Sitz zm Leben

Abstract Some religious groups recognize certain occasions as particularly appropriate for prayer. The Koran, for example, enjoins Muslims to face Mecca and pray twice a day, at sunrise and sunset. This sacred duty, called Salat, is considered to be one of the Five Pillars of Islamic faith.1 Christian worshippers are enjoined to attend Matins and Evensong, whilst those in monastic orders observe seven daily periods of prayer. Such prayers as these might be called ‘hourglass prayers‘. In addition to regularly recurrent prayers, there are other, rarer, occasions when prayer is thought proper. The Book of Common Prayer sets forth prayers which may be used in times of famine, drought, or other times of need. Such prayers, whilst not likely to recur frequently, are none the less provided for in the overall liturgical sheme of things, and we might call them ‘situational‘. In addition to these, any Christian, Muslim, or Jew may pray to God on sundry occasions as necessary, for example for the health of a sick relative. Such prayers obviously differ from those already mentioned in that they are unpredictable and form no part of an accepted syllabus. These we might call ‘adventitious‘ prayers. In this section, we shall consider whether Greek prayer falls into such categories or not.