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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.John Harthan "The Book of Hours: With a Historical Survey and Commentary by John Harthan.: New York: Crowell, 1977.
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", "divine office", 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 () 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).
In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite, the canonical hours may be referred to as the divine services, and the book of hours is called the horologion (). Despite numerous small differences in practice according to local custom, the overall order is the same among Byzantine Rite monasteries, although parish and cathedral customs vary rather more so by locale.
The usage in Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and their Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran counterparts vary based on the rite, for example the East Syriac Rite or the Byzantine Rite.
During the Babylonian captivity, when the Temple was no longer in use, carried on the practice, and the services (at fixed hours of the day) of Torah readings, psalms, and 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 Judaism 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.
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").St. Symeon, p 18 In Act 10:9, the decision to include among the community of believers, arose from a vision Peter had while praying about noontime.
Early Christians prayed the Psalms (), which have remained the principal part of the canonical hours. By AD 60, we find the Didache recommending that disciples 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 , 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." (2025). 9781498290234, Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781498290234 (1993). 9781101160428, Penguin. ISBN 9781101160428 (2005). 9780521017466, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521017466 (2010). 9780567165619, A&C Black. ISBN 9780567165619
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. Cabrol, Fernand. "Matins". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 October 2019 The Night Office is linked to : "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments." (2025). 9781907497285, Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 9781907497285
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. (2008). 9781606081051, Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781606081051 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. (2020). 9781467459587, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9781467459587 (2021). 9781619701687, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. ISBN 9781619701687 (2025). 9789004146037, Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9789004146037 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 – ) 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)Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, Book X, Letter xcvii. This vigil was a regular institution of Christian life and was defended and highly recommended by St. Augustine and St. Jerome. Holweck, Frederick. "Eve of a Feast". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 October 2019
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. Carrol, F. "Nocturns". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 October 2019
Around the year 484, the Greek-Cappadocian monk Sabbas the Sanctified began the process of recording the liturgy practices around Jerusalem, while the cathedral and parish rites in the Patriarchate of Constantinople evolved in an entirely different manner.Taft, Mount Athos:, pp 180, 181, 182, 187, and 189 The two major practices were synthesized, commencing in the 8th century, to yield an office of great complexity.Taft, Mount Athos:, pp 180, 182, 184, 185, 187, and 191
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.
By the time of Saint Benedict, 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". Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 16 (original Latin); English translation by Leonard J. Doyle 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", 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.
By the fourth century the word "matins" became attached to the prayer originally offered at cockcrow. Constitutions of the Holy Apostles , VIII, iv, 34 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.). 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. Cabrol, Fernand. "Lauds". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 October 2019
Already well-established by the 9th century in the West, these canonical hours consisted of daily prayer liturgies:
The three major hours were Matins, Lauds and Vespers; the Little Hours were Terce, Sext, None and Compline. 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 and basilicas, a more concise way of arranging the hours was needed. So, a sort of list developed called the breviary, which gave the format of the daily office and the texts to be used.
The spread of breviaries eventually reached Rome, where Pope Innocent III extended their use to the Roman Curia. The Franciscans sought a one-volume breviary for their 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:
are tolled at the fixed times of these canonical hours in some Christian traditions as a call to prayer.
The monastic rule drawn up by Benedict of Nursia ( – ) 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 nighttime canonical hour of vigil. It links the seven daytime offices with Psalm 118/119:164 ("Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules"), and the one nighttime office with Psalm 118/119:62 ("At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules").
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.
According to Dwight E. Vogel, (2025). 9781478391029, Order of Saint Luke. ISBN 9781478391029 Daniel James Lula and Elizabeth Moore (2015). 9781508553014, Order of Saint Luke. ISBN 9781508553014 the diurnal offices are Terce, Sext, and None, which are distinguished from the major hours of Matins, Lauds and Vespers and from the nighttime hours of Compline and Vigil.
The council abolished the office of Prime, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Article 89(d) and envisioned a manner of distributing the psalms over a period of more than 1 week.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. 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 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.
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.
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. "Some differences between Greek and Russian divine services and their significance by Basil Krivoshein, Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium", retrieved 1 January 2012
Into this fixed framework, numerous moveable parts of the service are inserted. These are taken from a variety of liturgical books:
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 (selections from the Psalter) are governed by the weekly cycle in conjunction with the season.
| Glorification of God, the Creator of the world and its Providence |
| Sleep as the image of death, illumined by Christ's Harrowing of Hell after His death |
| Christ's midnight prayer in Gethsemane; a reminder to be ready for the Bridegroom coming at midnight and the Last Judgment |
| The Lord having given us not only daylight but spiritual light, Christ the Savior |
| Christ's being brought before Pilate |
| Pilate's judgement of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which happened at this hour |
| Christ's crucifixion, which happened at this hour |
| Christ's death, which happened at this 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;The Typica has a certain correspondence to the Missa Sicca of the Mediaeval West. 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.
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 Katholikon]]. 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 Easter Vigil as the essential office wherein the burial shroud is removed from the tomb and carried to the altar.
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:
Every one of the Hours follows the same basic outline:
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 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.).
In accordance with Psalm 119:164, "Seven times in the day have I praised Thee for Thy judgments, O Righteous One,"Psalm 119:164 the Syriac Orthodox Church observes seven services of prayer each day:
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.
In the Maronite eparchies of the United States, the breviary commonly used is called the ‘’Prayer of the Faithful’’. This is a three-volume set that is divided up by the liturgical year: Vol. I for the Sundays of the Church, Seasons of Announcement and Birth of Our Lord, Epiphany, and Three Weeks of Commemoration; Vol. II for Great Lent and Eastertide; Vol. III for Pentecost through Season of the Holy Cross. This edition is rather simplified, containing only the offices of Ramsho, Sootoro, and Safro.
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.)Originally, the Sunrise Service was joined to the Morning Service. 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:
During Great Lent, all of the services are offered on weekdays (except Saturday and Sunday) according to the following schedule:
The book which contains the hymns which constitute the substance of the musical system of Armenian chant is the Sharagnots (see Armenian Octoechos), a collection of hymns known as Sharakan. Originally, these hymns were Psalms and biblical that were chanted during the services, similar to the Byzantine Canon. In addition, the eight modes are applied to the psalms of the Night office, called ganonaklookh (Canon head).
The movements of Pietism and Rationalism deemphasized liturgy 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 in 1724, and weekday observations of Matins and Vespers continued in many German Lutheran parishes. In Lutheran Scandinavia, the Daily Office has been celebrated from the time where the region became Evangelical Lutheran, with Evangelical Lutheran hymns being used in the recitation of the Daily Office. (2025). 9780195138863, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195138863
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 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. 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".
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).
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 responsory and , 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:
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."Canon C.24 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...."Canon C.26 In other Anglican provinces, the Daily Office is not a canonical obligation but is strongly encouraged.
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. 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 Lauds, Terce, Sext, Mid-Afternoon, Vespers, Compline and Vigil.
Certain Methodist parishes, such as Saint Paul's Free Methodist Church, offer a daily corporate praying of the canonical hours at church.
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.
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