Canonical hours

In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions

of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A
book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or
selection from, such prayers.[1][2]

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, canonical hours are also
called officium, since it refers to the official prayer of the Church,
which is known variously as the officium divinum ("divine service"
or "divine duty"), and the opus Dei ("work of God"). The current
official version of the hours in the Roman Rite is called the Liturgy
of the Hours (Latin: liturgia horarum) or divine office.

In Lutheranism and Anglicanism, they are often known as the daily

office or divine office, to distinguish them from the other "offices"
of the Church (e.g. the administration of the sacraments).[3]

In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches, the

canonical hours may be referred to as the divine services, and the
book of hours is called the horologion (Greek: Ὡρολόγιον).
Despite numerous small differences in practice according to local Opening versicle Domine labia mea
custom, the overall order is the same among Byzantine Rite aperies et os meum annuntiabit
monasteries, although parish and cathedral customs vary rather laudem tuam from a book of hours,
more so by locale. ca. a 1520

The usage in Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of

the East, and their Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran counterparts all differ from each other and from
other rites.

Development

Judaism and the early church

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 afternoon (Exodus 29:38–39 (https://bible.oremus.o
rg/?passage=Exodus%2029:38–39&version=nrsv)). Eventually, these sacrifices moved from the Tabernacle
to Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

During the Babylonian captivity, when the Temple was no longer in use, synagogues carried on the
practice, 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. After the people returned to
Judea, the prayer services were incorporated into Temple worship as well.

The miraculous healing of the crippled beggar described in Acts of the Apostles 3:1, took place as Peter and
John went to the Temple for the three o'clock hour of prayer. The practice of daily prayers grew from the
Jewish practice of reciting prayers at set times of the day known as zmanim: for example, in the Acts of the
Apostles, Saint Peter and John the Evangelist visit the Temple in Jerusalem for the afternoon prayers.[4]

Psalm 119:164 states: "Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws" (of this, Symeon of
Thessalonica writes that "the times of prayer and the services are seven in number, like the number of gifts
of the Spirit, since the holy prayers are from the Spirit").[5] In Act 10: 9, the decision to include Gentiles
among the community of believers, arose from a vision Peter had while praying about noontime.

Early Christians prayed the Psalms (Acts 4:23–30 (https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Acts%204:23–30&ve

rsion=nrsv)), which have remained the principal part of the canonical hours. By 60 AD, the Didache,
recommends disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day; this practice found its way into the
canonical hours as well. 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 the third,
sixth and ninth hours.

From the time of the early Church, the practice of seven fixed prayer times, being attached to Psalm
119:164, have been taught; in Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a
day "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth
hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion."[6][7][8][9]

In the early church, during the night before every feast, a vigil was kept. The word "Vigils", at first applied
to the Night Office, comes from a Latin source, namely the Vigiliae or nocturnal watches or guards of the
soldiers. The night from six o'clock in the evening to six o'clock in the morning was divided into four
watches or vigils of three hours each, the first, the second, the third, and the fourth vigil.[10] The Night
Office is linked to Psalm 119:62: "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous
judgments."[11]

Christians attended two liturgies on the Lord's Day, worshipping communally in both a morning service
and evening service, with the purpose of reading the Scriptures and celebrating the Eucharist.[12]
Throughout the rest of the week, Christians assembled at the church every day for morning prayer (which
became known as lauds) and evening prayer (which became known as vespers), while praying at the other
fixed prayer times privately.[13][14][15][16] In the evening the faithful assembled in the place or church
where the feast was to be celebrated and prepared themselves by prayers, readings, and sometimes also by
hearing a sermon. Pliny the Younger (63 – c. 113) 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." (cf. Lovefeast)[17] This vigil was a
regular institution of Christian life and was defended and highly recommended by St. Augustine and St.
Jerome.[18]

The Office of the Vigils was a single Office, recited without interruption at midnight. Probably in the fourth
century, in order to break the monotony of this long night prayer the custom of dividing it into three parts or
Nocturns was introduced. John Cassian in speaking of the solemn Vigils mentions three divisions of this
Office.[19]

Around the year 484, the Greek-Cappadocian monk Sabbas the Sanctified began the process of recording
the liturgical practices around Jerusalem, while the cathedral and parish rites in the Patriarchate of
Constantinople evolved in an entirely different manner.[20] The two major practices were synthesized,
commencing in the 8th century, to yield an office of great complexity.[21]
In 525, Benedict of Nursia set out one of the earliest schemes for the recitation of the Psalter at the Office.
The Cluniac Reforms of the 11th century renewed an emphasis on liturgy and the canonical hours in the
reformed priories of the Order of Saint Benedict, with Cluny Abbey at their head.

Middle Ages

As the form of fixed-hour prayer developed in the Christian monastic communities in the East and West,
the Offices grew both more elaborate and more complex, but the basic cycle of prayer still provided the
structure for daily life in monasteries. By the fourth century, the elements of the canonical hours were more
or less established. For secular (non-monastic) clergy and lay people, the fixed-hour prayers were by
necessity much shorter, though in many churches, the form of the fixed-hour prayers became a hybrid of
secular and monastic practice (sometimes referred to as 'cathedral' and 'monastic' models).

Byzantine Rite

In the Byzantine Empire, the development of the Divine Services shifted from the area around Jerusalem to
Constantinople. In particular, Theodore the Studite (c. 758 – c. 826) combined a number of influences from
the Byzantine court ritual with monastic practices common in Anatolia,[21] and added thereto a number of
hymns composed by himself and his brother Joseph (see typikon for further details).

Western rites

In the West, the Rule of Saint Benedict (written in 516) was modeled on 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 set down the dictum Ora et labora –
"Pray and work". The Order of Saint Benedict began to call the prayers the Opus Dei or "Work of God".

By the time of Saint Benedict of Nursia, author of the Rule, the monastic Liturgy of the Hours was
composed of seven daytime hours and one at night. He associated the practice with Psalm 118/119:164,
"Seven times a day I praise you", and Psalm 118/119:62, "At midnight I rise to praise you".[22] The fixed-
hour prayers came to be known as the "Divine Office" (office coming from 'officium', lit., "duty").

Initially, the term "Matins" from Latin matutinus, meaning "of or belonging to the morning",[23] was
applied to the psalms recited at dawn. At first "Lauds" (i.e. praises) derived from the three last psalms in the
office (148, 149, 150), in all of which the word laudate is repeated frequently, and to such an extent that
originally the word Lauds designated the end, that is to say, these three psalms with the conclusion. The
Night Office and Lauds are grouped together as a single canonical hour to form a total of seven canonical
hours.[11]: 32

By the fourth century the word "matins" became attached to the prayer originally offered at cockcrow.[24]
and, according to the sixth-century Rule of Saint Benedict, could be calculated to be the eighth hour of the
night (the hour that began at about 2 a.m.).[25][26] Outside of monasteries few rose at night to pray. The
canonical hour of the vigil was said in the morning, followed immediately by lauds, and the name of
"matins" replaced that of "vigils". Gradually the title "Lauds" was applied to the early morning office.[27]

Already well-established by the 9th century in the West, these canonical hours consisted of daily prayer
liturgies:

Matins (nighttime)
Lauds (early morning)
 Prime (first hour of daylight)
Terce (third hour)
Sext (noon)
Nones (ninth hour)
Vespers (sunset evening)
Compline (end of the day)

The three major hours were Matins, Lauds and Vespers; the minor hours were Terce, Sext, Nones and
Compline.[28][29]

As the Divine Office grew more important in the life of the Church,
the rituals became more elaborate. Praying the Office already
required 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. Breviary of Beatrice van Assendelft,
1485
The spread of breviaries eventually reached Rome, where Pope
Innocent III extended their use to the Roman Curia. The
Franciscans sought a one-volume breviary for their friars to use during travels, so the order adopted the
Breviarium Curiae, but substituting the Gallican Psalter for the Roman. The Franciscans gradually spread
this breviary throughout Europe. Eventually, Pope Nicholas III adopted 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.

In general, when modern secular books reference canonical hours in the Middle Ages, these are the
equivalent times:

Vigil (eighth hour of night: 2 a.m.)

Matins (a later portion of Vigil, from 3 a.m. to dawn)
Lauds (dawn; approximately 5 a.m., but varies seasonally)
Prime (early morning, the first hour of daylight, approximately 6 a.m.)
Terce (third hour, 9 a.m.)
Sext (sixth hour, noon)
Nones (ninth hour, 3 p.m.)
Vespers (sunset, approximately 6 p.m.)
Compline (end of the day before retiring, approximately 7 p.m.)

Church bells are tolled at the fixed times of these canonical hours in some Christian traditions as a call to
prayer.[30]

Roman Rite
 In the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, bishops, priests,
deacons and the members of the consecrated life are obliged to
recite the hours each day, keeping as far as possible to the true time
of day, and using the text of the approved liturgical books that
apply to them.[31][32] The laity are encouraged to recite the prayer
of the hours.[33]

Diurnal offices
Benedictine monks singing Vespers
The diurnal offices or
daytime offices
(Ecclesiastical Latin: horae diurnae) are the canonical hours during
the day. Interpretation of their number and identity varies.

The monastic rule drawn up by Benedict of Nursia (c. 480 – c. 547)

distinguishes between the seven daytime canonical hours of lauds
(dawn), prime (sunrise), terce (mid-morning), sext (midday), none
(mid-afternoon), Vespers (sunset), compline (retiring) and the
Traditionally, monastic communities
nighttime canonical hour of vigil. It links the seven daytime offices
pray the Divine Office in the choir of
with Psalm 118/119:164, "Seven times a day I praise you for your
the church.
righteous rules";[34] and the one nighttime office with Psalm
118/119:62, "At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your
righteous rules",[35][36][37]

In this reckoning, the one nocturnal office, together with Lauds and Vespers, are the three major hours, the
other five are the minor or little hours.[38][39][40]

According to Dwight E. Vogel,[41] Daniel James Lula[42] and Elizabeth Moore[43] the diurnal offices are
Terce, Sext, and Nones, which are distinguished from the major hours of Matins, Lauds and Vespers and
from the nighttime hours of Compline and Vigil.

Revisions

The Council of Trent, in its final session on 4 December 1563, entrusted the reform of the Breviary to the
Pope.[44] 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.[45] Later popes
altered the Roman Breviary of Pope Pius V. Pope Pius XII 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 bishops were consulted in 1955. His successor, Pope John XXIII, made a
further revision in 1960.

Second Vatican Council revisions

Following the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church's Roman Rite simplified the observance of the
canonical hours and sought to make them more suited to the needs of today's apostolate and accessible to
the laity, hoping to restore their character as the prayer of the entire Church.
The council abolished the office of Prime,[46] and envisioned a manner of distributing the psalms over a
period of more than 1 week.[47] The Roman breviary is published under the title Liturgia Horarum. A
translation is published by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. under the title The Liturgy of the Hours in four
volumes, arranged according to the seasons of the liturgical year.

The current liturgical books for the celebration of the hours in Latin are those of the editio typica altera
(second typical edition) promulgated in 1985. The official title is Officium Divinum, Liturgia Horarum
iuxta Ritum Romanum, editio typica altera.

Official English translations

The Divine Office is translated by a commission set up by the Episcopal Conferences of
England and Wales, Australia and Ireland. First published in 1974 by HarperCollins, this
edition is the English edition approved for use the above countries, as well as many Asian
and African dioceses.
Catholic Truth Society published Prayer During the Day in 2009.
The Liturgy of the Hours is translated by the International Commission on English in the
Liturgy (ICEL). First published in 1975 by Catholic Book Publishing Company in the US, this
edition is the English edition approved for use in the US, Canada and several other English-
speaking dioceses.

Current practice

After the Second Vatican Council, which decided that the hour of Prime should be suppressed,[48] as it was
perceived as duplicating Lauds, Pope Paul VI decreed a new arrangement of the Liturgy of the Hours.[49]

The major hours consist of the Matins (or Office of Readings), Lauds and Vespers. The character of Lauds
is that of praise, of Vespers, that of thanksgiving. The Office of Readings has the character of reflection on
the day that is past and preparing the soul for its passage to eternal life. In each office, the psalms and
canticle are framed by antiphons.

Byzantine Rite usage

Historical development

Because the Rite of Constantinople evolved as a synthesis of two distinct rites – cathedral rite of
Constantinople called the "asmatiki akolouthia" ("sung services") and the monastic typicon of the Holy
Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified near Jerusalem – its offices are highly developed and quite complex.

Local variations

Two main strata exist in the rite, those places that have inherited the traditions of the Russian Church which
had been given only the monastic sabbaite typicon which is used to this day[50] in parishes and cathedrals
as well as in monasteries, and everywhere else where some remnant of the cathedral rite remained in use;
therefore, the rite as practiced in monasteries everywhere resembles the Russian recension, while non-
Russian non-monastic customs differs significantly. For example, in the Russian tradition, the "all-night
vigil" is served in every church on Saturday nights and the eves of feast days (although it may be abridged
to be as short as two hours) while elsewhere, it is usual to have Matins on the morning of the feast;
however, in the latter instance, Vespers and matins are rather less abridged but the Divine Liturgy
commences at the end of matins and the hours are not read, as was the case in the extinct cathedral rite of
Constantinople.

Also, as the rite evolved in sundry places, different customs arose; an essay on some of these has been
written by Archbishop Basil Krivoshein and is posted on the web.[51]

Liturgical books

The Horologion (῾Ωρολόγιον; Church Slavonic: Chasoslov, Часocлoвъ), or Book of Hours, provides the
fixed portions of the Daily Cycle of services (akolouthies, ἀκολουθίες) as used by the Eastern Orthodox
and Eastern Catholic churches.

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

Psalter (Greek: Ψαλτήρ(ιον), "Psalter(ion)"; Slavonic: Ѱалтырь or Ѱалтирь, "Psaltyr") A

book containing the 150 Psalms[note 1] divided into 20 sections called Kathismata together
with the nine Biblical canticles which are chanted at Matins; although these canticles had
been chanted in their entirety, having over time come to be supplemented by interspersed
hymns (analogously to stichera) to form the Canon, the canticles themselves are now only
regularly used in a few large monasteries.[note 2] The Psalter also contains the various
"selected psalms", each composed of verses from a variety of psalms, sung at matins on
feast days, as well as tables for determining which Kathismata are to be read at each
service; in addition to the Psalms read at the daily offices, all the Psalms are read each
week and, during Great Lent, twice a week.
Octoechos (Greek: Ὀκτώηχος; Slavonic: Октоихъ, Oktoikh or Осмогласникъ,
Osmoglasnik)—Literally, the Book of the "Eight Tones" or modes. This book contains a cycle
of eight weeks, one for each of the eight echoi (church modes of the Byzantine musical
system of eight modes), providing texts for each day of the week for Vespers, Matins,
Compline, and (on Sundays) the Midnight Office. The origins of this book go back to
compositions by St. John Damascene.
Menaion (Greek: Μηναίον; Slavonic: Минїѧ,[52] Miniya)—A twelve-volume set which
provides liturgical texts for each day of the calendar year,[note 3] printed as 12 volumes, one
for each month of the year.[note 4] Another volume, the General Menaion contains propers for
each class of saints for use when the propers for a particular saint are not available.
Additionally, locally venerated saints may have services in supplemental volumes,
pamphlets, or manuscripts.
Menologion A collection of the lives of the saints and commentaries on the meaning of
feasts for each day of the calendar year, also printed as 12 volumes,[note 4] appointed to be
read at the meal in monasteries and, when there is an all-night vigil for a feast day, between
Vespers and Matins.
Triodion (Greek: Τριῴδιον, Triodion; Slavonic: Постнаѧ Трїѡдь, Postnaya Triod;
Romanian: Triodul), also called the Lenten Triodion. The Lenten Triodion contains propers
for:
the Pre-Lenten Season
the Forty Days of Great Lent itself
Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
Holy Week
 Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostarion; Slavonic: Цвѣтнаѧ Трїѡдь,
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) Commencing with matins on 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 for each
day of the year brief lives of the saints and meanings of celebrated feasts, appointed to be
read after the Kontakion and Oikos at Matins.
Irmologion (Greek: ῾Ειρμολόγιον; Slavonic: Ирмологий, Irmologii)—Contains the Irmoi
chanted at the Canon of Matins and other services.
Priest's Service Book (Greek: ῾Ἱερατικόν, Ieratikon; Slavonic: Слѹжебникъ, Sluzhebnik)
—Contain the portions of the services which are said by the priest and deacon and is given
to a deacon and to a priest with his vestments at ordination.[note 5]
Bishop's Service Book (Greek: Ἀρχιιερατικόν Archieratikon, Slavonic: Чиновникъ,
Chinovnik) the portions of the services which are said by the Bishop; for the Canonical
Hours, this differs little from what is in the Priest's Service Book.
Gospel Book (Greek: Ευαγγέλιον, Evangélion) Book containing the 4 Gospels laid out as
read at the divine services.[note 6]
Apostle Book (Greek: Απόστολος, Apostolos; Slavonic: Апостолъ, Apostol) Contains the
readings for the Divine Liturgy from the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles together with
the Prokeimenon and Alleluia verses that are chanted with the readings.[note 6]
Patristic writings Many writings from the Church fathers are prescribed to be read at matins
and, during great lent, at the hours; in practice, this is only done in some monasteries and
frequently therein the abbot prescribes readings other than those in the written rubrics.
therefore it is not customary to enumerate all the volumes required for this.
Collections (Greek: Ανθολόγιον, Anthologion; Slavonic: Сборникъ, Sbornik) There are
numerous smaller anthologies available[note 7] which were quite common before the
invention of printing but still are in common use both because of the enormous volume of a
full set of liturgical texts and because the full texts have not yet been translated into several
languages currently in use.
Typicon (Greek: Τυπικόν, Typikon; Slavonic: Тѵпико́нъ, Typikon or уста́въ, ustav)
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.

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:

 Sunday—Resurrection of Christ
Monday—The Holy Angels
Tuesday—St. John the Forerunner
Wednesday—The Cross and the Theotokos
Thursday—The Holy Apostles and St. Nicholas
Friday—The Cross
Saturday—All Saints[note 8] and the departed

Most of the texts come from the Octoechos, which has a large collections of hymns for each weekday for
each of the eight tones; during great lent and, to a lesser degree, the pre-lenten season, the Lenten Triodion
supplements this with hymns for each day of the week for each week of that season, as does the
Pentecostarion during the pascal season. Also, there are fixed texts for each day of the week are in the
Horologion and Priest's Service Book (e.g., dismissals) and the Kathismata (selections from the Psalter) are
governed by the weekly cycle in conjunction with the season.

Fixed Cycle

Commemorations on the Fixed Cycle depend upon the day of the calendar year, and also, occasionally,
specific days of the week that fall near specific calendar dates, e.g., the Sunday before the Exaltation of the
Cross. The texts for this cycle are found in the Menaion.

Paschal Cycle

The commemorations on the Paschal Cycle (Moveable Cycle) depend upon the date of Pascha (Easter).
The texts for this cycle are found in the Lenten Triodion, the Pentecostarion, the Octoechos and also,
because the daily Epistle and Gospel readings are determined by this cycle, the Gospel Book and Apostle
Book. The cycle of the Octoechos continues through the following Great Lent, so the variable parts of the
lenten services are determined by both the preceding year's and the current year's dates of Easter.

8 Week Cycle of the Octoechos

The cycle of the eight Tones is found in the Octoechos and is dependent on the date of Easter and
commences with the Sunday after (eighth day of) Easter, that week using the first tone, the next week using
the second tone, and so, repeating through the week preceding the subsequent Palm Sunday.[note 9]

11 Week Cycle of the Matins Gospels

The portions of each of the Gospels from the narration of the Resurrection through the end are divided into
eleven readings which are read on successive Sundays at matins; there are hymns sung at Matins that
correspond with that day's Matins Gospel.

Daily cycle of services

The Daily Cycle begins with Vespers[note 10] and proceeds throughout the night and day according to the
following table:
 Name of
Historical time
Name of service in Greek service in
of service Theme[53]
English

(Koinē Greek: Ἑσπερινός, Glorification of God, the Creator of the

Vespers At sunset
romanized: Esperinós) world and its Providence

(Koinē Greek: Ἀπόδειπνον, Sleep as the image of death, illumined by

Compline At bedtime
romanized: Apódeipnon) Christ's Harrowing of Hell after His death
Christ's midnight prayer in Gethsemane;
(Koinē Greek: Μεσονυκτικόν, Midnight a reminder to be ready for the Bridegroom
At midnight
romanized: Mesonyktikón) Office coming at midnight and the Last
Judgment

Morning The Lord having given us not only

(Koinē Greek: Ὄρθρος, Matins or
watches, daylight but spiritual light, Christ the
romanized: Órthros) Orthros
ending at dawn Savior

(Koinē Greek: Πρῶτη Ὥρα, First Hour

At ~6 am Christ's being brought before Pilate
romanized: Prō̂tē Óra) (Prime)
Pilate's judgement of Christ and the
(Koinē Greek: Τρίτη Ὥρα, Third Hour
At ~9 am descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
romanized: Trítē Óra) (Terce)
which happened at this hour

(Koinē Greek: Ἕκτη Ὥρα, Sixth Hour Christ's crucifixion, which happened at
At noon
romanized: Èktē Óra) (Sext) this hour

(Koinē Greek: Ἐννάτη Ὥρα, Ninth Hour Christ's death, which happened at this
At ~3 pm
romanized: Ennátē Óra) (None) hour
(Koinē Greek: τυπικά, follows the
romanized: Typicá) or Pro- Typica sixth or ninth
Liturgy[54] hour

The Typica is served whenever the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated at its usual time, i.e., when there is a
vesperal Liturgy or no Liturgy at all. On days when the Liturgy may be celebrated at its usual hour, the
Typica follows the sixth hour (or Matins, where the custom is to serve the Liturgy then) and the Epistle and
Gospel readings for the day are read therein;[note 11] otherwise, on aliturgical days or when the Liturgy is
served at vespers, the Typica has a much shorter form and is served between the ninth hour and vespers.[54]

Also, there are Inter-Hours for the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours. These are services of a similar
structure to, but briefer than, the hours. their usage varies with local custom, but generally they are used
only during the Nativity Fast, Apostles Fast, and Dormition Fast on days when the lenten alleluia replaces
"God is the Lord" at matins, which may be done at the discretion of the ecclesiarch when the Divine
Liturgy is not celebrated.

In addition to these public prayers, there are also private prayers prescribed for both monastics and
laypersons; in some monasteries, however, these are read in church. These include Morning and Evening
Prayers and prayers (and, in Russia, canons) to be prayed in preparation for receiving the Eucharist.

The full cycle of services are usually served only in monasteries, cathedrals, and other katholika. In
monasteries and parishes of the Russian tradition, the Third and Sixth Hours are read during the Prothesis
(Liturgy of Preparation); otherwise, the Prothesis is served during Matins, the final portion of which is
omitted, the Liturgy of the Catechumens commencing straightway after the troparion following the Great
Doxology.
The Midnight Office is seldom served in parishes churches except at the Paschal Vigil as the essential office
wherein the burial shroud is removed from the tomb and carried to the altar.

Aggregates

The sundry Canonical Hours are, in practice, grouped together into aggregates[55] so that there are three
major times of prayer a day: Evening, Morning and Midday.[note 12] The most common groupings are as
follows:

Ordinary days

Evening – Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline[note 13]

Morning Watches – Midnight Office,[note 14] Matins, First Hour
Morning – Third Hour, Sixth Hour, and the Divine Liturgy or Typica[note 15]

Weekdays during lent

Evening – Great Compline
Morning Watches – Midnight Office, Matins, First Hour
Morning – Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Ninth Hour, Typica, Vespers (sometimes with the Liturgy of
the Presanctified Gifts or, on the Annunciation, the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom)

When there is an all-night vigil

On the eves before Great Feasts and, in some traditions, on all Sundays, this grouping is used. However,
the all-night vigil is usually abridged so as to not last literally "all-night" and may be as short as two hours;
on the other hand, on Athos and in the very traditional monastic institutions, that service followed by the
hours and Liturgy may last as long as 18 hours.

Afternoon – Ninth Hour, Little Vespers,[note 16] Compline (where it is not read at the
commencement of the Vigil)
Early night – Compline (where it is not the custom for it to follow small vespers), Great
Vespers,[note 17] a reading, Matins, First Hour

When the royal hours are read

Evening – Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline
Morning Watches – Midnight Office, Matins
Morning – First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours and the Typica

On the eves of Christmas, Theophany, and Annunciation

When the feast is a weekday (or, in the Russian tradition, on any day for Christmas, Theophany), Vespers
(with the Liturgy in most instances) is served earlier in the day and so Great Compline functions much as
Great vespers does on the vigils of other feast days.

Evening – Great Compline (in some traditions) and, if there be an All-Night Vigil, the reading,
 matins, first hour.
Morning Watches – (unless there be an all-night vigil) midnight office, matins, first hour.

Alexandrian Rite
The Alexandrian Rite is observed by the Coptic Orthodox
Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church. The
cycle of canonical hours is largely monastic, primarily
composed of psalm readings. The Coptic equivalent of the
Byzantine Horologion is the Agpeya.

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 hours are chronologically laid out, each containing a

theme corresponding to events in the life of Jesus Christ:

"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 (https://bible.oremu The Agpeya is a breviary used in Oriental
s.org/?passage=Matthew%2025:1–13&version=nrs Orthodox Christianity to pray the
v) ). canonical hours at fixed prayer times
Prime (dawn) is said upon waking in the morning or during the day.
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.
Vespers (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:

Introduction, which includes the Lord's Prayer

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Psalm 50 (LXX).
 Various Psalms
An excerpt from the Holy Gospel
Short Litanies
Some prayers (Only during Prime and Compline)
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)
Prayer of "Holy Holy Holy..." and Lord's Prayer
Prayer of Absolution
Prayer of Every Hour

Syriac rites

East Syriac Rite

The East Syriac 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 mainly of course the recitation
of the Psalter. There are usually seven regular hours of service; the following are the times of prayer:

Ramsha (‫ )ܲܪ ܡܵܫ ܐ‬or the Evening Liturgy (6 pm)

Suba-a (‫ )ܣܼܘ ܵܒ ܵܥ ܐ‬or the Supper Liturgy (9 pm)
Lelya (‫ )ܸܠ ܠܵܝ ܐ‬or the Night Liturgy (12 am)
Qala d-Shahra ( ‫ ) ܵܩ ܵܠܐ ܕܲܫ ܗܵܪ‬or the Vigil Liturgy (3 am), a rarely used
Sapra (‫ )ܲܨ ܦܵܪ ܐ‬or the Morning Liturgy (6 am) [56]
Quta'a (‫ )ܩܼܘ ܵܛ ܵܥ ܐ‬or the Third Hour Liturgy (9 am)
Endana (‫ )ܸܥ ܵܕ ܵܢ ܐ‬or the Noon Liturgy (12 pm)

When East Syriac 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 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.

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.

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 Syriac 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.

There are four shorter fasting periods besides the Great Lent; these are:

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 Jonah, 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.).

West Syriac Rite

The West Syriac Rite, used in India and Syria by the Indian
Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox (Jacobites), as well as Syriac Rite
Catholics, 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.

In accordance with Psalm 119:164, "Seven times in the day have I

praised Thee for Thy judgments, O Righteous One," [58] the Syriac
Orthodox Church observes seven services of prayer each day:

Evening or Ramsho prayer (Vespers)

The Shehimo is a breviary used in
Drawing of the Veil or Sootoro, meaning "Protection", Indian Orthodoxy and Syriac
from Psalm 91, which is sung at this prayer, "He who sits Orthodoxy to pray the canonical
under the protection of the Most High" (Compline) hours at fixed prayer times during the
Midnight or Lilyo prayer (Matins) day while facing in the eastward
Morning or Saphro prayer (Prime, 6 a.m.) direction.[57]
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" (literally "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 Shehimo, "simple prayer". The Shehimo 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.

Armenian Rite
The Daily Services in the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic 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.

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.

The Sunrise Service (6:00 a.m.)[note 18] Dedicated to the praising of the Holy Spirit. Symbolizes the
appearance to Christ to the disciples after the Resurrection.

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:

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).

Protestantism

Lutheran Rite

Like the Mass (liturgy) itself, the Daily Office within the
Lutheran Church has had considerable variety, in both
language and form. In the Reformation era, the Daily Office
was largely consolidated into Matins, Vespers, and sometimes
Compline, though there are notable exceptions. The Missale
Germanicum of 1568, for example, simply translated the pre-
Reformation breviary into German, retaining all of the
canonical hours. The 1613 Cantica Sacra of the Magdeburg
Cathedral, on the other hand, provides for Matins, Lauds,
Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline to be sung
in Latin every day of the year, including plainsong melodies For All The Saints breviary, used in the
and text for Latin invitatories, responsories, and antiphons Lutheran Churches, in four volumes
provided. As a result, a rural Lutheran parish church in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries might pray Saturday
Vespers, Sunday Matins, and Sunday Vespers in the vernacular, while the nearby cathedral and city
churches could be found praying the eight canonical hours in Latin with polyphony and Gregorian chant
on a daily basis throughout the year.[59]

The advent of Pietism and Rationalism led to a disdain for and a decline in the observation of liturgies of
every sort in Lutheran Germany, including the Daily Office, as described in Paul Graff's Geschichte der
Auflösung der alten gottesdienstlichen Formen in der evangelischen Kirche Deutschlands. Despite the
disdain of these movements for the Daily Office, a Latin choir hymnal was published in Nuremberg as late
as 1724, and weekday observations of Matins and Vespers continued in many German Lutheran parishes
until the end of the 18th century.[59]

A renewal in the Daily Office took place in the nineteenth century as a part of the confessional revival
among Lutherans, particularly as a result of the work of such figures as Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe.
Among English-speaking Lutherans in North America, this influence helped give rise to traditional forms of
Matins and Vespers, based on sixteenth century Lutheran precedents, found in the Common Service of
1888, which were then included in English-language Lutheran hymnals in America prior to the 1970s. In
1969, the Worship Supplement of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod reintroduced the offices of Prime,
Sext, and Compline, though only Compline was retained in subsequent hymnals.

In 1978, the Lutheran Book of Worship was published, containing newly revised forms of the Daily Office
influenced by liturgical reforms in vogue following the Second Vatican Council, with an order of Evening
Prayer that includes a "Service of Light". Both the 2006 Lutheran Service Book of the Lutheran Church–
Missouri Synod and the 2006 Evangelical Lutheran Worship of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America provide forms of the modern Daily Office rites introduced in Lutheran Book of Worship, though
Lutheran Service Book also provides traditional forms of Matins and Vespers patterned on those found in
the Common Service of 1888.

Today, in addition to denominational hymnals, there are a variety of books and resources used by Lutherans
around the world to pray the hours. In Germany, the Diakonie Neuendettelsau religious institute uses a
breviary unique to the order, and the Evangelisch-Lutherische Gebetsbruderschaft uses its Breviarium
Lipsiensae: Tagzeitengebete. Among English-speaking Lutherans in the United States, the twentieth
century saw a proliferation in breviaries and prayer books alongside renewed interest in praying the
canonical hours. Among the volumes presently in use is a translation of the Breviarum Lipsiensae:
Tagzeitengebete, entitled The Brotherhood Prayer Book, which provides for eight canonical hours and
includes a psalter, responsories, and antiphons set to Gregorian chant. It is largely used by clergy and laity
within the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. For All the Saints: A Prayer Book for and by the Church
was published in 1995, and follows the daily lectionary of the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, providing
three scriptural readings and a non-Scriptural reading from a Christian theologian or source for each day of
the year in a two year cycle. In 2008, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod published The Treasury of
Daily Prayer, the only current denominational effort among Lutherans to reinvigorate the observation of
the Daily Office. For each day, it provides a psalm (or a portion thereof), an Old Testament reading, a New
Testament reading, a writing from a Christian theologian or writer, a hymn stanza, and a collect. In a further
effort to encourage widespread use of the Daily Office, the Treasury of Daily Prayer has also been made
available as a mobile app called "PrayNow".

Anglican usage

The daily offices have always had an important place

in Anglican spirituality. Until comparatively recently
Mattins and Evensong were the principal Sunday
services in most Anglican churches, sung to settings by
composers both ancient and modern. While Evensong
with its musical repertory spanning five centuries
continues to play an important role in Anglican
worship, the eucharist has replaced Morning Prayer as
the principal service on Sunday mornings in most
Anglican parishes and cathedrals. The Anglican Rosary sitting atop The Anglican
Breviary and the Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549
and revised down the centuries, constitutes the basis of
the liturgy for Anglicans and Anglican Use Roman Catholics. All Anglican prayer books provide offices for
Morning Prayer (often called Mattins or Matins) and Evening Prayer (colloquially known as Evensong).[60]

The traditional structure of Matins and Evensong in most Anglican prayer books reflects the intention by
the reforming Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, to return to the office's older roots as the daily
prayer of parish churches. For this purpose, he followed some German Lutheran liturgies in eliminating the
lesser hours and conflating the medieval offices of Matins and Lauds, while incorporating the canticles
associated with each: the Benedictus and Te Deum. Similarly, Evening Prayer, also derived from German
Lutheran liturgies, incorporated both the Magnificat from Vespers and the Nunc Dimittis from Compline. In
Cranmer's adaptation of preceding Lutheran forms, each canticle was preceded by a reading from scripture.
For the sake of simplicity, Cranmer also eliminated responsories and antiphons, although these have been
restored in many contemporary Anglican prayer books. Since his time, every edition of the Book of
Common Prayer has included the complete psalter, usually arranged to be read over the course of a month.
One distinctive contribution of Anglican worship is a broad repertory of Anglican Chant settings for the
psalms and canticles.

Since the early 20th century, revised editions of the Book of Common Prayer or supplemental service
books published by Anglican churches have often added offices for midday prayer and Compline. In
England and other Anglican provinces, service books now include four offices:

Morning Prayer, corresponding to Matins and Lauds.

Prayer During the Day, conflating the lesser hours of Terce, Sext, and None.
Evening Prayer, corresponding to Vespers.
Night Prayer, or Compline.

Some prayer books also include a selection of prayers and devotions specifically for family use. The 1979
Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. also provides an "Order of Worship for the
Evening" as a prelude to Evensong with blessings for the lighting of candles and the singing of the ancient
Greek lamp-lighting hymn, the Phos Hilaron. In the Church of England, the publication in 2005 of Daily
Prayer, the third volume of Common Worship, adds "Prayer During the Day" to the services for Morning
Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline, and adds a selection of antiphons and responsories for the seasons
of the Church Year. The 1989 New Zealand Prayer Book provides different outlines for Mattins and
Evensong on each day of the week, as well as "Midday Prayer", "Night Prayer", and "Family Prayer". In
1995, the Episcopal Church (United States) published the Contemporary Office Book in one volume with
the complete psalter and all readings from the two-year Daily Office lectionary.

Most Anglican monastic communities use a Daily Office based on the Book of Common Prayer or on
Common Worship but with additional antiphons and devotions. The Order of the Holy Cross and Order of
St. Helena published A Monastic Breviary (Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow) in 1976. The Order of St.
Helena published the St. Helena Breviary (New York: Church Publishing) in 2006 with a revised psalter
eliminating male pronouns in reference to God. The All Saints Sisters of the Poor 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.

Some Anglo-Catholics use the Anglican Breviary, an adaptation of the Pre-Vatican II Roman Rite and the
Sarum Rite in the style of Cranmer's original Book of Common Prayer, along with supplemental material
from other western sources, including a common of Octaves, a common of Holy Women, and other
material. It provides for the eight historical offices in one volume, but does not include the Little Office of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was bound along with many editions of the Breviarium Romanum. Other
Anglo-Catholics use the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours (US) or Divine Office (UK). Various
Anglican adaptations of pre-Vatican II Roman office-books have appeared over the years, among the best
known being Canon W. Douglas' translation of the 'Monastic Diurnal' into the idiom of the 'Book of
Common Prayer'.

Historically, Anglican clergy have vested in cassock, surplice, and tippet for Morning and Evening Prayer,
while bishops wear the rochet and chimere. In some monastic communities and Anglo-Catholic parishes,
the officiant wears a surplice or an alb with stole and cope when Evensong is celebrated solemnly.
The canons of the Church of England and some other Anglican provinces require clergy to read Morning
and Evening Prayer daily, either in public worship or privately. According to Canon C.24, "Every priest
having a cure of souls shall provide that, in the absence of reasonable hindrance, Morning and Evening
Prayer daily and on appointed days the Litany shall be said in the church, or one of the churches, of which
he is the minister."[61] Canon C.26 stipulates that, "Every clerk (cleric) in Holy Orders is under obligation,
not being let (prevented) by sickness or some other urgent cause, to say daily the Morning and Evening
Prayer...."[62] In other Anglican provinces, the Daily Office is not a canonical obligation but is strongly
encouraged.

Methodist usage

F. W. Macdonald, the biographer of The Rt. Rev. John Fletcher Hurst, stated that Oxford Methodism "with
its almost monastic rigors, its living by rule, its canonical hours of prayer, is a fair and noble phase of the
many-sided life of the Church of England".[63]

The traditional 1784 Methodist Daily Office is contained in The Sunday Service of the Methodists, which
was written by John Wesley himself. It was consequently updated in the Book of Offices, published in 1936
in Great Britain, and The United Methodist Book of Worship, published in 1992 in the United States.[64]
Some Methodist religious orders publish the Daily Office to be used for that community, for example, The
Book of Offices and Services of The Order of Saint Luke contains Morning, Mid-Morning, Noon, Mid-
Afternoon, Evening, Compline and Vigil.[65]

Certain Methodist parishes, such as Saint Paul's Free Methodist Church, offer a daily corporate praying of
the canonical hours at church.[66]

Reformed usage

Some Reformed churches—notably the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ—
have published daily office books adapted from the ancient structure of morning and evening prayer in the
Western church, usually revised for the purpose of inclusive language.

The New Century Psalter, published in 1999 by The Pilgrim Press, includes an inclusive-language revision
of the psalms adapted from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible with refrains and complete
orders for Morning and Evening Prayer. Simple family prayers for morning, evening and the close of day
are also provided.

Book of Common Worship Daily Prayer, published in 1994 by Westminster John Knox Press, includes the
daily offices from The Book of Common Worship of 1993, the liturgy of the Presbyterian Church USA. In
addition to Morning and Evening Prayer there is a complete service for Compline. Its psalter—an inclusive-
language revision of the psalter from the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer—also includes a collect
for each psalm. Antiphons and litanies are provided for the seasons of the church year. A new Book of
Common Worship Daily Prayer with expanded content was published in 2018. It adds a service for Mid-
Day Prayer. Its new psalter is from Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

Both books are intended for ecumenical use and can be used with any daily lectionary.

Liberal Catholic usage

The Liberal Catholic Church, and many groups in the Liberal Catholic movement, also use a simple
version of the Western canonical hours, said with various scripture reading and collects. According to the
Liturgy of the Liberal Catholic Church, the Scriptures used are generally limited to the readings of the day,
and the complete psalter is not incorporated unless at the discretion of the priest presiding, if as a public
service, or of the devotee in private use. The Hours of the Liberal Rite consist of: Lauds, Prime, Sext,
Vespers, and Compline. Its recitation is not obligatory on Liberal Catholic priests or faithful, according to
current directs from the General Episcopal Synod.

See also
Fixed prayer times

Notes
1. There is also a Psalm 151 which is often included in the Psalter, though it is not actually
chanted during the Divine Services.
2. excepting in the Russian tradition where they are used weekly on weekdays of Great Lent.
3. On non-leap years, the service for 29 Feb (St. John Cassian) is chanted at Compline on 28
Feb.
4. The liturgical year begins in September, so the volumes are numbered from 1 for September
to 12 for August.
5. Originally, the deacon's book and the priest's books were distinct, but upon the invention of
printing, it was found more practical to combine them.
6. In Greek editions 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).
The Apostól is likewise edited, the Slavonic Apostól having 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, followed by the Catholic
Epistles, etc.).
7. For instance, the Festal Menaion contains only those portions of the Menaion that have to do
with the Great Feasts; and the General Menaion, et cetera.
8. Including, especially, the Theotokos and the Patron Saint of the local church or monastery.
9. Each day of Bright Week (Easter Week) uses propers in a different tone, Sunday: Tone One,
Monday: Tone Two, skipping the grave tone (Tone Seven)
10. In accordance with Old Testament practice, the day is considered to begin in the evening
(Genesis 1:5).
11. The Typica has a certain correspondence to the Missa Sicca of the Mediaeval West.
12. This is to conform with Psalm 55:17, "Evening, morning, and noonday will I tell of it and will
declare it, and He will hear my voice."
13. In monasteries, when there is an evening meal, compline is often separated from vespers
and read after the meal; in Greek (απόδειπνον/apodeipnon) and Slavonic
(Повечерiе/Pov'echeriye), the name for Compline literally means, "After-supper".
14. Midnight Office is often omitted in parish churches.
15. 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.
16. This is an abbreviated, redundant Vespers, preserving only the opening Psalm, four 'Lord, I
call' verses, 'O Gladsome Light', the Prokimenon, 'Vouchsafe, O Lord', an Aposticha, the
Nunc Dimmitis and Trisagion prayers, the troparion and a short litany. On great feast days
preceded by a strict fast (see note below), a Vesperal Liturgy is said instead.
17. On great feast days preceded by a strict fast (Christmas, Epiphany, and Annunciation on a
weekday), the Vigil commences with Great Compline rather than Vespers, with Vespers
preceding Liturgy the previous day
18. Originally, the Sunrise Service was joined to the Morning Service.

References

Citations
1. "breviary" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breviary). Merriam-Webster.
Retrieved 7 February 2022. ": a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the
canonical hours"
2. John Harthan "The Book of Hours: With a Historical Survey and Commentary by John
Harthan.: New York: Crowell, 1977.
3. "Evening Prayer in Advent" (https://www.felcaustin.org/worship-music/evening-prayer).
Austin: First English Lutheran Church. 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2022. "Evening Prayer,
or Vespers, is an ancient form of daily prayer and is part of the historic Liturgy of the Hours,
or Divine Office."
4. Acts 3:1 (https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Acts%203:1&version=nrsv)
5. St. Symeon, p 18
6. Daniélou, Jean (2016). Origen. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4982-9023-4.
"Peterson quotes a passage from the Acts of Hipparchus and Philotheus: "In Hipparchus's
house there was a specially decorated room and a cross was painted on the east wall of it.
There before the image of the cross, they used to pray seven times a day ... with their faces
turned to the east." It is easy to see the importance of this passage when you compare it with
what Origen says. The custom of turning towards the rising sun when praying had been
replaced by the habit of turning towards the east wall. This we find in Origen. From the other
passage we see that a cross had been painted on the wall to show which was the east.
Hence the origin of the practice of hanging crucifixes on the walls of the private rooms in
Christian houses. We know too that signs were put up in the Jewish synagogues to show
the direction of Jerusalem, because the Jews turned that way when they said their prayers.
The question of the proper way to face for prayer has always been of great importance in the
East. It is worth remembering that Mohammedans pray with their faces turned towards
Mecca and that one reason for the condemnation of Al Hallaj, the Mohammedan martyr, was
that he refused to conform to this practice."
7. Henry Chadwick (1993). The Early Church. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-16042-8. "Hippolytus
in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising,
at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third,
sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the
third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of
Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were
commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family."
 8. Weitzman, M. P. (7 July 2005). The Syriac Version of the Old Testament. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01746-6. "Clement of Alexandria noted that "some fix
hours for prayer, such as the third, sixth and ninth" (Stromata 7:7). Tertullian commends
these hours, because of their importance (see below) in the New Testament and because
their number recalls the Trinity (De Oratione 25). These hours indeed appear as designated
for prayer from the earliest days of the church. Peter prayed at the sixth hour, i.e. at noon
(Acts 10:9). The ninth hour is called the "hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). This was the hour when
Cornelius prayed even as a "God-fearer" attached to the Jewish community, i.e. before his
conversion to Christianity. it was also the hour of Jesus' final prayer (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34,
Luke 22:44-46)."
9. Lössl, Josef (17 February 2010). The Early Church: History and Memory. A&C Black. p. 135.
ISBN 978-0-567-16561-9. "Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in
Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in
the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century),
this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and
in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the
monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today.
They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. ... Crosses made of wood or
stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as
objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the
east, Latin oriens)."
10. Cabrol, Fernand. "Matins". The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10
050a.htm) Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 October 2019 This article
incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
11. Billett, Jesse D. (2014). The Divine Office in Anglo-Saxon England, 597-c.1000. Boydell &
Brewer Ltd. ISBN 978-1-907497-28-5.
12. Bradshaw, Paul F. (1 October 2008). Daily Prayer in the Early Church: A Study of the Origin
and Early Development of the Divine Office. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-
60608-105-1.
13. González, Justo L. (30 June 2020). Teach Us to Pray: The Lord's Prayer in the Early Church
and Today. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4674-5958-7. "These words make it
clear that Hippolytus is dealing both with prayers that are to take place at home or during the
day's business and with the prayers and times of study that take place in the community of
the church. The prayers upon rising, on the third hour either at home or away from it, and
before going to bed at night are sometimes held in private and sometimes in the company of
other believers in the same household. But Hippolytus refers to other gatherings which offer,
besides prayer, an opportunity for instruction and inspiration. Thus, we see here the
beginning of the practice of setting aside certain times for private prayer as well as others for
communal prayer."
14. Bercot, David W. (28 December 2021). Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference
Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers. Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-61970-168-7. "Morning and Evening Prayer were liturgical
services held each day at the local church, during which psalms were sung and prayers
were offered to God."
15. Beckwith, Roger T. (2005). Calendar, Chronology And Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism
And Early Christianity. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 193. ISBN 978-90-04-14603-7.
16. "Why an Evening Worship Service?" (http://www.christurc.org/blog/2010/12/08/why-an-eveni
ng-worship-service). Christ United Reformed Church. 8 December 2010. Retrieved
6 October 2020.
17. Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, Book X, Letter xcvii (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/re
adfile?pageno=117&fk_files=2025).
18. Holweck, Frederick. "Eve of a Feast". The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.or
g/cathen/05647a.htm) Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 October 2019
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
19. Carrol, F. "Nocturns". The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11087b.
htm) Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 October 2019 This article
incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
20. Taft, Mount Athos:, pp 180, 181, 182, 187, and 189
21. Taft, Mount Athos:, pp 180, 182, 184, 185, 187, and 191
22. Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 16 (original Latin) (http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/benedict.ht
ml); English translation by Leonard J. Doyle (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50040/50040-h/5
0040-h.html#chapter-16-nl-how-the-work-of-god-is-to-be-performed-during-the-day)
23. "No document found" (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/invalidquery.jsp?doc=Perseus:te
xt:1999.04.0059:entry=entry=). www.perseus.tufts.edu.
24. Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-49.htm#P725
3_2430086) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20060807084821/http://www.ccel.org/fath
ers2/ANF-07/anf07-49.htm#P7253_2430086) 7 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, VIII,
iv, 34
25. "Rule of Saint Benedict, 8" (https://www.ewtn.com/library/priests/benrule.htm#Chapter%20
8%20-%20Divine%20Office%20at%20Night).
26. Delatte, Paul (29 August 2000). Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=e4lKAwAAQBAJ&q=oscillated). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
ISBN 9781579104603 – via Google Books.
27. Cabrol, Fernand. "Lauds". The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09
038a.htm) Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 October 2019 This article
incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
28. "Code of Rubrics, 138" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200803095316/http://sun.aei.polsl.pl/
~ksim/docs/Rubricae.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://sun.aei.polsl.pl/~ksim/doc
s/Rubricae.pdf) (PDF) on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
29. "Felix Just, "The Liturgy of the Hours" " (http://catholic-resources.org/LoH/index.html).
Catholic-resources.org. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
30. "What is the relationship between bells and the church? When and where did the tradition
begin? Should bells ring in every church?" (https://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=14
84&catid=386). Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. 2020. Retrieved
8 August 2020.
31. "General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, 29" (https://web.archive.org/web/201907052
20739/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm). Ewtn.com. Archived from the original
(http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm) on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
32. canon 276 §2 32 (https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__PY.HTM) of the 1983 Code of
Canon Law
33. The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, No. 27
34. "What Does Psalms 119:164 Mean? "Seven times a day do I praise thee, Because of thy
righteous ordinances." " (https://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/119-164-compare.html).
biblestudytools.com.
35. "What Does Psalms 119:62 Mean? "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee Because
of thy righteous ordinances." " (https://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/119-62-compare.htm
l). biblestudytools.com.
36. "Rule of St. Benedict" (http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/benedict.html).
www.thelatinlibrary.com.
37. "St. Benedict: Holy Rule of St. Benedict - Christian Classics Ethereal Library" (https://www.c
cel.org/ccel/benedict/rule.xviii.html). www.ccel.org.
38. "Breviary Rubrics 1960" (http://divinumofficium.com/www/horas/Help/Rubrics/Breviary%201
960.html).
39. Bouscaren, Timothy Lincoln; O'Connor, James I. (1958). The Canon Law Digest: 1958-1962
(https://books.google.com/books?id=PKE1AAAAIAAJ). Bruce. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
"Of these, Matins, Lauds and Vespers are called major Hours; Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and
Compline, minor Hours."
40. "The Liturgy of the Hours" (https://catholic-resources.org/LoH/index.html). catholic-
resources.org.
41. Dwight W. Vogel, ed. (2012). The Book of Offices and Services (Fourth ed.). Order of Saint
Luke. p. 81. ISBN 978-1478391029. "The Diurnal Offices: These brief diurnal or daytime
offices punctuate the day with prayer. They are prayed in the setting in which we find
ourselves, whether at work, as a community gathered for learning or fellowship, or on retreat.
While the traditional times for these are at the third, sixth, and ninth hours (that is, at (9:00
am, noon, and 3:00 pm), the exact time for each is variable according to the context of the
settings in which we pray them."
42. Lula, Daniel James (2013). "The Anglican Breviary" (https://web.archive.org/web/201603040
55550/http://www.anglicanbreviary.net/diurnal.html). Archived from the original (http://www.a
nglicanbreviary.net/diurnal.html) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2015. "Reciting
the "diurnal", or day office, of Terce, Sext and Nones may be one of the easiest ways for a
modern individual to sanctify his or her work-day. The three day Hours, identical in structure,
are each much simpler and shorter than any of the Major Hours or Compline. They can
easily be recited at their appointed times—9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m.—aggregated during
the lunch hour, or said alone as time permits."
43. Elizabeth Moore, OSL, ed. (18 September 2015). A Lukan Book of Hours: Basic Forms of the
Daily Office. Order of Saint Luke. p. 1. ISBN 9781508553014. "The seven "hours" (offices or
services) provided by The Order of Saint Luke follow the pattern of the seven hours listed by
Basil the Great in the fourth century. There are two principal hours (Morning Prayer and
Evening Prayer), three diurnal or daytime hours (mid-morning, mid-day, and mid-afternoon),
and two nocturnal or nighttime hours (compline and vigil)."
44. Council of Trent, Decree on Reformation, Chapter XXI (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/tr
entall.html)
45. "IN DEFENSE OF THE PAULINE MASS" (http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/novusordo.html).
matt1618.freeyellow.com.
46. Sacrosanctum Concilium (https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/do
cuments/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html), Article 89(d)
47. Sacrosanctum Concilium Art 91. So that it may really be possible in practice to observe the
course of the hours proposed in Art. 89, the psalms are no longer to be distributed
throughout one week, but through some longer period of time.
48. "Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 89 d" (https://www.vatican.
va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctu
m-concilium_en.html). Vatican.va. 4 December 1963. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
49. "Apostolic Constitution Laudis canticum" (https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/la/apost_co
nstitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19701101_laudis-canticum.html). W2.vatican.va. 20
November 1947. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
50. Тvпико́нъ сіесть уста́въ (The Typicon which is the Order), p 1
51. "Some differences between Greek and Russian divine services and their significance by
Basil Krivoshein, Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium" (http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/kr
ivoshein-greekandrussian.html), retrieved 1 January 2012
52. "Минея, сентябрь ~ Menaion, September" (http://www.orthlib.info/Menaia/Rjadovaja-Minea/
01-September/Menaion-01_September.html). Богослужебные тексты ~ Liturgical Texts.
Библиотека святоотеческой литературы ~ Library of Patristic Literature. Retrieved 28 May
2020.
53. Sokolof, pp 36–38
54. Sokolof, p 93
55. Sokolof, p 36
56. George Percy Badger (1852). The Nestorians and Their Rituals (https://archive.org/details/n
estoriansandth00nealgoog). Kurdistan: Joseph Masters. p. 16 (https://archive.org/details/nes
toriansandth00nealgoog/page/n42).
57. Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer. Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara
Orthodox Syrian Church. 2016. p. 5. "The seven hours of prayer create a cycle that provides
us with a foretaste of the eternal life we will spend in the presence of God worshipping Him.
... We pray standing upright while facing East as we collect our thoughts on God."
58. Psalm 119:164
59. Mayes, Benjamin T. G. (5 September 2004). "Daily Prayer Books in the History of German
and American Lutheranism" (https://web.archive.org/web/20041013213519/http://llpb.us/PD
Fs/Breviaries%20article.pdf) (PDF). Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. Archived from
the original (http://llpb.us/PDFs/Breviaries%20article.pdf) (PDF) on 13 October 2004.
Retrieved 25 July 2020.
60. Lowther Clarke, W. K. (1922). Evensong Explained, with Notes on Matins and the Litany (htt
p://anglicanhistory.org/liturgy/clarke_evensong.html). London: SPCK.
61. Canon C.24
62. Canon C.26
63. Hurst, John Fletcher (1902). The History of Methodism. Eaton & Mains. pp. 310–.
64. Bradshaw, Paul F. (April 2013). New SCM Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship. Hymns Ancient
and Modern Ltd. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-334-04932-6. "The Church in 1935 approved Divine
Worship (versions of morning prayer, other services and numerous collects) and in 1936
authorized the Book of Offices and, bound in with it, the Order for Morning Prayer: both still
exhibited connections to the BCP and thus Wesley's orders, though the former showed a
willingness to include newly composed prayers and those borrowed from other Free Church
sources."
65. The Book of Offices and Services. Order of St. Luke. 6 September 2012.
66. "Philosophy of St. Paul's" (http://www.stpaulsfmc.org/guiding-philosophies.html). Greenville:
St. Paul's Free Methodist Church. 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2022. "We believe we best
receive God's gifts through ongoing worship; we practice daily Morning prayer and Eucharist
as well as Compline prayer."

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Синодальная типография (The Synodal Printing House), 1907, p. 1154
The Unabbreviated Horologion, Jordanville, New York: Holy Trinity Monastery (published
1997), 1992
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December 2011 (http://www.orthlib.info/Chasoslov/Chasoslov.html)
Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki (c. 1420), Treatise on Prayer: An Explanation of the Services
Conducted in the Orthodox Church, Translated by Harry L.N. Simmons, Brookline,
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(published 1984), pp. 132–136, ISBN 0-917653-05-X
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Ware, Timothy (1963), The Orthodox Church, London, UK: Penguin Books (published 1987),
p. 193, ISBN 978-0-14-013529-9
Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, S.J. (1986), The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The
Origins of the Divine Office and Its Meaning for Today, Collegeville, Minnesosta: The order
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External links
The Hypertext Book of Hours (http://medievalist.net/hourstxt/home.htm) – online edition of
Medieval Daily Office
The Sarum Breviary (https://web.archive.org/web/20070311033209/http://www.allmercifulsa
vior.com/Liturgy/SarumPsalter.html) (The Sarum Usage is a subset of the Roman Rite.)
Cycle of Services in the Eastern Orthodox Church (http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/cycleofser
vices.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080609194857/http://www.serfes.org/ort
hodox/cycleofservices.htm) 9 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine by Archimandrite
Nektarios Serfes
Liturgy of the Hours according to the rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church (http://sor.cua.edu/Lit
urgy/SimplePrayer/index.html)
The Daily Office (https://dailyoffice.app) – web app for the Daily Office as found in The Book
of Common Prayer (1979) of The Episcopal Church
"Divine Office of the Roman Rite" (https://divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/Cofficium.pl) (in
Latin). Archived (https://archive.today/20190803103257/https://divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/h
oras/Cofficium.pl) from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019. (from pre
Tridentine Monastic to the 1960 Newcalendar)
The Audio Daily Office (https://thetrinitymission.org) - a daily podcast of the Daily Office
supplied by The Trinity Mission

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