Patristic Readings at All-Night Vigil

[arimethea]

In doing some research for a project I have found the rubric in several places that a reading from the fathers is done while the blessed bread from the Artoklasia is distributed and consumed between Vespers and Orthros during an All-Night Vigil. What I have not been able to find anywhere is a description of what makes up these readings such as how long and of what source are they from.

Anyone know of a source or what practices you have witnessed?

[Fr. George]

I'm pretty sure one practice was to read from the Philokalia.  I can't remember where I heard that from, though.

[arimethea]

What was the practice at Holy Cross?

[Fr. George]

What was the practice at Holy Cross?

After the vespers we usually moved on to Small Compline or Paraklesis.  Our all-night vigils (when I was there) consisted of Great Vespers (2.0 - 2.5 hours), small compline (maybe with an Akathist, depending on the feast, or a canon; 1-1.5 hours), small Paraklesis (1.5 hours), Orthros with the long reading of the lives of the saints and all applicable canons (2.5-3.5 hours), and Liturgy with Typica (unless the feast had Antiphons; 2 hours).  10pm start, 10am finish (something like that).

[filipinopilgrim]

What was the practice at Holy Cross?

After the vespers we usually moved on to Small Compline or Paraklesis.  Our all-night vigils (when I was there) consisted of Great Vespers (2.0 - 2.5 hours), small compline (maybe with an Akathist, depending on the feast, or a canon; 1-1.5 hours), small Paraklesis (1.5 hours), Orthros with the long reading of the lives of the saints and all applicable canons (2.5-3.5 hours), and Liturgy with Typica (unless the feast had Antiphons; 2 hours).  10pm start, 10am finish (something like that).

How often was All Night Vigil done at Holy Cross? I thought only the Athonites did this.

[Elpidophoros]

At an All-night Vigil for a Sunday, the Typicon calls for lessons to be read seven times, and at a festal vigil, six: at the end of Vespers, at Matins after the first and second kathismata, follwing the polyeleos, following the third and sixth odes of the canon, and at the end of Matins (the latter only on Sunday). The purpose of these readings is exhortation and instruction, while at the same time they serve for the refreshment of the memory and the relaxation of the body, since they are listened to while sitting. The first reading is an excerpt from the Holy Scriptures (from the book of the Acts of the Apostles or from the Apostolic epistles); the next four readings are taken from patristic commentaries concerning the excerpt which was read; the sixth is taken from the lives of the saints; and the seventh, a moral-ascetical "catecheses," is taken from the writings of Ven. Theodore the Studite.

——《Liturgics》Archbishop Averky

[arimethea]

At an All-night Vigil for a Sunday, the Typicon calls for lessons to be read seven times, and at a festal vigil, six: at the end of Vespers, at Matins after the first and second kathismata, follwing the polyeleos, following the third and sixth odes of the canon, and at the end of Matins (the latter only on Sunday). The purpose of these readings is exhortation and instruction, while at the same time they serve for the refreshment of the memory and the relaxation of the body, since they are listened to while sitting. The first reading is an excerpt from the Holy Scriptures (from the book of the Acts of the Apostles or from the Apostolic epistles); the next four readings are taken from patristic commentaries concerning the excerpt which was read; the sixth is taken from the lives of the saints; and the seventh, a moral-ascetical "catecheses," is taken from the writings of Ven. Theodore the Studite.

——《Liturgics》Archbishop Averky

This is great, do you have a source for this quote?

[Elpidophoros]

This is great, do you have a source for this quote?

http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/liturgics_averky_e.htm

The work of Archbishop Averky is based on the tradition of russian church,somewhere are much different from the Violakis' but more faithful to Agiosabbaitic Typikon.

But today in most parishes and monasteries of both russian and greek churches do not have any of those six or seven readings in vigils.

The last time when I attended a sunday service in Megisti-lavra ,they served great vespers and matins separately,so no reading in the end of vespers.But for matins,yes,they athonites(megistilavriotes)read the patristic texts as Archbishop Averky described.

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