Compline - The Last Hour
Compline, as the last of the canonical Hours, was originally done at sunset. The term compline is derived from the Latin completorium, complement, and was given to this particular Hour because compline is, as it were, the completion of all the Hours of the day: the close of the day. The word was first used in this sense by St. Benedict in his Rule (c 530), and he even uses the verb complere to signify compline: "Omnes ergo in unum positi compleant;” "et exuentes a completorio.” The Hour of compline, as it now appears in the Roman Breviary, may be divided into several parts: the beginning or introduction; the psalmody, with its usual accompaniment of anthems; the hymn; the capitulum (chapter, from the Gospel, in this case), the response, the evangelical canticle, the prayer, and the benediction. The Anglican and Episcopalian compline services follow a similar pattern.
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