Compline

Compline (/ˈkɒmplɪn/ KOM-plin), also known as

Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the
Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the
Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at
fixed prayer times.

The English word is derived from the Latin completorium,

as compline is the completion of the waking day. The word
was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th
century by St. Benedict in his Rule (Regula Benedicti;
hereafter, RB), in Chapters 16 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/be
nedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch16) Archived (https://web.ar
Book of hours open at compline (Eisbergen
chive.org/web/20070103202915/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/b
Monastery in North Rhine-Westphalia,
enedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch16) January 3, 2007, at the
Germany)
Wayback Machine, 17 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/r
ule2/files/rule2.html#ch17) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20070103202915/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch17) January 3, 2007, at
the Wayback Machine, 18 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch18) Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20070103202915/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html#ch18)
January 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, and 42 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/files/rule2.html
#ch42) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070103202915/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule2/fil
es/rule2.html#ch42) January 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, and he even uses the verb compleo to
signify compline: "Omnes ergo in unum positi compleant" ("All having assembled in one place, let them
say compline"); "et exeuntes a completorio" ("and, after going out from compline")… (RB, Chap. 42).

Compline liturgies are a part of Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and
certain other Christian liturgical traditions.

In Western Christianity, Compline tends to be a contemplative office that emphasizes spiritual peace. In
most monasteries it is the custom to begin the "Great Silence" after compline, during which the whole
community, including guests, observes silence throughout the night until after the Terce the next day.[1]
Compline comprises the final office in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Historical development
This section incorporates information from the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1917. References
to psalms follow the numbering system of the Septuagint, as said in the Latin of the
Vulgate.

From the time of the early Church, the practice of seven fixed prayer times have been taught; in Apostolic
Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day "on rising, at the lighting of the
evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours
associated with Christ's Passion."[2][3][4][5]
The origin of compline has given rise to considerable discussion among liturgists. In the past, general
opinion ascribed the origin of this liturgical hour to St. Benedict, in the beginning of the 6th century. But
Jules Pargoire and A. Vandepitte trace its source to Saint Basil. Vandepitte states that it was not in Cæsarea
in 375, but in his retreat in Pontus (358–362), that Basil established compline, which hour did not exist
prior to his time, that is, until shortly after the middle of the 4th century. Dom Plaine also traced the source
of compline back to the 4th century, finding mention of it in a passage in Eusebius and in another in St.
Ambrose, and also in John Cassian. These texts bear witness to the private custom of saying a prayer
before retiring to rest. If this was not the canonical hour of compline, it was certainly a preliminary step
towards it. The same writers reject the opinion of Paulin Ladeuze and Dom Besse who believe that
compline had a place in the Rule of St. Pachomius, which would mean that it originated still earlier in the
4th century.[6]

The Catholic Encyclpedia argues that, if St. Basil instituted and organized the hour of compline for the
East, as St. Benedict did for the West, there existed as early as the days of St. Cyprian and Clement of
Alexandria the custom of reciting a prayer before sleep, and that this might be taken as the original source
of compline.[6]

Compline in the Roman Rite

It is generally thought that the Benedictine form of compline is the
earliest western order, although some scholars, such as Dom Plaine,
have maintained that the hour of compline as found in the Roman
Breviary at his time, antedated the Benedictine Office. These
debates apart, Benedict's arrangement probably invested the hour of
compline with the liturgical character and arrangement which were
preserved in the Benedictine Order, and largely adopted by the
Roman Church. The original form of the Benedictine Office,
lacking even an antiphon for the psalms, is much simpler than its Responsory of the compline, In
Roman counterpart, resembling more closely the Minor Hours of manus tuas, Domine
the day.[6]

Saint Benedict first gave the Office the basic structure by which it has come to be celebrated in the West:
three psalms (4, 90, and 133) (Vulgate numbering) said without antiphons, the hymn, the lesson, the
versicle Kyrie eleison, the benediction, and the dismissal (RB, Chaps. 17 and 18).

The Roman Office of compline came to be richer and more complex than the simple Benedictine psalmody.
A fourth psalm was added, In te Domine speravi (Psalm 30 in Vulgate). And perhaps at a fairly late date
was added the solemn introduction of a benediction with a reading (based perhaps on the spiritual reading
which, in the Rule of St. Benedict, precedes compline: RB, Chap. 42), and the confession and absolution
of faults. This is absent from parallel forms, such as that of Sarum.

The distinctive character and greater solemnity of the Roman form of compline comes from the responsory,
In manus tuas, Domine ("Into Thy hands, O Lord"), with the evangelical canticle Nunc Dimittis and its
anthem, which is particularly characteristic.[7]

The hour of compline, such as it appeared in the Roman Breviary prior to the Second Vatican Council, may
be divided into several parts, viz. the beginning or introduction, the psalmody, with its usual
accompaniment of antiphons, the hymn, the capitulum, the response, the Nunc dimittis, the prayer, and the
benediction.
By way of liturgical variety, the liturgy of initium noctis may also be studied in the Celtic Liturgy, such as it
is read in the Antiphonary of Bangor, its plan being set forth by Warren and by Bishop (see Bibliography,
below).

Compline
0:00 / 0:00
A service of compline sung by the choir of Trinity Church, Boston in 2016;

Introit: Abendlied by Josef Rheinberger;

Nunc dimittis: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Problems playing this file? See media help.

In the breviary of 1974 Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, compline is divided as follows: introduction,
an optional examination of conscience or penitential rite, a hymn, psalmody with accompanying antiphons,
scriptural reading, the responsory, the Canticle of Simeon, concluding prayer, and benediction. The final
antiphon to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Salve Regina, etc.) is an essential part of the Office.[8]

Lutheran usage
The office of Compline is included in the various Lutheran books of worship and prayer books (along with
Matins/Morning Prayer and Vespers/Evening Prayer), such as For All the Saints: A Prayer Book for and by
the Church. In some Lutheran Churches compline may be conducted by a layperson.[9]

Anglican usage
In the Anglican tradition, Compline was originally merged with
Vespers to form Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer.
The United States Episcopal Church's Book of Offices of 1914, the
Church of England's 1928 proposed prayer book, the Scottish
Episcopal Church's 1929 Scottish Prayer Book, the Anglican
Church of Canada's 1959/1962 prayer book, and also the 2004
version of the Book of Common Prayer for the Church of
Ireland,[10] along with the 2009 Daily Prayer book of the Church
in Wales,[11] restored a form of compline to Anglican worship.
The start of compline in the Anglo-
Several contemporary liturgical texts, including the American 1979
Catholic Anglican Service Book
Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Church of Canada's Book
(1991)
of Alternative Services, and the Church of England's Common
Worship, provide modern forms of the service. A traditional form is
provided in the 1991 Anglican Service Book. The Common
Worship service consists of the opening sentences, the confession of sins, the psalms and other Bible
lessons, the canticle of Simeon, and prayers, including a benediction. There are authorized alternatives for
the days of the week and the seasons of the Christian year. As a public service of worship, like Morning
Prayer and Evening Prayer, compline may be led by a layperson, quite similar to Lutheran use.

Compline in Byzantine usage

Compline is called literally, the after-supper (Greek (τὸ)
Ἀπόδειπνον [apóðipnon], Slavonic повечеріе, Povecheriye), has
two distinct forms which are quite different in length Small
Compline and Great Compline.

Both forms include a canon, typically those found Octoechos to the

Theotokos, although alternative canons are used on certain
forefeasts, afterfeasts and days during the Paschaltide. A further
exception is on days when the liturgy to the saint(s) of the day is
displaced by, e.g., by a newly canonized or locally venerated saint
Monks praying compline in St
(or icon), the displaced canon is used and after that are inserted the
Nazianz, Wisconsin, US
stichera prescribed for vespers.

The Office always ends with a mutual asking of forgiveness. In

some traditions, most notably among the Russians, Evening Prayers (i.e., Prayers Before Sleep) are read at
the end of compline. It is an ancient custom, practiced on the Holy Mountain and in other monasteries, for
everyone present at the end of compline to venerate the relics and icons in the church, and receive the
priest's blessing.

Small Compline

Small compline is prescribed for most nights of the year. It is presided over by a single priest without a
deacon.

The liturgy is composed of three Psalms (50, 69, 142), the Small Doxology, the Nicene Creed, the Canon
followed by Axion Estin,[12] the Trisagion, Troparia for the day, Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of the
Hours, the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the
Monk.[13] Following these are the mutual forgiveness and final blessing by the priest and the priest's
reciting of a litany.

Before an all-night vigil, compline in the Greek tradition precedes great vespers, being read during the great
incensing, while in Russian tradition it simply follows little vespers.

Great Compline

Great Compline is a penitential office which is served on the following occasions:

Tuesday and Thursday nights of Cheesefare Week (the week before Great Lent)
Monday through Thursday nights of Great Lent[14]
Friday nights of Great Lent[15]
Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week
Monday through Friday during the lesser Lenten seasons: Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast, and
Dormition Fast[16]
The Eves of certain Great Feasts, as a part of the All-Night Vigil: Nativity, Theophany, and
Annunciation.

Unlike Small Compline, Great Compline has portions of the liturgy which are chanted by the Choir[17] and
during Lent the Prayer of St. Ephraim is said with prostrations. During the First Week of Great Lent, the
Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete is divided into four portions and read on Monday through Thursday
nights.
Due to the penitential nature of Great Compline, it is not uncommon for the priest to hear Confession
during the liturgy.

Great Compline is composed of three sections, each beginning with the call to prayer, "O come, let us
worship…":

First Part

Psalms[18] 4, 6, and 12; Glory…, etc.; Psalms 24, 30, 90; then the hymn "God is With Us"
and troparia, the Creed, the hymn "O Most holy Lady Theotokos", the Trisagion and
Troparia of the Day, Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim…" and
the Prayer of St. Basil the Great.

Second Part

Psalms 50, 101, and the Prayer of Manasses; the Trisagion, and Troparia of
Repentance,[19] Kyrie eleison (40 times), "More honorable than the cherubim…" and the
Prayer of St. Mardarius.

Third Part

Psalms 69, 142, and the Small Doxology;[20] then the Canon followed by Axion Estin, the
Trisagion, the hymn "O Lord of Hosts, be with us…", Kyrie eleison (40 times), the Prayer of
the Hours, "More honorable than the cherubim…", the Prayer of St. Ephraim, Trisagion
(this depends on tradition, it is not always recited here), the Supplicatory Prayer of Paul
the Monk, and the Prayer to Jesus Christ of Antiochus the Monk.[13] Then the mutual
forgiveness. Instead of the normal final blessing by the priest, all prostrate themselves
while the priest reads a special intercessory prayer. Then the litany and the veneration of
icons and relics.

Oriental Christian usages

The Agpeya and Shehimo are breviaries used in Oriental Christianity to pray the canonical hours at seven
fixed times of the day in the eastward direction.[21]

Syriac Orthodox Church, Indian Orthodox Church, and Mar Thoma Syrian
Church
In the Syriac Orthodox Church and Indian Orthodox Church, as well as the Mar Thoma Syrian Church (an
Oriental Protestant denomination), the office of Compline is also known as Soutoro and is prayed at 9 pm
using the Shehimo breviary.[22][21]

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, an Oriental Orthodox denomination, the Compline is prayed at 9 pm using
the Agpeya breviary before retiring.[23][24]

Armenian Liturgy: Hours of Peace and Rest

There are two offices in the daily worship of the Armenian Apostolic Church which are recited between
sundown and sleep: the Peace Hour and the Rest Hour.[25] These are two distinct liturgies of communal
worship. It is the usage in some localities to combine these two liturgies, with abbreviations, into a single
liturgy.

The Peace Hour

The Peace Hour (Armenian: Խաղաղական Ժամ khaghaghakan zham) is the office associated with
compline in other Christian liturgies.

In the Armenian Book of Hours, or Zhamagirk`, it is stated that the Peace Hour commemorates the Spirit of
God, but also the Word of God, “when he was laid in the tomb and descended into Hades, and brought
peace to the spirits.”

Outline of the Peace Hour

If the Song of Steps is recited: Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father … Amen.; Psalm 34:1–
7: I have blessed the Lord at all times (awrhnets`its` zTēr)…; Glory to the Father (Always with Now and
always … Amen.; And again in peace let us pray to the Lord…; Blessing and glory to the Father … Amen.;
Song of Steps: Psalm 120:1–3: In my distress I cried (I neghout`ean imoum)…; Glory to the Father…

If the Song of Steps is not said: Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our father … Amen; Psalm 88:1–2
God of my salvation (Astouats p`kkout`ean imoy)…; Glory to the Father…; And again in peace let us pray
to the Lord …; Blessing and glory to the Father … Amen.; Peace with all.

In either case the liturgy continues here: Psalms 4, 6, 13, 16, 43, 70, 86:16–17; Glory to the Father…;
Song: Vouchsafe unto us (Shnorhea mez)…; Glory to the Father…; Acclamation: At the approach of
darkness (I merdzenal erekoyis)…; Proclamation: And again in peace … Let us give thanks to the Lord
(Gohats`arouk` zTearnē)…; Prayer: Beneficent Lord (Tēr Barerar)…; Psalm 27 The Lord is my light (Tēr
loys im)…; Glory to the Father…; Song: Look down with love (Nayats` sirov)…; Acclamation: Lord, do not
turn your face (Tēr mi dartzouts`aner)…; Proclamation: And again in peace … Let us beseech almighty
God (Aghach`ests`ouk` zamenakal)…; Prayer: Bestowing with grace (Shnorhatou bareats`)…

On non-fasting days the liturgy ends here with: Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our father …
Amen.

On fasting days continue here: Psalm 119; Glory to the Father–; Hymn: We entreat you (I k`ez
hayts`emk`)…
During the Great Fast: Evening Chant (varies); Acclamation: To the spirits at rest (Hogvovn
hangouts`elots`)…; Proclamation: And again in peace … For the repose of the souls (Vasn hangouts`eal)…;
Lord, have mercy (thrice); Prayer: Christ, Son of God (K`ristos Ordi Astoutsoy)…; Blessed is our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Our father… Amen.”

The Rest Hour

The Rest Hour (Armenian: Հանգստեան Ժամ hangstean zham) is celebrated after the Peace Hour,
and is the last of the offices of the day. It may be considered communal worship before sleep. It bears some
resemblance in content to compline in the Roman Rite.

In the Armenian Book of Hours it is stated in many manuscripts that the Rest Hour commemorates God the
Father, “that he protect us through the protecting arm of the Onlybegotten in the darkness of night.”

Outline of the Rest Hour: Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Father … Amen.; Psalm 43:3–5:
Lord, send your light and your truth (Arak`ea Tēr)…; Glory to the Father…; And again in peace let us
pray to the Lord …; Blessing and glory to the Father … Amen.; Psalms 119:41–56, 119:113–120, 119:169–
176, 91, 123, 54, Daniel 3:29–34, Luke 2:29–32, Psalms 142:7, 86:16–17, 138:7–8, Luke 1:46–55; Glory
to the Father…; Acclamation: My soul into your hands (Andzn im I tzers k`o)…; Proclamation: And again
in peace … Let us beseech almighty God (Aghach`ests`ouk` zamenakaln)…; Prayer: Lord our God (Tēr
Astouats mer)…

Ending: Psalm 4; Pre-gospel sequence; Gospel: John 12:24ff; Glory to you, our God; Proclamation: By the
holy Cross (Sourb khach`ivs…)…; Prayer: Protect us (Pahpannea zmez)…; Blessed is our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. Our Father … Amen.

Ending during Fasts: Acclamation: We fall down before you (Ankanimk` araji k`o)…; Meditation Twelve of
St. Gregory of Narek; Meditation 94 of St. Gregory of Narek; Meditation 41 of St. Gregory of Narek;
Prayer: In faith I confess (Havatov khostovanim)… by St. Nerses the Graceful; Acclamation: Through your
holy spotless and virgin mother (Vasn srbouhvoy)…; Proclamation: Holy Birthgiver of God (Sourb
zAstouatsatsinn), ,; Prayer: Accept, Lord (Unkal, Tēr)…; Blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our
Father … Amen.

Notes
1. Ware, Jordan Haynie (February 1, 2017). The Ultimate Quest: A Geek's Guide to (The
Episcopal) Church. Church Publishing Incorporated. p. 30. ISBN 9780819233264.
2. Danielou, Jean (2016). Origen. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4982-9023-4.
"Peterson quotes a passage from the Acts of Hipparchus and Philotheus: "In Hipparchus's
house there was a specially decorated room and a cross was painted on the east wall of it.
There before the image of the cross, they used to pray seven times a day … with their faces
turned to the east." It is easy to see the importance of this passage when you compare it with
what Origen says. The custom of turning towards the rising sun when praying had been
replaced by the habit of turning towards the east wall. This we find in Origen. From the other
passage we see that a cross had been painted on the wall to show which was the east.
Hence the origin of the practice of hanging crucifixes on the walls of the private rooms in
Christian houses. We know too that signs were put up in the Jewish synagogues to show
the direction of Jerusalem, because the Jews turned that way when they said their prayers.
The question of the proper way to face for prayer has always been of great importance in the
East. It is worth remembering that Mohammedans pray with their faces turned towards
Mecca and that one reason for the condemnation of Al Hallaj, the Mohammedan martyr, was
that he refused to conform to this practice."
 3. Henry Chadwick (1993). The Early Church. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-16042-8. "Hippolytus
in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day – on rising,
at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third,
sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the
third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of
Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were
commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family."
4. Weitzman, M. P. (July 7, 2005). The Syriac Version of the Old Testament. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01746-6. "Clement of Alexandria noted that "some fix
hours for prayer, such as the third, sixth and ninth" (Stromata 7:7). Tertullian commends
these hours, because of their importance (see below) in the New Testament and because
their number recalls the Trinity (De Oratione 25). These hours indeed appear as designated
for prayer from the earliest days of the church. Peter prayed at the sixth hour, i.e. at noon
(Acts 10:9). The ninth hour is called the "hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). This was the hour when
Cornelius prayed even as a "God-fearer" attached to the Jewish community, i.e. before his
conversion to Christianity. it was also the hour of Jesus' final prayer (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34,
Luke 22:44–46)."
5. Lössl, Josef (February 17, 2010). The Early Church: History and Memory. A&C Black.
p. 135. ISBN 978-0-567-16561-9. "Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted
in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times
in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century),
this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and
in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the
monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today.
They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. … Crosses made of wood or
stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as
objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the
east, Latin oriens)."
6. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Compline" (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04187a.htm).
www.newadvent.org.
7. The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "It would be difficult to understand why St. Benedict,
whose liturgical taste favoured solemnity in the Office, would have sacrificed these elements
—especially the evangelical canticle—if, as Dom Plaine theorizes, his form of the Office
were a later development."
8. General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours (http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.ht
m#Ch%20II-VI) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20190705220739/http://www.ewtn.co
m/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm#Ch%20II-VI) July 5, 2019, at the Wayback Machine #92
9. Maschke, Timothy (2009). Gathered guests : a guide to worship in the Lutheran Church (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/225873337) (2nd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
ISBN 978-0-7586-1349-3. OCLC 225873337 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/225873337).
10. "2004 Texts" (https://www.ireland.anglican.org/prayer-worship/book-of-common-prayer/2004
-texts). anglican.org.
11. https://churchinwales.contentfiles.net/media/documents/Gweddi_Ddyddiol_-
_Daily_Prayer2009.pdf
12. Certain canons call for Axion Estin to be replaced by the Irmos of the Ninth Ode.
13. Here follow the Evening Prayers in places where they are said at compline.
14. Except for Wednesday of the Fifth Week. The Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete is read
the evening before, and so Small Compline is appointed for that Wednesday night.
15. Among the Greeks, Small Compline is served on every Friday evening of Great Lent; the
Russians, however, serve Great Compline on Fridays, with some modifications (see n. 7,
below). On Friday night of the Fifth Week of Great Lent, the Akathist to the Theotokos is
solemnly chanted, so Small Compline on that night is either read privately or suppressed.
16. In some places, Great Compline is only served on the first night of each of the Lesser Fasts.
17. Except on Friday night, when most of these parts are read. There are also fewer prostrations
on Friday night.
18. On Monday through Thursday of the First Week of Great Lent, the service begins with Psalm
69, followed by the appropriate section of the Great Canon (in which case, Psalm 69 is
omitted in the Third Part).
19. Or, if it is the eve of a Great Feast, the Kontakion of the day.
20. On Great Feasts, the order of Great Compline ends here, and we continue the All-Night Vigil
with the Litia.
21. Richards, William Joseph (1908). The Indian Christians of St. Thomas: Otherwise Called the
Syrian Christians of Malabar: a Sketch of Their History and an Account of Their Present
Condition as Well as a Discussion of the Legend of St. Thomas. Bemrose. p. 98.
22. "My Life in Heaven & on Earth" (http://www.stthomassouthflorida.com/uploads/3/7/7/1/37717
427/grade12.pdf) (PDF). St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church. p. 31. Retrieved August 2,
2020.
23. "Coptic Church Prayers" (https://www.stabanoub-dallas.org/index.php?option=com_content
&view=article&id=71:prayers&catid=43:general&Itemid=41). St. Abanoub Coptic Orthodox
Church. 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
24. The Agpeya. St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. pp. 5, 33, 49, 65, 80, 91, 130.
25. "The Armenian Church - Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին" (https://www.armenianchurch.or
g/index.jsp?sid=1&id=111&pid=28). www.armenianchurch.org.

References
Bäumer, Histoire du Bréviaire, tr. Biron, I, 135, 147–149 et passim
Batiffol, Histoire du bréviaire romain, 35
Besse, Les Moines d'Orient antérieurs au concile de Chalcédoine (Paris, 1900), 333
Bishop, A Service Book of the Seventh Century in The Church Quarterly Review (January,
1894), XXXVII, 347
Butler, The Text of St. Benedict's Rule, in Downside Review, XVII, 223
Bresard, Luc. Monastic Spirituality. Three vols. (Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester: A.I.M., 1996)
Cabrol, Le Livre de la Prière antique, 224
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann,
Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite
encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help), s.v. Complin (http://www.newadvent.
org/cathen/04187a.htm)
Ladeuze, Etude sur le cénobitisme pakhomien pendant le IVe siècle et la première moitié du
Ve (Louvain, 1898), 288
Pargoire, Prime et complies in Rev. d'hist. et de littér. relig. (1898), III, 281–288, 456–467
Pargoire and Pétridès in Dict. d'arch. et de liturgie, s. v. Apodeipnon, I, 2579–2589
Plaine, La Génèse historique des Heures in Rev. Anglo-romaine, I, 593
—Idem, "De officii seu cursus Romani origine" in Studien u. Mittheilungen (1899), X, 364–
397
Vandepitte, Saint Basile et l'origine de complies in Rev. Augustinienne (1903), II, 258–264
 Warren, The Antiphonary of Bangor: an Early Irish MS. (a complete facsimile in collotype,
with a transcription, London, 1893)
—Idem, Liturgy and Ritual of the Keltic Church (Oxford, 1881)

External links

Roman Rite

Liturgy of the Hours

Liturgy of the Hours at www.ebreviary.com (http://www.liturgyhours.org/) (login required)
The text of compline for today's date at www.universalis.com (http://www.universalis.com/co
mpline.htm) (English)
Compline of the Liturgy of the Hours, in Latin with Gregorian chants (https://web.archive.org/
web/20110722023009/http://www.transitofvenus.nl/LiturgiaHorarum/booklets/LHCompl.pdf)

Eastern Orthodox
Small Compline (http://www.saintjonah.org/services/compline.htm)
Great Compline (http://www.saintjonah.org/services/greatcompline.htm)

Anglican and Protestant

The Lutheran Service Book with Prayer Offices (LCMS) (https://web.archive.org/web/200609
25211036/http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/Worship/02OrdersofService.pdf)
An Order for Compline from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (ECUSA) (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20051220105905/http://www.saintgabriels.org/bcp/compline.html)
The Order for Compline in traditional language in The Anglican Service Book (1991) (http://j
ustus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Anglican_Service_Book/office.html#compline)
Night Prayer from Common Worship of the Church of England (Anglican) (http://oremus.org/
cofe.html)
An Office for Compline (United Methodist – Order of St Luke) (https://web.archive.org/web/20
041231175518/http://www.saint-luke.org/documents/do-compline2004.pdf) (PDF)
Compline (Methodist Church – Stewardship Prayer Resources) (http://www.methodist.org.u
k/downloads/me_stewardship_prayer_night1.doc) (Word file)
Compline (Methodist Church – Stewardship Prayer Resources) (http://www.methodist.org.u
k/downloads/me_stewardship_prayers_night.pdf) (PDF – booklet format)

Sung compline
Free sheet music for compline in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
Compline Choir of Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle (http://www.complinechoir.org)
See also Wikipedia entry
Compline Choir of Saint David's Episcopal Church, Austin (http://www.stdave.org/music/com
pline/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150616121711/http://www.stdave.org/music/
compline/) June 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
 Compline Choir of Saint Louis King of France Catholic Church, Austin (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20111005215524/http://st-louis.org/church.htm)
Pacific Academy of Ecclesiastical Music (https://web.archive.org/web/20110726104853/htt
p://www.pacem-music.org/compline/)
Minnesota Compline Choir (http://www.minnesotacompline.org)
Pittsburgh Compline Choir (http://pghcompline.com/)
Weekly Compline at Christ Church, New Haven, CT (http://www.christchurchnh.org/complin
e) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141106131502/http://www.christchurchnh.org/co
mpline) November 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
Weekly Compline at Christ Church Anglican in Savannah, GA (http://ccasav.org)
St. Mary's Schola of St. Mary's Church, Arlington, VA (https://web.archive.org/web/20111127
205105/http://www.stmarysarlington.org/stmarysarlington/compline)
Compline Choir at The Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC (http://thechapelofthecross.org/
growing-as-christians/music/compline-choir)
Compline and litany of the Most blessed Sacrament for the octave of Corpus Christi in the
Corpus Christi Royal College of Valencia (https://earlymusicreview.com/corpus-christi-compl
ine-and-litany-of-the-most-blessed-sacrament-for-the-octave-of-corpus-christi/)

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