It is clear that the explanation given by Avitus is correct. For since the conclusion of every session and assembly must be officially announced with words such as, “The session is at an end,” so in church, where a still greater number of men meet together, it is necessary to make known to them the conclusion of divine service. Such was the custom of the ancient Romans at their sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and the Christians naturally did the same. Tertullian speaks already of a _dimissio plebis_,[847] and we find the same thing in the Greek liturgies, although the formulæ vary in some respects from that in use among the Latins.[848] It was not, however, the Mass which was first called by this name, but the other services of the ancient Church—the Psalmody, or, in other words, the Canonical Hours. From the striking account given by the so-called Silvia,[849] we can see how important these services were and what a prominent position they occupied in the worship of the Church. “Every day, in the early morning, the doors of the church were opened, and all the monks and nuns, as well as many of the laity, assembled, and until sunrise, sing hymns and psalms, in alternate choirs, along with the antiphons and prayers. About sunrise they begin to say the ‘_matutinas ymnos_.’ The bishop arrives with the clergy and sings the prayer within the chancel. Then he comes forth and blesses the people one by one. _Et sic fit missa_,” _i.e._ so the service ends, which comprised Nocturns, Lauds, and Prime, as they would now be called. The same ceremonies were observed at the Little Hours which followed later. Vespers were performed with more ceremony; at the conclusion the deacon directed the faithful to bow their heads in order to receive the bishop’s blessing. Again the pilgrim ends her description with the words, “_Et sic fit missa_.”