Prime (Lat. prima, the first—i.e. hour), the first of the so-called "lesser hours" of the Roman Breviary (q.v.). It may be called the public morning prayer (of that Church, and corresponds in substance with the morning service of the other ancient liturgies, allowance being made for Latin peculiarities. Prime commences with the beautiful hymn of Prudentius. Joam luais oato sidere, which is followed by three and occasionally four psalms (22, 26:54, 118); but the last portion consists of the opening verses of the 118th (in the A.V. the 159, 1-3-2) Psalm, which is continued throughout the rest of the "lesser hours." Prime concludes with prayers appropriate to the beginning of a Christian's day. See Procter, Commentary on the Book of Common Prayer, p. 187. SEE CANONICAL HOURS.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More