Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/40

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enumerating the particular formularies used by the Nestorians in the celebration of divine service, I shall briefly notice the canonical hours of prayer, or those seasons of every day which were appointed for the worship of God, and the changes which have taken place in these, as evinced by their present practice.

The day with the Nestorians, as with all other Orientals, begins immediately after sunset, and the service appointed for that hour is called d'Ramsha, or Vespers. After this the congregation dispersed, and returned to the church about dusk for the Soobaa, or Compline. This latter service, however, has altogether ceased, and is only used during Lent, the three days commemorative of the humiliation of the Ninevites, and on the eve of certain festivals, when it is joined to the vespers and forms with that one service. The next in order is the Slotha d'Lilya or Nocturns, for which the particular prayers called Moutwé [literally, Thrones; during the reading of which all the congregation sat,] are appointed. After this followed the Shahra, or Lauds, supposed to begin with day-break; and after these the Slotha d'Sapra, or Prime. The custom, however, of rising in the night for the purpose of celebrating public worship has long become obsolete, and the nocturns, lauds, and prime, at the present day, form one service, generally called Slotha d'Sapra, or Morning Prayer.

The following extracts from the synodal collection of Mar Abd Yeshua throw some light upon the hours of prayer, as for-