Breviary

Breviary
A breviary (Latin: breviarium) is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviary, Belleville Breviary, Stowe Breviary and Isabella Breviary, although eventually the Roman Breviary became the standard within the Roman Catholic Church (though it was later supplanted with the Liturgy of the Hours); in other Christian denominations such as the Lutheran Churches, different breviaries continue to be used, such as The Brotherhood Prayer Book.
Different breviaries
The "contents of the breviary, in their essential parts, are derived from the early ages of Christianity", consisting of psalms, Scripture lessons, writings of the Church Fathers, as well as hymns and prayers. 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." The Apostles themselves gave significance to prayer times (e.g. and ).
In the Catholic Church, Pope Nicholas III approved a Franciscan breviary, for use in that religious order, and this was the first text that bore the title of breviary. The ancient breviary of the Bridgettines had been in use for more than 125 years before the Council of Trent and so was exempt from the Constitution of Pope Pius V which abolished the use of breviaries differing from that of Rome.
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 of Syon Abbey, founded in 1415 by King Henry V. Following the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Communion, in 1916, the Anglican Breviary was published by the Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation.
In Lutheranism, the Diakonie Neuendettelsau religious institute uses a breviary unique to the order; For All the Saints: A Prayer Book for and by the Church, among many other breviaries such as The 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 Lutheran usage as well.
In Oriental Orthodox Christianity, the canonical hours of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Indian Orthodox Church are contained within the Shehimo breviary; the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has the Agpeya breviary and the Armenian Apostolic Church has the Sharagnots or Zhamagirk (cf. Octoechos (liturgy)#Armenian Šaraknoc'). The Assyrian Church of the East has its own 7 canonical hours.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Divine Office is found in the Horologion.
See also
Book of hours
Christian liturgy
Direction of prayer
Fixed prayer times
Hygiene in Christianity
Missal
References
External links
The 1911 Roman Breviary in Latin and English
The Syon Breviary — Daily Office of Our Lady — (Bridgettine) Now in English
The Anglican Breviary
Lewis E 49 Breviary at OPenn
Lewis E 50 Breviary, Use of Ghent at OPenn
Lewis E 51 Breviary at OPenn
Lewis E 52 Breviary at OPenn
Lewis E 236 Breviary at OPenn
Lewis E 256 Breviary, Cistercian use at OPenn
MS 240/15 Breviary, Cistercian Use at OPenn
MS 75 Breviary, Paris, ca. 1260-1300 at Library of Congress
Christian prayer books
Christian liturgical texts
Christian literary genres