Matins - Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity

In the Eastern Churches, Matins is called Orthros in Greek (ὄρθρος, meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") and Oútrenya in Slavonic (Оўтреня). It is the last of the four night offices, which also include Vespers, Compline, and Midnight Office. In traditional monasteries it is celebrated daily so as to end at sunrise. In parishes it is normally served only on Sundays and feast days.

Matins is the longest and most complex of the daily cycle of services. It is normally celebrated in the early morning, sometimes—especially in monasteries—preceded by the Midnight Office, and usually followed by the First Hour. On Great Feasts it is celebrated as part of an All-night vigil on the evening before, combined with Vespers and the First Hour. In the Slavic tradition, an All-Night Vigil is served every Sunday (commencing on Saturday evening). In the Greek parish tradition, Matins is normally served just before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning.

The akolouth (fixed portion of the service) is composed primarily of psalms and litanies. The sequences (variable parts) of Matins are composed primarily of hymns and Canons from the Octoechos (an eight-tone cycle of hymns for each day of the week, covering eight weeks), and from the Menaion (hymns for each calendar day of the year). During Great Lent, some of the portions from the Octoechos and Menaion are replaced by hymns from the Triodion and during the Paschal Season with material from the Pentecostarion. On Sundays there are also Gospel readings and corresponding hymns from the eleven-part cycle of Resurrectional Gospels.