Expert: Dean Gade - 10/28/2007

Question
Would you know the history behind the church practice of having services on Sunday morning and in the evening?

Answer
The history really began in the sixth century when the church at Rome began to have regular prayer and worship times throughout the day at the local churches and monasteries.  These times were known as "Canonical Hours" with the following names:    MATINS; PRIME; TERCE; SEXT; NONE; VESPERS.

For instance, NONE was held at midday and from it we get the word "noon".

After centuries of having these worship times it seems that most of the members of local churches began to attend only those which were most convenient.
Ecclesiastical chapels continued holding services for themselves and still do in monasteries and seminaries in this country.

Some congregations, including Protestant ones, still have  Matins(morning) and Vespers (evening) services on special occasions.  But the popular times are in the morning on the day of Jesus' resurrection....Sunday morning.