, 1896) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic era. ... Jump to: navigation, search Portrait of Sergei Rachmaninoff by Konstantin Somov 1925 Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rahmaninov, April 1, 1873 – March 28, 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. ...

From the traditional Christian Vespers, the term has come to be used more broadly for various evening services. In Unitarian Universalism, vespers often include congregational singing, readings, and a period of silent meditation, contemplation, or prayer. The flaming chalice is the universally recognized symbol for Unitarian Universalism. ...

Some regular community vespers services are completely areligious (or at least are not sponsored by any church) and serve simply as a time for quiet contemplation in the evening hours.

See also

• Evensong
• Mass (music)
• requiem
• sacred music
• Book of Hours
• Matins
• Blazhen Muzh

Evensong is a liturgy from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer used in the evening, especially when the service is rendered chorally. ... This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. ... The Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known formally (in Latin) as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum, is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church and its Eastern Rite. ... Religious music (also sacred music) is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. ... A illuminated page from the Très Riches Heures showing the day for exchanging gifts from the month of January A Book of Hours is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. ... Matins is the morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Blazhen Muzh, in English, Blessed is the Man, is taken from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition of Vespers. ...

External links:

• The Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours
• Vespers in the Orthodox Church
• An Order for Vespers (United Methodist) (PDF)
• A typical Vespers service from the Richmond Unitarian Church
• Catholic Encyclopedia entry