St. Andrew Orthodox Adds Regular Vespers Services
In our continuing quest to deepen the cycle of liturgical services available for the faithful and inquirers, St. Andrew Orthodox Church will be adding weekly vespers services beginning in June 2015.
On the first and third Saturdays of the month, we will offer Reader’s Vespers at 7 p.m. On the second and fourth Wednesdays, Reader’s Vespers will be also held at 7 p.m. Vespers is a non-sacramental service. All are invited to attend and pray with us.
About the Vespers Service
Vespers (εσπερινός) is first service of the Daily Cycle of divine services celebrated in the Orthodox Church. This practice follows the Biblical account of creation: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Gen 1:5). Because the liturgical day begins at sunset, Vespers is traditionally served in the early evening. For many parishes, Vespers is the principal evening service.
The service of Vespers takes us through creation, sin, and salvation in Christ. It leads us to the meditation of God’s word and the glorification of his love for men. It instructs us and allows us to praise God for the particular events or persons whose memory is celebrated and made present to us in the Church. It prepares us for the sleep of the night and the dawn of the new day to come. On the eves of the Divine Liturgy, it begins our movement into the most perfect communion with God in the sacramental mysteries.
Vespers has its roots in the Lamplighting prayers of ancient Judaism (see Exodus 30:8, Leviticus 24:1-4). Evening prayer services are recorded in the Early Church as far back as the second century.