None, or the
Ninth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the
Divine OfficeDivine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m. Its name comes from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
and refers to the ninth hour of the day after dawn.
Daily prayer after Vatican II
This hour is now described more generally as the "midafternoon prayer" and may be said whenever convenient during the day, or omitted entirely. However, bishops and priests are still expected to recite the full sequence of hours, as closely as possible to the traditional time of day.
Eastern Christian Office
In the
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
and Greek Catholic Churches the office of the Ninth Hour is normally read by a single Reader and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Third Hour: Psalms 83, 84, and 85 (
LXXThe Septuagint , or simply "LXX", referred to in critical works by the abbreviation ...
). The only variable portions for most of the year are the
TropariaA troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodoxy is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos...
(either one or two) and
KontakionKontakion is a form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The word derives from the Greek word kontax , meaning pole, specifically the pole around which a scroll is wound. The term describes the way in which the words on a scroll unfurl as it is read...
of the Day. The service ends with the
Prayer of the Ninth Hour by Saint Basil the Great.
During
Great LentGreat Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha...
a number of changes in the office take place. On Monday through Thursday, after the three fixed psalms, the Reader says a
kathismaA Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite...
from the
PsalterA psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms and which often contains other devotional material. Various schemes for the arrangement of the Psalms are described in Latin Psalters....
. The Troparion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten hymns that are chanted with prostrations. Then a portion of the
Ladder of Divine Ascent may be read. The Kontakion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten troparia. Near the end of the Hour, the
Prayer of St. EphraimThe Prayer of Righteous Ephrem , is a prayer attributed to Saint Ephrem the Syrian used with emphasis during the Great Lent, by the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine rite...
is said, with prostrations.
During
Holy WeekHoly Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent, except that there is no kathisma, and instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the
Royal HoursThe Royal Hours are a particularly solemn celebration of the Little Hours in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. The Royal Hours are celebrated only three times a year: on the Eve of the Nativity, the Eve of Theophany, and Great Friday....
are chanted.
During the
Lesser Lenten seasons (
Nativity FastThe Nativity Fast, is a period abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, in preparation for the Nativity of Christ, . The fast is similar to the Western Advent, except that it runs for 40 days instead of four weeks...
,
Apostles' FastThe Apostles' Fast, also called the Fast of the Holy Apostles, the Fast of Peter and Paul, or sometimes St. Peter's Fast, is a fast observed by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians...
and Dormition Fast) the Little Hours undergo changes similar to those during Great Lent, except the Lenten hymns are usually read instead of chanted, and there are no kathismata. In addition, on weekdays of the Lesser Fasts, an
Inter-HourThe Inter-Hours are brief services in the Daily Office of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches. The Inter-Hours are called for during the Lenten seasons of the Church year...
(Greek:
Mesorion) may be read immediately after each Hour (at least on the first day of the Fast). The Inter-Hours may also be read during Great Lent if there is to be no reading from the
Ladder of Divine Ascent at the Little Hours. The Inter-Hours follow the same general outline as the Little Hours, except they are shorter.
The remainder of this article uses the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917; note that it describes the office before the reforms of the Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
; the numbering system of psalms is that of the SeptuagintThe Septuagint , or simply "LXX", referred to in critical works by the abbreviation ...
and are said in LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
:
Origin of None
According to an
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
and
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
custom, the day was, like the night, divided into four parts, each consisting of three hours. As the last hour of each division gave its name to the respective quarter of the day, the third division (from noon to about 3) was called the None (
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
nonus,
nona, ninth). This division of the day was in vogue also among the Jews, from whom the Church borrowed it. The following texts, moreover, favor this view: "Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer" ; "And Cornelius said: Four days ago, unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth hour, and behold a man stood before me" ; "Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour" . The most ancient testimony refers to this custom of
TerceTerce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn....
,
SextSext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon...
, and None, for instance
TertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian Berber author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy...
,
Clement of AlexandriaTitus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
, the
Canons of HippolytusThe Canons of Hippolytus. This book stands at the head of a series of Church Orders, which contain instructions in regard to the choice and ordination of Christian ministers, regulations as to widows and virgins, conditions of reception of converts from paganism, preparation for and administration...
, and even the "
DidacheThe Didache is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise...
("Teaching of the Apostles"). The last-mentioned prescribed prayer thrice each day, without, however, fixing the hours.
Saint Clement of Alexandria and likewise Tertullian, as early as the end of the second century, expressly mention the
Canonical HoursCanonical hours are divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round...
of Terce, Sext, and None, as specially set apart for prayer. Tertullian says explicitly that we must always pray, and that there is no time prescribed for prayer; he adds, nevertheless, these significant words: "As regards the time, there should be no lax observation of certain hours—I mean of those common hours which have long marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the ninth, and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn than the rest."
Clement and Tertullian in these passages refer only to private prayer at these hours. The
Canons of HippolytusThe Canons of Hippolytus. This book stands at the head of a series of Church Orders, which contain instructions in regard to the choice and ordination of Christian ministers, regulations as to widows and virgins, conditions of reception of converts from paganism, preparation for and administration...
also speak of Terce, Sext, and None, as suitable hours for private prayer; however, on the two
station daysStation days were days of fasting in the early Christian Church. The practice of keeping stations died out during the Avignon papacy, but it has been revived in the twentieth century by popes Leo XIII and John XXIII....
, Wednesday and Friday, when the faithful assembled in the church, and perhaps on Sundays, these hours were recited successively in public.
St. CyprianSaint Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent classical education...
mentions the same hours as having been observed under the
Old LawThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
, and adduces reasons for the Christians observing them also. In the fourth century there is evidence to show that the practice had become obligatory, at least for the
monksA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
.
The prayer of
PrimePrime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was de-emphasized by...
, at six o'clock in the morning, was not added until a later date, but
VespersVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek εσπερινός and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also in limited use in some Protestant...
goes back to the earliest days. The texts we have cited give no information as to what these prayers consisted of. Evidently they contained the same elements as all other prayers of that time—psalms recited or chanted,
canticleA canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgically.-Roman Catholic Church:From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:*...
s or
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek , "a song of praise"...
s, either privately composed or drawn from
Holy WritThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, and
litaniesA litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek λιτή , meaning "prayer" or "supplication"....
or prayers properly so-called.
None from the fourth to seventh centuries
The eighteenth cannon of the
Council of LaodiceaThe Council of Laodicea was a regional synod of approximately thirty clerics from Asia Minor, that assembled about 363-364 A.D. in Laodicea, Phrygia Pacatiana.-Historical context:...
(between 343 and 381) orders that the same prayers be always said at None and
VespersVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek εσπερινός and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also in limited use in some Protestant...
. But it is not clear what meaning is to attached to the words,
leitourgia ton euchon, used in the canon. It is likely that reference is made to famous
litaniesA litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek λιτή , meaning "prayer" or "supplication"....
, in which prayer was offered for the
catechumenIn ecclesiology, a catechumen is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...
s, sinners, the faithful, and generally for all the wants of the Church.
SozomenSalminius Hermias Sozomenus was a historian of the Christian church.-Family and Home:He was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christian family of Palestine....
(in a passage, however, which is not considered very authentic) speaks of three psalms which the
monksA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
recited at None. In any case this number became traditional at an early period. Three psalms were recited at Terce, six at Sext, and nine at None, as St.
John CassianSaint John Cassian , John the Ascetic, or John Cassian the Roman, is a Christian theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches for his mystical writings...
informs us, though he remarks that the most common practice was to recite three psalms at each of these
hoursCanonical hours are divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round...
St. Ambrose speaks of three hours of prayer, and, if with many critics we attribute to him the three
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek , "a song of praise"...
s
Jam surgit hora tertia,
Bis ternas horas explicas, and
Ter horas trina solvitur, we shall have a new constitutive element of the Little Hours in the 4th century in the Church of
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
.
In the
Peregrinatio ad loca sancta of Etheria, (end of 4th century), There is a more detailed description of the
OfficeDivine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
of None. It resembles that of Sext, and is celebrated in the basilica of the Anastasis. It is composed of psalms and
antiphonAn antiphon is a response, usually sung in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or some other part of a religious service, such as at Vespers or at a Mass. This meaning gave rise to the 'antiphony', a call and response style of singing...
s; then the
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
arrives, enters the
grottoA grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
of the Resurrection, recites a prayer there, and blesses the faithful. During
LentLent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter.The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus,...
, None is celebrated in the church of Sion; on Sundays the office is not celebrated; it is omitted also on
Holy SaturdayHoly Saturday is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week, in which Christians prepare for Easter...
, but on
Good FridayGood Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary...
it is celebrated with special solemnity. But it is only in the succeeding age that we find a complete description of None, as of the other offices of the day.
None in the Roman and other liturgies from the seventh century
In the Rule of St. Benedict the four
Little HoursThe Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Christians both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church. These Hours are called 'little' due to their shorter and simpler structure compared to the Night Hours...
of the day (Prime, Terce, Sext and None) are conceived on the same plan, the formulae alone varying. The
Divine OfficeDivine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
begins with
Deus in adjutoriumThe Invitatory is the psalm Venite exsultemus, traditionally numbered 94 in the Septuagint or 95 in the Masoretic text, used to start Nocturns in the Divine Office. After the reform of the Liturgy of the Hours following the Second Vatican Council, the Invitatory is said either before the Office of...
, like all the
Canonical HoursCanonical hours are divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round...
; then follows a
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek , "a song of praise"...
, special to None; three
psalmsPsalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim.-Etymology:...
, which do not change (Psalm 125, 126, 127), except on Sundays and Mondays when they are replaced by three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118; then the
capitulumThe term Capitulum can refer to several things:*In botany, a type of flower head where the bracts are located under the basis, such as a Daisy's*In anatomy, the capitulum of the humerus*The Latin word for a Chapter...
, a
versicleA versicle is the first half of one of a set of preces, said or sung by an officiant or cantor and answered with a said or sung response by the congregation or choir...
, the
KyrieKýrie is from the Greek word κύριε , the vocative case of κύριος , meaning O Lord. It is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called Kýrie, eléison which is Greek for Lord, have mercy....
, the The Lord's Prayer, the
oratio, and the concluding prayers.
In the
Roman LiturgyThe liturgical rite of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West...
the office of None is likewise constructed after the model of the Little Hours of the day; it is composed of the same elements as in the Rule of St. Benedict, with this difference: that instead of the three psalms (125-127), the three groups of eight verses from Psalm 118 are always recited. There is nothing else characteristic of this office in this liturgy. The hymn, which was added later, is the one already in use in the
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Office—
Rerum Deus tenax vigorRerum Deus Tenax Vigor is the daily hymn for None in the Roman Catholic Breviary.It comprises only two stanzas of iambic dimeters together with a doxology, varying according to the feast or season....
. In the monastic rules prior to the tenth century certain variations are found. Thus in the Rule of Lerins, as in that of St. Caesarius, six psalms are recited at None, as at Terce and Sext, with
antiphonAn antiphon is a response, usually sung in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or some other part of a religious service, such as at Vespers or at a Mass. This meaning gave rise to the 'antiphony', a call and response style of singing...
, hymn and capitulum.
St. Aurelian follows the same tradition in his Rule
Ad virgines, but he imposes twelve psalms at each hour on the monks.
St. ColumbanusSaint Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Italian kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe...
,
St. FructuosusSaint Fructuosus of Tarragona Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona ( (died 259) was a bishop and Christian saint and martyr, the outstanding name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. He was bishop of Tarragona and was arrested during the persecutions of...
, and
St. IsidoreSaint Isidore of Seville was Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
adopt the system of three psalms Like St. Benedict, most of these authors include hymns, the capitulum or short lesson, a versicle, and an oratio. In the ninth and tenth centuries we find some additions made to the Office of None, in particular litanies,
collectIn Christian liturgy, a collect [kɒlɛkt; kol-ekt'] is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on...
s, etc.
Meaning and symbolism of None
Among the ancients the hour of None was regarded as the close of the day's business and the time for the baths and supper. At an early date mystical reasons for the division of the day were sought.
St. CyprianSaint Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent classical education...
sees in the hours of Terce, Sext and None, which come after a lapse of three hours, an allusion to the
TrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
. He adds that these hours already consecrated to prayer under the
Old DispensationIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
have been sanctified in the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
by great mysteries—Terce by the descent of the
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
on the
ApostlesIn Christianity, apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples...
; Sext by the prayers of St. Peter, the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, or yet again by the
crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
of
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed". It is a translation of the Hebrew . The term "Christ" was a title rather than a proper name. In the four gospels in the New Testament, the word "Christ" is nearly always preceded by the definite article...
; None by the death of Christ. St. Basil merely recalls that it was at the ninth hour that the Apostles Peter and
JohnJohn the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles....
were wont to go to the
TempleThe Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to a series of structures located on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Historically, two temples were built at this location, and a future Temple features in Jewish eschatology. According to classical Jewish belief, the Temple acts as...
to pray. St.
John CassianSaint John Cassian , John the Ascetic, or John Cassian the Roman, is a Christian theologian celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Churches for his mystical writings...
, who adopts the
CyprianSaint Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent classical education...
interpretation for Terce and Sext, sees in the Hour of None the descent of Christ into
hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
. But, as a rule, it is the death of Christ that is commemorated at the Hour of None.
The writers of the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
have sought for other
mysticalChristian mysticism refers to the practice and experiential knowledge of deep prayer involving the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. This approach and lifestyle is distinguished from more "mainstream" forms of Christian practice by its aim and depth of devotion...
explanations of the Hour of None.
Amalarius of MetzAmalarius of Metz was a liturgist. He wrote extensively on the Mass and was involved in the great Medieval debates regarding predestination. While the exact date of his death is not known, it is believed that he died around 850....
(III, vi) explains at length, how, like the sun which sinks on the horizon at the hour of None, man's spirit tends to lower itself also, he is more open to temptation, and it is the time the demon selects to try him. For the texts of the Fathers on this subject it will suffice to refer the reader to the above-mentioned work of Cardinal Bona (c. ix). The same writers do not fail to remark that the number nine was considered by the ancients an imperfect number, an incomplete number, ten being considered perfection and the complete number. Nine was also the number of mourning. Among the ancients the ninth day was a day of expiation and funeral service—
novemdiale sacrum, the origin doubtless of the
novenaIn the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of prayer said on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. These may consist of small prayer books, recitation of the Rosary, or small prayers through the day...
for the dead.
As for the ninth hour, some persons believe that it is the hour at which our first parents were driven from the
Garden of ParadiseThe Garden of Eden is a location described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. In conclusion, it is necessary to call attention to a practice which emphasized the Hour of None—it was the hour of
fastingFasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting...
. At first, the hour of fasting was prolonged to
VespersVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek εσπερινός and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also in limited use in some Protestant...
, that is to say, food was taken only in the evening or at the end of the day. Mitigation of this rigorous practice was soon introduced.
Tertullian'sQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian Berber author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy...
famous pamphlet
De jejunio, rails at length against the
Psychics (i. e. the orthodox Christians) who end their fast on station days at the Hour of None, while he, Tertullian, claims that he is faithful to the ancient custom. The practice of breaking the fast at None caused that hour to be selected for
MassThe Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, in many Lutheran Churches, and in a small amount of High Church Methodist parishes...
and
CommunionThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
, which were the signs of the close of the day. The distinction between the rigorous fast, which was prolonged to Vespers, and the mitigated fast, ending at None, is met with in a large number of ancient documents (see
FastingFasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting...
).
External links
, s.v.,
None