Vespers
Vespers is the Church’s evening service of prayer and praise. In the Orthodox Church, the liturgical day begins in the evening, following the Biblical pattern of creation: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).
Vespers begins with the beautiful evening Psalm 103 (104), which praises God as Creator:
“The sun knows its time for setting; Thou makest darkness, and it is night.”
As the day comes to an end, the Church gathers to give thanks to God for His creation and His mercy. Through the Psalms, prayers, hymns, and Scripture, Vespers leads us from the remembrance of creation and the fall of humanity toward the hope of salvation in Christ.
The hymns of Vespers also help us enter into the particular feast, saint, or event being celebrated by the Church. We are reminded that the Christian life is lived not simply by remembering what God has done in the past, but by entering into the life of Christ here and now.
Vespers is also a service of preparation. As we bring the day to its close, the Church teaches us to place ourselves in God’s hands and to look toward the new day that is coming. When Vespers is celebrated on the evening before the Divine Liturgy, it begins our preparation to gather together in worship and to receive the Holy Eucharist.
Vespers at St. Philip
For most of the year, Vespers is celebrated on Saturday evenings at 5:00 p.m. and lasts approximately 45 minutes. The schedule varies during different seasons of the Church year, so please check our Calendar for the current schedule.
Visitors are always welcome at Vespers. You do not need to be familiar with the service to attend. Come, listen, pray, and allow the Church’s evening prayer to bring the day to a peaceful close.