January 13th - Octave Day of the Epiphany

The Octave Day of the Epiphany is of double rite and its liturgical colour, like that of the feast and the days within the Octave, is white. When the Epiphany and its Octave day fall on a Sunday the Sunday within the Octave is anticipated on the Saturday. Yesterday, in the Office of the anticipated Sunday the lessons in the first nocturn were from the sixteenth chapter of Romans, Commendo autem.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Ante luciferum genitus etc were sung, doubled with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116 as were sung as first Vespers of the Epiphany. The Office hymn was Hostis Herodes impie. The collect is proper to the Octave Day. After the collect a commemoration was sung of the anticipated Sunday within the Octave.

At Mattins the invitatory is Christus apparuit nobis, Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Hostis Herodes impie. The special arrangement being for the feast only. The antiphons Afferte Domino etc are sung, doubled, with the psalms of the feast. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Epistle to the Corinthians, Paulus vocatus Apostolus. These are significantly longer than those found in the later editions. The first responsory is Hodie. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon of St. Gregory the Theologian. Again, these are significantly longer than those found in the post-Clementine books. In the third nocturn the homily if from St. Augustine on St. John's Gospel. Yet again, these are longer than those found in the later books. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Ante luciferum genitus etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62-66, Benedicite & 148-149-150. The Office hymn is O sola magnarum urbium. The collect is proper to the Octave Day Deus, cujus Unigenitus.

At the Hours the hymns have the Doxology and melody of the Epiphany. The antiphons and psalms are sung as on the feast but with the proper collect of the Octave Day.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary is the same as on the feast except the orations and Gospel are proper. The Gloria is sung, the Creed is sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Epiphany.

At Vespers the antiphons Ante luciferum genitus etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 113. The Office hymn is, again, Hostis Herodes impie. After the collect of the Octave Day commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers and of St. Felix.


Icon: Russian, 15th century, Wikipedia