Uspensky N.D., prof. Orthodox Vespers  Historical and Liturgical Essay

It is possible that such a public worship separate from the Eucharist and the Supper of Love did not exist. But, on the other hand, it would be wrong to deny the existence in early Christianity of the very idea of the prayerful consecration of the evening and to express it even in the simplest liturgical forms, accessible to the common prayer of the members of those "house" churches of which the Apostle Paul speaks. (Rom. 16:4).

The Old Testament Roots of the Evening Service

The Apostles came from Jews, and they spread their preaching about Christ primarily among their pious fellow tribesmen. This circumstance determined the existence of certain ties between the New Testament Church and the center of the religious life of Judaism , the Old Testament temple. The existence of this connection is noted by the writer of Acts when he says that the first Christians "dwelt daily with one accord in the temple" (Acts 2:46) and that "Peter and John went together to the temple at the ninth hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). Tradition has preserved information that the first bishop of the Jerusalem Christian community, Ap. James was not forbidden to enter even the "Holy Room", and he was usually seen in the temple kneeling and praying [1]. This connection of the first Christians with the Temple in Jerusalem ceased only in connection with their dispersion from Jerusalem after the martyrdom of the first deacon St. Stephen (Acts 8:1). But even after that, the word of the gospel of Christ was carried primarily to the Jews of the diaspora, so that until the middle of the second century the main contingent of the members of the Church was the diaspora.

Turning to the religious life of Old Testament Judaism, we see that even the book of Exodus prescribed for the Jews to perform a deliberate evening service in the tabernacle: "And when Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he will burn them. The book of Leviticus indicates what the ceremonial side of this service was: "And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil beaten for light, that the lamp may burn continually. Outside the veil of the ark of the revelation and the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to set it before the Lord from evening to morning at all times. This is an eternal decree for your generations. On a clean candlestick they must always set a lamp before the Lord" (24:1-4). At the center of this worship was the rite of lighting and placing "outside the veil of the ark of revelation and the tabernacle of meeting" the lamp before which Aaron burned incense and which then burned "before the Lord from evening to morning."

The rite of lighting the lamp in the evening was considered so sacred by the Jews that it was not forgotten after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, and the Talmud prescribes, when lighting lamps in the evening, to give praise to God [2].

Early Christian Vespers (I-III centuries)

On the contrary, in the apostolic preaching about Christ there was found a motive that gave Jewish Christians grounds for retaining this sacred tradition of their ancestors, but in a new ideological illumination. Christ the Saviour Himself called Himself the Light of the world (John 8:12). The quiet light of the evening lamp reminded them of Him of Whom the Evangelist wrote: "There was the True Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). The lamp burning in the prayer meeting vividly reminded those present at it of the spiritual abiding of Christ with them, Who promised to be where two or three are gathered in His name (Matt. 18:20). Thus the Old Testament rite acquired a new, purely Christian ideological meaning.

The latter turned out to be so close to the believing heart of Christians that the rite of the evening lighting of the lamp became part of their life and survived the diaspora itself. St. Gregory of Nyssa, reporting on the blessed repose of St. Macrina, writes that when evening came and the fire was brought into the room, she opened her eyes wide and, looking at the light, as it was evident, tried to read the lamp thanksgiving την επιλυχνιαν ευχαριστίαν, but since her voice had already disappeared, she performed the prayer only in her mind, and with a movement of her hand and lips. When she finished thanksgiving and raised her hand to her face to cross herself, she suddenly sighed deeply and deeply. Along with the prayer, her life ended [3]. This story of St. Gregory about the last minutes of St. Macrina's life shows how firmly it entered the life of Christians of his time and how sacred the custom of thanksgiving was for them. A dying Christian woman , at the sight of a lamp brought into her room, exerts her last strength to read the prayer of the lamp of thanksgiving. This prayer delays her last breath, which comes with the end of the lantern thanksgiving.

Having entered into the life of Christians and into the everyday life of "home" churches, the tradition of evening thanksgiving could not remain unknown to their public worship. Tertullian, describing the Christian Supper, says: "After washing the hands and lighting the lamps, everyone is called to sing to God in the middle what he can from the Holy Scriptures or from his own heart" [4].

The evening prayer meeting, as Tertullian describes it, has the character of that broad liturgical improvisation that is known from the description of the Eucharist of St.  Martyr. Justin the Philosopher [5].

The first liturgical, in the proper sense of the word, record of the rite of bringing the lamp into a prayer meeting, known in science, is set forth in a monument of Christian writing of the third century , the Egyptian Church Decrees. Here we read: "When evening comes, the deacon brings in the lamp. The bishop greets the congregation: "The Lord is with you all." The people answered, "And with thy spirit." Bishop: "Let us give thanks to the Lord." People: "Worthy and righteous — majesty and glory to Him..." Bishop: "We thank Thee, O God, through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast enlightened us with the revelation of the immaterial Light. Having ended the length of the day and reached the beginning of the night, having been satiated with the daylight created by Thee for our contentment, we now have no lack of evening light by Thy mercy — we sanctify and glorify Thee through Thy one Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through Him be glory, power, and honor to Thee with Him now..." People: "Amen" [6].

A similar rite is also mentioned in the "Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ", in connection with the description of the evening service performed on Paschal night: "A lamp is brought to the church by the deacon, who says: "The grace of our Lord is with you all." And all the people answered, "And with thy spirit." Children recite spiritual psalms and songs related to the lamp (cantica ad accensionem lucernae). All the people, singing in unison, answer: "Alleluia" [7]. If the final treatment of this monument in the Syriac Church dates back to the 5th century [8]