Divine office, also called canonical hours, liturgy of the hours, or liturgical hours, 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.
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.