About the Liturgy 

Advent Processions have been offered at Saint Mark’s Cathedral for many years, though known by different names: Advent Vespers, Advent Lessons and Carols, etc. Peter R. Hallock, organist and choirmaster of Saint Mark’s from 1951 to 1991, and other creative individuals conceived a liturgy using the Great “O” Antiphons as a framework, which was presented for the first time at Saint Mark’s in 1986. Today, the form of this liturgy created here is used in churches around the world.

Materials and resources for this liturgy, including order of service, suggested readings, graphics and banner designs, etc, can be purchased at ionianarts.com

Music composed by Peter Hallock expressly for this liturgy—including both of his two settings of the seven "O" antiphons themselves, along with the processional anthems Let my prayer come up as the incense, From lands that see the sun arise, and Behold, a mighty prophet—can be purchased at the website of the Peter Hallock Institute.

About the "O" Antiphons 

The seven “Great ‘O’ Antiphons” which provide the framework for this liturgy were originally sung as a part of the daily evening prayers of the Western church before and after the Magnificat, in the Octave before Christmas—December 17 to 23—with one antiphon being appointed for each evening. Each of the seven antiphons addresses the Messiah by one of his titles, using images drawn from the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible, and concludes with a petition beginning “Come!” and relating to the title.

The antiphons date back at least to the reign of Charlemagne (771–814), and they may be significantly older. At least two—and up to five—additional antiphons were later added to the original seven. However, it is clear that these seven were designed as a group, since their initial letters (ignoring the “O”) spell out, in reverse, the acrostic ERO CRAS, that is, “I shall be [with you] tomorrow.”

By the later Middle Ages, the antiphons were sometimes put together to form the verses of a single hymn, with the addition of a refrain. The earliest known metrical and rhymed paraphrase of the antiphons appeared (in Latin) in the early 18th century, but it was not until 1851—over one thousand years after the creation of the antiphons themselves—that an English translation of that text was paired with an unrelated 15th-century tune, creating the hymn we know today as O come, O come, Emmanuel.

The processional anthem Let my prayer come up as the incense, composed by Peter Hallock for the "O" Antiphons liturgy in 1987, one year after the creation of the liturgy in its current form in 1986. It was written expressly to be sung in the nave of Saint Mark's by the Compline Choir (in procession) and the Cathedral Choir (in the loft) at the beginning of the service. Although it is not used every year, it has still become one of the compositions most associated with the "O" Antiphons liturgy at Saint Mark's. This film version was created by filmmaker and parishioner David Wild during the covid-19 pandemic for the online-only "O" Antiphons liturgy in November, 2020.