THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIVINE OFFICE was probably in the following manner: The celebration of the Eucharist was preceded by the recital of the psalms and the reading of the Old and New Testaments. Thenceforth the Christian liturgy rarely borrowed from Judaism. But the Eucharistic synaxis soon entailed other prayers the custom of going to the Temple disappeared and the abuses of the Judaizing party forced the Christians to separate more distinctly from the Jews and their practices and worship. But they had also their reunions or synaxes in private houses for the celebration of the Eucharist and for sermons and exhortations. As appears from the texts of Acts cited above, the first Christians preserved the custom of going to the Temple at the hour of prayer. At present the elements composing the Divine Office seem more numerous, but they are derived, by gradual changes, from the primitive elements. “Gloria in excelsis” and the “Te decet taus” are apparently vestiges of these primitive inspirations. The Christian prayer of that time consisted of almost the same elements as the Jewish: recital or chanting of psalms, reading of the Old Testament, to which was soon added reading of the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles, and at times canticles composed or improvised by the assistants. The Apostles observed the Jewish custom of praying at midnight, terce, sext, none (Acts, x, 3, 9 xvi, 25 etc.). Rose at midnight to give praise to thee” “Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare: and he shall hear my voice” “Seven times a day I have given praise to thee” etc. In the Psalms we find expressions like: “I will meditate on thee in the morning” “I PRIMITIVE FORM OF THE OFFICE.-The custom of reciting prayers at certain hours of the day or night goes back to the Jews, from whom Christians have borrowed it. We deal here only with the general questions that have not been dwelt on in those articles. the reader will find treated the special questions concerning the meaning and history of each of the hours, the obligation of reciting these prayers, the history of the formation of the Breviary etc. In the articles Breviary Canonical Hours Matins Prime Terce Sext None Vespers. “Saint-office” signifies a Roman congregation, the functions of which are well known, and the words should not be used to replace the name “Divine Office”, which is much more suitable and has been used from ancient times. The usage in France of the expression “saint-office” as synonymous with “office divin” is not correct. Hittorp, in the sixteenth century, entitled his collection of medieval liturgical works “De Catholicae Ecclesiae divinis officiis ac ministeriis” ( Cologne, 1568). Thus Walafrid Strabo, Pseudo- Alcuin, Rupert de Tuy entitle their works on liturgical ceremonies “De officiis divinis”. The expression “officium divinum” is used in the same sense by the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (800), the IV Lateran (1215), and Vienne (1311) but it is also used to signify any office of the Church. The Greeks employ “synaxis” and “canon” in this sense. “Agenda”, “agenda mortuorum”, “agenda missarum”, “solemnitas”, “missa” were also used. “Cursus” is the form used by Gregory writing: “exsurgente abbate cum monachis ad celebrandum cursum” (De glor. “ Canonical Hours“, “ Breviary“, “Diurnal and Nocturnal Office”, “Ecclesiastical Office”, “Cursus ecclesiasticus”, or simply “cursus” are synonyms of “Divine Office”. The Divine Office comprises only the recitation of certain prayers in the Breviary, and does not include the Mass and other liturgical ceremonies. THE EXPRESSION “DIVINE OFFICE”, signifying etymologically a duty accomplished for God, or in virtue of a Divine precept, means, in ecclesiastical language, certain prayers to be recited at fixed hours of the day or night by priests, religious, or clerics, and, in general, by all those obliged by their vocation to fulfill this duty.
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