SINASSARIO. - From the Greek συναξάριον, from συνάγει = to gather, and σύναξει = assembly. This term designated a “liturgical book read at religious gatherings.” This meaning is purely Christian; consequently, its sense also varied in accordance with the liturgical developments of Christian assemblies. Its fundamental meaning of “liturgical book,” however, always remained.
In ancient times the s. constituted a kind of lectionary containing chiefly biblical pericopes, without excluding other writings of an edifying nature. These pericopes were inserted between the sixth and seventh ὕδῃς (hymn) of the ὕρθρος (the divine office at dawn, laudes in the Latin rite).
Gradually, biblical predominance gave way to hagiographical predominance. Thus the s. became a liturgical book which in the West might be compared to the martyrology, in which the commemoration of the saint was accompanied by a brief edifying biographical notice, as in the Second Nocturn of the Office of the Latin rite. In this case it is called the “great s.” When, on the other hand, the saints of the day are merely commemorated, there is the “little s.” The s. is the historical part of the Divine Office.