A hallmark of the Anglican liturgical tradition is its recovery of the daily office as a regular feature of the church’s liturgical life, not just the province of clergy and religious.
Of course it’s more complicated than this. The Catholic Church, for instance, while requiring clergy and religious to celebrate the liturgy of the hours, also encourages lay people to join in this universal prayer of the church. And we Anglicans both have our own clericalism, and have tended to allow the office to be eclipsed. Nevertheless, the vision of restoring the office as a prayer for all of the faithful is a compelling one. Gathered here are two essays on an integral part of the liturgy of the hours: the Invitatory, which begins one’s daily prayer.
https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2014/10/24/strive-to-enter-that-rest/
https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2015/12/03/o-come-let-us-say-the-entire-venite/
Eugene R. Schlesinger, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University. He is the author of several books, including Salvation in Henri de Lubac: Divine Grace, Human Nature, and the Mystery of the Cross (Notre Dame, 2023). Schlesinger served as Editor of Covenant, 2019-2024.
