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The O Antiphons 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 Catholic Mass. They are referred to as the "O Antiphons" because the title of each one begins with the interjection "O". Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are: * December 17: O Sapientia (''O Wisdom'') * December 18: O Adonai (''O Lord'') * December 19: O Radix Jesse (''O Root of Jesse'') * December 20: O Clavis David (''O Key of David'') * December 21: O Oriens (''O Dayspring'') * December 22: O Rex Gentium (''O King of the nations'') * December 23: O Emmanuel (''O With Us is God'') In the Roman Catholic tradition, the O Antiphons are sung or recited at Vespers from December 17 to December 23 inclusive. Some Anglican churches (e.g. the Church of England) also use them, either in the same way as modern Roman Catholics, or according to a medieval English usage (see below). Use of the O Antiphons also occurs in many Lutheran churches. In the Book of Common Worship published by the Presbyterian Church (USA), the antiphons can be read as a praise litany at Morning or Evening Prayer. The hymn ''O come, O come, Emmanuel'' (in Latin, ''Veni Emmanuel'') is a lyrical paraphrase of these antiphons.〔 〕 The first letters of the titles taken backwards form a Latin acrostic of "Ero Cras" which translates to "Tomorrow, I will be ()", mirroring the theme of the antiphons. ==Origin== According to Fr. William Saunders:〔Saunders, William, (What are the "O Antiphons"? ), CatholicEducation.org, retrieved 30 November 2009.〕 However, the idea that the antiphons were deliberately arranged this way is questionable. "Ero cras" does not actually meant "tomorrow I will come," but the less clear "tomorrow I will be," ("I will be there"?). As Martin Connell has argued, "there is little or no evidence in the sources that this is anything more than a coincidence." There is little other evidence for such cryptic puzzles in liturgical materials, and the number and arrangement of the O Antiphons varied widely from time to time and from place to place.〔Martin Connell, ''Eternity Today: On the Liturgical Year'' Vol. 1. Continuum, 2006. p. 73.〕 A number of other antiphons were found in various medieval breviaries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「O Antiphons」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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