Prime was suppressed by the Second Vatican Council, reducing the number of canonical hours to seven (cf. 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. The practice among religious communities varies according to their rules and constitutions. In the Catholic Church priests are required by canon law to pray the entire Liturgy of the Hours each day while deacons are required to pray the morning and evening hours. However, his scheme was taken from that described by John Cassian, in his two major spiritual works, the Institutes and the Conferences, in which he described the monastic practices of the Desert Fathers of Egypt.īenedictine monks singing Vespers on Holy Saturday 480 – 543) is credited with having given this organization to the Liturgy of the Hours. Compline or Night Prayer (before retiring).Vespers or Evening Prayer ("at the lighting of the lamps").None or Mid-Afternoon Prayer (Ninth Hour = 3 p.m.).Sext or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = 12 noon).Terce or Mid-Morning Prayer (Third Hour = 9 a.m.).Prime or Early Morning Prayer (First Hour = 6 a.m.).Matins (during the night), sometimes referred to as Vigils or Nocturns, or in monastic usage the Night Office it is now called the Office of Readings.These eight hours were known by the following names: Other elements were added later in the course of the centuries.Ĭanonical hours Prior to the Second Vatican Council īy the end of the fifth century, the Liturgy of the Hours was composed of a Vigil or Night Service and seven day offices, of which Prime and Compline seem to be the last to appear, since the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions VIII, iv, 34 does not mention them in the exhortation: "Offer up your prayers in the morning, at the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, the evening, and at cock-crowing". The Christian prayer of that time consisted of almost the same elements as the Jewish: recital or chanting of psalms, reading of the Old Testament, to which were soon added readings of the Gospels, Acts, and epistles, and canticles such as the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. The Apostles observed the Jewish custom of praying at the third, sixth and ninth hour and at midnight (Acts 10:3, 9 16:25 etc.). In the Psalms we find expressions like "in the morning I offer you my prayer" "At midnight I will rise and thank you" "Evening, morning and at noon I will cry and lament" "Seven times a day I praise you". The early Christians continued the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at certain hours of the day or night. 10.1 The Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Catholic Church.7.3 Revision following the Second Vatican Council.7.2 Further revision before the Second Vatican Council. 7 Roman Rite since the Council of Trent.2.1 Prior to the Second Vatican Council.Other names for the Liturgy of the Hours within the Latin Rite include the Divine Office, the Diurnal and Nocturnal Office, Ecclesiastical Office, Cursus ecclesiasticus, or simply cursus. Within Anglicanism, the Liturgy of the Hours is contained within the book of Daily Prayer of Common Worship and Book of Common Prayer. In Greek the corresponding services are found in the Ὡρολόγιον ( Horologion), meaning Book of Hours. Within Roman Catholicism, the Liturgy of the Hours is contained within the Roman Breviary. Christians of both Eastern and Western traditions (including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican churches) celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours under various names. The Liturgy of the Hours, along with the Eucharist, has formed part of the Catholic Church's public worship from the earliest times. The Liturgy of the Hours also forms the basis of prayer within Christian monasticism. Upon ordination to any of the Holy Orders, the daily recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours becomes a canonical obligation. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public prayer life of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings. The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. For its application in other communions, see canonical hours. This article refers to the Liturgy of the Hours as a specific manifestation of the public prayer of the Catholic Church. Liturgy of the Hours in a monastery of Carthusian nuns.
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