Editing Canonical hours (section)

{{Short description|Christian concept of periods of prayer throughout the day}}
{{For|the specific manifestation of the canonical hours in the public prayer of the Roman rite of the Catholic Church|Liturgy of the Hours}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

[[File:Jean Pichore - Leaf from Book of Hours - Walters W45294V - Open Reverse.jpg|thumb|Opening verse from a Book of Hours ''Domine labia mea aperies et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam'' {{Circa|1520}}]]
In the practice of [[Christianity]], '''canonical hours''' mark the divisions of the day in terms of [[Fixed prayer times#Christianity|fixed times of prayer]] at regular intervals. A [[book of hours]], chiefly a [[breviary]], normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.<ref>{{cite web |title=breviary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breviary |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=English |quote=: a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours}}</ref><ref>John Harthan "The Book of Hours: With a Historical Survey and Commentary by John Harthan.: New York: Crowell, 1977.</ref>

In the [[Roman Rite]] of the Catholic Church, canonical hours are also called '''officium''', since it refers to the official prayer of the Church, which is known variously as the {{lang|la|officium divinum}} ("divine service" or "divine duty"), and the {{lang|la|opus Dei}} ("work of God"). The current official version of the hours in the Roman Rite is called the [[Liturgy of the Hours]] ({{langx|la|liturgia horarum}}) or ''divine office''.

In [[Lutheranism]] and [[Anglicanism]], they are often known as the '''daily office''' or '''divine office''', to distinguish them from the other "offices" of the Church (e.g. the administration of the sacraments).<ref name="FELC2021">{{cite web |title=Evening Prayer in Advent |url=https://www.felcaustin.org/worship-music/evening-prayer |publisher=First English Lutheran Church |access-date=6 February 2022 |location=[[Austin, Texas|Austin]] |language=English |date=2021 |quote=Evening Prayer, or Vespers, is an ancient form of daily prayer and is part of the historic Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office.}}</ref> 

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Byzantine Rite|Byzantine Catholic Churches]], the canonical hours may be referred to as the '''[[Divine Service (Eastern Orthodoxy)|divine services]]''', and the ''book of hours'' is called the {{lang|el-Latn|[[horologion]]}} ({{langx|el|Ὡρολόγιον}}). Despite numerous small differences in practice according to local custom, the overall order is the same among Byzantine Rite monasteries, although parish and cathedral customs vary rather more so by locale.

The usage in [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox Churches]], the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], and their [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic]] and [[Eastern Lutheranism|Eastern Lutheran]] counterparts vary based on the rite, for example the [[East Syriac Rite]] or the [[Byzantine Rite]].