O Antiphons


The O Antiphons, also known as The great Os, are Magnificat antiphons used at Vespers of the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They are also used as the Alleluia verses on the same days in the post-1970 form of the Catholic Mass, although the Lectionary moves O Emmanuel to the 21st, uses Rex Gentium on both the 22nd and 23rd, and places O Oriens on the morning of the 24th, with authorization for the traditional ordering from the 17th through the 23rd.
They are referred to as the "O Antiphons" because the title of each one begins with the vocative particle "O".
Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:
In the Catholic Roman Rite, the O Antiphons are sung or recited at Vespers from 17 December to 23 December inclusive. Some Anglican churches also use them, either in the same way as modern Roman Catholics, or according to a medieval English usage.
The Catholic personal ordinariates use the seven O Antiphons as the Alleluia Verse at masses from the 17th to the 23rd, printed in Divine Worship: The Missal in strict traditional ordering, though the Alleluia verses ordered according to the Lectionary are allowed, adding O Virgo virginum as the Alleluia verse for masses in the morning of 24 December. The Great O Antiphons are also used as the Antiphon on the Magnificat at Evening Prayer. O Virgo Virginum is used as the Antiphon on the Benedictus at Morning Prayer on the 24th.
Use of the O Antiphons also occurs in many Lutheran churches. In the Book of Common Worship published by the Presbyterian Church, the antiphons can be read as a praise litany at Morning or Evening Prayer. The hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel is a lyrical paraphrase of these antiphons.

Origin

According to Fr. William P. Saunders, "The exact origin of the O Antiphons is not known. Boethius made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time . At the Benedictine Fleury Abbey, these antiphons were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community. By the eighth century, they are in use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome. The usage of the O Antiphons was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases, "Keep your O" and "The Great O Antiphons" were common parlance. One may thereby conclude that in some fashion the O Antiphons have been part of our liturgical tradition since the very early Church."

Acrostic "Ero Cras"

The first letters of the titles, from last to first, appear to form a Latin acrostic which translates to "Tomorrow, I will be ", mirroring the theme of the antiphons. Father Saunders wrote, "According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one - Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia - the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, "Tomorrow, I will come". Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, Tomorrow, I will come. So the O Antiphons not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion."
However, Martin Connell, a professor of theology, argues that the antiphons were not deliberately arranged this way. "here is little or no support in the sources that this is anything more than a coincidence. Such a cryptic medium is not a common quality of liturgical practice and theology. Moreover, the number of O Antiphons varied from church to church and religious community to community, and those without ERO CRAS did not fashion their antiphons to construct a cryptic message....n the whole of the liturgical tradition there has been no tradition of such a labyrinthine way of mediating what God communicates to humanity in his Son....The encrypted message that he will 'come tomorrow' is not characteristic of how the church brings its worship traditions to light."
A number of other antiphons were found in various medieval breviaries.

Analysis

The importance of the "O Antiphons" is twofold. First, each one is a title for the Messiah. Secondly, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. The Latin antiphons are from the Breviarium Romanum. The English versions, which are not always literal translations of the Latin, are from the Church of England's Common Worship liturgy. Biblical quotations are from the NRSV.

O Sapientia

Latin:
English:
Isaiah had prophesied:
Also compare and
This prophecy is also relevant in that it describes the Messiah as "coming forth from the mouth of the Most High", which is very significant in light of the Christian doctrine, rooted in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, according to which Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the Incarnate Word of God the Father.

O Adonai

Latin:
English:
Isaiah had prophesied:
Also compare and

O Radix Jesse

Latin:
English:
Isaiah had prophesied:
Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem. Also compare, and.

O Clavis David

Latin:
English:
Isaiah had prophesied:
Latin:
English:
The phrase O Oriens comes from Zach. 3: 8: τὸν δοῦλόν μου Ἀνατολήν and servum meum Orientem. This should be compared with the Hebrew tzemach. Isaiah had prophesied:
Also compare and or Malachi 3:20

O Rex Gentium

Latin:
English:
See Haggai 2:8: Et movebo omnes gentes, et veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus. Compare the Greek πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.
Isaiah had prophesied:
Also compare and

O Emmanuel

Latin:
English:
Isaiah had prophesied:
.

Alternative English usage

Although the antiphons and dates shown above have been fairly universally recognised throughout western Christendom, an alternative English medieval practice arose of moving all of the antiphons forwards by one day and adding another antiphon on 23 December, with the acrostic thus becoming Vero cras, "truly, tomorrow". This is the antiphon O Virgo virginum, with the following text:

O Virgo Virginum

Latin:
English:
Given the English origins of this alternative, it has traditionally been the version used in the Church of England until recent times, and is the version printed in traditional Church of England liturgical sources including the English Hymnal and New English Hymnal. From 2000, however, the Church of England appears to have taken an official step away from English medieval practice towards the more widely spread custom, as Common Worship makes provision for the sevenfold version of the antiphons, and not the eightfold version.
This additional antiphon also appears in the Graduale of the Premonstratensian Order and it is still used by those monasteries.
, used in the Personal Ordinariates uses O Virgo virginum for the Alleluia verse of the morning mass on December 24th. The Personal Ordinariates also use O Virgo Virginum as the Antiphon on the Benedictus at Morning Prayer on the 24th.

Antiphons on the Benedictus

Two more antiphons which also relate to the theme of the anticipated birth of Christ accompany the O Antiphons at Lauds on December 21 and 23. The first, due to the Feast of St. Thomas falling on December 21, is traditionally used instead in the commemoration of the feria. With the transference of the Feast of St. Thomas to July 3 in the revised calendar, these are again used in the Liturgy of the Hours as antiphons. The Monday through Saturday which fall on the days of the O Antiphons also have their own antiphons for the psalms of Lauds, rather than the usual weekday antiphons.

December 21

Nolite timere: quinta enim die veniet ad vos Dominus noster.

December 23

Ecce completa sunt omnia, quae dicta sunt per Angelum de Virgine Maria.

Musical settings