Fixed prayer times

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Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

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Islam

A board with precalculated prayer times in a mosque. Stated in the local time, the Muslim prayer times differ by locations and change from day to day. Islamic complex Shakhi Zinda - 04.jpg
A board with precalculated prayer times in a mosque. Stated in the local time, the Muslim prayer times differ by locations and change from day to day.

Muslims pray five times a day, with their prayers being known as Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (after midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), Isha (nighttime), facing towards Mecca. [1] The direction of prayer is called the qibla; the early Muslims initially prayed in the direction of Jerusalem before this was changed to Mecca in 624 CE, about a year after Muhammad's migration to Medina. [2] [3]

The timing of the five prayers are fixed intervals defined by daily astronomical phenomena. For example, the Maghrib prayer can be performed at any time after sunset and before the disappearance of the red twilight from the west. [4] In a mosque, the muezzin broadcasts the call to prayer at the beginning of each interval. Because the start and end times for prayers are related to the solar diurnal motion, they vary throughout the year and depend on the local latitude and longitude when expressed in local time. [5] [note 1] In modern times, various religious or scientific agencies in Muslim countries produce annual prayer timetables for each locality, and electronic clocks capable of calculating local prayer times have been created. [6] In the past, some mosques employed astronomers called the muwaqqit s who were responsible for regulating the prayer time using mathematical astronomy. [5]

Judaism

Jews stop to pray Maariv (evening prayer) while at a Tel Aviv flea-market shop JaffaMaariv.jpg
Jews stop to pray Maariv (evening prayer) while at a Tel Aviv flea-market shop

Jewish law requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as Shacharit, the afternoon prayer is known as Mincha, and the evening prayer is known as Maariv. [7]

According to Jewish tradition, the prophet Abraham introduced Shacharit, the prophet Isaac introduced Mincha, and the prophet Jacob introduced Maariv. [7] Jews historically prayed in the direction of the Temple in Jerusalem, where the "presence of the transcendent God ( shekhinah ) [resided] in the Holy of Holies of the Temple". [8] [9] In the Hebrew Bible, it is written that when the prophet Daniel was in Babylon, he "went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously" (cf. Daniel 6:10). [9] After its destruction, Jews continue to pray facing Jerusalem in hope for the coming of the Messiah whom they await. [9]

Christianity

Agpeya Breviary.jpg
Shehimo Breviary.jpg
The Agpeya and Shehimo are breviaries used in Oriental Orthodox Christianity to pray the canonical hours at seven fixed times of the day in the eastward direction. [10] [11]

From the time of the early Church, the practice of seven fixed prayer times have been taught, which traces itself to the Prophet David in Psalm 119:164. [12] In Apostolic Tradition , Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day, "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion (i.e. 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m.)." [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Christians attended two liturgies on the Lord's Day, worshipping communally in both a morning service and evening service, with the purpose of reading the Scriptures and celebrating the Eucharist. [18] [19] Throughout the rest of the week, Christians assembled at the church every day for "the main hours of prayer"—morning prayer (which became known as Lauds) and evening prayer (which became known as Vespers), while praying at the other fixed prayer times privately (which included praying the Lord's Prayer at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.); monastics came to gather together to corporately pray all of the canonical hours communally. [20] [21] [19] [22] This practice of seven fixed prayer times was done in the bodily positions of prostration and standing, which continues today in some denominations, especially those of Oriental Christianity. [17]

Oriental Orthodox Christians (such as Copts, Armenians, Syriacs and Indians), as well certain Oriental Protestant denominations (such as the Mar Thoma Syrian Church), use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo to pray the canonical hours seven times a day while facing ad orientem, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164, in which the King David prays to God seven times a day. [10] [23] [12] [24] In the Indian Christian and Syriac Christian tradition, these canonical hours are known as Vespers (Ramsho [6 pm]), Compline (Soutoro [9 pm]), Nocturns (Lilio [12 am]), Matins (Sapro [6 am]), third hour prayer (Tloth sho`in [9 am]), sixth hour prayer (Sheth sho`in [12 pm]), and ninth hour prayer (Tsha' sho`in [3 pm]). [25] In the Coptic Christian and Ethiopian Christian tradition, these seven canonical hours are known as the First Hour (Prime [6 am]), the Third Hour (Terce [9 am]), the Sixth Hour (Sext [12 pm]), the Ninth Hour (None [3 pm]), the Eleventh Hour (Vespers [6 pm]), the Twelfth Hour (Compline [9 pm]), and the Midnight office [12 am]; monastics pray an additional hour known as the Vigil. [26] [27] [28] Church bells are tolled at these hours to enjoin the faithful to prayer. [29] At the very minimum, Orthodox Christians are to pray before meals and thrice daily — in the morning, at noon, and in the evening (cf. Daniel 6:10). [30] [31] Those who are unable to pray the canonical hour of a certain fixed prayer time may recite the Qauma, in the Indian Orthodox tradition. [note 2] [12]

In Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the practice of praying the canonical hours at fixed prayer times became mainly observed by monastics and clergy, [32] though today, the Catholic Church encourages the laity to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Lutheran Churches and Anglican Communion, breviaries such as The Brotherhood Prayer Book and the Anglican Breviary, respectively, are used to pray the Daily Office; [33] [34] [35] the Methodist tradition has emphasized the praying of the canonical hours as an "essential practice" in being a disciple of Jesus, with the Order of Saint Luke, a Methodist religious order, printing The Book of Offices and Services to serve this end. [36] In Anabaptist Christianity, Mennonites (especially Old Order Mennonites and Conservative Mennonites) and Amish have family prayer every morning and evening, which is done kneeling; the Christenpflicht prayer book is used for this purpose. Bible readings may be read after this, often after the evening prayer; to this end, the Tägliches Manna devotional is used by many Anabaptists. [37]

Some traditions have historically placed a cross the eastern wall of their houses, which they face during these seven fixed prayer times. [17] [38] [14] [39] Before praying, Oriental Orthodox Christians and Oriental Protestant Christians wash their hands, face and feet in order to be clean before and present their best to God; shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. [40] [23] [10] [41] In these Christian denominations, and in many others as well, it is customary for women to wear a headcovering when praying. [42] [43] [44] There exist watches that indicate the seven fixed prayer times. [45]

Mandaeism

In Mandaeism, the daily prayer or brakha consists of a set of prayers recited three times per day. [46] Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers. [47] Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity, prostration is not practiced.

Mandaean priests recite rahma prayers [48] [49] three times every day, while laypeople also recite the Rushuma (signing prayer) and Asut Malkia ("Healing of Kings") daily. [46]

The three prayer times in Mandaeism are: [50] [48]

Baháʼí Faith

Followers of the Baháʼí Faith must choose either a short, medium, or long prayer each day to fulfill the requirement of the daily obligatory prayer. Reciting these prayers is considered one of the Baháʼí's most important obligations. The short prayer can only be said between noon and sunset, while the medium prayer must be said three times during the day: once between sunrise and noon, once between noon and sunset, and once in the two hours following sunset. [51] The long prayer is not bound by a fixed prayer time. The text of these prayers is taken from the writings of the religion's founder, Baháʼu'lláh.

Sikhism

Initiated Sikhs are obligated to perform five daily prayers at varying times during the day, from the collection of Nitnem prayers. In the morning, typically right after waking and bathing, the Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, and Tav Prasad Savaiye prayers are recited. In the evening, the Sodar Rahras Sahib is recited, and before bed the Kirtan Sohila is recited. [52]

See also

Notes

  1. For the day-to-day variation of the prayer times, see, for example, a prayer timetable for Banyuasin, Indonesia, for the month of Ramadan in 2012.
  2. In the tradition of the Indian Orthodox Church, an Oriental Orthodox denomination, the Qauma can be prayed for those whom are unable to recite the canonical hours contained in the Shehimo breviary; the Qauma is always recited at the start of each canonical hour in the Shehimo. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vespers</span> Sunset evening prayer liturgy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canonical hours</span> Christian concept of periods of prayer throughout the day

In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell tower</span> Tower containing or designed to hold bells

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compline</span> Canonical hour in Christian liturgy

Compline, also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matins</span> Canonical hour of Christian liturgy

Matins is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church bell</span> Bell in a church

A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, but are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In some Christian traditions they signify to people outside that a particular part of the service has been reached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgy of the Hours</span> Liturgical prayers of the Catholic Church, used at fixed times throughout the day and night

The Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, or Opus Dei are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official set of prayers "marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer." The term "Liturgy of the Hours" has been retroactively applied to the practices of saying the canonical hours in both the Christian East and West–particularly within the Latin liturgical rites–prior to the Second Vatican Council, and is the official term for the canonical hours promulgated for usage by the Latin Church in 1971. Before 1971, the official form for the Latin Church was the Breviarium Romanum, first published in 1568 with major editions through 1962.

Prime, or the First Hour, is one of the canonical hours of the Divine Office, said at the first hour of daylight, between the dawn hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. hour of Terce. It remains part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but suppressed within the Roman rite by the Second Vatican Council. In the Coptic Church, a denomination of Oriental Orthodox Christianity, the office of Prime is prayed at 6 am in eastward direction of prayer by all members in this denomination, both clergy and laity, being one of the seven fixed prayer times. Roman Catholic clergy under obligation to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours may still fulfil their obligation by using the edition of the Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962, which contains Prime. Like all the liturgical hours, except the Office of Readings, it consists mainly of Psalms. It is one of the Little Hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terce</span> Former part of the canonical hours

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Sext is a canonical hour of the Divine Office in the liturgies of many Christian denominations. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around noon. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the sixth hour of the day after dawn. With Terce, None and Compline it belongs to the so-called Little Hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nocturns</span> Christian prayer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midnight office</span> Canonical Hours

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<i>Agpeya</i> Coptic liturgical book

The Agpeya is the Coptic Christian "Prayer Book of the Hours" or breviary, and is equivalent to the Shehimo in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as well as the Byzantine Horologion and Roman Liturgy of the Hours used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, respectively. The Agpeya prayers are popular Christian prayers recited at fixed prayer times, facing the east by both individuals and families at home seven times a day, as well as for communal prayers as an introduction to Mass at church; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164, in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. The vast majority of the Coptic Christians learn the recitation and prayers of the Agpeya at an early age as children at home from their families. The Coptic Orthodox cycle of canonical hours is primarily composed of psalm readings from the Old Testament and gospel readings from the New Testament, with some added hymns of praise, troparia, and other prayers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian prayer</span> Activity in Christianity

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home altar</span> A shrine kept in the home of some Christians

A home altar or family altar is a shrine kept in the home of a Western Christian family used for Christian prayer and family worship. Home altars often contain a cross or crucifix, a copy of the Bible, a breviary and/or other prayer book, a daily devotional, a headcovering, icons of Jesus Christ and prayer beads, among other religious articles specific to the individual's Christian denomination, for example, the images of the saints for Catholics, the Small Catechism for Lutherans, and the Anglican prayer beads for Anglicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breviary</span> Liturgical book used in Christianity to pray the canonical hours

A breviary is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shehimo</span> Book

Shehimo is the West Syriac Christian breviary of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the West Syriac Saint Thomas Christians of India that contains the seven canonical hours of prayer. The Shehimo includes Bible readings, hymns and other prescribed prayers from the West Syriac Liturgical system. Within the breviary there are certain prayers that are recited at seven fixed prayer times, while facing the east at home or at church. The Shehimo also provides communal prayers as an introduction to the Holy Qurbono. The practice of praying during the canonical hours has its roots taken from Psalm 119:164, in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. The Shehimo breviary can be prayed either by reading or chanting the prose or singing the verses. The different versions of the breviary are available in Syriac, Malayalam, English, among other languages.

Prayer in a certain direction is characteristic of many world religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith.

References

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  9. 1 2 3 Lang, Uwe Michael (2009). Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer. Ignatius Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN   978-1-58617-341-8. Jews in the Diaspora prayed towards Jerusalem, or, more precisely, towards the presence of the transcendent God (shekinah) in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. For instance, Daniel in Babylon 'went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously' (Dan 6:10). Even after the destruction of the Temple, the prevailing custom of turning towards Jerusalem for prayer was kept in the liturgy of the synagogue. Thus Jews have expressed their eschatological hope for the coming of the Messiah, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the gathering of God's people from the Diaspora.
  10. 1 2 3 Mary Cecil (1906). A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Methuen. p. 399. Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.
  11. Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer. Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. 2016. p. 5. We pray standing upright while facing East as we collect our thoughts on God.
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  15. Henry Chadwick (1993). The Early Church. Penguin. ISBN   978-1-101-16042-8. Hippolytus in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family.
  16. Weitzman, M. P. (7 July 2005). The Syriac Version of the Old Testament. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-01746-6. Clement of Alexandria noted that "some fix hours for prayer, such as the third, sixth and ninth" (Stromata 7:7). Tertullian commends these hours, because of their importance (see below) in the New Testament and because their number recalls the Trinity (De Oratione 25). These hours indeed appear as designated for prayer from the earliest days of the church. Peter prayed at the sixth hour, i.e. at noon (Acts 10:9). The ninth hour is called the "hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). This was the hour when Cornelius prayed even as a "God-fearer" attached to the Jewish community, i.e. before his conversion to Christianity. it was also the hour of Jesus' final prayer (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34, Luke 22:44-46).
  17. 1 2 3 Lössl, Josef (17 February 2010). The Early Church: History and Memory. A&C Black. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-567-16561-9. Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century), this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today. They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing ... Crosses made of wood or stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the east, Latin oriens).
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  39. Johnson, Maxwell E. (2016). Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year. Liturgical Press. ISBN   978-0-8146-6282-3. Because Christ was expected to come from the east, Christians at a very early date prayed facing that direction in order to show themselves ready for his appearing, and actually looking forward to the great event which would consummate the union with him already experienced in prayer. For the same reason the sign of the cross was frequently traced on the eastern wall of places of prayer, thereby indicating the direction of prayer, but also rendering the Lord's coming a present reality in the sign which heralds it. In other words, through the cross the anticipated eschatological appearance becomes parousia: presence. The joining of prayer with the eschatological presence of Christ, unseen to the eye but revealed in the cross, obviously underlies the widely attested practice of prostrating before the sacred wood while praying to him who hung upon it.
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Further reading