The
Breviary (
Latin:
brevarium) is the name of a book in many
Western Christian denominations that "contains all the
liturgical texts for the
Office, whether said in choir or in private." Pope Nicholas III approved a Franciscan breviary, for use in that religious order, and this was the first text that bore the title of breviary. However, the "contents of the breviary, in their essential parts, are derived from the
early ages of Christianity", consisting of
psalms,
Scripture lessons, writings of the
Church Fathers, as well as hymns and
prayers. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of
Christendom, such as
Aberdeen Breviary,
Belleville Breviary,
Stowe Breviary and
Isabella Breviary, although eventually the
Roman Breviary became the standard within the
Roman Catholic Church. The ancient breviary of The Order of The Most Holy Saviour (the
Bridgettines) had been in use for more than 125 years before the
Council of Trent and so was exempt from the Constitution of
Pope Pius V which abolished the use of breviaries differing from that of Rome. Now translated from Latin,
The Syon Breviary](Daily Office of Our Lady) has been published in English for the first time, with plainchant music, to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the foundation of
Syon Abbey in 1415 by
King Henry V. Following the
Oxford Movement in the
Anglican Communion, in 1916, the
Anglican Breviary was published by the Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation.