divine office
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What is the divine office in Christianity?
The divine office, also known as the liturgy of the hours, is a public service of praise and worship in various Christian churches. It consists of psalms, hymns, prayers, readings from early Church Fathers, and other writings. The purpose of the divine office is to sanctify the life of the Christian community through observances at different times of the day and night.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the divine office has seven canonical hours: matins, lauds, vespers, terce, sext, none, and compline. Monks and priests have traditionally been responsible for the office. The Second Vatican Council encouraged lauds and vespers in parish churches and initiated changes to facilitate recitation of the office.
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Why do Christians practice the divine office?
The divine office, also known as the liturgy of the hours, is a practice in various Christian churches that involves public worship through psalms, hymns, prayers, and readings from early Church Fathers. It occurs at different times of the day and night and is meant to sanctify the life of the Christian community.
Historically, monks would gather several times a day for prayer, which evolved into set prayers at specific times like matins, lauds, and vespers. The Second Vatican Council promoted lauds and vespers in parish churches and made changes to help those in active pursuits recite the office. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the day starts at sunset with vespers, and the daily cycle is mainly observed in large monasteries.
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What are the main times or hours for praying the divine office?
The divine office, also known as the liturgy of the hours, is a public Christian worship consisting of psalms, hymns, prayers, and readings. It's designed to sanctify the Christian community’s life through prayer at different times of day and night.
The main canonical hours in the Roman Catholic Church are:
- Matins/Vigils (originally at midnight, now at any hour)
- Lauds (at first daylight)
- Prime (at sunrise, suppressed in 1964)
- Terce (mid-morning)
- Sext (at noon)
- None (mid-afternoon)
- Vespers (at sunset)
- Compline (before retiring)
The Anglican Church combines elements of matins, lauds, and prime into a morning prayer and vespers and compline into an evening prayer.
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Who usually takes part in the divine office, and can lay people join in?
The divine office, a public Christian service of praise, includes psalms, hymns, prayers, and readings. Monks and priests have traditionally been responsible for the divine office, reciting it in choirs or privately.
The Second Vatican Council recommended reforms to simplify the observance, promote participation by laypeople, and restore group singing. The laity are encouraged to participate, and the celebration of lauds and vespers in parish churches is promoted.
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What kinds of prayers or readings are part of the divine office?
The divine office, also known as the liturgy of the hours, is a public Christian service of praise and worship that includes psalms, hymns, prayers, readings from early Church Fathers, and other writings. It recurs at different times of the day and night to sanctify the life of the Christian community.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the divine office consists of seven canonical hours: matins, lauds, vespers, terce, sext, none, and compline. Vatican II recommended reforms to simplify the observance, encourage participation by the laity, and restore the practice of singing the hours in groups. The Anglican Church has morning and evening prayers with elements from the matins, lauds, prime, vespers, and compline of the medieval church.
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How has the practice of the divine office changed over time in Christian history?
The divine office, a public service of praise in various Christian churches, has evolved through Christian history. It consists of psalms, hymns, prayers, readings, and other writings, and is intended to sanctify the life of the Christian community.
From early morning and evening prayers to traditions of prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day, the practice of midnight prayer was also common. Monasteries and choirs associated with basilicas and cathedrals were greatly responsible for the evolution of the forms of the office in both Eastern and Western Christianity.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council encouraged the celebration of lauds and vespers in parish churches and initiated significant changes in structure and texts to facilitate the recitation of the office by those involved in active pursuits.
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divine office, in various Christian churches, the public service of praise and worship consisting of psalms, hymns, prayers, readings from the Fathers of the early church, and other writings. Recurring at various times during the day and night, it is intended to sanctify the life of the Christian community.
The history of the office, and of its various forms, is difficult to trace, as a result of its antiquity and the revisions created during the numerous attempts to reform it. The practice of public morning and evening prayer is very ancient, and early writings attest to the tradition of prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day (9:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 3:00 pm). The practice of midnight prayer, especially before a great feast, also was common. Two institutions greatly responsible for the evolution of the forms of the office, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, were the monasteries and the choirs associated first with the churches known as basilicas and later with cathedrals.
In the Roman Catholic Church there are seven canonical hours. Matins, the lengthiest, originally said at a night hour, is now appropriately said at any hour of the day. Lauds and vespers are the solemn morning and evening prayers of the church. Terce, sext, and none correspond to the mid-morning, noon, and mid-afternoon hours. Compline, a night prayer, is of monastic origin, as was prime, recited in the early morning before being suppressed in 1964. The office has for centuries been primarily the responsibility of monks, who sang it in choir, and priests, who often recited it privately. The Second Vatican Council encouraged the celebration of lauds and vespers in parish churches and initiated significant changes in structure and texts to facilitate the recitation of the office by those involved in active pursuits.
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In the liturgical tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the day is considered to begin at sunset with vespers. Compline is read after the evening meal. The midnight office, which has no exact equivalent in the West, is in practice normally recited before matins, which in principle should conclude with sunrise. The lesser hours are celebrated at the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours. There is no separate office of lauds. The daily cycle is celebrated in full only in large monasteries. Matins and vespers, however, are celebrated in many parish churches. Because it is viewed as a corporate activity, the private recitation of the office has not been a custom in the East.
The Anglican church has a morning prayer containing elements of the matins, lauds, and prime of the medieval church and has an evening prayer with elements from vespers and compline. Both services have the same structure. Lutheran churches have forms for matins and vespers services for congregational celebration mainly on Sundays. Although encouraged by Martin Luther, the practice has not been consistently observed. There has been, however, a revival of interest in recent years. See also breviary.