Sext
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2008-05-13T16:56:54Z
Charles Matthews
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{{otheruses4|the liturgical hour|the computer arithmetic operation SEXT|Sign extension}}
'''Sext''', or '''Sixth Hour''', is a fixed time of prayer of the [[Divine Office]] of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It is consists mainly of [[psalm]]s and is said at noon. Its name comes from [[Latin]] and refers to the sixth hour of the day after dawn.
==Meaning, symbolism and origin ==
''From the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917; note that this describes the office before the reforms of the [[Second Vatican Council]]; the numbering system of [[psalm]]s is that of the [[Septuagint]] and are said in [[Latin]]''
The ''hora sexta'' of the [[ancient Rome|Romans]] corresponded closely with our noon. Among the [[Jews]] it was already regarded, [[Little Hours|together with]] [[Terce]] and [[None (liturgy)|None]], as an hour most favourable to [[prayer]]. In the [[Acts of the Apostles]] we read that [[St. Peter]] went up to the higher parts of the house to pray ({{bibleverse||Acts|10:9}}). It was the middle of the day, also the usual hour of rest, and in consequence for devout men, an occasion to pray to God, as were the morning and evening hours.
The [[Fathers of the Church]] dwell constantly on the symbolism of this hour; their teaching is merely summarized here: it is treated at length in [[John Bona|Cardinal Bona]]'s work on [[psalmody]].<ref>John Cardinal Bona, ''De divina psalmodia'', viii, ''de sexta''.</ref> [[Noon]] is the hour when the sun is at its full, it is the image of Divine splendour, the plenitude of [[God]], the time of [[divine grace|grace]]; at the sixth hour [[Abraham]] received the three [[angel]]s, the image of the [[Trinity]]; at the sixth hour [[Adam and Eve]] ate the fatal apple. We should pray at noon, says [[St. Ambrose]], because that is the time when the Divine light is in its fulness.<ref>St. Ambrose of Milan, ''In Ps. 118'', vers. 62.</ref> [[Origen]], [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]], and several others regard this hour as favourable to prayer. Lastly and above all, it was the hour when [[Christ]] was nailed to the Cross; this memory excelling all the others left a still visible trace in most of the liturgy of this hour.
All these mystic reasons and traditions, which indicate the sixth hour as a culminating point in the day, a sort of pause in the life of affairs, the hour of repast, could not but exercise an influence on [[Christian]]s, inducing them to choose it as an hour of prayer. As early as the third century the hour of Sext was considered as important as Terce and None as an hour of prayer. [[Clement of Alexandria]] speaks of these three hours of prayer,<ref>St. Clement of Alexandria, ''[[Stromata]]'', VIII, vii, [[Patrologia Graecae]] (P.G.), IX, 455</ref> as does [[Tertullian]].<ref>Tertullian, ''De orat.'', xxiii-xv, [[Patrologia Latina]] (P.L.), I, 1191-93.</ref> Long previous the ''[[Didache]]'' had spoken of the sixth hour in the same manner.<ref>[[Franz Xaver von Funk]], ''Doctrina XII Apostolorum'', V, XIV, XV.</ref> [[Origen]], the "[[Canons of Hippolytus]]", and St. [[Cyprian]] express the same tradition.<ref>Cf. Bäumer, ''Hist. du bréviaire'', I, 68, 69, 73, 75, 186, etc.</ref> It is therefore evident that the custom of prayer at the sixth hour was well-established in the [[3rd century]] and even in the [[2nd century]] or at the end of the [[1st century]]. But probably most of these texts refer to private prayer. In the [[4th century]] the hour of Sext was widely established as a [[Canonical hours|Canonical Hour]]. The following are very explicit examples. In his [[Basilian monk|rule]] [[St. Basil]] made the sixth hour an hour of prayer for the [[monks]],<ref>St. Basil the Great, ''Regulæ fusius tractatæ'', P.G., XXXI, 1013, sq., 1180.</ref>, St. [[John Cassian]] treats it as an hour of prayer generally recognized in his [[Monastery|monasteries]]<ref>St. John Cassian, ''Instit. Coenob.'', III, iii, iv.</ref> The ''De virginitate'', wrongly attributed to [[St. Athanasius]], but in any case dating from the fourth century, speaks of the prayer of Sext, as do also the "[[Apostolic Constitutions]]", St. [[Ephrem]], [[St. John Chrysostom]]<ref>For the texts, see Bäumer, op. cit., I, 131, 145, 152, etc., and Leclercq, in "''Dict. d'arch. chrét.''", s.v. ''Bréviaire''.</ref> But this does not prove that the observance of Sext, any more than [[Prime (liturgy)|Prime]], Terce, None, or even the other Canonical Hours, was universal. Discipline on this point varied widely according to regions and Churches. And in fact some countries may be mentioned where the custom was introduced only later. That the same variety prevailed in the formulæ of prayer is shown in the following paragraph.
==Western Office==
''Note: reference to Psalms follows the numbering system of the [[Septuagint]].''
Despite its antiquity the hour of Sext never had the importance of those of [[Vigils]], [[Matins]], and [[Vespers]]. It must have been of short duration. The oldest testimonies mentioned seem to refer to a short prayer of a private nature. In the [[4th century|fourth]] and the following centuries the texts which speak of the compositions of this Office are far from uniform. John Cassian tells us that in [[Palestine]] three psalms were recited for Sext, as also for Terce and None<ref>Cassian, ''Instit.'', III, ii.</ref> This number was adopted by the Rules of [[Rule of St. Benedict|St. Benedict]], [[Columbanus|St. Columbanus]], [[Isidore of Seville|St. Isidore]], St. [[Fructuosus]], and to a certain extent by the Roman Church. However, Cassian says that in some provinces three [[psalm]]s were said at Terce, six at Sext, and nine at None. Others recited six psalms at each hour and this custom became general among the [[Gauls]].<ref>Cf. [[Karl Josef von Hefele|Hefele]]-Leclercq, ''Hist. des conciles'', III, 189; Leclercq, loc. cit., 1296, 1300; [[Martène]], ''De antiq. eccl. ritibus'', III, 20; IV, 27.</ref> In Martène will be found the proof of variations in different Churches and [[monasteries]]. With regard to ancient times the ''[[Egeria|Peregrinatio Sylviæ]]'', tells us that at the hour of Sext all assembled in the [[Anastasis]] where [[psalm]]s and [[anthems]] were recited, after which the [[bishop]] came and blessed the people.<ref>Cf. Cabrol, ''Étude sur la Peregrinatio'', Paris, 1895, 45-46.</ref> The number of psalms is not stated.
In the sixth century the [[Rule of St. Benedict]] gives the detailed composition of this Office. We quote it here because it is almost the same as the Roman Liturgy; either the latter borrowed from [[St. Benedict]], or St. Benedict was inspired by the Roman usage. Sext, like Terce and None, was composed at most of three psalms, of which the choice was fixed, the ''[[Deus in adjutorium]]'', a [[hymn]], a lesson (''[[capitulum]])'', a [[versicle]], the ''[[Kyrie|Kyrie Eleison]]'', and the customary concluding prayer and dismissal <ref>St. Benedict of Nursia, ''Regula'' [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch17 Chap. 17]; cf. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch18 Chap. 18].</ref>
In the Roman liturgy Sext is also composed of the ''Deus in adjutorium'', a hymn, three portions of Psalm 118, the lesson, the short response, the versicle, and the prayer. (For the [[Byzantine Rite]], see Eastern Christian Office, below.) In the modern [[Mozarabic Rite|Mozarabic Office]] Sext consists only of Ps. 53, three "octonaries" of Psalm 118, two lessons, the hymn, the supplication, the capitulum, the [[The Lord's Prayer|Pater Noster]], and the [[benediction]].
==Eastern Christian Office==<!-- This section is linked from [[Canonical hours]] -->
{{Further|[[Little_Hours#Eastern_Christian_Practice|Little Hours — Eastern Christian Practice]]}}
In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches| Greek Catholic]] Churches the office of the Sixth Hour is normally read by a single [[Reader_%28liturgy%29#Orthodoxy|Reader]] and has very little variation in it. Three fixed psalms are read at the Third Hour: Psalms 53, 54 and 90 ([[Septuagint|LXX]]). The only variable portions for most of the year are the [[Troparion|Troparia]] (either one or two) and [[Kontakion]] of the Day.
During '''[[Great Lent]]''' a number of changes in the office take place. On Monday through Friday, after the three fixed psalms, the Reader says a [[kathisma]] from the [[Psalter]]. The Troparion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten hymns that are chanted with prostrations. Then, a special Troparion of the Prophesy is chanted, which is particular to that specific day of Great Lent. This is followed by a [[Prokeimenon]], a reading from [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] and another Prokeimenon. Then there may follow a reading from the ''[[Ladder of Divine Ascent]]''. The Kontakion of the Day is replaced by special Lenten troparia. Near the end of the Hour, the [[Prayer of Saint Ephrem|Prayer of St. Ephraim]] is said, with prostrations.
During '''[[Holy Week]]''', on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the services are similar to those during Great Lent (including the reading of a kathisma), but instead of the normal Lenten hymns which replace the Kontakion, the Kontakion of the day (i.e., that day of Holy Week) is chanted. On Great Thursday and Saturday, the Little Hours are more like normal. On Great Friday, the [[Royal Hours]] are chanted.
During the '''Lesser Lenten seasons''' ([[Nativity Fast]], [[Apostles' Fast]] and [[Dormition_of_the_Theotokos#Dormition_Fast|Dormition Fast]]) the Little Hours undergo changes similar to those during Great Lent, except the Lenten hymns are usually read instead of chanted, and there are no kathismata. In addition, on weekdays of the Lesser Fasts, an [[Inter-Hours|Inter-Hour]] (Greek: ''Mesorion'') may be read immediately after each Hour (at least on the first day of the Fast). The Inter-Hours may also be read during Great Lent if there is to be no reading from the ''Ladder of Divine Ascent'' at the Little Hours. The Inter-Hours follow the same general outline as the Little Hours, except they are shorter.
==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Canonical Hours]]
{{catholic}}, s.v., [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13747c.htm Sext]
{{LiturgicalHours}}
[[Category:Liturgy of the Hours]]
[[Category:Christian liturgy, rites, and worship services]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholicism]]
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