Editing Antiphon (section)

== Greater Advent antiphons ==

{{Main|O Antiphons}}
[[Image:Meister der Braunschweig-Magdeburger Schule 001.jpg|thumb|120px|right|The [[Annunciation]]]]
The Greater Advent or O Antiphons are antiphons used at daily [[prayer]] in the evenings of the last days of [[Advent]] in various [[Christian liturgy|liturgical]] [[Christianity|Christian]] traditions.<ref>A. Nocent and M. J. O'Connell, ''The Liturgical Year'' (Liturgical Press, 1977), p. 162.</ref> Each antiphon is a name of [[Jesus|Christ]], one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. In the [[Roman Catholic]] tradition, they are sung as antiphons to the [[Magnificat]] in [[Vespers]] from December 17 to December 23.<ref>A. Nocent and M. J. O'Connell (1977), ''Liturgical Year'', pp. 163-80.</ref> In the [[Church of England]] they have traditionally been used as antiphons to the Magnificat at [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)|Evening Prayer]].<ref>J. H. Blunt, ''The Annotated Book of Common Prayer: Being an Historical, Ritual, and Theological Commentary on the Devotional System of the Church of England'' (Rivingtons, 1866), p. 76.</ref> More recently they have found a place in primary liturgical documents throughout the Anglican Communion, including the [[Church of England]]'s ''[[Common Worship]]'' [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]]. Use of the O Antiphons was preserved in [[Lutheranism]] at the [[Protestant Reformation|German Reformation]], and they continue to be sung in Lutheran churches.<ref>C. B. Brown, ''Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation'' ([[Harvard University Press]], 2005), p. 61.</ref>