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]

For both monuments, the lamp was brought into the prayer meeting by the deacon. This, obviously, was a general church custom. According to the Egyptian Church Decrees, when the deacon brought in the lamp, the bishop greeted those present — "The Lord is with you all." According to the Testament, such a greeting was pronounced by the deacon carrying the lamp himself, who said: "The grace of our Lord is with you all." In both cases, Christ the Saviour appeared to the spiritual gaze of those present, repeatedly appearing to the apostles after His resurrection, when the doors of their upper room were closed, and greeting them with the words: "Peace be unto you" (Luke 24:36; John 20:19 and 26). The people responded to the greeting of the bishop or deacon with the then generally accepted in the church: "And with thy spirit." According to the Egyptian ecclesiastical decrees, the bishop called the people to glorify Him Who invisibly entered the assembly together with the lamp brought in; "Let us give thanks to the Lord," in response to which the people sang: "Worthy and righteous — greatness and glory to Him." Then the bishop read a prayer. The testament does not cite any specific doxology, but notes that the psalms and songs sung referred to the lampstand. It is possible that among them was the modern evening hymn "O Gentle Light...", which St. Basil the Great already spoke of as ancient. "Our fathers," he wrote, "were pleased not to receive the grace of the evening light in silence, but to give thanks immediately when it appeared. And although we cannot say which father was the creator of these sayings of the lamp of thanksgiving, the people in any case proclaim the ancient song...  "We praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" [9].

In scholarship, the identity of the thought and similarity of the expressions of this hymn with the above-mentioned prayer from the Egyptian ecclesiastical decrees has already been noted [10]. Both this prayer and the hymn praise God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ, Whom the prayer calls "the Immaterial Light" and the hymn "the Quiet Light of the holy glory of the immortal Heavenly Father." The words of the prayer "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 — holy and glorifying Thee through Thy one Son, our Lord Jesus Christ" — received a laconic and poetic expression, as the hymn requires: "Having come to the setting of the sun, having seen the evening light, we sing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God."

Итак III век был временем, когда возникшая в христианском быту на основе ветхозаветных богослужебных установлений традиция вечернего светильничного благодарения получила значение церковного обряда, литургическое оформление которого было идейно связано с прославлением невидимо сопребывающего на христианских молитвенных собраниях Сына Божия — Иисуса Христа.

Вечернее богослужение в IV в.

От конца IV века сохранилось два описания вечернего богослужения. Первое из них, сделанное в плане литургической записи, находится в VIII книге Постановлений Апостольских и относится к 380-м годам [11]. Она не содержит полного чинопоследования. Автор этой записи не имел в виду излагать порядок всего чинопоследования от начала до его конца. На основании его слов; „Когда настанет вечер, ты, епископ, собери церковь, и после того, как скажут светильный псалом, диакон пусть возгласит об оглашенных и обуреваемых и просвещаемых и кающихся, как прежде сказали мы. А по отпусте их диакон пусть скажет: „Елицы вернии, Господу помолимся...“ [12]