Everything about Compline totally explained
Compline (; also
Complin,
Night Prayer,
Prayers at the End of the Day) is the final church service (or
Office) of the day in the
Christian tradition of
canonical hours. The English word
Compline is derived from the
Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the
6th century by
St. Benedict in his
Rule (
Regula Benedicti; hereafter, RB), in Chapters
16
,
17,
18, and
42, and he even uses the verb
complere to signify Compline: "
Omnes ergo in unum positi compleant" ("All having assembled in one place, let them say Compline"); "
et exuentes a completorio" ("and, after going out from Compline...") (RB, Chap. 42).
Roman Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox,
Anglican,
Lutheran, and certain other Christian denominations with
liturgical traditions prescribe Compline services. Compline tends to be a contemplative Office that emphasizes spiritual peace. In many
monasteries it's the custom to begin the "
Great Silence" after Compline, during which the whole community, including guests, observe silence throughout the night until the morning service the next day.
Historical development
» This section incorporates information from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917. References to psalms follow the numbering system of the Septuagint, as said in the Latin of the Vulgate.
The origin of Compline has given rise to considerable discussion among liturgists. In the past, general opinion (including Bäumer and Batiffol) ascribed the origin of this Hour to
St. Benedict, in the beginning of the
6th century. But
Jules Pargoire and, later still, A. Vandepitte oppose this opinion and seek a more ancient origin for this Hour.
A text in Callinicus (between
447 and
450), first introduced in Father Pargoire's argument, informs us that between
Vespers and the
Night Office there was celebrated in the
East a canonical Hour called in this text
prothypnia, because it preceded the first sleep, being nothing other than what the
Greeks today call
apodeipnon, on account of the meal it follows (see
Compline in the East, below). However, in the thirty-seventh question of his
Great Asketikon (
Long Rules),
St. Basil the Great, also, speaks of an intermediate Hour between Vespers and the
nightly Office. Father Pargoire therefore disputes the assertion that St. Benedict was the originator of Compline, being rather disposed to trace its source to St. Basil.
In the article mentioned above, Father Vandepitte confirms these conclusions; nevertheless he states, in the clearest terms, that it wasn't in
Cæsarea in
375, but in his retreat in
Pontus (
358-
362), that Basil established Compline, which Hour didn't exist prior to his time, that is, until shortly after the middle of the
4th century. Dom Plaine also traced the source of Compline back to the 4th century, finding mention of it in a passage in
Eusebius and in another in
St. Ambrose, and also in
John Cassian. These passages have been critically examined, and Fathers Pargoire and Vandepitte have proved that before St. Basil's time the custom of reciting Compline was unknown.
At any rate, even if these texts don't express all that Dom Plaine says they do, at least they bear witness to the private custom of saying a prayer before retiring to rest. If this wasn't the canonical Hour of Compline, it was certainly a preliminary step towards it.
The same writers reject the opinion of Ladeuze and Dom Besse, both of whom believe that Compline had a place in the Rule of
St. Pachomius, which would mean that it originated still earlier in the 4th century.
It isn't necessary to enter into this discussion, but it might be possible to conciliate these different sentiments by stating that, if it be an established fact that St. Basil instituted and organized the Hour of Compline for the
East, as
St. Benedict did for the
West, there existed as early as the days of
St. Cyprian and
Clement of Alexandria the custom of reciting a prayer before sleep, in which practice we find the most remote origin of our Compline.
Compline in the West
Prior to Vatican II
But let the result of this discussion be what it may, it can't be denied that St. Benedict invested the Hour of Compline with the liturgical character and arrangement which were preserved in the
Benedictine Order, and almost completely adopted by the
Roman Church, It is hardly to be believed, as Dom Plaine maintains, that the Hour of Compline, at least such as it existed in the Roman
Breviary at his time, antedated the
Benedictine Office. In default of other proof, it may be noted that the Benedictine Office gives evidence of a less advanced liturgical condition, in that it consists of a few very simple elements.
Saint Benedict first gave the Office the basic structure by which it has come to be celebrated in the West: three
psalms (4, 90, and 133) to be said without
anthems, the
hymn, the lesson, the versicle
Kyrie eleison, the
benediction, and the dismissal (RB, Chaps. 17 and 18).
The
Roman Office of Compline came to be richer and more complex. To the simple Benedictine
psalmody—modified, however, by the insertion of a fourth psalm, "
In te Domine speravi" (Psalm 30)—it added the solemn introduction of a benediction with a reading (based perhaps on the spiritual reading which, in the Rule of St. Benedict, precedes Compline; RB, Chap. 42), and the confession and absolution of faults.
But what endows the Roman Compline with a distinctive character and greater solemnity is, to say nothing of the ending, the addition of the beautiful response,
In manus tuas, Domine ("Into Thy hands, O Lord ..."), with the evangelical
canticle,
Nunc Dimittis, and its
anthem, which is particularly characteristic.
The Hour of Compline, such as it appeared in the Roman
Breviary prior to the Second Vatican Council, may be divided into several parts, viz. the beginning or introduction, the
psalmody, with its usual accompaniment of
anthems, the
hymn, the
capitulum, the response, the
evangelical canticle, the prayer, and the
benediction.
By way of liturgical variety, the service of
initium noctis may also be studied in the
Celtic Liturgy, such as it's read in the
Antiphonary of Bangor, its plan being set forth by Warren and by Bishop (see
Bibliography, below).
Current Usage
In the current
Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Compline is divided as follows: introduction, brief
examination of conscience and penitential rite, a
hymn,
psalmody with accompanying
antiphons,
scriptural reading, the responsory, the
Canticle of Simeon, concluding prayer, and
benediction. The final
antiphon to the
Blessed Virgin Mary (
Salve Regina, etc.) is an essential part of the Office.
Compline in the East
Compline (
Greek:
Apodeipnon;
Slavonic:
Povecheriye; literally, "after-supper" prayer) in the
Eastern Orthodox and
Greek-Catholic Churches takes two distinct forms: Small Compline and Great Compline. The two versions are quite different in length.
At Compline (whether Small or Great), a
Canon to the
Theotokos in the Tone of the Week will normally be read (these Canons will be found in the
Octoechos). Services to
saints in the
Menaion that, for one reason or another, can't be celebrated on the day assigned to them, may be chanted on the nearest convenient day at Compline. In such cases, the Canon for the Saint would be read together with the Canon to the
Theotokos, followed by the
Stichera to the saint from
Vespers. There are also particular days (such as certain
Forefeasts, Afterfeasts, and days during the
Pentecostarion) that have special Canons for Compline composed for them.
The Office always ends with a mutual asking of forgiveness. In some traditions, most notably among the
Russians, Evening Prayers (for example, Prayers Before Sleep) will be read near the end of Compline. It is an ancient custom, practiced to this day on the
Holy Mountain and in other monasteries, for everyone present at the end of Compline to venerate the
Relics and
Icons in the church, and receive the priest's blessing.
Small Compline
Small Compline is served on most nights of the year (for example, those nights on which Great Compline isn't served). On the eves of Sundays and feasts with
All-Night Vigil, Compline may be either read privately or suppressed altogether. Among the Greeks, who don't normally hold an All-Night Vigil on Saturday evenings, Compline is said as normal.
The service is composed of three Psalms (50, 69, 142), the
Small Doxology, the
Nicene Creed, the Canon followed by
Axion Estin, the
Trisagion,
Troparia for the day,
Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of the Hours, the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the Monk. Then the mutual forgiveness and final blessing by the Priest. After this, there's a
Litany and the veneration of Icons and Relics.
Great Compline
Great Compline is a penitential office which is served on the following occasions:
Unlike Small Compline, Great Compline has portions of the service which are chanted by the Choir and during Lent the
Prayer of St. Ephraim is said with prostrations. During the First Week of Great Lent, the Great Canon of
Saint Andrew of Crete is divided into four portions and read on Monday through Thursday nights.
Due to the penitential nature of Great Compline, it isn't uncommon for the priest to hear
Confession during the service.
Great Compline is composed of three sections, each beginning with the call to prayer, "O come, let us worship...":
First Part » Psalms 4, 6, and 12; Glory..., etc.; Psalms 24, 30, 90; then the hymn "God is With Us" and troparia, the Creed, the hymn "O Most holy Lady Theotokos", the Trisagion and Troparia of the Day,
Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim..." and the Prayer of
St. Basil the Great.
Second Part » Psalms 50, 101, and the
Prayer of Manasses; the Trisagion, and Troparia of Repentance,
Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim..." and the Prayer of St. Mardarius.
Third Part » Psalms 69, 142, and the Small Doxology; then the Canon followed by
Axion Estin, the
Trisagion, the hymn "O Lord of Hosts, be with us...",
Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of the Hours, "More honorable than the cherubim....", the
Prayer of St. Ephraim, Trisagion, the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the Monk.
Then the mutual forgiveness. Instead of the normal final blessing by the Priest, all prostrate themseles while the priest reads a special prayer intercessory prayer. Then the Litany and the veneration of Icons and Relics.
Anglican Usage
In the
Anglican tradition, Compline was originally merged with
Vespers to form
Evening Prayer in the
Book of Common Prayer.
ECUSA's
Book of Offices of
1914, the
Church of England's proposed Prayer Book of 1928, and the
Anglican Church of Canada's Prayer Books of
1918 and
1959 restored a form of Compline to Anglican worship. Several contemporary liturgical texts, including the American
1979 Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Church of Canada's
Book of Alternative Services, and the Church of England's
Common Worship, provide modern forms of the service. The
Common Worship service consists of the opening sentences, the confession of sins, the psalms and other Bible lessons, and prayers, including a benediction. There are authorised alternatives for the days of the week and the seasons of the Christian year. Like
Mattins and Evensong, Compline can be led by a layperson.
Lutheran Usage
Among Lutherans, Compline has re-emerged as an alternative to Vespers. The Office of Compline is included in the various Lutheran books of worship and prayer books [alongwith Matins/Morning Prayer and Vespers/Evening Prayer]. Quite similar to Anglican use, Compline may be conducted by a layperson in Lutheran Churches.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Compline'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://compline.totallyexplained.com">Compline Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
