1Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort,2a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.

3About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius!" 4And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.5"Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;6he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea."7When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants,8and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

9On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.10But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;11and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,12and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air.13A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat!"14But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean."15Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy."16This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

Excursus on the Choir Offices of the Early Church, from Christian Classics Ethereal Library____The Seven Ecumenical Councils_____Schaff, Philip (1819-1893)

Nothing is more marked in the lives of the early followers of Christ than the abiding sense which they had of the Divine Presence.  Prayer was not to them an occasional exercise but an unceasing practice.  If then the Psalmist sang in the old dispensation “Seven times a day do I praise thee” (Ps. cxix. 164), we may be quite certain that the Christians would never fall behind the Jewish example.  We know that among the Jews there were the “Hours of Prayer,” and nothing would be, à priori, more likely than that with new and deeper significance these should pass over into the Christian Church.  I need not pause here to remind the reader of the observance of “the hour of prayer” which is mentioned in the New Testament, and shall pass on to my more immediate subject.

Most liturgiologists have been agreed that the “Choir Offices” of the Christian Church, that is to say the recitation of the Psalms of David, with lessons from other parts of Holy Scripture and collects,179179    Vide Tertullian.  was an actual continuation of the Jewish worship, the melodies even of the Psalms being carried over and modified through the ages into the plain song of today.  For this view of the Jewish origin of the Canonical Hours there is so much to be said that one hesitates to accept a rival theory, recently set forth with much skill and learning, by a French priest, who had the inestimable happiness of sitting at the feet of De Rossi.  M. Pierre Battifol180180    Histoire du Bréviaire Romain Paris. 1893.  An English translation has since (1898) appeared by the Rev. A. M. Y. Bayley, which is not in principle changed so far as this discussion is concerned. is of opinion that the Canonical Hours in no way come from the Jewish Hours of Prayer but are the outgrowth of the Saturday Vigil service, which was wholly of Christian origin, and which he tells us was divided into three parts, j., the evening service, or lucernarium, which was the service of Vespers; ij., the midnight service, the origin of the Nocturns or Mattins; iij., the service at daybreak, the origin of Lauds.  Soon vigils were kept for all the martyr commemorations; and by the time of Tertullian, if not before, Wednesdays and Fridays had their vigils.  With the growth of monasticism they became daily.  This Mr. Battifol thinks was introduced into Antioch about a.d. 350, and soon spread all over the East.  The “little hours,” that is Terce, Sext, and None, he thinks were monastic in origin and that Prime and Compline were transferred from the dormitory to the church, just as the martyrology was transferred from the refectory.

Such is the new theory, which, even if rejected, at least is valuable in drawing attention to the great importance of the vigil-service in the Early Church, an importance still attaching to it in Russia on the night of Easter Even.

135Of the twilight service we have a most exquisite remains in the hymn to be sung at the lighting of the lamps.  This is one of the few Psalmi idiotici which has survived the condemnation of such compositions by the early councils, in fact the only two others are the Gloria in Excelsis and the Te Deum.  The hymn at the lighting of the lamps is as follows:

“O gladsome light

Of the Father Immortal,

And of the celestial

Sacred and blessed

Jesus, our Saviour!”

“Now to the sunset

Again hast thou brought us;

And seeing the evening

Twilight, we bless thee,

Praise thee, adore thee!”

“Father omnipotent!

Son, the Life-giver!

Spirit, the Comforter!

Worthy at all times

Of worship and wonder!181181    Longfellow.  The Golden Legend II.  Liddon’s remarks upon this hymn are well worth the reader’s attention, Bampton Lectures, Lect. VII., where Keble’s translation will be found.”

Dr. Battifol’s new theory was promptly attacked by P. Suibbert Bäumer, a learned German Benedictine who had already written several magazine articles on the subject before Battifol’s book had appeared.

The title of Bäumer’s book is Geschichte des Breviers, Versuch einer quellenmässigen Darstellung der Entwicklung des altkirchen und des römeschen Officiums bis auf unsere Tage. (Freiburg in Briesgau, 1895.)  The following182182    Taken from the Church Quarterly Review, 1898. may be taken as a fair resumé of the position taken in this work and most ably defended, a position which (if I may be allowed to express an opinion) is more likely to prevail as being most in accordance with the previous researches of the learned.

“The early Christians separated from the Synagogues about a.d. 65; that is, about the same time as the first Epistle to Timothy was written, and at this moment of separation from the Synagogue the Apostles had already established, besides the liturgy, at least one, probably two, canonical hours of prayer, Mattins and Evensong.  Besides what we should call sermons, the service of these hours was made up of psalms, readings from Holy Scripture, and extempore prayers.  A few pages on (p. 42) Bäumer allows that even if this service had been daily in Jerusalem the Apostles’ times, yet it had become limited to Sundays in the sub-Apostolic times, when persecution would not allow the Apostolic custom of daily morning and evening public prayer.  Yet the practice of private prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours continued, based upon an Apostolic tradition; and thus, when the tyranny of persecution was overpast, the idea of public prayer at these hours was saved and the practice carried on.

17Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon's house, appeared at the gate;18and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there 19While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you.20"But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.

"21Peter went down to the men and said, "Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?"22They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you."23So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

   And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him.24On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.25When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him.26But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man."27As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled.

28And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.29"That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me."30Cornelius said, "Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments,31and he said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.32'Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.'33"So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."

34Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,35but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

36"The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)--37you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.

38"You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.39"We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.40"God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,

 41not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.42"And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

 29"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

John 10:29___

43"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.45All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.46For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,47"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"48And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.