Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers. Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... It has been suggested that Ecclesia (Church) be merged into this article or section. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... A illuminated page from the Très Riches Heures showing the day for exchanging gifts from the month of January A Book of Hours is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. ...

In the West, canonical hours may also be called offices, since they refer to the official set of prayer of the Roman Catholic Church that is known variously as the Divine Office (from the Latin officium divinum meaning "divine service" or "divine duty"), and the Opus Dei (meaning in Latin, "Work of God"). The current official version of the hours in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church is called the Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: Liturgia horarum). Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time (also called offices), developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between prayers. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... The Liturgy of the Hours is usually recited in full in monastic communities. ...

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, and among Eastern Catholics, the canonical hours may be referred to as the "Divine Services", and the Book of Hours is called the Horologion (Greek: ῾Ωρολόγιον). There may be numerous small differences in practice according to jurisdiction; but the overall order is the same among eastern Christians who follow the Byzantine style of services (the usage among the Oriental Orthodox Churches will differ from the Byzantine in a number of ways). The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as: the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles, having maintained unbroken the link between its clergy and the Apostles by means of Apostolic Succession. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

The practice of daily prayers grew from the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at set times of the day: for example, in the Book of Acts, Peter and John visit the Temple for the afternoon prayers (Acts 3:1). Psalm 119:164 states: "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws." The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Names of John. ... A drawing of Ezekiels Visionary Temple from the Book of Ezekiel 40-47 The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ... Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. ...

This practice is believed to have been passed down through the centuries from the Apostles, with different practices developing in different places. As monasticism spread, the practice of specified hours and liturgical formats began to develop and become standardized. Around the year 484, Saint Sabbas began the process of recording the liturgical practices around Jerusalem. In 525, St. Benedict of Nursia wrote the first official western manual for praying the Hours. With the Cluniac reforms of the 11th century there was a new emphasis on liturgy and the canonical hours in the reformed Benedictine priories with the Abbey of Cluny at their head. The Holy See did not issue an official Roman breviary until the 11th century, as part of the reforms that were designed to bring all the variant usages of Christian churches in the West into conformity. Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the... The Order of Friars Minor is a major mendicant movement founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Events December 28 - Alaric II succeeds Euric as king of the Visigoths. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Events Bernicia settled by the Angles Ethiopia conquers Yemen The Daisan river, a tributary of the Euphrates, floods Edessa and within a couple of hours fills the entire city except for the highest parts. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Cluny nowadays The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of France, near Mâcon. ... Munichs city symbol celebrates its founding by Benedictine monks—the origin of its name A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... The abbey today The Abbey of Cluny (or Cluni, or Clugny) was founded on 2 September 909 by the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Auvergne, William I, who placed it under the immediate authority of Pope Sergius III. The Abbey and its constellation of dependencies soon came to exemplify... A breviary (from Latin brevis, short or concise) is a liturgical book containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially for priests, in the Divine Office (i. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Already well-established by the ninth century, these canonical offices consisted of eight daily prayer events and three (or four) nightly divisions (called "nocturns", "watches," or "vigils"). Building on the recitation of psalms and canticles from Scripture, the Church has added (and, at times, subtracted) hymns, hagiographical readings, and other prayers. (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south... Nocturns (Latin: Nocturni or Nocturna) are an ancient form of Christian night prayer. ... Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Hagiography is the study of saints. ...

The practice of observing canonical hours is maintained by many Churches, including the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican communion. The remainder of this article is divided into three sections: the Catholic usage, the Anglican usage, and the Orthodox usage. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Anglicanism is the term used to encapsulate...

Development of the offices

Judaism and the Early Church

As is noted above, the canonical hours stemmed from Jewish prayer. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelite priests to offer sacrifices of animals in the morning and evening (Exodus 29:38-29). Eventually, these sacrifices soon moved from the Tabernacle to the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem. During the Babylonian Exile, when the Temple was no longer in use, the first synagogues were established, and the services (at fixed hours of the day) of Torah readings, psalms, and hymns began to evolve. This "sacrifice of praise" began to be substituted for the sacrifices of animals. Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... The Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ( משכן Place of [Divine] dwelling). It was to be a portable central place of worship for the Hebrews from the time they left ancient Egypt following the Exodus, through the time of the Book of Judges when they were engaged in conquering... Artists depiction of Solomons court (Ingobertus, c. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. ... A synagogue (from Ancient Greek: , transliterated synagogē, assembly; Hebrew: beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: , shul; Ladino: , esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... “Tora” redirects here. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ...

After the people returned to Judea, the prayer services were incorporated into Temple worship as well. As time passed, the Jews began to be scattered across the Greco-Roman world in what is known as the Diaspora. By the time of the Roman Empire, the Jews (and eventually early Christians) began to follow the Roman system of conducting the business day in scheduling their times for prayer. In Roman cities, the bell in the forum rang the beginning of the business day at about six o'clock in the morning (Prime, the "first hour"), noted the day's progress by striking again at about nine o'clock in the morning (Terce, the "third hour"), tolled for the lunch break at noon (Sext, the "sixth hour"), called the people back to work again at about three o'clock in the afternoon (None, the "ninth hour"), and rang the close of the business day at about six o'clock in the evening (the time for evening prayer). Map of the southern Levant, c. ... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut גלות, exile, Yiddish: tfutses) is the expulsion of the Jewish people out of the Roman province of Judea. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... The Forum of Jerash, in Jordan. ... Prime is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office, said at 6 a. ... Terce is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of the almost all the Christian liturgies. ... Sext is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. ...

The first miracle of the apostles, the healing of the crippled man on the temple steps, occurred because Peter and John went to the Temple to pray (Acts 3:1). Also, one of the defining moments of the early Church, the decision to include Gentiles among the community of believers, arose from a vision Peter had while praying at noontime (Acts 10:9-49). Look up Peter, peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... John the Apostle (Greek Ιωάννης, see names of John) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. ... A Gentile refers to a non-Israelite; the word is derived from the Latin term gens (meaning clan or a group of families) and is often employed in the plural. ... Look up Peter, peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

As Christianity began to separate from Judaism, the practice of praying at fixed times continued. The early church was known to pray the Psalms (Acts 4:23-30), which has remained a part of the canonical hours and all Christian prayer since. By 60 AD, the Didache, the oldest known liturgical manual for Christians, recommended disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day; this practice found its way into the canonical hours as well. Pliny the Younger (63 - ca. 113), who was not a Christian himself, mentions not only fixed times of prayer by believers, but also specific services—other than the Eucharist—assigned to those times: “they met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity ... after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. .”^[1] Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Events Boudicca sacks London (approximate date). ... The Didache (, Koine Greek for Teaching[1]) is the common name of a brief early Christian treatise ( 70–160), containing instructions for Christian communities. ... Representation of the Sermon on the Mount The Lords Prayer in Swahili. ... Gayus Plinius Colonoscopy Caecilius Secundus (63 - ca. ... [edit] Events [edit] By place [edit] Roman Empire Vespasian becomes governor of Africa Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was restored to command after the Roman debacle at the Battle of Rhandeia, he invaded Armenia and defeated Tiridates II, who accepted Roman sovereignty, Parthia withdrew from the war. ... Events Trajan starts an expedition against Armenia. ...

By the second and third centuries, such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian wrote of the practice of Morning and Evening Prayer, and of the prayers at terce, sext, and none. The prayers could be prayed individually or in groups. By the third century, the Desert Fathers (the earliest monks), began to live out St. Paul's command to "pray without ceasing" (I_Thessalonians 5:17) by having one group of monks pray one fixed-hour prayer while having another group pray the next prayer. The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ... Origen Origen (Greek: Ōrigénēs, 185–ca. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ...

Middle Ages

As the format of unbroken fixed-hour prayer developed in the Christian monastic communities in the East and West, longer prayers soon grew, but the cycle of prayer became the norm in daily life in monasteries. By the fourth century, the characteristics of the canonical hours more or less took their present shape. For secular (non-monastic) clergymen and lay people, the fixed-hour prayers were by necessity much shorter. In many churches and basilicas staffed by monks, the form of the fixed-hour prayers was a hybrid of secular and monastic practice. Monastery of St. ...

In the East, the development of the Divine Services shifted from the area around Jerusalem to Constantinople. In particular, St. Theodore the Studite (ca. 758 - ca. 826) combined a number of influences from the Byzantine court ritual with monastic practices common in Asia Minor, and added thereto a number of hymns composed by himself and his brother Joseph (see Typicon for further details). Map of Constantinople. ... Theodore the Studite ( ca. ... Events End of the reign of Empress Koken of Japan; she is succeeded by Emperor Junnin. ... Events The Danish king accepts Christianity. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to... Typikon, Typicon. ...

In the West, St. Benedict in his famous Rule modeled his guidelines for the prayers on the customs of the basilicas of Rome. It was he who expounded the concept in Christian prayer of the inseparability of the spiritual life from the physical life. St. Benedict was known to have said "Orare est laborare, laborare est orare" ("To pray is to work, to work is to pray"). Thus, the fixed-hour prayers came to be known as the "Divine Office" (office coming from the Latin word for work). The Benedictines began to call the prayers the Opus Dei or "Work of God." This article is about Saint Benedict of Nursia, for other uses of the name Benedict see Benedict (disambiguation) Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. ... St Benedict of Nursia The Rule of St Benedict by Benedict of Nursia (fl. ... St. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The longest lasting of the western Catholic monastic orders, the Benedictine Order traces its origins to the adoption of the monastic life by St. ...

As the Divine Office grew more important in the life of the Church, the rituals became more elaborate. Soon, praying the Office began to require various books, such as a Psalter for the psalms, a lectionary to find the assigned Scripture reading for the day, a Bible to proclaim the reading, a hymnal for singing, etc. As parishes grew in the Middle Ages away from cathedrals and basilicas, a more concise way of arranging the hours was needed. So, a sort of list developed called the Breviary, which gave the format of the daily office and the texts to be used. The spread of breviaries eventually reached Rome, where Pope Innocent III extended its use to the Roman Curia. The Franciscans sought a one-volume breviary for its friars to use during travels, so the order adopted the Breviarium Curiae, but substituting the Gallican (French) Psalter for the Roman. The Franciscans gradually spread this breviary throughout Europe. Pope Nicholas III would then adopt the widely-used Franciscan breviary to be the breviary used in Rome. By the 14th century, the breviary contained the entire text of the canonical hours. Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings for Christian worship. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... See also hymn - a program to decrypt iTunes music files. ... A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... A cathedral is a religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican and some Lutheran churches, which serves as a bishops seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. ... A breviary (from Latin brevis, short or concise) is a liturgical book containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially for priests, in the Divine Office (i. ... Pope Innocent III (c. ... The Roman Curia — usually called the Vatican — is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... Franciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. ... A friar is a member of a religious mendicant order of men. ... A religious order may mean any of the following: // In Buddhist societies such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Tibet, a religious order is one of the strikingly large number of monastic orders of monks and nuns. ... A breviary (from Latin brevis, short or concise) is a liturgical book containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially for priests, in the Divine Office (i. ... The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of Christianity in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD... World map showing the location of Europe. ... . Nicholas III, né Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (Rome, ca. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ...

Roman Rite since the Council of Trent

Texts

Revision by Pope Pius V

The Council of Trent, in its final session on 4 December 1563 entrusted the reform of the Breviary to the Pope.^[2] On 9 July 1568, Pope Pius V, the successor of the Pope who closed the Council of Trent, promulgated an edition, known as the Roman Breviary, with his Apostolic Constitution Quod a nobis, imposing it in the same way in which, two years later, he imposed his Roman Missal and using language very similar to that in the bull Quo primum with which he promulgated the Missal, regarding, for instance, the perpetual force of its provisions, the obligation to use the promulgated text in all places, and the total prohibition of adding or omitting anything, declaring in fact: "No one whosoever is permitted to alter this letter or heedlessly to venture to go contrary to this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept, grant, indult declaration, will decree and prohibition. Should anyone, however, presume to commit such an act, he should know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul."^[3] The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... December 4th redirects here. ... Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... Saint Pius V, né Antonio Ghislieri, from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri (January 17, 1504 – May 1, 1572) was pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. ... An Apostolic constitution (Latin constitutio apostolica) is a very solemn decree issued by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Roman Missal (Missale Romanum) is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Latin rite of Mass. ... Quo Primum (from the first) is the name of an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull issued by Pope Pius V on 14 July 1570. ...

Further revision before the Second Vatican Council

Later Popes altered the Roman Breviary of Pope Pius V. Pope Clement VIII made changes that he made obligatory on 10 May 1602, 34 years after Pius V's revision. Pope Urban VIII made further changes, including "a profound alteration in the character of some of the hymns. Although some of them without doubt gained in literary style, nevertheless, to the regret of many, they also lost something of their old charm of simplicity and fervour."^[4] For the profound revision of the book by Pope Pius X see Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X. Pope Clement VIII (Fano, Italy, February 24, 1536 – March 3, 1605 in Rome), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from January 30, 1592 to March 3, 1605. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the year. ... Pope Urban VIII (April 1568 – July 29, 1644), born Maffeo Barberini, was Pope from 1623 to 1644. ... The Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X was promulgated by that Pope with the Apostolic Constitution Divino Afflatu of 1 November 1911. ...

Pope Pius XII also began reforming the Roman Breviary, allowing use of a new translation of the Psalms and establishing a special commission to study a general revision, with a view to which all the Catholic bishops were consulted in 1955. His successor, Pope John XXIII, made a further revision in 1960. The Venerable Pius XII, born Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Eugenio Pacelli (Rome, March 2, 1876 - October 9, 1958) served as the Pope from March 2, 1939 to 1958. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ),(Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

Revision following the Second Vatican Council

Following the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church's Roman Rite simplified the observance of the canonical hours and sought to make them more accessible to the laity, hoping to restore their character as the prayer of the entire Church. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ...

The Council itself abolished the office of Prime. In the succeeding revision, the character of Matins was changed so that it could be used at any time of the day as an office of Scriptural and hagiographical readings. Furthermore, the period over which the entire Psalter is recited has been expanded from one week to four.

What was called the Roman Breviary is now published under the name "Liturgy of the Hours" (Liturgia Horarum in Latin) in four volumes, arranged according to the four meteorological seasons of the year. Two English translations are in use. One, with the same title and four-volume arrangement as in the original Latin, is in use in the United States and some other countries. English-speaking countries in Europe and Oceania use a different translation published under the title "The Divine Office" and arranged in three volumes (I: Advent, Christmastide & Weeks 1-9 of the Year; II: Lent and Eastertide; III: Weeks of the Year 6-34). The Liturgy of the Hours is usually recited in full in monastic communities. ... World map exhibiting a common interpretation of Oceania; other interpretations may vary. ... Advent (from the Latin Adventus, implicitly coupled with Redemptoris, the coming of the Saviour) is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known as the season of Christmas. ... The Christmas season is a term that covers the time when two interconnected periods of celebration are held. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Western Christianity, Lent... Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Day and continues until Pentecost in the Christian liturgical calendar, thus spanning a total of seven weeks. ... Ordinary Time is a season of the Christian (especially the Catholic) liturgical calendar. ...

Extracts from these English translations (omitting in particular the Office of Readings) have also been published, including "Christian Prayer", based on the first, and "Daily Prayer", based on the second.

Current practice

Clergy are required by canon law to pray the entire Liturgy of the Hours each day. The practice among religious communities varies according to their rules and constitutions. The Second Vatican Council also exhorted the Christian laity to take up the practice, and as a result, many lay people have begun reciting portions of the Liturgy of the Hours. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ...

Current Roman Catholic usage focuses on three major hours and from two to four minor hours:

• Invitatory (not an hour properly called, but the introduction to the first hour said on the current day, whatever it be the Office of Readings or Morning Prayer).
• the Office of Readings (formerly Matins), major hour
• Morning prayer (Lauds), major hour
• Daytime prayer, which can be one or all of
  • Midmorning prayer (Terce)
  • Midday prayer (Sext)
  • Midafternoon prayer (None)
• Evening prayer (Vespers), major hour
• Night Prayer (Compline)

The Invitatory is a psalm, traditionally numbered 94 in the Septuagint or 95 in the Masoretic text , used to start Matins in the Divine Office. ... The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

The major hours

The major hours consist of the Office of Readings, Morning (or Lauds) and Evening Prayer (or Vespers). Lauds is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ...

The Office of Readings consists of:

• a hymn
• one or two long psalms divided into three parts
• a long passage from scripture, usually arranged so that in any one week, all the readings come from the same text
• a long hagiographical passage, such as an account of a saint's martyrdom, or a theological treatise commenting on some aspect of the scriptural reading, or a passage from the documents of the Second Vatican Council
• on nights preceding Sundays and feast days, the office may be expanded to a vigil by inserting three Old Testament canticles and a reading from the gospels
• the hymn Te Deum (on Sundays, solemnities, and feasts, except in Lent)
• the concluding prayer
• a short concluding verse (especially when prayed in groups)

The character of Morning Prayer is that of praise; of Evening Prayer, that of thanksgiving. Both follow the same format: In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. ...

• a hymn, composed by the Church
• two psalms, or one long psalm divided into two parts, and a scriptural canticle (taken from the Old Testament in the morning and the New Testament in the evening)
• a short passage from scripture
• a responsory, typically a verse of scripture, but sometimes liturgical poetry
• a canticle taken from the Gospel of Luke: the Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus) for morning prayer, and the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat) for evening prayer
• intercessions, composed by the Church
• the Lord's Prayer
• the concluding prayer, composed by the Church
• a blessing given by the priest or deacon leading Morning or Evening Prayer, or in the absence of clergy and in individual recitation, a short conclusion

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... A responsory is a type of chant in Christian liturgies that involves one section singing a respond, answered by another section singing a verse, then the respond is sung again by the first section, followed by a different verse from the second, et al. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Benedictus, given in Luke 1:68-79, is one of the three great canticles in the opening chapters of this Gospel, the other two being the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. ... The Visitation in the Book of Hours of the Duc of Berry For the David and the Giants album, see Magnificat (album) The Magnificat (also known as the Song of Mary) is a canticle frequently sung (or said) liturgically in Christian church services. ... Representation of the Sermon on the Mount The Lords Prayer in Swahili. ... . ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ...

The minor hours

The daytime hours follow a simpler format, like a very compact form of the Office of Readings: The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

• a hymn
• three short psalms, or, three pieces of longer psalms; in the daytime hours it is usual to begin one part of the longest psalm, psalm 119
• a very short passage of scripture, followed by a responsorial verse
• the concluding prayer
• a short concluding verse (especially when prayed in groups)

Night prayer has the character of preparing the soul for its passage to eternal life:

• an examination of conscience
• a hymn
• a psalm, or two short psalms, or simply Psalm 91
• a short reading from scripture
• the responsory In manus tuas, Domine (Into Your Hands, Lord)
• the Canticle of Simeon, Nunc dimittis, from the Gospel of Luke, framed by the antiphon Protect us, Lord
• a concluding prayer
• a short concluding blessing
• a hymn to Mary, the mother of Jesus

In each office, the psalms and canticle are framed by antiphons, and each concludes with the traditional Catholic doxology. Examination of conscience is a review of ones past thoughts, words and actions for the purpose of ascertaining their conformity with, or difformity from, the moral law. ... The start of the Nunc dimittis in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry The Nunc dimittis (also Song of Simeon or Canticle of Simeon) is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke (Luke 2:29–32) named after its first words in Latin. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... This article is about the musical term. ... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... This article is about the musical term. ... A doxology (from the Greek doxa, glory + logos, word or speaking) is a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. ...

Liturgical variation

In addition to the basic four-week cycle of praying nearly the entire set of Psalms with each of the canonical hours, the Church also provides an alternate collection of hymns, readings, psalms, canticles and antiphons, for use in marking specific dates on the Roman Calendar, which sets out the order of celebrations for the liturgical year. These alternate selections are found in the 'Proper of Seasons' (selections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter), and the 'Proper of Saints' (selections for feast days of the Saints). A breviary is generally keyed to help the user navigate these overlays in the liturgy. The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the foundation of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about... Advent (from the Latin Adventus, implicitly coupled with Redemptoris, the coming of the Saviour) is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known as the season of Christmas. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Western Christianity, Lent... Easter, the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... A breviary (from Latin brevis, short or concise) is a liturgical book containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially for priests, in the Divine Office (i. ...

Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic usage

Historical Development

Further information: Typicon

From the 4th century on, the history of the eastern Office is parallel with the development of monasticism. In his Lausaic History, Palladius (b. 368, died probably before 431), Bishop of Helenopolis, records that the early Christian hermits not only prayed the Psalms, but also sang hymns and recited prayers (often in combinations of twelve).^[5] With the rise of Cenobitic monasticism (i.e., living in a community under an Abbot, rather than as solitary hermits), the cycle of prayer became more fixed and complex, with different ritual practices in different places. Typikon, Typicon. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Events Earthquake in Nicaea Births Deaths Categories: 368 ... Events June - Council of Ephesus: Nestorianism is rejected, the Nicene creed is declared to be complete. ... A hermit, also known as an anchorite or anchoress, is a person living in voluntary seclusion, often for religious reasons. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... The cenobitic tradition is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. ... Monastery of St. ... Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ...

Egeria, a pilgrim who visited the Holy Land about 381 - 384, recorded the following about the Canonical Hours: In early Chistian history, Egeria, also known as Aetheria, is the name of a woman who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 381–384, taking about four years to do it, and who wrote a long letter to her beloved circle of women at home (probably along the... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Holy Land (Biblical). ... A deputation from the Roman Senate delivers to Gratianus the robe of the Pontifex Maximus, which had been worn by every Roman Emperor since Augustus. ... Forum of Theodosius I built in Constantinople. ...

But among all things it is a special feature that they arrange that suitable psalms and antiphons are said on every occasion, both those said by night, or in the morning, as well as those throughout the day, at the sixth hour, the ninth hour, or at lucernare, all being so appropriate and so reasonable as to bear on the matter in hand. (XXV, 5) ^[6]

The standardization of Byzantine Orthodox worship began with Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (439 - 532), who recorded the Office as it was practiced at his time in the area around Jerusalem, passing on what had been handed down to him by St. Euthymius the Great (377 - 473) and St. Theoktistos (c. 467). This area was at the time a major center of both pilgrimage and monasticism, and as a result the daily cycle of services became highly developed. St. Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem (560 - 638) revised the Typicon, and the material was then expanded by St. John Damascene (c. 676 - 749). This ordering of services was later known as the Jerusalem or Sabbaite Typicon. Sabbas the Sanctified (439-531/532) was a Palestinian Monastic. ... Events Licinia Eudoxia, wife of the Roman Emperor Valentinian III, is granted the rank of Augusta following the birth of their daughter Eudocia. ... Events First year in which Anno Domini calendar is actually used for numbering (in Dionysius Exiguuss treatise) January 11 - Nika riots in Constantinople; the cathedral is destroyed. ... Events Battle of the Willows, Roman troops fight an inconclusive battle against the Visigoths under Fritigern Births Deaths Tuoba Shi Yi Jian King of Dai Categories: 377 ... Events Glycerius is named Western Roman Emperor. ... Events April 12 - Anthemius elevated to Western Roman Emperor Births Leo II, Byzantine emperor Cerdic of Wessex (approximate date). ... Sophronius of Jerusalem Sophronius (born 560 in Damascus - died March 11, 638 in Jerusalem) was the Patriarch of Jerusalem from 634 until his death. ... Events Ceawlin of Wessex becomes King of Wessex (traditional date). ... Events Islamic calendar introduced The Muslims capture Antioch, Caesarea Palaestina and Akko Births Deaths October 12 - Pope Honorius I Categories: 638 ... John of Damascus (Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος/Ioannês Damaskinos; Arabic: Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ... Events November 2 - Donus becomes Pope. ... Events June - Aistulf succeeds his brother Ratchis as king of the Lombards End of the reign of Emperor Shomu of Japan Empress Koken ascends to the throne of Japan Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah becomes caliph Births Deaths Saint John of Damascus (or Damascene), theologian Ratchis, king of the Lombards... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Typikon, Typicon. ...

Later, in the 8th century, the center of liturgical development moved to Constantinople, particularly to the Monastery of the Stoudios, where the services were further developed and sophisticated, in particular with regard to Great Lent and the Pentecostarion. It is in this form that the Typicon is used today in most Slavic churches. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Byzantine miniature depicting the Stoudios monastery. ... Great Lent is the greatest fasting period in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter (or Holy Pascha). Although it is in many ways similar to Lent in Western Christianity, there are important differences in the timing of Lent... The Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostárion; Slavonic: Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь, Tsvyetnaya Triod , literally Flowery Triodon; Romanian: Penticostar) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during the Paschal Season which extends from Pascha (Easter) to the Sunday following All Saints Sunday (i. ...

In the 19th century the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople made a number of revisions and modernizations to the Typicon and published it for use in churches under its jurisdiction. This revised Typicon, known as the The Ecclesiastical Typikon according to the Style of the Great Church of Christ - Τύπικον της εκκλησιάστικον κατα το ηυχος της του Χριστού Μεγάλης Εκκλήσιας/Tupikon Ekklisiastikon kata to ifos tis tou Christou Megalis Ekklisias (Konstantinos Protopsaltis, Constantinople, 1839), is in use in most Greek-speaking churches to this day. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the patriarchate of the Patriarch of Constantinople. ...

The Divine Services used by Eastern Christians are highly developed and quite complex. The various cycles combine so that it is infrequent for the exact same combination to reoccur within one person's lifetime. In addition to this, new services are being composed all the time as new saints are being glorified in the Church. While being inexorably rooted in Sacred Tradition, the cycle of prayer is a living and continuously evolving expression of the timeless worship of the Church. General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Icon of St. ... The Catholic Church bases all of its teachings on Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture (The Bible). ...

Liturgical Books

The Horologion (Greek: Ωρολόγιον; Church Slavonic: Chasoslov, Часocлoвъ), or Book of Hours, provides the fixed portions of the Daily Cycle of services (Greek: akolouthies, ἀκολουθίες) as used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Page from the Spiridon Psalter in Church Slavonic. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as: the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles, having maintained unbroken the link between its clergy and the Apostles by means of Apostolic Succession. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ...

Into this fixed framework, numerous moveable parts of the service are inserted. These are taken from a variety of liturgical books:

• Psalter (Greek: Ψαλτήριον, Psalterion; Slavonic: Ѱалтырь or Ѱалтирь, Psaltyr' )—A book containing the 150 Psalms divided into Kathismata^[7] together with the Biblical Canticles which are chanted at Matins.^[8] The Psalter is used at Vespers and Matins,^[9] and normally contains tables for determining which Kathismata are to be read at each service, depending upon the day of the week and the liturgical season of the year.

• Octoechos (Greek: Παρακλητική, Paraklētikē; Slavonic: Октоихъ, Oktoikh or Осмогласникъ, Osmoglasnik)—Literally, the Book of the "Eight Tones" or modes. This book contains an eight-week cycle, providing texts to be chanted for every day of the week at Vespers, Matins, Compline and (on Sundays) the Midnight Office. Each week, the hymns are sung in a different liturgical Mode or Tone. The origins of this book go back to compositions by St. John Damascene.

• Menaion (Greek: Μηναίον; Slavonic: Минеѧ, Mineya)—A twelve-volume set which provides liturgical texts for each day of the calendar year.^[10] The twelve volumes correspond to the months of the year. The liturgical year begins in September, so the first volume of the Menaion is September.

• Triodion (Greek: Τριῴδιον, Triodion; Slavonic: Постнаѧ Трїωдь, Postnaya Triod' ; Romanian: Triodul)—Also called the Lenten Triodion. During Great Lent the services undergo profound changes. The Lenten Triodion contains propers for:
  • the Pre-Lenten period
  • the Forty Days of Great Lent itself
  • Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
  • Holy Week

• Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostarion; Slavonic: Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь, Tsvetnaya Triod' , literally "Flowery Triodon"; Romanian: Penticostar)—This volume contains the propers for the period from Pascha to the Sunday of All Saints. This period can be broken down into the following periods:
  • Bright Week (Easter Week)--The seven days from the Pascha (Easter Sunday) through the following Saturday
  • Paschal Season--The period from Thomas Sunday until Ascension
  • Ascension and its Afterfeast
  • Pentecost and its Afterfeast
  • All Saints Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost)

• Synaxarion (Greek: Συναξάριον; Romanian: Sinaxar)—The Synaxarion contains brief lives of the saints for each day of the year, usually read at Matins.

• Irmologion (Greek: Ειρμολόγιον, Heirmologion; Slavonic: Ирмологий, Irmologii)—Contains the Irmoi chanted at the Canon of Matins and other services.

• Euchologion (Greek: Ευχολόγιον, Eukhologion; Slavonic: Слѹжебникъ, Sluzhebnik)—Contains the portions of the services which are said by the priest and deacon.

• Gospel Book (Greek: Ευαγγέλιον, Evangelion)—Book containing the Gospel readings that are used at Matins, Divine Liturgy, and other services. Among the Greeks the Evangélion is laid out in order of the cycle of readings as they occur in the ecclesiastical year, with a section in the back providing the Gospel readings for Matins, Feasts and special occasions. In the Slavic usage, the Evangélion contains the four gospels in canonical order (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) with annotations in the margin to indicate the beginning and ending of each reading (and an index in the back).

• Epistle Book (Greek: Απόστολος, Apostolos; Slavonic: Апостолъ, Apostol)—Contains the readings from the Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles (the Apocalypse is not read during Divine Services in the Orthodox Church). It also contains the Prokeimenon and Alleluia verses that are chanted with the readings. The Apostól is laid out in the same manner as the Evangélion, depending on whether the book was prepared for the Greek or Slavic usage.^[11]

• Collections (Greek: Ανθολόγιον, Anthologion; Slavonic: Сборникъ, Sbornik)—There are numerous smaller anthologies available, taking portions from the books mentioned above, or from other sources. For instance, the Festal Menaion contains only those portions of the Menaion that have to do with the Great Feasts; and the General Menaion contains propers for each class of saints (with blank spaces for the name of the saint) which may be employed when one does not have the propers for that particular saint; etc.

• Typicon (Greek: Τυπικόν, Typikon; Slavonic: Тѵпикъ, Typik)—A book which contains all of the rules for the performance of the Divine Services, giving directions for every possible combination of the materials from the books mentioned above into the Daily Cycle of Services.

Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... The Octoechos (Greek Οκτώηχος; Slavonic: Октонхъ, Oktoikh, or Осмогласникъ, Osmoglasnik)—literally, the book of the Eight Tones—contains an eight-week cycle, providing texts to be chanted for every day at Vespers, Matins, the Divine Liturgy, Compline and (on Sundays) the Midnight Office. ... In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... John of Damascus (Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος/Ioannês Damaskinos; Arabic: Yaḥyā ibn Manṣūr; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus or Johannes Damascenus also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας/Chrysorrhoas, streaming with gold—i. ... The Menaion (Greek: Μηναίον; Slavonic Минея/Minéya; of the month) refers to the annual fixed cycle of services in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches. ... The Triodion (Greek: ; Slavonic: Постнаѧ Трїωдь/Postnaya Triod; Romanian: ), also called the Lenten Triodion (Τριῴδιον κατανυκτικόν/Triodion katanuktikon), is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during Great Lent and the preparatory weeks leading up to it. ... Great Lent is the greatest fasting period in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter (or Holy Pascha). Although it is in many ways similar to Lent in Western Christianity, there are important differences in the timing of Lent... Lazarus Saturday, in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches, is the day before Palm Sunday, and is liturgically linked to it. ... Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the Christian calendar which falls on the Sunday before Easter. ... Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta) in Christianity is the last week of Lent. ... The Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostárion; Slavonic: Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь, Tsvyetnaya Triod , literally Flowery Triodon; Romanian: Penticostar) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during the Paschal Season which extends from Pascha (Easter) to the Sunday following All Saints Sunday (i. ... Easter, the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. ... In the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the cycle of the moveable feast is built around Pascha, or Easter. ... Easter (also called Pascha) is generally accounted the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed March or April each year to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead (after his death by crucifixion; see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year, almost two... This article is about the Ascension of Jesus Christ. ... An Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches (roughly equivalent to what in the West would be called an Octave). ... This article is about the Christian holiday. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Synaxarium, Synaxarion, Synexarium, Synexarion, pl. ... The irmos is the initial verse of each individual ode in a canon, sung by the choir; from the Greek verb to tie, meaning that it poetically connects the ode to the subject of the canon. ... A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ... The euchologion is The name of one of the chief Service-books of the Byzantine Church; it corresponds more or less to theCatholic Missal and Ritual. ... A Gospel Book is a codex or bound volume, containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament. ... The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Easter or Pascha, is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark (literally, according to Mark; Greek, Κατά Μαρκον, Kata Markon),(anonymous[1] but ascribed to Mark the Evangelist) is a Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... The word epistle is from the Greek word epistolos which means a written letter addressed to a recipient or recipients, perhaps part of exchanged correspondence. ... The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... In the liturgical practice of the Orthodox Church, a Prokeimenon (Greek Προκειμενον, plural prokeimena; sometimes prokimenon/prokimena) is a psalm or canticle refrain sung responsorially at certain specified points of the Divine Liturgy or the Divine Office, usually to introduce a scripture reading. ... Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia, is a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְלוּיָהּ meaning [Let us] praise (הַלְלוּ) God (יָהּ) (or Praise (הַלְלוּ) [the] Lord (&#1497... The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Easter or Pascha, is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Typikon, Typicon. ...

Liturgical Cycles

Various cycles of the liturgical year influence the manner in which the materials from the liturgical books (above) are inserted into the daily services:

• Weekly Cycle—Each day of the week has its own commemoration (these materials are found for the most part in the Octoechos):
  • Sunday—Resurrection of Christ
  • Monday—The Holy Angels
  • Tuesday—St. John the Baptist
  • Wednesday—The Cross and the Theotokos
  • Thursday—The Holy Apostles and St. Nicholas
  • Friday—The Cross and the Theotokos
  • Saturday—All Saints^[12] and the departed

The Weekly Cycle also determines which Kathismata (selections from the Psalter) will be read at the Divine Services, though the season of the liturgical year also affects this. During most of the year, the entire Psalter is read through in the course of a week, but during Great Lent, the Psalter is read twice each week. The resurrection of Jesus is an event in the New Testament in which God raised him from the dead[1] after his death by crucifixion. ... The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God. ... For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ... The traditional form of the Western Christian cross, known as the Latin cross. ... Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the... Saint Nicholas, also known as Nikolaus in Germany and Sinterklaas (a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas) in the Netherlands and Flanders, is the common name for the historical Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in 4th century Byzantine Anatolia, (now in modern Turkey) and had a reputation for secret gift... The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Saints Day, All Hallows or Hallowmas (hallows meaning saints, and mas meaning Mass), is a feast celebrated in the honour of all the saints, known and unknown. ... The Requiem (from the Latin requiés, rest) or Requiem Mass, also known formally (in Latin) as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum, is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Anglican High Church and certain Lutheran Churches in the United States. ... A Kathisma (Greek: καθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, kafisma), literally, seat, is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine Rite. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

• Fixed Cycle—Commemorations on the fixed cycle depend upon the day of the calendar year--both specific calendar dates, and specific days of the week that fall on or near specific calendar dates. This material is taken primarily from the Menaion.

• Moveable Cycle or Paschal Cycle—Commemorations on the moveable cycle depend upon the date of Pascha (Easter). Found in the Pentecostarion, Octoechos, and Lenten Triodion. The Sunday Matins Gospels and the daily Epistle and Gospel readings for Liturgy also depend upon the Paschal cycle. Thus the Paschal Cycle, just like the Fixed Cycle, runs through the entire year.

• Octoechos—The eight Tones, found in the Octoechos. Dependent, like the Moveable Cycle on the date of Pascha:
  • Each day of Bright Week (Easter Week) uses propers in a different tone (Sunday: Tone One, Monday: Tone Two, etc.—excluding Tone Seven, the "grave" tone).
  • Then, each week from Pascha to Pentecost uses one of the Tones in order (again excluding Tone Seven).
  • Starting on the Sunday of All Saints (i.e., the Sunday after Pentecost), the eight tones run uninterrupted until Palm Sunday of the following year.

• Matins Gospels—Eleven Gospel readings (all accounts of the Resurrection of Christ) are appointed to be read at Sunday Matins. The cycle begins with the first Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20) on the Sunday after Pentecost (All Saints Sunday), reading one Gospel each week, in order, and repeating the cycle until the next Palm Sunday. There are also hymns appointed to be sung at Matins that correspond with the particular Gospel read that Sunday.

• Daily Cycle—The cycle of services Acolouthia which repeats every single day, and during which all of the fixed and changeable parts of the services are chanted.

In the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the cycle of the moveable feast is built around Pascha, or Easter. ... Easter, the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. ... In the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the cycle of the moveable feast is built around Pascha, or Easter. ... The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. ... Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the Christian calendar which falls on the Sunday before Easter. ...

The Daily Cycle of Services

The Daily Cycle begins with Vespers at sunset^[13] and proceeds throughout the night and day according to the following table: Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ...

* To this list could be added the Typica, a service which is read whenever the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated. Though not strictly one of the Canonical Hours, the Typicon calls for it to be chanted either before or after the Ninth Hour (depending upon the liturgical season).^[14] Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Christian meditation is meditation in a Christian context. ... Compline or Complin is the final church service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. ... The Midnight Office (Greek Μεσονύκτικον/Mesonytikon, Slavonic Полуношница/Polúnoshnitsa) is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... For the Anglican service of Mattins see Morning Prayer Matins is the early morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Prime is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office, said at 6 a. ... Michelangelos Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel. ... Paradise, by Jan Bruegel The word paradise is derived from the Avestan word pairidaeza (a walled enclosure), which is a compound of pairi- (around), a cognate of the Greek peri-, and -diz (to create, make), a cognate of the English dough. ... Yhosef Bar Kayafa (Hebrew יְהוֹסֵף בַּר קַיָּפָא, ), also known as Caiaphas (Greek Καϊάφας) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest to whom Jesus was taken after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, and who played a part in Jesus trial before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. ... Terce is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of the almost all the Christian liturgies. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Christian religions that trace their roots... The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. ... Sext is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the condemned was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. ... None is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church has the belief that all Orthodox regardless of jurisdiction are united in the One, Holy, and Universal Church. ... The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ...

During the Lesser Fasts (Nativity Fast, Apostles Fast, Dormition Fast) in addition to the services listed above, each of the Little Hours (First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours) has a special brief service appended to it called an Inter-Hour. Inter-Hours follow much the same format as the regular Hours, only they are slightly briefer. The Inter-Hours (Greek: Mesoria) are brief services in the Daily Office of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches. ...

In cathedrals and monasteries it is more common to find someone present at the church praying these prayers at each of these hours. In many, chiefly Slavic, churches, the Third and Sixth Hours are read prior to the Divine Liturgy; however, among the Greeks and Arabs, Liturgy is usually preceded by Orthros (Matins). There is usually little or no pause between the end of one and the beginning of the next. A cathedral is a religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican and some Lutheran churches, which serves as a bishops seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. ... Monastery of St. ... The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... For the Anglican service of Mattins see Morning Prayer Matins is the early morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ...

There are seven Canonical Hours in the Orthodox Church (excluding Midnight Office), in accordance with the psalmist, "Seven times a day will I praise Thee..." (Psalm 118:164 [ LXX ]). The Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons English translation. ...

The Midnight Office is a particularly monastic practice, which arose as a response to Psalm 118:62, "At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness." Although not normally prayed by the laity (either privately in the home or publicly in parishes), the Midnight Office does comprise the first part of Paschal Vigil and is therefore read in parishes at that time. The Midnight Office (Greek Μεσονύκτικον/Mesonytikon, Slavonic Полуношница/Polúnoshnitsa) is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. ...

Aggregates

According to the Slavonic Typicon, the different Canonical Hours (including Midnight Office and Typica) may be grouped together into aggregates so that there are three major times of prayer a day: Evening, Morning and Midday. This is to conform with Psalm 54:19, "Evening, morning, and noonday will I tell of it and will declare it, and He will hear my voice." While the aggregations will vary depending upon the liturgical season, the most common groupings are as follows:

• Evening—Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline^[15]

• Morning—Midnight Office,^[16] Matins, First Hour

• Noonday—Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Divine Liturgy (or Typica)^[17]

On the eves before Great Feasts and Sundays in some traditions, Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour are served together in an aggregation called the All-Night Vigil. In other traditions it is more common for the Ninth Hour and Vespers to be served separately the evening before, and for Matins to be served in the morning before the Liturgy. Some Great Feasts prescribe a Vesperal Divine Liturgy to be served on the afternoon before; in these cases, Great Compline is substituted for Vespers during the All-night Vigil. The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. ... The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Easter or Pascha, is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The All-Night Vigil (Russian: ), Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. ...

In addition to these public prayers, there are also private prayers which are said both by monastics and by laypersons. These include Morning and Evening Prayers (said privately in one's room), canons to be prayed in preparation for receiving the Eucharist, and also devotional akathist hymns and canons regarding specific subjects, and which may be addressed directly to God or to a saint, asking that saint to convey the petitions to God. Devotional canons and akathists may also be inserted at specific points in the prayers of the hours. A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ... For other uses, see Eucharist (disambiguation). ... The Akathist (Ακαθιστος Υμνος, unseated hymn) is an Eastern Orthodox hymn dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. ...

Oriental Orthodox Usage

Coptic Usage

The Coptic cycle of canonical hours is largely monastic, primarily composed of psalm readings. The Coptic equivalent of the Byzantine Horologion is the Agpeya. Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon. ...

Seven canonical hours exist, corresponding largely to the Byzantine order, with an additional "Prayer of the Veil" which is said by Bishops, Priests, and Monks (something like the Byzantine Midnight Office). The Coptic terms for 'Matins' and 'Vespers' are 'The Morning Raising of Incense' and 'The Evening Raising of Incense' respectively. The Midnight Office (Greek Μεσονύκτικον/Mesonytikon, Slavonic Полуношница/Polúnoshnitsa) is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

The hours are chronologically laid out, each containing a theme corresponding to events in the life of Jesus Christ:

• Morning Raising of Incense "Midnight Praise" (said in the early morning before dawn) commemorates the Second Coming of Christ. It consists of three watches, corresponding to the three stages of Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane ( Matthew 25:1-13 ).
• Prime (dawn) is said upon waking in the morning or after the Midnight Praise the previous night. Associated with the Eternity of God, the Incarnation of Christ, and his Resurrection from the dead.
• Terce (9 a.m.) commemorates Christ's trial before Pilate, the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
• Sext (noon) commemorates the Passion of Christ.

Terce and Sext are prayed before each Divine Liturgy.

• None (3 p.m.) commemorates the death of Christ on the Cross. This hour is also read during fasting days.
• Evening Raising of Incense (sunset) commemorates the taking down of Christ from the Cross.
• Compline (9 p.m. - before bedtime) commemorates the burial of Christ, the Final Judgment.

Vespers and Compline are both read before the Liturgy during Lent and the fast of Nineveh.

• The Veil is reserved for bishops, priests and monks, as an examination of conscience.

Every one of the Hours follows the same basic outline: The Garden of Gethsemane. ... Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus to the people of Jerusalem. ... The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. ...

• Introduction, which includes the Lord’s Prayer
• Prayer of Thanksgiving
• Psalm 50 (LXX).
• Various Psalms, an excerpt from the Holy Gospel
• The Five Short Litanies: Peace of the Church, Fathers of the Church, Safety of the World, the Air, the Fruits and Plants, and the Congregation
• Lord Have Mercy is then chanted 41 times (representing the 39 lashes Christ received before the crucifixion, plus one for the spear in His side, plus one for the crown of thorns)
• prayers
• conclusion

Syrian Usage

East Syrian

Further information: Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v., East Syrian Rite

The East Syrian Rite (also known as the Chaldean, Assyrian, or Persian Rite) has historically been used in Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Malabar. The nucleus of the Daily Office is of course the recitation of the Psalter. There are only three regular hours of service (Evening, Midnight, and Morning), with a rarely used Compline. When East Syrian monasteries existed (which is no longer the case) seven hours of prayer were the custom in them, and three hulali (sections) of the Psalter were recited at each service. This would accomplish the unique feat of the common recitation of the entire Psalter each day. The Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes called Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, is a branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. ...

The present arrangement provides for seven hulali at each ferial night service, ten on Sundays, three on "Memorials", and the whole Psalter on Feasts of the Lord. At the evening service there is a selection of from four to seven psalms, varying with the day of the week, and also a Shuraya, or short psalm, with generally a portion of Psalm 118, varying with the day of the fortnight. At the morning service the invariable psalms are 109, 90, 103:1-6, 112, 92, 148, 150, 116. On ferias and "Memorials" Psalm 146 is said after Psalm 148, and on ferias Psalm 1:1-18, comes at the end of the psalms. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. ...

The rest of the services consist of prayers, antiphons, litanies, and verses (giyura) inserted—like the Greek stichera, but more extensively—between verses of psalms. On Sundays the Gloria in Excelsis and Benedicte are said instead of Psalm 146. Both morning and evening services end with several prayers, a blessing, (Khuthama, "Sealing" ), the kiss of peace, and the Creed. Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Latin for Glory to God in the highest)woot is the title and beginning of the great doxology (song of praise) used in the Roman Catholic Mass and, in translation, in the services of many other Christian churches. ...

The variables, besides the psalms, are those of the feast or day, which are very few, and those of the day of the fortnight. These fortnights consist of weeks called "Before" (Qdham) and "After" (Wathar), according to which of the two choirs begins the service. Hence the book of the Divine Office is called Qdham u wathar, or at full length Kthawa daqdham wadhwathar, the "Book of Before and After".

The East Syrian liturgical Calendar is unique. The year is divided into periods of about seven weeks each, called Shawu'i; these are Advent (called Subara, "Annunciation"), Epiphany, Lent, Easter, the Apostles, Summer, "Elias and the Cross", "Moses", and the "Dedication" (Qudash idta). "Moses" and the "Dedication" have only four weeks each. The Sundays are generally named after the Shawu'a in which they occur, "Fourth Sunday of Epiphany", "Second Sunday of the Annunciation ", etc., though sometimes the name changes in the middle of a Shawu'a. Most of the "Memorials" (dukhrani), or saints' days, which have special lections, occur on the Fridays between Christmas and Lent, and are therefore movable feasts; but some, such as Christmas, Theophany, the Dormition, and about thirty smaller days without proper readings, are on fixed days. Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... Look up theophany in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... According to Catholic theology and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, the body of Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by these denominations as the Blessed Virgin Mary or Theotokos, respectively, was taken into Heaven along with her soul after her death. ...

There are four shorter fasting periods besides the Great Lent; these are: Great Lent is the greatest fasting period in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter (or Holy Pascha). Although it is in many ways similar to Lent in Western Christianity, there are important differences in the timing of Lent...

• the Fast of Mar Zaya (three days after the second Sunday of the Nativity)
• the Fast of the Virgins (after the first Sunday of the Epiphany)
• the Fast of the Ninevites (seventy days before Easter)
• the Fast of Mart Mariam (Our Lady) (from the first to the fourteenth of August)

The Fast of the Ninevites commemorates the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonas, and is carefully kept. Those of Mar Zaya and the Virgins are nearly obsolete. The Malabar Rite has largely adopted the Roman Calendar, and several Roman days have been added to that of the Chaldean Catholics. The Chaldean Easter coincides with that of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as the Julian Calendar is used to calculate Easter. The years are numbered, not from the birth of Christ, but from the Seleucid era (year 1 = 311 B.C.). The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and came into force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). ... Coin of Philip V of Macedon (ruled 221–179 BC). ...

West Syrian

Further information: West Syrian Rite, aticle in the Catholic Encyclopedia

The West Syrian Rite, used in Syria by the Syriac Orthodox (Jacobites) and Catholic Syrians is in its origin simply the old rite of Antioch in the Syriac language. The translation must have been made very early, evidently before the division in the church over Chalcedon, before the influence of Constantinople over the Antiochian Rite had begun. No doubt as soon as Christian communities arose in the rural areas of Syria the prayers which in the cities (Antioch, Jerusalem, etc.) were said in Greek, were, as a matter of course, translated into Syriac for common use. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by The Encyclopedia Press. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ... The Syriac Catholic Church or Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. ... Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Δάφνη, Αντιόχεια η επί Ορόντου or Αντιόχεια η Μεγάλη; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem, also Antiochia dei Siri), the Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch was an ancient city located on the eastern side (left bank) of the Orontes River about 30 km from the sea and its port, Seleucia Pieria. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ...

In accordance with Psalm 119:164, “Seven times in the day have I praised Thee for Thy judgments, O Righteous One,” the Syriac Orthodox Church observes seven services of prayer each day: Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. ...

• Evening or Ramsho prayer (Vespers)
• Drawing of the Veil or Sootoro, meaning "Protection", from Psalm 91, which is sung at this prayer, "He who sits under the protection of the Most High" (Compline)
• Midnight or Lilyo prayer (Matins)
• Morning or Saphro prayer (Prime, 6 a.m.)
• Third Hour or Tloth sho`in prayer (Terce, 9 a.m.)
• Sixth Hour or Sheth sho`in prayer (Sext, noon)
• Ninth Hour or Tsha` sho`in prayer (None, 3 p.m.)

The Midnight prayer (Matins) consists of three qawme or "watches" (literarily "standings"). As in other traditional rites, the ecclesiastical day begins in the evening at sunset with Vespers (Ramsho). Today, even in monasteries, the services are grouped together: Vespers and Compline are said together; Matins and Prime are said together; and the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours are said together; resulting in three times of prayer each day.

The Syriac Orthodox Book of Hours is called the Shhimo, "simple prayer." The shhimo has offices for the canonical hours for each day of the week. Each canonical office begins and ends with a qawmo, a set of prayers that includes the Lord's Prayer. At the end of the office, the Nicene Creed is recited. The great part of the office consists of lengthy liturgical poems composed for the purpose, similar to the Byzantine odes. Representation of the Sermon on the Mount The Lords Prayer in Swahili. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ...

Armenian Usage

The Daily Services in the Armenian Church are made up of nine services. The daily cycle of prayer begins with the Night Service, according to the ancient belief that a new day begins at nightfall.

The Night Service (midnight) Dedicated to the praising of God the Father. Themes of the service are: thanksgiving to God for the blessing of sleep and asking that the remainder of the night pass in peace and tranquility, and that the next day be spent in purity and righteousness. In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ...

The Morning Service (dawn) Dedicated to the praising of God the Son. Symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and his appearance to the Myrrh-bearing Women. This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... Eastern Orthodox icon of Mary Magdalene as a Myrrhbearer The term Myrrhbearers (Greek: Μυροθόραε, Myrophorae; Slavonic: Святых Жен Мироносиц) refers to the women who came to the tomb of Christ early in the morning and were the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. ...

The Sunrise Service (6:00 a.m.)^[18] Dedicated to the praising of the Holy Spirit. Symbolizes the appearance to Christ to the disciples after the Resurrection. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Christian religions that trace their roots...

The Third Hour (9:00 a.m.) Dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Symbolizes Eve’s original tasting the forbidden fruit and eventual liberation from condemnation through Jesus Christ. The service has a profound penitential meaning.

The Sixth Hour (noon) Dedicated to God the Father. Symbolizes Christ’s Crucifixion. The prayers at the service ask for God’s help towards feeble human nature.

The Ninth Hour (3:00 p.m.) Dedicated to God the Son. Symbolizes Christ’s death and liberation of humanity from the power of the Hell.

The Evening Service (before sunset) Dedicated to God the Son. Symbolizes Christ’s burial, asks God for a quiet night and a peaceful sleep.

The Peace Service (after sunset) Dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Symbolizes Christ’s descent into Hell and liberation of the righteous from torments.

The Rest Service (before retiring for sleep) Dedicated to God the Father. In early times it was the continuation of the Peace Service.

In ancient times all nine services were offered every day, especially in monasteries. At present the following services are conducted in churches daily for the majority of the year:

• In the morning: Night and Morning Services together
• In the evening: Evening Service

During Great Lent, all of the services are offered on weekdays (except Saturday and Sunday) according to the following schedule: Great Lent is the greatest fasting period in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter (or Holy Pascha). Although it is in many ways similar to Lent in Western Christianity, there are important differences in the timing of Lent...

• In the morning: Night, Morning and Sunrise Services
• In the afternoon: Third, Sixth, Ninth Hours
• In the evening:
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: Peace Service
  • Wednesday, Friday: Rest Service
  • Saturday, Sunday: Evening Service

The book which contains the hymns which constitute the substance of the musical system of Armenian liturgical chant is the Sharagnots (see Armenian Octoechos), a collection of hymns known as Sharakan. Originally, these hymns were Psalms and biblical Canticles that were chanted during the services, similar to the Byzantine Canon. In addition, the eight modes are applied to the psalms of the Night office, called ganonaklookh (Canon head). The Octoechos (Greek Οκτώηχος; Slavonic: Октонхъ, Oktoikh, or Осмогласникъ, Osmoglasnik)—literally, the book of the Eight Tones—contains an eight-week cycle, providing texts to be chanted for every day at Vespers, Matins, the Divine Liturgy, Compline and (on Sundays) the Midnight Office. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ...

Anglican usage

Main article: Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer constitutes the basis of the liturgy for Anglicans. All Anglican prayer books contain offices for Morning Prayer (Matins) and Evening Prayer (Evensong). In many, if not most Anglican formularies, these offices are supplemented by forms of the Little Hours, viz. Prime and prayer during the day e.g. (Terce, Sext, None, and Compline). For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Morning Prayer, in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, also known as Mattins or Matins, was, until the last quarter of the 20th century, the main Sunday morning service most Sundays in all but the most high church Anglican parishes, with Holy Communion being the main Sunday morning service once... For the Anglican service of Mattins see Morning Prayer Matins is the early morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Evening Prayer is a liturgy used in the Anglican Communion (and other churches in the Anglican tradition, such as the Continuing Anglican Movement) used in the late afternoon or evening. ... The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Prime is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office, said at 6 a. ... Terce is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of the almost all the Christian liturgies. ... Sext is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. ... Compline or Complin is the final church service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. ...

In England, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Anglican provinces, the prayer book contains four offices:

• Morning Prayer, corresponding to Matins and Lauds
• Noonday, roughly corresponding to the combination of Terce, Sext and None
• Evening Prayer, corresponding to Vespers
• Compline

In addition, most prayer books include a section of prayers and devotions for family use. In the US, these offices are further supplemented by an "Order of Worship for the Evening," a prelude to or an abbreviated form of Evensong, also partly taken from a Jewish Lucernaria service. In the United Kingdom, the publication of Daily Prayer, the third volume of Common Worship was published in 2005. It retains the services for Morning and Evening Prayer and Compline, and also includes a section entitled "Prayer during the Day." The 1989 A New Zealand Prayer Book provides different outlines for Matins and Evensong on each day of the week, as well as "Midday Prayer," "Night Prayer," and "Family Prayer." Lauds is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Common Worship is a series of books of services and prayers, known as a liturgy, published by the Church of England. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The prayer offices have an important place in Anglican history. Prior to the Catholic revival of the nineteenth century, which eventually restored Holy Eucharist as the principle Sunday liturgy, Matins and Evensong were the usual expressions of common worship. This nurtured a tradition of distinctive Anglican plainsong applied to the canticles and psalms used at the offices. The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ... Broadly speaking, plainsong is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. ... A canticle is a hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms) taken from the Bible. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

Some Anglican monastic communities have a Daily Office based on that of the Book of Common Prayer but with additional antiphons, canticles, etc., for specific days of the week, specific Psalms, etc. See, for example, Order of the Holy Cross [1] and Order of St. Helena, editors, A Monastic Breviary (Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1976). The All Saints Sisters of the Poor [2], with convents in Catonsville, Md., and elsewhere, also use an elaborated version of the Anglican Daily Office. The Society of St. Francis publishes Celebrating Common Prayer, which has become especially popular for use among Anglicans. The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. ... The Society of Saint Francis is a Franciscan religious order within the Anglican Communion. ...

Some Anglo-Catholic groups use the Anglican Breviary, which is an adaptation of the Pre-Vatican II Roman Rite and Sarum Rite, along with supplemental material from cognate western sources, to provide such things as a common of Octaves, a common of Holy Women, and other additional material. It contains all eight historic offices in one volume, rather than the traditional four, but does not contain the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was bound along with many editions of the Breviarium Romanum. ... Categories: ... The Sarum Rite, more properly called the Sarum Use, was a variant of the Latin Rite practiced in Great Britain & Ireland from the late 11th Century until the Reformation. ... The Little Office of Our Lady or Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a liturgical devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in imitation of, and in addition to, the Divine Office in the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Muslim prayers

Muslims still use a modified definition of canonical hours when they pray five times a day. Their prayer (salah) times are Salat al-Fajr, Salat al-Zuhr, Salat al-Asr, Salat al-Maghrib and Salat al-Isha. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... For the Indian village, see Salat, Kulpahar. ... The Fajr prayer is the dawn daily prayer recited by practicing Muslims. ... The Dhuhr prayer (dh pronounced as th in Thou, or simplified to zo) is the mid-day or noon daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. ... The three-letter acronym ASR may refer to: Age Standardized Rate American Safety Razor Company Acceleration Slip Regulation Accredited Seller Agency, is a designation earned by real estate agents and Realtors. ... Maghrib is an Arabic term for of the setting (sun); from the root ghuroob (to set; to be hidden). It is also used in a manner similar to the metaphorical use of to be eclipsed, which is used in the English language. ... The Isha (Arabic: ‎) prayer is the night-time daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. ...

Notes

1. ^ Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, Book X, Letter xcvii.
2. ^ Council of Trent, Decree on Reformation, Chapter XXI
3. ^ In Defense of the Pauline Mass
4. ^ Breviary in Catholic Encyclopedia. The article also spoke of "blemishes which disfigure this book."
5. ^ Lausaic History, Chap. 19, etc.
6. ^ Tr. Louis Duchesme, Christian Worship (London, 1923).
7. ^ There is also a Psalm 151 included in the Orthodox Psalter, though it is not actually chanted during the Divine Services.
8. ^ Originally, these canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, but they gradually came to be replaced by the Canon and are now normally only chanted on weekdays of Great Lent.
9. ^ During Great Lent, Kathismata are read at the Little Hours also.
10. ^ On non-leap years, the service for Feb. 29 (St. John Cassian) may be chanted at Compline on Feb. 28 or some other more convenient day.
11. ^ The Slavonic Apostól will have all of the books of the New Testament (excluding the Gospels and Apocalypse) in their entirety, though not in the same order they are found in most English Bibles (Acts is placed first, etc.).
12. ^ Including, especially, the Theotokos and the Patron Saint of the local church or monastery.
13. ^ In accordance with Old Testament practice, the day is considered to begin in the evening (Genesis 1:5).
14. ^ The Typica has a certain correspondence to the Missa Sicca of the Mediaeval West.
15. ^ The evening meal is considered to be a continuation of the liturgical cycle of services. In some monasteries, the Refectory itself is a church, complete with Altar and Iconostasis. In Greek (απόδειπνον/apodeipnon) and Slavonic (Povecherie), the name for Compline literally means, "After-supper prayer."
16. ^ Midnight Office is usually only chanted in monasteries.
17. ^ Though the Liturgy (and Typica) are not, strictly speaking, a part of the daily cycle of services, their placement is fixed by the Typicon in relation to the daily cycle.
18. ^ Originally, the Sunrise Service was joined to the Morning Service.

This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. ... John Cassian (c. ... The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. ... Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 17th-century iconostasis of Prophet Elias church, Yaroslavl. ...

See also

• Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Liturgy of the Hours

The Little Office of Our Lady or Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a liturgical devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in imitation of, and in addition to, the Divine Office in the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Liturgy of the Hours is usually recited in full in monastic communities. ... The Liturgy of the Hours is usually recited in full in monastic communities. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... For the Anglican service of Mattins see Morning Prayer Matins is the early morning prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Lauds is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. ... Prime is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office, said at 6 a. ... Terce is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of the almost all the Christian liturgies. ... Sext is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. ... Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. ... Compline or Complin is the final church service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. ...

External links

Roman Rite

• The Hypertext Book of Hours - Online edition of Medieval Daily Office.
• A Traditional Catholic site promoting the Divine Office
• The Liturgy of the Hours presented by Universalis.com
• The Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate
• The Sarum Breviary (The Sarum Usage is a subset of the Roman Rite)

Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic The Sarum Rite, more properly called the Sarum Use, was a variant of the Latin Rite practiced in Great Britain & Ireland from the late 11th Century until the Reformation. ...

• Orthodox hours (first, third, sixth, and ninth), designed for personal use
• An online copy of the Horologion, the Orthodox "Book of the Hours"

Oriental Orthodox

• Liturgy of the Hours according to the rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church
• Agpeya: Coptic Book of Hours - for the Coptic Orthodox Church

Anglican Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon. ...

• The Daily Office Online - Rite II Morning and Evening Prayers from BCP
• The Daily Office Online - Rite I, Rite II, Other Offices