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The '''Midnight Office''' (Greek, ''Mesonyktikon''; [[Church Slavonic|Slavonic]], ''Polúnoschnitsa'') is part of the [[Daily Cycle]] of services in the Orthodox Church. The office originated as a purely [[monasticism|monastic]] devotion inspired by [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20119:62;&version=9; Psalm 118:62 (119:62 KJV)], "At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness," and also by the Gospel [[parable ]] of the Wise and Foolish Virgins [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:1-13%20;&version=9; (Matthew 25:1-13)].<ref>Throughout this article, the Septuagint numbering of the Psalms is used.</ref>
The name of the Midnight Office is sometimes translated as "Nocturns," a term borrowed from the Western liturgical tradition; but it should be noted that in the West "Nocturn" refers to a division within the completely different office of Matins.
