In the Russian tradition the Midnight Office is often preceded by Morning Prayers, or the Morning Prayers are incorporated in them, which otherwise would be said privately by the brethren in their cells. At the conclusion of the Midnight Office, just as at the end of Compline, it is traditional in many places for everyone present to venerate the [[icon]]s and [[relic]]s of the saints that are present in the [[temple]] (church building).

At the present time, the Midnight Office will take one of four forms, depending upon the particular day: (a) Weekdays, (b) Saturday, (c) Sunday, and (d) a unique form which is observed only on Holy Saturday as part of the Paschal Vigil. Holy Saturday is often the only time that the Midnight Office will be read in parishes.

==Holy Saturday==

On Great and [[Holy Saturday]], the Midnight Office takes a very particular form in which it is celebrated on only this one night of the year. It is the last office found in the liturgical book that contains the services of [[Great Lent]], the Lenten [[Triodion]]. The Office is read around the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]], a shroud embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial in the [[Sepulchre|Tomb]], which has been placed on a [[catafalque]] in the center of the church. After the Opening and Psalm 50, the Canon of Great Saturday is chanted (repeated from the Matins service the night before) as a reflection upon the meaning of Christ’s death and His [[Harrowing of Hell]]. During the last Ode of the Canon, the priest and deacon carry the epitaphios into the sanctuary and lay it upon the Altar, where it will remain throughout the Paschal season as a reminder of the burial cloth left in the [[Empty Tomb]] ({{bibleverse||John|20:5}}). Then a brief litany is read and the priest says the dismissal. All lights in the church are extinguished, and everyone waits in silence and darkness for the stroke of midnight, when the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection of Christ]] is to be proclaimed.

==Notes==