Sep 23, 2023·edited Nov 24, 2023Liked by Addison Hodges Hart
This looks gorgeous! I'm so happy to see more good prayer resources being made. I do love the Anglican tradition (and some days I wonder if it would be better for me to just join the Anglican Catholic Church here in America); the book itself is beautiful as well, which is a necessity for prayer books, I reckon. How long does the full office take to pray?
For those in the Eastern Christian tradition, I recommend St. Ignatius Orthodox Press's Anthologion—the Byzantine Office is famously, well, byzantine, and this provides a wonderful and economical way for an Orthodox Christian to pray a fairly complete cycle (i.e. good selection of the variable hymns; it has a complete Horologion) without coughing up $700+.
I have to forgo the Little Hours for time's sake, but I say Mattins, Evensong, and Compline. Because I pray them at a meditative, reasonably measured pace, the two longer offices average about 30 minutes each -- although I add the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed after Mattins, which extends that office by ten minutes or a little less (due in part because of the list of names I include). Compline takes maybe fifteen minutes. And, yes, the book's beauty both inside and out, enhances the experience of praying from it.
Ah, so it sounds like a pretty similar time commitment.
Here's a tangentially related question for you: what position do icons hold in the Anglo-Catholic tradition? Do you have any books on devotional icon usage that you especially like?
My wife, Solrunn Nes, is (as you may know) an accomplished iconographer. She is Roman Catholic. My favorite book on the devotional use of icons is my late friend, Jim Forest's book, "Praying With Icons" (Orbis Books). Jim was Orthodox.
The book is being used not only by Anglicans with my liturgically traditionalist tendencies, but also by Orthodox, Catholics, Lutherans, and other Protestants.
The Anglican Office Book contains all that is required to pray the entire Divine Office according to the English tradition.
Brought to our attention by Addison Hodges Hart, “The Pragmatic Mystic.”
So glad to see more resources coming out like this. I’ve been using the St Ignatius press Anthologion for quite some time now and it’s totally re-energized my spiritual life and helped me move more in rhythm with the festal calendar of the Church. Regardless of the cost purchasing one of these is never a waste. it helps root one in the riches of your own tradition and feel connected to your fellow Christians all around the world.
If one wishes to make full use of The Anglican Breviary, it's arranged to get you through the entire Psalter in one week, if you say all eight offices daily. As I noted, it's an excellent resource, but for most of us it's much too much to be practical. The AOB follows the monthly Psalter as arranged by Cranmer, and one can pray the whole Psalter (and I'm a stickler for praying all the Psalms, not just a selection from among them) merely by sticking to the two main offices (MP and EP). In short, it's manageable and, at the same time, "filling."
It's based on the 1928 American Prayer Book, which is slightly different than the 1662 BCP (e.g., in portions of its Psalter, some of the prayers, its lectionary, and so on), but not enough to put much stress on it. It's the BCP I grew up with, so I find it perfectly acceptable to my tastes.
With the catholic Christian contemplative tradition, I see the two as essentially joined together. The offices, prayed attentively and receptively, help to purify and instruct the heart. I try to practice silent contemplative prayer after an office has been prayed. Sometimes daily matters intervene, but usually one follows the other -- the office, with its psalmody and lectio, being preparation for silence. This is one reason I want an office book that is sufficiently "immersive" and traditional (reflecting the perennial, not the contemporary). I want it to work on me from the inside out. I don't try to practice silent prayer in the midst of the offices, but I do see the two modes as integrated.
Sep 24, 2023·edited Sep 24, 2023Liked by Addison Hodges Hart
Fr. Hart,
This post has sent me down a little rabbit-hole on the Western Office, ha. A point of confusion: is there any difference between the Monastic Diurnal/Matins and the Anglican Breviary?
Yes. The Monastic Diurnal, together with its companion volume, Matins, was translated for monastics in mind, and is a translation of the old, pre-revision Benedictine hours (adjusted for Anglican use). The Anglican Breviary is a translation, in accord with BCP usage, of the revised divine office (of the 1950s), primarily for secular clergy. There are a number of differences between the books, but most notably the distribution of the Psalms has been rearranged in the latter volume so as to shorten (barely) Matins and reduce the repetition of certain Psalms (e.g., those said at Compline differ from one evening to the next in the AB, whereas in the MD they are fixed to the same three nightly).
This looks gorgeous! I'm so happy to see more good prayer resources being made. I do love the Anglican tradition (and some days I wonder if it would be better for me to just join the Anglican Catholic Church here in America); the book itself is beautiful as well, which is a necessity for prayer books, I reckon. How long does the full office take to pray?
For those in the Eastern Christian tradition, I recommend St. Ignatius Orthodox Press's Anthologion—the Byzantine Office is famously, well, byzantine, and this provides a wonderful and economical way for an Orthodox Christian to pray a fairly complete cycle (i.e. good selection of the variable hymns; it has a complete Horologion) without coughing up $700+.
I have to forgo the Little Hours for time's sake, but I say Mattins, Evensong, and Compline. Because I pray them at a meditative, reasonably measured pace, the two longer offices average about 30 minutes each -- although I add the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed after Mattins, which extends that office by ten minutes or a little less (due in part because of the list of names I include). Compline takes maybe fifteen minutes. And, yes, the book's beauty both inside and out, enhances the experience of praying from it.
Ah, so it sounds like a pretty similar time commitment.
Here's a tangentially related question for you: what position do icons hold in the Anglo-Catholic tradition? Do you have any books on devotional icon usage that you especially like?
My wife, Solrunn Nes, is (as you may know) an accomplished iconographer. She is Roman Catholic. My favorite book on the devotional use of icons is my late friend, Jim Forest's book, "Praying With Icons" (Orbis Books). Jim was Orthodox.
The book is being used not only by Anglicans with my liturgically traditionalist tendencies, but also by Orthodox, Catholics, Lutherans, and other Protestants.
The Anglican Office Book contains all that is required to pray the entire Divine Office according to the English tradition.
Brought to our attention by Addison Hodges Hart, “The Pragmatic Mystic.”
So glad to see more resources coming out like this. I’ve been using the St Ignatius press Anthologion for quite some time now and it’s totally re-energized my spiritual life and helped me move more in rhythm with the festal calendar of the Church. Regardless of the cost purchasing one of these is never a waste. it helps root one in the riches of your own tradition and feel connected to your fellow Christians all around the world.
The Anthologion is a wonderful resource.
Is there a simple explanation for preferring the Anglican Office Book over the Anglican Breviary? I am very thankful for your writing.
If one wishes to make full use of The Anglican Breviary, it's arranged to get you through the entire Psalter in one week, if you say all eight offices daily. As I noted, it's an excellent resource, but for most of us it's much too much to be practical. The AOB follows the monthly Psalter as arranged by Cranmer, and one can pray the whole Psalter (and I'm a stickler for praying all the Psalms, not just a selection from among them) merely by sticking to the two main offices (MP and EP). In short, it's manageable and, at the same time, "filling."
A splendid recommendation, very much appreciated.
Many thanks for this. What is the significance of it being based on the “American” BCP as opposed to simply the BCP?
It's based on the 1928 American Prayer Book, which is slightly different than the 1662 BCP (e.g., in portions of its Psalter, some of the prayers, its lectionary, and so on), but not enough to put much stress on it. It's the BCP I grew up with, so I find it perfectly acceptable to my tastes.
How’ may I ask, does the daily office square, in your experience, with contemplative silent prayer? Are these completely separate daily seasons?
With the catholic Christian contemplative tradition, I see the two as essentially joined together. The offices, prayed attentively and receptively, help to purify and instruct the heart. I try to practice silent contemplative prayer after an office has been prayed. Sometimes daily matters intervene, but usually one follows the other -- the office, with its psalmody and lectio, being preparation for silence. This is one reason I want an office book that is sufficiently "immersive" and traditional (reflecting the perennial, not the contemporary). I want it to work on me from the inside out. I don't try to practice silent prayer in the midst of the offices, but I do see the two modes as integrated.
Thank you!
Fr. Hart,
This post has sent me down a little rabbit-hole on the Western Office, ha. A point of confusion: is there any difference between the Monastic Diurnal/Matins and the Anglican Breviary?
🞡John
Yes. The Monastic Diurnal, together with its companion volume, Matins, was translated for monastics in mind, and is a translation of the old, pre-revision Benedictine hours (adjusted for Anglican use). The Anglican Breviary is a translation, in accord with BCP usage, of the revised divine office (of the 1950s), primarily for secular clergy. There are a number of differences between the books, but most notably the distribution of the Psalms has been rearranged in the latter volume so as to shorten (barely) Matins and reduce the repetition of certain Psalms (e.g., those said at Compline differ from one evening to the next in the AB, whereas in the MD they are fixed to the same three nightly).