Liturgical innovation in 11th- and 12th-century constantinople: Hours and inter-hours in the evergetis Typikon, its 'daughters' and its 'Grand-Daughters'

Abstract

From the middle of the 11th century onwards the adoption of a new liturgical element, the inter-hours, and the communal performance of both hours and inter-hours on all days of the year were promoted as the hallmarks of monastic reform. The abbots of Evergetis monastery resisted this trend, most probably because they wished to leave space for individual expressions of worship. However, the pull of the reform discourse made it difficult to maintain such a position. This can be seen from the later adaptations of the Evergetis Typikon, which modify the text of their model by adding stipulations about communal performance of the hours and in most cases also of the inter-hours. Study of these adaptations further reveals that the Philanthropos Typikon was an adaptation of the Evergetis Typikon and in turn served as the model for the later rules of Kecharitomene and Machairas.