tury. Whether this prayer be as old as the time of either Basil or Chrysostom, is very doubtful to me, because all the commencement of those liturgies which bear their names (except the lessons) appears to be more recent than the time of Chrysostom: however, this prayer has certainly been very anciently used in the exarchate of Cæsarea, and the patriarchate of Constantinople.

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise, that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name, thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfl now, Ο Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.

Ὁ τὰς κοινὰς ταύτας καὶ συμφώνους ἡμῖν χαρισάμενος προσευχὰς, ὁ καὶ δύο καὶ τρισὶ συμφωνοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου τὰς αἰτήσεις παρέχειν ἐπαγγειλάμενος· αὐτὸς καὶ νῦν τῶν δούλων σου τὰ αἰτήματα πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον πλήρωσον, χωρηγῶν ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι αἰῶνι τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς σῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ζωὴν αἰώνιον xapisóμevoss.

THE BENEDICTION.

The office of matins terminated with a benediction, according to Benedict, A. D. 530, Amalarius,

S

s Liturgia Chrysostomi, Goar Rituale Græc. p. 66. Basilii, ibid. p. 160. Goar refers this prayer, not to Chrysostom, but to Basil. See Rituale Græc. not. 106, in Chrysostomi Liturg. But although the absence of the form in question

in the ancient MSS. of Chrysostom's liturgy affords sufficient reason for thinking that it was not composed by him, yet the mere existence of the prayer in the MSS. of Basil's liturgy is no proof that it is to be attributed to him.

A.D. 820, and the offices of the Anglo-Saxon church". We find also by the Apostolical Constitutions, that the conclusion of the office of matins in the eastern church, in the third or fourth century, was a benediction given by the bishop. The benediction we use is derived from the liturgies of the eastern churches. This form occurred in the liturgies of Antioch, Cæsarea, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. It is spoken of by Chrysostom (A.D. 380), Theodoret (A.D. 420), and many others; and had probably been used in those oriental churches from the most primitive times.

CHAPTER I.-PART II.

EVENING PRAYER.

SECTION I.

INTRODUCTION.

WHAT has been already said with regard to the sentences of morning prayer is even more applicable to those of evening prayer; for if a verse or capitulum was read before the last evening service, or compline, in the time of Amalarius, A.D. 820a, there could be no impropriety in placing one before the earlier evening service of vespers or evensong.

The idea of placing an address to the people at the commencement of the office is derived from the primitive Gallican and Spanish liturgies, where an exhortation, called Præfatio, was recited at the beginning of the communion office'.

A confession and absolution formerly occurred at the end of the office of compline, according to the offices of the English churches; but it also appears that they were sometimes repeated at the

a

"Solent religiosi viri ante præsens officium (completorii) lectionem legere." Amalar. de Eccl. Off. lib. iv. c. 8.

b It was repeated after the catechumens were dismissed,

and before the oblations of the people were received. See Dissertation on primitive Liturgies, p. 160 and 174.

c Brev. Sarisb. Psalt. fol. 57. Brev. Ebor. fol. 3.

beginning of that office, and immediately after the Sentence, or short Lesson d.

The forms of confession and benediction, which are inserted in this place, are not to be found in the more ancient offices of England, but they are much superior to those that occur there. The Lord's Prayer was recited before the office of evensong, according to the English breviaries; and I have already remarked, that this prayer was first used at the beginning of the canonical hours about the thirteenth century. The office of evensong, or evening prayer, is (as I have before observed) a judicious abridgment of the offices of evensong and compline, as formerly used by the English church; and it appears that the revisers of our offices formed the introduction to evening prayer from those parts of both vespers and compline, which seemed best suited to this place, and which preserved uniformity with the introduction of morning prayer.

SECTION II.

VERSICLES, GLORIA PATRI, &c.

Of these versicles, the two former do not appear originally to have been used before the evening offices in England, but they have been used before the morning prayer since the time of Benedict, 530°. The two latter versicles were appointed to precede evening prayer, by the offices of Sarum, York, &c. and by the Anglo-Saxon offices'. In the same services we find the Gloria Patri appointed to succeed these latter versicles".

d Martene, de Antiq. Eccl. in celebr. Off. c. viii. p. 54. e Benedict. Regula, c. 9. f Brev. Sarisb. fol. 2. Off.

Anglo-Sax. ad Vesperas, Appendix to Hickes's Letters.

8 Offic. Anglo-Sax. ut supra. Brev. Sar. fol. 2.

SECTION III.

THE PSALMS.

We here follow the order of evensong which was anciently used in the English churches. After the versicles and Gloria Patri which I have just been considering, the psalms of the evening were sung h. Very different rules prevailed in different places anciently with regard to the number of psalms sung at evening prayer. The Egyptian churches recited twelve psalms always at the evening service'. Benedict appointed four. The church of Rome used five*. In the evening service of the eastern church, contained in the Apostolical Constitutions, we find only one psalm for vespers and in the Mosarabic breviary there is no psalm at vespers". In the patriarchate of Constantinople they repeat six psalms, besides the cathisma, or twentieth portion of the psalter, which on an average makes more than seven in addition". It appears therefore that the church of England was perfectly at liberty to make what

b Brev. Sarisb. fol. 47, 48. Bona, Divina Psalmodia, c. Psalt. xviii. § 18, p. 660.

i Cassian. lib. ii. Inst. Cœnob. c. 4. 66 Igitur per universam, ut diximus, Ægyptum et Thebaidem duodenarius psalmorum numerus tam in vespertinis, quam in nocturnis solemnitatibus custoditur, ita dumtaxat ut post hunc duæ lectiones, Veteris scilicet ac Novi Testamenti singulæ, subsequantur." It is singular, that after the lapse of fourteen centuries the same number of psalms should still be used in the Egyptian churches. See

J"Vespertina autem synaxis quatuor psalmis cum antiphonis terminetur, post quos psalmos Apostoli lectio recitanda est." Benedict. Regula, c. 17. Bona, Divina Psalmodia, c. 18, § 2, p. 608.

k

1

35.

Apost. Const. lib. viii. c.

m Bona, Divina Psalmodia, c. 18, § 11, p. 637. "Ad vesperas nullos concinunt psalmos."

n Bona, Divina Psalmodia, c. 18, § 13, p. 643.