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Is there any history of the use of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary in any of the Eastern Catholic Churches? I have found it to be a treasure.
Silouan, monk

It is a jewel. Its equivalent in the East, I suspect, would be to add a Canon to the Mother of God (or one of her Canons) as a secondary canon at Matins, or to Compline.

It is always appropriate.

Slava Jesu Kristu,

Yes, accept we call it the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos and it is meant to be prayed in addition to the Horologion.

Dmitri

Yes Dmitri,

You are right exactly. A western Christian would turn to the Little Office, much the way an eastern Christian would pray the Akathist.

Elias

Bless me a sinner, Venerable Father Silouan!

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly a Latin devotion, but it has a long history of use among some Orthodox Saints, especially St Dmitry Rostovsky!

Following the Union of Brest-Litovsk, many Orthodox Christians of the Kyivan Church went westwards to study theology in the great Catholic universities of the time, including Paris.

They returned home still as Orthodox, but having picked up several western devotions that they adapted and actually promoted in the Orthodox Church.

One such devotion was that to the Immaculate Conception - they belonged to Orthodox Church Brotherhoods that made the "bloody vow" (to defend this doctrine to the death), invoked the Mother of God this way "All Immaculate Mother of God, save us!" and wore the medal of the Immaculate Conception. This has been written up in a number of articles by Eastern Catholic writers, but is mentioned throughout the works of the Orthodox Met. Ilarion Ohienko - he states that even the Akathist of the Immaculate Conception was received into Orthodoxy and widely used at one time (Canonization of Saints in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - postscript).

The OCA website in its "Saints and Feasts" section accurately describes the "Icon of the Conception of St Anne" which is exactly the same as the picture of Our Lady of Grace, standing on the serpent, hands lowered etc.

This was also how Our Lady appeared above the Coptic Church at Zeitoun. The official depiction of Her, based on eye-witness accounts, is exactly that of the western Immaculate Conception!

St Dmitri and others of the Orthodox Kyivan Baroque period translated the Little Office into Slavonic and recited it DAILY.

St Dmitri ALSO translated St Bonaventure's Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary and recited it frequently.

St Dmitri also adapted the devotion to the Joys and Sorrows of the Mother of God that is today even included in Jordanville's prayerbook (Tale of the Five Prayers).

St Dmitri not only recited the Rosary of 150 Hail Mary's daily, he also interrupted his work on the Lives of the Saints to recite a "Hail Mary" or "Bohoroditse Divo" at the start of every hour.

He even awoke to the chimes of the clock at night to recite the Hail Mary this way!

I have seen images of woodcuts from the Kyivan Baroque period of the Kyivan Mohyla Academy where the Little Office of the BVM and the rosary are clearly depicted.

As private devotions, Orthodoxy has nothing against them. At least a number of her Saints didn't anyway . . .

Alex

Slava Jesu Kristu,

My dear Alex,

Where are you getting your history? Although I am aware of my patron's affinity for Latin devotions, I am also aware that most were adaptations of some existing Orthodox customs. The "Bohoroditse Divo" was not the western version from what I have read. Its recitation 150 times is not the Rosary per se. It is no different then Hesychism except that the focus is through Our Lady. The depiction of Our Lady has several variations borrowed by both East and West. This does not indicate a prefernce for either by Metropolitan of Rostov.

Forgive me, but I do not wish to paint the picture of my patron as anything less than a defender of Eastern custom. He was a product of his time and the current religious trends. I do not feel, however, that his zeal for the Faith should be watered down by ascribing devotions to him that may be misleading.

Dmitri

Dear Alex,

Is there a good "Life" of Saint Dmitri in English?

Elias

Dear Dmitri,

Also in response to Fr. Elias, Met. Ohienko did an excellent life of St Dmitry in Ukrainian however where these devotions are mentioned.

The fact is that St. Dmitry borrowed HEAVILY from the West, especially as he collected much biographical material about the lives of the Saints where he came into contact with many western devotions.

It was the spirit of the time, the tremendous Latin influence of the Jesuits etc. that affected the Orthodox Church, as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Orthodox theologians today, such as Alexander Schmemann and Florovsky and Meyendorff have noted these Latin influences in Orthodox theology as well as spirituality.

Meyendorff mentions a Greek theologian who "thoroughly understood the western doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and accepted it."

These were private devotions, mind you, but were very popular.

Have a look at the "Tale of the Five Prayers" of the Jordanville Prayerbook and you can readily see that it is a remake of the Western Renaissance devotion to Our Lady's Joys and Sorrows.

The Rosary of 150 Hail Mary's was certainly around in Orthodox spheres, but St Dmitri and others used it with meditation on mysteries, division into decades etc.

The recitation of the Hail Mary at the turn of every hour is certainly a direct Western import.

The Psalter and Little Office of the BVM were direct translations with slight "Byzantinizations" included.

The majority of my study of Ukrainian Saints of this period has been in Ukrainian.

Dom Aelred Graham, I believe it was, read the lives of Sts. Dmitry and the other Kyivan Baroque Hierarchs and came to the conclusion that they were the most "Catholic" of all the Eastern Saints!

Again, these devotions were practiced on a personal level, they are not popular among Orthodox today.

The Rosary still is popular, and it was essentially received from the Greek Catholics who returned to Orthodoxy in the 19th and 19th centuries. Fr. Serge Keleher who studied this didn't believe the division into decades etc. could have come from anywhere else except from a Latin source.

Fr. Irenaeus Nazarko, OSBM, no friend of Orthodoxy, wrote in "The Light" about Eastern devotion to the Sacred Heart. He then quoted St Dmitry who wrote movingly of the "Wounded Side of Christ and the Blood that flowed from the Pierced Heart of Christ."

Nazarko then had this to say about this Orthodox saint, "Anyone who could write so beautifully was truly a Saint of God!"

I don't have time to revisit my past researches in this area, that occurred, in any event two decades ago.

I'm not asking you to take my silly word for it (for who am I really?) but please do, when you have time yourself, undertake a comprehensive study of the Kyivan Baroque period and of St Dmytry's world.

Alex

Slava Jesu Kristu,

Thank you, Alex, I shall. However, I still feel we must be careful not to try and wax over these men and their devotions to Orthodoxy simply to make it easier to Western tastes. This is something our Russian brothers are still struggling with and we have enough problems of our own.

Dmitri

Dear Dmitry,

Actually, I was simply reporting what I know to be true about the spirituality of the saints of the Kyivan Baroque Period.

The Orthodox Church herself seems not to have minded their Latin-inspired private devotions.

So why should we?

Alex

Alex writes:

>>>Actually, I was simply reporting what I know to be true about the spirituality of the saints of the Kyivan Baroque Period.

The Orthodox Church herself seems not to have minded their Latin-inspired private devotions.

So why should we?<<<

I am not a student of this era - But what I have run into is the idea that the Russian Orthodox Church was responsible for its own persecution under Communism, because it embraced western theology, just as the rest of Russia was embracing western language [French], ideas, and technology.

So that the gist - And unfortunately the gist is all I have - is that it was the ROC's embrasure of what it saw in the RC west that turned it away from Orthodoxy to the degree that God gave it the chastizement of the Communist regime... And that this is one of the reasons why Orthodox tend to be more than just a little wary of theological intercourse with non-Orthodox confessions.

I really cannot defend the thesis - I just pass it along as a possible answer to your question.

geo

Dear Alex,

I've wanted to say for a while that I always love your historical posts and articles. All the information you give about that whole Kyivan Baroque period is fascinating! (Saint Peter Mohila is one of my favorite saints so I am a little biased. Maybe when I get around to making my website dedicated to him I'll ask you for some input.)

Anyway, I couldn't find that icon you mentioned on the OCA site. Can you supply the URL?

Thanks!

S'Bohom,

-Dave

Dear Dave,

Actually it's not an actual icon, but a description of the "icon of the Conception of St Anne."

Prof. Poselyanin in his "Bogomater" describes it as well and lists several Orthodox miraculous copies (such as the Icon "Immaculate Virgin") that are venerated in Orthodoxy.

St Peter Mohyla is one of my favourite saints as well!

His Catechism, as you know, originally contained the doctrine of Purgatory, which was later expunged by other Patriarchs.

Mohyla continued to teach it within his own Kyivan jurisdiction nevertheless.

And St Dmitry of Rostov was "called up on the carpet" by the Russian Synod to actually answer charges against the Orthodoxy of his personal views, largely having to do with the Immaculate Conception et alia.

Alex

Monk Silouan,

As Fr. Elias mentioned one can always add a Canon or Akathist to Compline. The latter is quite popular and is part of the official liturgical cycle during the Great Fast. On the 1st, 2nd 3rd, and 4th Fridays of the Great Fast a fourth of the Akathist is taken with Compline. On the 5th Friday the entire Akathist is taken. For those who wish I don't see why this couldn't be done regularly.

However, I must make a comment here. The Byzantine Church has much devotion to the Mother of God built right into its services. Each Hour of the Divine Office has a couple Theotokion -a Troparion honoring the Mother of God. Every service has as part of its dismissal the prayer "More honorable than the Cherabim..." "It is truly proper to glorify you who have borne God..." is sung at every Divine Liturgy. On the other hand, aside from the Marian Antiphon at Compline, the Latin Church has little Marian devotion as an actual part of official Liturgies. I think this is why the Latin Church created so many paraliturgical services (like the Little Office and the Angelus)and private devotions to the Mother of God.

In Christ,
Lance

Dear Lance,

Yes, you are right absolutely!

But the Little Office of the BVM was not primarily about a paraliturgical devotion to the Mother of God.

The Latin Church has its litanies, processions, rosaries, chaplets, what have you.

The Little Office was originally conceived as a kind of "Lay Daily Office" as can be garnered from the many extant copies of the "Books of Hours."

Many lay people, and Third Order monastics, often created their own Books of Hours, as did St Thomas More, for example.

A large part of it was the Little Office with its variable portions to reflect the liturgical seasons, a manageable daily allotment of Psalms and Anthems together with a focus on the Incarnation of Christ through the Mother of God.

The Little Office followed closely the structure of the regular Daily Office of the Latin Church and so kept the laity in close touch with the prayer of the Church, even though time constraints kept them from participating in the full Office.

Over time, the Church adopted this Office alongside the Daily Office as a form of Marian devotion.

But the Little Office contains many Psalms and other prayers that one would not normally find in traditional Marian devotions in either East or West.

Your own creation of a Daily Horologion for lay people and others who have jobs is a "Little Office" as well!

The Paternoster Psalter or recitation of 150 Our Fathers in place of the Psalms, discussed by Karl Jungmann, was called the "Little Psalter" and the Rosary itself could be an "Office substitute" with two decades apiece for each of the seven daily offices and three for Matins and these were said at the same times as the Hours.

The Jesus Prayer can also be used in this way in the East, as you know better than I.

Here is a page that discusses the Little Office from a Western Orthodox point of view:

http://www.westernorthodoxy.com/BookOfHours.html

Isn't this Forum wonderful?

Alex

[ 08-28-2002: Message edited by: Orthodox Catholic ]

Bless me a sinner, Venerable Father Silouan!

The suggestion that Canons and Akathists can be included in the Compline (and Midnight) service is excellent.

There is, in fact, no limit to the number of Canons and Akathists one may recite at the close of Compline and a prayerbook in my possession recommends that the Canons to our Lord Jesus, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, along with an Akathist to our Lady, be recited daily. In addition, it recommends a Canon be added in honour of the Saint of the weekday e.g. the Angels on Monday, John the Baptist on Tuesday, the Cross on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Apostles and St Nicholas on Thursday etc.

But one may said many more than these, if one wishes, and this shows how our Church has established an "outlet" for our own private devotion above and beyond what is prescribed by the Daily Horologion.

St Jonah Atamansky of Odessa (+1924) used to rise at midnight for the Nocturns and he then recited Akathists until morning!

His prayer was very powerful and he performed many miracles.

Before his death, he prayed in this way for nine consecutive nights over the bed of a girl born blind.

On the tenth morning following, the girl could see with 20/20 vision.

Alex

Slava Jesu Kristu,

But, there again we see a difference between East and West. We "added to" our usual devotions to the Theotokos while the West had devtions that "took the place of." Don't misunderstand me, it is a beautiful devotion in itself. But it should be a compliment to and not in place of the daily cycle. This is not the case with many devotions in the West (and some in the East). It also illustrates the non-litugical aspect of many Western practices which the East has picked-up over the years. Again, I don't believe there is anything wrong with this, but I do not feel it is really comparable to our traditions.

Dmitri

Dear Dmitri,

Yes, indeed, you've put your finger on the main difference between East and West here, you "vostochnik" you!

The Eastern Canons and Akathists are liturgical prayers that can also be said as private devotions at any time.

The "Moleben" is adapted for use by laity themselves, and can be used to honour any Saint or Icon, at any time, and as many times as we like.

Eastern Saints have also compiled private prayers such as the daily prayers to the Mother of God by St Nilus the New, those of your patron again and others.

St Tikhon Zadonsky had only a representation of a "Way of the Cross", life-size, in his cell and he meditated on these frequently.

The icon of St Seraphim of Sarov, as popular as it is, is really a Western picture.

The West did develop many paraliturgical devotions that tended to reflect the chasm between liturgy (priest's jurisdiction) and rosary etc. (laity's jurisdiction).

Alex

Alex: You mentioned Saint Thomas More. He spent time with the Carthusians in the London Charterhouse (about 3 years) before it was decided that marriage was his vocation. He probably prayed the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout his life as the Carthusians made a daily practice of praying the daily Little Office and, as a matter of fact, still do, in the privacy of their cells. Oh! I love those Carthusians!
Silouan

Bless me a sinner, Venerable Father Silouan!

And I love that wonderful alcoholic beverage the Carthusians make! Don't we have an obligation to give financial support to such holy religious Orders?

Yes, Fr. Andrij Truch in his Ukrainian life of St Thomas More does indeed mention his devotion to the Little Office.

Again, some well-meaning posters here miss your point which is to ask about the HISTORY of the use of the Little Office in private in the East, NOT whether our respective Eastern Churches should formally adopt it etc.

And we are always able to pray what prayers we like as individuals surely?

Thomas More, as you know, prayed three hours morning and evening.

He followed the Carthusian practice of existing on five hours of sleep per night only throughout his life.

He went to confession twice a week and to Mass and Communion daily. He always took Fridays as a holiday to spend it in meditation on the Passion of Christ.

I visited the reconstructed Parish Church of Thomas More in Chelsea some time ago and spoke with the Anglican pastor there.

The bodies of his two wives are buried in the same vault there and this is where St Thomas, in life, served Mass as a common Cantor ( ).

When the King was waiting for him to show up for a meeting, More refused to leave Mass early.

On the way to the late meeting, More was chastised by those with him for keeping the King waiting - and making him angry.

But More replied, "His Grace the King cannot be angry with me for serving His Grace's Sovereign!"

And you are right. The Little Office was universal in the Latin Church for the laity. It served as a lay Office around which other accretions were built that rounded out people's devotional lives, such as the seven penitential Psalms, the Litany of the Saints, etc.

Such Books of Hours were often gorgeously appointed with colourful pictures, lettering etc.

The laity were devoted to their prayers, and often began praying from these books while still in bed, first thing in the morning.

The Western Orthodox continue to print and use the Little Office of the BVM, which, over time, gained an almost semi-liturgical status alongside that of the Office itself.

Alex

[ 08-28-2002: Message edited by: Orthodox Catholic ]

Slava Jesu Kristu,

It is the History that is the point. It is not part of our history as is questioned originally depsite your anecdotal findings.

Dmitri

Dear Dmitri,

Unfortunately or not, the use of the Little Office even by glorified Orthodox Saints, such as St Dmitri Rostovski (he'd have a thing or two to say to you about that ) is part of the history of this topic as raised by the Venerable Father Silouan.

So is the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross (St Tikhon Zadonsky and current local Orthodox practice) etc.

One could argue that it was never part of the liturgical tradition of our Church, which it never was of course.

But the fact is that it was used as a private devotion even by Orthodox Saints albeit of the Latinized Kyivan Baroque period.

Whether we are Eastern Catholic or Orthodox (or both ), we are entitled to pray using the traditions of other Particular Churches, be it Latin, Armenian, Assyrian, Alexandrian, Old Believer, what have you.

I know I do and feel the richer for it.

Alex

Slava Jesu Kristu,

Yes, but even my beloved St. Dmitri would admit he BORROWED from the West thus illustration it never belonged to us. That is my point.

Geez..never argue with a Ukrainian... :p

Dear Dmitri,

You mean you are not Ukrainian?

St Dmitri was actually very loyal to the Orthodox Church!

When he borrowed such devotions, he tried not to make reference to their Western roots.

Instead, he and others tried to find their roots in the common heritage of the once undivided Church.

So in his intro to the "Tale of the Five Prayers" he simply casts this as a revelation to an Orthodox Monk.

The Russians also developed a view of the Rosary being given to an Eastern Monk of the Thebaid in the 8th century (See "Staretz Zechariah: An early Soviet Saint, Chapter 6 - I forget the page number exactly).

St Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain used to translate all manner of western spiritual texts for Orthodox consumption, including the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola.

He didn't put down who the author was, of course. But it came out later and he was criticized.

However, Loyola's work, in Greek, is STILL used for spiritual reading and practice on Mount Athos.

The same thing is true about the Spiritual Combat that began its life as a Latin spiritual text that was later re-shaped a bit by St Nicodemus and afterwards was re-shaped more significantly by St Theophane the Recluse.

Not everything about Roman Catholic spirituality is bad for us Easterners, Big Guy!

God bless you and all the people of N'Awlins!

Alex

This may have already been stated, but it is my understanding that litneys to the Blessed Mother used by the Romans came from the Akathist Hymn.

Rose

Dear Rose,

You are quite right!

And Joe Zollars also came across a Latin version of the Akathist hymn from a source that suggested that it was sung even in the Latin Church in the southern parts of Italy! (Right, Joe?)

Alex

Dear Friends, Just some info gleaned from Marina Warner's book on the Virgin Mary--I guess somewhat off topic. The kontakion appeared in the West in the 9th or 10th c. Stanzas tossed back and forth between soloist in pulpit and choir below in urgent and rapid dialogue, punctuated by a repeated profession of faith. It was invented 6th c. by Romanos Melodes in acrostic form. In one of the earliest and greatest of Italian vernacular poems, the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi (c.1230-1306)gave unique voice to the Virgin's suffering in the Eastern tradition. Jacopone's dramatic hymn on the Passion, Donna del Paradiso (Lady of Paradise), is very close to the East in feeling. Can anyone comment on this? Thanks, Vito

This is a very interesting thread. However I think I may be misunderstanding some of what has been said here. As I have inferred the general concensus the Little Office is here seen as a purely private devotion of the laity, and as such cannot be understood as liturgical, but rather as having only been derived from that. But, as I understand the conciliar documents of Vatican II this is not necessarily true. Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, has this to say:

"98. Members of any institute dedicated to acquiring perfection who, according to their constitutions, are to recite any parts of the divine office are thereby performing the public prayer of the Church.

They too perform the public prayer of the Church who, in virtue of their constitutions, recite any short office, provided this is drawn up after the pattern of the divine office and is duly approved."

As can be seen here the Little Office, if approved as is Fr. Rotelle's here in America, is in fact a part of the public prayer of the Church. Would not this mean then that it is more than a purely personal and private devotion? At least so far as I can tell, the Little Office must be considered a liturgical prayer, and not simply derivitave.

Please correct me if I am wrong here, or if my understanding of this document and what it is stating is somehow in error. The posters here certainly have a better grasp of this subject matter than I, and I have greatly enjoyed absorbing from it.

God bless,

Patrick

CIX!

Dear Dr Roman,

I thought I was the one who found it! :p

If anyone wants it in txt format, they're welcome to email me at kyrie@pacific.net.sg and I'll email it as an attachment.

in Domino,

Edward

Dear Patriarch Edward,

Mea culpa!

Alex

Dear Patrick,

You are absolutely correct, and the Little Office is in no way a private devotion, but a form of celebrating the Prayer of the Church.

It has been used by laity for hundreds of years to participate in the Prayer of the Church. As you know, it contains Psalms and in other ways is structured to reflect the daily Office.

Whatever consensus there is here about it, it is clearly wrong .

Alex

Dear Vito,

Jacopone da Todi is venerated locally as "Blessed" as you know.

He was very much into the classics and was conversant with Eastern spirituality.

But because he signed a petition against the Pope of his day, that constituted a "black mark" against his otherwise unsullied reputation and so he will probably never be formally beatified or canonized.

Pity!

Alex