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thanksgiving is prescribed for its season and by law, and has been shown to be necessary for our life according to both nature and reason, the appointed times of prayer in the brotherhoods, which we have necessarily selected, are not to be overlooked, since each has its own particular reminder of the good things from God: the morning, so that the first movements of the soul, and of the mind, may be offerings to God, and that we take up no other care, before we have been gladdened by the thought of God, as it is written: I remembered God, and was gladdened; nor move the body to work, before we have done what is said, that I will pray to thee, O Lord; and in the morning thou shalt hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before thee, and will look up; and again at the third hour one must rise for prayer, and gather the brotherhood, even if they happen to have been dispersed to different tasks; and having been reminded of the gift of the Spirit, which was given to the apostles at the third hour, all are to worship with one accord, so that they too may become worthy of receiving sanctification, and ask for guidance and teaching from him for what is profitable, according to the one who said: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me; cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me; restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and establish me with thy guiding spirit; and elsewhere: Thy good spirit shall lead me in a level land; and so again to take up their work. And if some who are living farther away are left behind because of the nature of their work or location, they must necessarily fulfill there each of the things commonly agreed upon, without making any distinction; because Where two or three are gathered together, says the Lord, in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And at the sixth hour, in imitation of the saints, we have judged prayer to be necessary, of those who say: Evening, and morning, and at noon I will declare and tell, and he shall hear my voice; and so as to be delivered 31.1016 from mishap and the noon-day demon, while the ninetieth psalm is also being said; The ninth hour has been handed down to us by the apostles themselves in the Acts as necessary for prayer, which relates that Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. And when the day is completed, thanksgiving for the things given to us or accomplished by us in it, and confession of things omitted, whether a voluntary or involuntary, or even perhaps a hidden transgression has occurred, either in words, or in deeds, or in the heart itself, for all of which we propitiate God through prayer. For the examination of past things is of great benefit for not falling into the same things again. Therefore it says: The things you say in your hearts, be sorry for on your beds. And again, as night begins, the petition that our rest be without stumbling and free from fantasies; the ninetieth psalm also being necessarily said at this hour. And Paul and Silas have handed down midnight to us as necessary for prayer, as the history of the Acts shows, saying: And at midnight Paul and Silas were praising God with hymns; and the Psalmist, saying: At midnight I arose to give thee thanks for the judgments of thy righteousness. And again one must get up for prayer, anticipating the morning, so as not to be overtaken by the day in sleep and in bed, according to the one who said: My eyes have anticipated the morning watch, that I might meditate on thy words. None of which times should be overlooked by those who have chosen to live heedfully for the glory of God and of his Christ. And I reckon the difference and variety in the prayers and psalmody at the designated hours to be useful, also for this reason, that in uniformity the soul often somehow grows weary, and

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καιρῷ εὐχαρι στία καὶ νόμῳ προστέτακται, καὶ ἀναγκαία ἡμῶν τῇ ζωῇ δέδεικται κατά τε φύσιν καὶ λόγον, παρορᾶσθαι δεῖ τοὺς διατετυπωμένους καιροὺς τῶν προσευχῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀδελφότησιν, οὓς ἀναγκαίως ἐξελεξάμεθα, ἑκάστου ἰδίαν τινὰ ὑπόμνησιν τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθῶν ἔχοντος· τὸν μὲν ὄρθρον, ὥστε τὰ πρῶτα κινήματα τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ τοῦ νοῦ, ἀναθήματα εἶναι Θεοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον ἀναλαμβάνειν εἰς φροντίδα, πρὶν ἢ τῇ παρὰ Θεοῦ ἐννοίᾳ ἐνευφρανθῆναι, καθὼς γέγραπται· Ἐμνήσθην τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ηὐφράν θην· μηδὲ σῶμα κινῆσαι πρὸς ἐργασίαν, πρὶν ποιῆ σαι τὸ εἰρημένον, ὅτι Πρὸς σὲ προσεύξομαι, Κύ ριε· καὶ τὸ πρωὶ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου· τὸ πρωὶ παραστήσομαί σοι, καὶ ἐπόψομαι· πά λιν δὲ κατὰ τὴν τρίτην ὥραν εἰς τὴν προσευχὴν ἀν ίστασθαι, καὶ ἐπισυνάγειν τὴν ἀδελφότητα, κἂν τύ χωσιν ἄλλοι πρὸς ἄλλα ἔργα μεμερισμένοι· καὶ ὑπο μνησθέντας τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος δωρεᾶς, τῆς κατὰ τὴν τρίτην ὥραν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις δεδομένης, προσκυ νῆσαι πάντας ὁμοθυμαδὸν, εἰς τὸ ἀξίους γενέσθαι καὶ αὐτοὺς τῆς ὑποδοχῆς τοῦ ἁγιασμοῦ, καὶ αἰτοῦν τας τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ ὁδηγίαν καὶ διδασκαλίαν πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον, κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα· Καρδίαν καθαρὰν κτίσον ἐν ἐμοὶ, ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ πνεῦμα εὐθὲς ἐγ καίνισον ἐν τοῖς ἐγκάτοις μου· μὴ ἀποῤῥίψῃς με ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμά σου τὸ ἅγιον μὴ ἀντανέλῃς ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ἀπόδος μοι τὴν ἀγαλλίασιν τοῦ σωτηρίου σου, καὶ πνεύ ματι ἡγεμονικῷ στήριξόν με· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· Τὸ Πνεῦμά σου τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὁδηγήσει με ἐν γῇ εὐ θείᾳ· καὶ οὕτω πάλιν τῶν ἔργων ἔχεσθαι. Κἂν ποῤῥωτέρω δέ που διὰ τὴν τῶν ἔργων ἢ τῶν τόπων φύσιν διάγοντες ἀπολειφθῶσι, πληροῦν ἀναγκαίως ὀφείλουσιν ἐκεῖ ἕκαστα τὰ κοινῇ δόξαν τα, μηδὲν διακρινόμενοι· ὅτι Ὅπου ἂν ὦσι δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι, φησὶν ὁ Κύριος, εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. Ἐν δὲ τῇ ἕκτῃ ὥρᾳ κατὰ μίμησιν τῶν ἁγίων ἀναγκαίαν εἶναι τὴν προσευχὴν ἐκρίναμεν, τῶν λεγόντων· Ἑσπέρας καὶ πρωὶ καὶ μεσημβρίας διηγήσομαι καὶ ἀπαγγελῶ, καὶ εἰσακούσεται τῆς φωνῆς μου· καὶ ὥστε ῥυσθῆ 31.1016 ναι ἀπὸ συμπτώματος καὶ δαιμονίου μεσημβρινοῦ, ἅμα καὶ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τοῦ ἐνενηκοστοῦ λεγομένου· Ἡ δὲ ἐννάτη παρ' αὐτῶν ἡμῖν τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν ἀναγκαία εἰς προσευχὴν παραδέδο ται ἱστορούσαις, ὅτι Πέτρος καὶ Ἰωάννης ἀν έβαινον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν Ἐπὶ τὴν ὥραν τῆς προσευχῆς τὴν ἐννάτην. Συμπληρωθείσης δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας, ἡ εὐχαριστία περὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ δεδομένων ἡμῖν ἢ κατ ωρθωμένων ἡμῖν, καὶ τῶν παρεθέντων ἡ ἐξ αγόρευσις, εἴτε ἑκούσιον, εἴτε ἀκούσιον, εἴτε που καὶ λανθάνον πλημμέλημα γέγονεν, ἢ ἐν ῥήμασιν, ἢ ἐν ἔργοις, ἢ κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν καρδίαν, περὶ πάντων ἐξιλεουμένων ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν Θεόν. Μέγα γὰρ ὄφελος ἡ ἐπίσκεψις τῶν παρελθόντων πρὸς τὸ μὴ τοῖς ὁμοίοις αὖθις περιπεσεῖν. ∆ιό φησιν· Ἃ λέγετε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐπὶ ταῖς κοί ταις ὑμῶν κατανύγητε. Καὶ πάλιν, τῆς νυκτὸς ἀρχομένης, ἡ αἴτησις τοῦ ἀπρόσκοπον ἡμῖν καὶ φαντασιῶν ἐλευθέραν ὑπάρξαι τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν· λεγομένου καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἀναγκαίως τοῦ ἐνενηκοστοῦ ψαλμοῦ. Τὸ δὲ μεσονύκτιον Παῦλος καὶ Σίλας ἡμῖν ἀναγκαῖον εἰς προσευχὴν παραδεδώκασιν, ὡς ἡ τῶν Πράξεων ἱστορία παρίστησι, λέγουσα· Κατὰ δὲ τὸ μεσονύ κτιον Παῦλος καὶ Σίλας ὕμνουν τὸν Θεόν· καὶ ὁ Ψαλμῳδὸς λέγων· Μεσονύκτιον ἐξεγειρόμην τοῦ ἐξομολογεῖσθαί σοι ἐπὶ τὰ κρίματα τῆς δι καιοσύνης σου. Καὶ πάλιν χρὴ προφθάσαντας τὸν ὄρθρον εἰς τὴν προσευχὴν διανίστασθαι, ὡς μὴ ἐν ὕπνῳ καὶ κοίτῃ ὑπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας καταληφθῆναι, κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα· Προέφθασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου πρὸς ὄρθρον τοῦ μελετᾷν τὰ λόγιά σου. Ὧν οὐδένα χρὴ καιρὸν τοῖς ἐπιτετηρημένως εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ προαιρουμένοις ζῇν παρορᾶσθαι. Χρη σιμεύειν δὲ λογίζομαι τὴν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς καὶ ψαλμῳδίαις κατὰ τὰς ἐπικεκριμένας ὥρας δια φοράν τε καὶ ποικιλίαν, καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι ἐν μὲν τῇ ὁμαλότητι πολλάκις που καὶ ἀκηδιᾷ ἡ ψυχὴ, καὶ