Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

, a diataxis (διάταξις, 'order'; plural ''diataxeis'') is a guidebook for the service of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

. The term is sometimes applied to similar books for

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

Orthros ''Orthros'' ( Greek: , meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") or ''Oútrenya'' ( Slavonic Оўтреня), in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices (church service ...

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

s. It corresponds to the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ordo ''Ordo'' (Latin "order, rank, class") may refer to: * A musical phrase constructed from one or more statements of a rhythmic mode pattern and ending in a rest * Big O notation in calculation of algorithm computational complexity * Orda (organizati ...

'' and ''

directorium "''Directorium''" is a Latin word denoting a guide. In the later Middle Ages it was specially applied to Catholic liturgical guides for praying the Divine Office and Holy Mass. Early history For example, in the early fifteenth century Clement May ...

''. Diataxeis consist of

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th cen ...

s to accompany the

Euchologion The Euchologion (Greek: ; Slavonic: Трeбникъ, ''Trebnik''; ro, Euhologiu/Molitfelnic) is one of the chief liturgical books of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, containing the portions of the services which are sai ...

(prayer book) and guide the officiant. They originated in the tenth century, but the earliest surviving examples date to the twelfth. The diataxis for the

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a Byzantine Rite liturgical service which is performed on the weekdays of Great Lent wherein communion is received from Gifts (the Body and Blood of Christ) that are sanctified (consecrated) in advance, ...

attributed to Theodore of Stoudios (died 826) is not authentic. The diataxis of Philotheos Kokkinos became the authoritative one during his patriarchate (1364–1376). The term diataxis is sometimes applied to the

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; gr, , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic, Slavonic: Тvпико́нъ ''Typikonə'' or Оуставъ, ''ustavə'') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the By ...

and also to wills and inventories. ''Diataxis'' is also the title of one of the works of Stephen of Thebes. The chapters of the ''Taktika'' of Leo the Wise, a military treatise, are called diataxeis.Shaun Tougher, ''The Reign of Leo VI (886–912): Politics and People'' (Brill, 1997), p. 169.

References

{{EasternCatholic-stub Eastern Christian liturgy