The Divine Office

The Divine Office, or Work of God, has its origins in ancient Jewish and early Christian liturgical worship. Grounded on the Psalter and other biblical readings, these prayers (or ‘Offices’) mark and sanctify the hours of each day, from sunrise to sunset. In Greco-Roman tradition the day was divided into four parts, each about three hours in length, beginning at 6am. This is the origin of the (approximate!) timing and naming of our own Offices: Lauds (Latin: praise; 7am), Terce (Latin: three; 8.45am), None (Latin: nine; 2:15pm) and so on.

In all but one of our Offices we recite the psalms in plainchant. In the nineteenth century monks from the Abbey of Solesmes began a revival and restoration of Gregorian chant, the specifically Western tradition of plainchant, and this was taken up in England by the Anglican priest and musical scholar G.H Palmer (1846-1926). Through his teaching and publications he was instrumental in introducing Anglican Religious communities, especially our mother community at Wantage, to the ancient liturgical music of the Church. Our Office today owes much to his work.