"Welcoming all; celebrating God's grace; equipping the saints; serving the world."
Morning Prayer
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
8:45 AM
The Daily Office
This is an ancient practice that uses daily prayers to mark the times of the day. For Anglicans, this generally comes in the form of the two main offices of Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer. They may be led by lay people and are said communally or individually.
History
From ancient times worship has been not just a weekly but a daily affair. For devout Jews, daily prayer rested upon the divine command:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." -Deut. 6:4-7
This was taken to mean that the Shema was to be said twice daily – upon waking and upon going to sleep. There’s also evidence that the Temple sacrifices took place twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening. Those unable to attend the Temple liturgies began to pray at the same “hours.”
As monastic communities developed, they formed their entire lives upon the rhythm of daily prayer. They consisted of prayers, a psalm, appointed Bible readings, canticles, and the Lord’s Prayer. Eventually seven offices developed. Each office included Psalms, Scripture Reading, Verses and Responses, and Set Prayers. Entire Psalter read each week. Pious Christians sometimes attended, but the Daily Office was associated mainly with monks, later required of all clergy (from 802). Sunday Vespers was celebrated in most parish churches.
Over time, the offices became increasingly complicated. This increased complexity, combined with the abandonment of the vernacular tongue in public prayer, made it exceedingly difficult for ordinary men and women to participate in the daily prayer of the Church.
One of the beneficial effects of the English Reformation was that Thomas Cranmer, the author of the first Book of Common Prayer made a deliberate effort to simplify the Daily Offices so that both clergy and laity could participate in it. The number of offices was reduced from seven to two. Morning Prayer was based upon the Medieval office of Matins together with elements from Prime. Evening Prayer was, in its essence, a combination of Vespers and Compline. The Office as a whole was revised around the importance of regular recitation of the Psalms and reading through the whole Bible. This gives the Anglican Office its distinctive character.
This is an ancient practice that uses daily prayers to mark the times of the day. For Anglicans, this generally comes in the form of the two main offices of Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer. They may be led by lay people and are said communally or individually.
History
From ancient times worship has been not just a weekly but a daily affair. For devout Jews, daily prayer rested upon the divine command:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." -Deut. 6:4-7
This was taken to mean that the Shema was to be said twice daily – upon waking and upon going to sleep. There’s also evidence that the Temple sacrifices took place twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening. Those unable to attend the Temple liturgies began to pray at the same “hours.”
As monastic communities developed, they formed their entire lives upon the rhythm of daily prayer. They consisted of prayers, a psalm, appointed Bible readings, canticles, and the Lord’s Prayer. Eventually seven offices developed. Each office included Psalms, Scripture Reading, Verses and Responses, and Set Prayers. Entire Psalter read each week. Pious Christians sometimes attended, but the Daily Office was associated mainly with monks, later required of all clergy (from 802). Sunday Vespers was celebrated in most parish churches.
Over time, the offices became increasingly complicated. This increased complexity, combined with the abandonment of the vernacular tongue in public prayer, made it exceedingly difficult for ordinary men and women to participate in the daily prayer of the Church.
One of the beneficial effects of the English Reformation was that Thomas Cranmer, the author of the first Book of Common Prayer made a deliberate effort to simplify the Daily Offices so that both clergy and laity could participate in it. The number of offices was reduced from seven to two. Morning Prayer was based upon the Medieval office of Matins together with elements from Prime. Evening Prayer was, in its essence, a combination of Vespers and Compline. The Office as a whole was revised around the importance of regular recitation of the Psalms and reading through the whole Bible. This gives the Anglican Office its distinctive character.
