Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/51

Rh lection of prayers taken from the Khudhra, and appointed to be used at the Nocturns and Vespers of all the week days throughout the year.

The, literally the Before and After, so called with reference to the two divisions of the congregation separated by the nave, and styled severally the Gooda alleita, or high choir, and the Gooda tahteita, or under choir. The Khudhra, in a rubric for every Sunday, directs whether the service is d'kadhmâya, or d'ahrâya, i.e., whether it is to be said Before or After. If Before, then the high choir, or the portion of the congregation on the north side of the church, begin the daily prayers during the ensuing week; if After, then the under choir, or the congregation on the south side, shall open the service for the same appointed period. The rubrical order of the Khudhra directs that this change shall take place on alternate Sundays. The contains a few prayers, extracts from the Psalter, and the whole psalms as appointed to be used at the Matins and Vespers of week days, and the psalms and two or three collects appointed for the Matins of every Sunday.

The, or Treasury, contains the services for all the festivals (Sundays excepted) throughout the year. Like the Khudhra it comprises anthems, hymns, and collects; but beside these it includes other capitula having especial reference to the subject commemorated. It is a large folio volume, equal in size to the Khudhra.

The contains a collection of collects appointed to be read at the conclusion of the Nocturns of all the Sundays throughout the year, of the festivals, and the three days of the Baootha d'Ninwâyé, before the commencement of the Matins. Thus after the Nocturn is ended, instead of beginning the following service with the angelic hymn, "Glory to in the highest," &c., two collects from this collection are said, and then the Matins commence. The Aboo Haleem contains many very ancient collects, and the title of the book is supposed to be derived from the patronymic of the person who compiled it, the Catholicos Mar Elîa III.

The, or the Prayer of the Ninevites; a collection of hymns in verse ascribed to Saint Ephraem Syrus.