Abreviary (Latin:breviarium) is aliturgical book used inChristianity forpraying thecanonical hours, usually recited atseven fixed prayer times.[1][2]
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts ofChristendom, such asAberdeen Breviary,[3]Belleville Breviary,Stowe Breviary andIsabella Breviary, although eventually theRoman Breviary became the standard within theRoman Catholic Church (though it was later supplanted with theLiturgy of the Hours); in otherChristian denominations such as theLutheran Churches, different breviaries continue to be used, such asThe Brotherhood Prayer Book.[4][5]
The "contents of the breviary, in their essential parts, are derived from theearly ages of Christianity", consisting ofpsalms,Scripture lessons, writings of theChurch Fathers, as well ashymns andprayers.[6] From the time of the early Church, the practice ofseven fixed prayer times, being attached toPsalm 119:164, have been taught; inApostolic 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."[7][8][9][10] TheApostles themselves gave significance to prayer times (e.g.Acts 3:1 andActs 10:9).[11]
In theCatholic Church,Pope Nicholas III approved aFranciscan breviary, for use in that religious order, and this was the first text that bore the title of breviary.[2] The ancient breviary of theBridgettines had been in use for more than 125 years before theCouncil of Trent and so was exempt from the Constitution ofPope Pius V which abolished the use of breviaries differing from that of Rome.[12] In 2015,The Syon Breviary of the Bridgettines was published for the first time in English (from Latin). This was done in celebration of the 600th anniversary ofSyon Abbey, founded in 1415 byKing Henry V.
InEvangelical Lutheranism, various traditional breviaries enjoy usage, such as theEvangelical Lutheran Breviary,The Brotherhood Prayer Book, andOremus: a Lutheran Breviary. TheDiakonie Neuendettelsau religious institute uses a breviary unique to theorder.For All the Saints: A Prayer Book for and by the Church, among many other breviaries such asThe Daily Office: Matins and Vespers, Based on Traditional Liturgical Patterns, with Scripture Readings, Hymns, Canticles, Litanies, Collects, and the Psalter, Designed for Private Devotion or Group Worship, are popular in Evangelical Lutheran usage as well.[5]
Following theOxford Movement in theAnglican Communion, in 1916, theAnglican Breviary was published by the Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation.[13]
InOriental Orthodox Christianity, the canonical hours of theSyriac Orthodox Church and theIndian Orthodox Church are contained within theShehimo breviary;[14][15] theCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has theAgpeya breviary and theArmenian Apostolic Church has theSharagnots orZhamagirk (cf.Octoechos (liturgy)#Armenian Šaraknoc').[16] TheAssyrian Church of the East has its own7 canonical hours.
In theEastern Orthodox Church, the Divine Office is found in theHorologion, which consists of eight canonical hours: Vespers (sunset), Compline (before sleep), Midnight Office, Orthros (sunrise), 1st hour (07:00), 3rd hour (09:00), 6th hour (12:00), and 9th hour (15:00).
: a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours
It is the Franciscan breviary deriving from the second rule of the order approved by Innocent III in 1223 that for the first time expressly bears the namebreviarium:Clerici facient divinum offocoum secundum ordinem sanctae Romanae Ecclesia excepto Psalterio, ex quo habere poterunt breviaria ["The clerics will celebrate the Office according to theordo of the holy Roman Church, except for the psalter which they may use in shortened forms"].
The Goths of Spain had their Breviary; the French Church had its Breviary; England—"the Breviary of Salisbury"—and Scotland, "the Breviary of Aberdeen"—all which, along with many more evidences of the independence of national churches, Rome has laboured to obliterate by commanding the exclusive use of the Roman Breviary, and thus extinguishing every appearance of a divided worship, and of independent national and self-regulated churches.
The contents of the breviary, in their essential parts, are derived from the early ages of Christianity. They consist of psalms, lessons taken from the Scriptures, and from the writings of the Fathers, versicles and pious sentences thrown into the shape of the antiphons, responses, or other analogous forms, hymns and prayers.
Peterson quotes a passage from theActs 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.
Hippolytus in theApostolic 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.
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).
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, Latinoriens).
The Reverend Frank Gavin had himself suggested such a work as early as 1916.
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