Daily Office (Cardican)/Revision

The white monks of Metthews Priory in choir singing Vespers.

The Daily Office in the liturgy of the Church of Nortend is the cycle of canonical offices which occur daily throughout the year. According to the revised Book of Offices which was published in 1710 and enforced in 1711, this daily cycle has contained six daily services called Offices. These offices bear the names of Mattins, Tierce, Sext, Nones, Vespers and Compline.

The liturgical day begins and ends at midnight. A festum simplex begins at Mattins and ends after Vespers. A festum semiduplex or duplex begins at the Vespers preceding and ends after Compline. During every liturgical day, the Book of Offices orders Mattins, Vespers and Compline to be sung, as well as only one of Tierce, Sext or Nones. On all festa, Tierce is sung. On feriæ, Sext is sung. On fasts, Nones is sung.

Unlike masses, the offices of the Daily Offices may be led by a deacon, clerk or even a layman in the absence of a priest. Priests and religious (monks, nuns, brothers and sisters) are required to pray the Daily Office every day, usually in common choir but at least privately.

History

Since the introduction of Christianity to Great Nortend, the Church has observed eight canonical offices daily. These were Vigils (midnight prayer), Mattins (dawn prayer, also known as Lauds), Prime (morning prayer), Terce (late morning prayer), Sext (noon prayer), None (afternoon prayer), Vespers (evening prayer) and Compline (retiring prayer).

After the Great Schism, the canon Quia solliciti was promulgated by Henry V in 1711 in order to appease both the Frympellites who wanted reform and the liturgy in English and the traditionalist Akeepians.

The canon mandated the use of the Book of Offices in all churches and chapels in Great Nortend, including regular foundations. Despite the revised structure of the daily office, which omitted Prime, combined Vigils and Mattins, and otherwise greatly simplified the psalter and rubrics, the language remains Latin, albeit with a canonical English translation.

The Common

The beginning of the Breviary before the Book of Offices was promulgated. Shewn is the beginning of Mattins.

The structures of each of the offices according to the Common in the Book of Offices are very similar. Before each office, the Pater noster and Ave Maria are said, often in the form of the Angelus. The office properly begins with the chaunting of the supplicatory versicles Deus in adjutorium, followed by the Gloria Patri and then the Alleluia. From Septuagesima Sunday to Easter Day, the Alleluia is replaced with the Laus tibi Domine.

Then follows the changeable portion of the office which consists of the hymn, the psalmody of three psalms, the lessons or chapter with passage, the responsory, versic and the canticle. These change according to the office and also according to the day. The psalms and canticle have proper antiphons. In the major offices, each of the three psalms has its own antiphon. In the minor hours, all three psalms are sung with a single antiphon.

Each Office similarly ends with the preces, which usually consists of the Kyrie, followed by the Pater noster, and the versicles, followed by the collects, remembrances, prayers and the concluding blessing which changes according to the office. An anthem may be freely chosen to be sung after the collects.

Mattins

Mattins is the longest office in the day and is one of the major offices. It should be said around sunrise in the morning, but is acceptable any time before 9 a. m. It is most commonly sung at 7 a. m. It differs from the other Offices insofar as before the supplicatory versicles, the opening versicles Domine labia mea are chaunted. Furthermore, before the hymn, the Venite is sung, begun and ended with its own antiphon known as the invitatory. Of the three psalms sung at Mattins, the last 'psalm' is a combination of the Laudate psalms, Psalms 148, 149 and 150, sung together under one antiphon and one Gloria Patri.

After the psalmody follow the lessons, each lesson ending with a sung responsory. Every grouping of three lessons is termed a nocturn, deriving from the ancient practice of chaunting Mattins during the night-time. Before each nocturn, a versicle is chaunted followed by the Jube. On feriæ, festa simplices and minor festa semiduplices, there is only one nocturn and thus are of 'three lessons'. On major festa semiduplices and all festa duplices, there are three nocturns of 'nine lessons'.

On festa semiduplices and duplices outside of Advent, Septuagesima, Lent and Passiontide except Childermas, the hymn Te Deum is sung. Lastly the canticle Benedictus is sung, before concluding with the preces.

Mattins is colloquially known as mothers' prayer owing to the fact that mothers often attend week-day Mattins with their children before school after their husbands have left for work.

Tierce, Sext and Nones

These are all minor offices of the day. It should be sung at noon every day, no matter which office is being sung; however, any time after 9 a. m. and before 3 p. m. is acceptable. It is of the common structure with chapter. Depending which office is sung, the passage after the chapter, the responsory, the versicle and the office collect are different. The Credo, Confiteor, Misereatur and Absolutionem are included in the preces after the Pater noster.

The canticle at the minor office changes depending on the day of the week. On Sunday it is Benedicite; on Monday Confitebor tibi; on Tuesdays Ego dixi; on Wednesdays Exultavit cor; on Thursdays Cantemus Domino; on Fridays Domine audivi; and on Saturdays Audite cæli.

The High Mass of the day, after which no more masses may be celebrated, usually occurs after the singing of Tierce, Sext and Nones.

Vespers

Vespers is the second major office. It should be sung around sunset but any time after 3 p. m. is acceptable. The most common time is at 5 p. m. It is of the common structure with chapter. The canticle is Magnificat. One important variation on Vespers is known as Tenebrae, which replaces the former during the Easter Triduum.

Compline

Compline is the minor office of the night. It should be sung before retiring to bed, usually around 9 p. m. It differs from the other minor offices in that it begins with the versicles Converte nos before the supplicatory versicles. At every Compline, the psalms are Psalms 4, 91 and 134. The canticle is Nunc dimittis. As at Tierce, Sext and Nones, the Credo, Confiteor, Misereatur and Absolutionem are said.

The Proper

The Daily Office changes daily and throughout the year, reflecting the season of the church and also the day-to-day feasts, vigils and commemorations. For example, the festal hymn for Mattins during Advent, sung pricipally on the Sundays of Advent, is Verbum supernum prodiens, whereas the ferial hymn, sung on the weekdays, is Vox clara ecce intonat.

The Book of Offices provides the texts of the changeable hymns, antiphons, passages, versicles, collects and responsories for each office in the Proper, the music provided in the Book of Chaunts. The antiphons are the most changeable portion especially given there are three antiphons at every office. Most feasts and many Sundays have their own proper antiphons, which replace the antiphons prescribed for the different seasons of the church.

The Proper is divided into the Proper of the Season or Temporale and the Proper of the Saints or Sanctorale. Generally, every Sunday or significant feast day 'flavours' the hymns, antiphons and responsories of the following week. The Proper also includes the Lectionary, providing the texts from the Old Testament, the New Testament as well as sermons and homilies of the church fathers, bishops and other theologians.

Music

It is generally the expectation that the services of the Daily Office will be sung, or 'chaunted', principally by the church choir, whether that be a monastic choir, a lay choir or only the priest, deacon and clerk. Chaunt is usually accompanied by a pipe or reed organ. Liturgical texts are chaunted either in a 'plain chaunt' provided in the Book of Chaunts, with or without extra organum or fauxburthen, or in composed polyphonic 'figured chaunt'.

Congregational participation is generally limited to the chaunting of the versicles, the hymn and the psalms, which are simpler than the freely composed antiphons and responsories. It is expected that one understands what one is chaunting, and thus participation is only expected or encouraged amongst those with a good understanding of the Latin text.