Liturgical year
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The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar,
Distinct liturgical colours may be used in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic is largely the same.
Liturgical cycle
Liturgical seasons |
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The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their own mood, theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home. In churches that follow the liturgical year, the scripture passages for each Sunday (and even each day of the year in some traditions) are specified in a lectionary.
After the
Adaptations of the revised Roman Rite lectionary were adopted by Protestants, leading to the publication in 1994 of the
Biblical calendars
Scholars are not in agreement about whether the calendars used by the Jews before the
The first month of the Hebrew year was called אביב (Aviv), evidently adopted by
In the earlier calendar, most of the months were simply called by a number (such as "the fifth month"). The Babylonian-derived names of the month that are used by Jews are:
- Nisan (March–April)
- Iyar (April–May)
- Sivan (May–June)
- Tammuz (June–July)
- Av (July–August)
- Elul (August–September)
- Tishrei (September–October)
- Marcheshvan(October–November)
- Kislev (November–December)
- Tevet (December–January)
- Shevat (January–February)
- Adar 1(February; only during leap years)
- Adar (February–March)
In Biblical times, the following Jewish religious feasts were celebrated:
- Passover seder)
- Chag HaMatzot(Unleavened Bread) – 15–21 Nisan
- Reishit Katzir(Firstfruits) – 16 Nisan
- Shavuot (Weeks) – Fiftieth day counted from Passover, normally 6–7 Sivan
- Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) – 1–2 Tishrei
- Yom Kippur (Atonement) – 10 Tishrei
- Sukkot (Tabernacles) – 15–21 Tishrei
- (instituted in 164 BC)
- Purim (Lots) – 14–15 Adar (instituted in c. 400 BC)
Eastern Christianity
East Syriac Rite
The Liturgical Calendar of the
- Nativity of Christ
- Epiphany of Christ
- Resurrection of Christ
- Pentecost
- Transfiguration
- Glorious Cross
- Parousia(the Dedication of Church after Christ's second coming)
One of the oldest available records mentioning the liturgical cycle of east-syriac rite is handwritten manuscript named 'Preface to Hudra' written by Rabban Brick-Iso in 14th century.[11] The manuscript mentions that the liturgical year is divided into nine seasons starting from Subara and ends with Qudas Edta. Catholic churches of east-syriac rite maintains the same liturgical calendar until the current date except that many consider 7th and 8th seasons as a single one. The biblical reading and prayers during Mass and Liturgy of the Hours vary according to different seasons in the liturgical calendar.
Liturgical Calendar
The various seasons of the liturgical calendar of Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Catholic Church are given below.
Annunciation (Subara)
Weeks of Annunciation (
Feasts celebrated during this season
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, mother of Jesus (December 8)
- Feast of Miraculous Cross of Mylapore (Syro Malabar Church
- Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ or Christmas (December 25)
- Feast of Holy Infants (December 28)
- Feast of Name Iso(January 1)
- Feast of Mary, mother of Jesus (last Friday of Season)
Epiphany (Denha)
Weeks of Epiphany begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of
Feasts celebrated during the period
- Feast of Feast of Baptism of the Lord(January 6)
- Feast of Saint John the Baptist on first Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of Apostles Peter (Kepha) and Paul on second Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of Evangelists on third Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of Saint Stephan on fourth Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of Fathers of Church on fifth Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of Patron Saint of Churchon sixth Friday of Epiphany
- Feast of all departed faithful on last Friday of Epiphany
Great Fast (Sawma Rabba)
During these weeks the faithful meditate over the 40-day fast of Jesus and the culmination of his public life in passion, death and burial. The season begins 50 days before Easter on Peturta Sunday and comprises the whole period of Great Lent and culminates on Resurrection Sunday. Word Peturta in Syriac means "looking back" or "reconciliation". Faithful enter the weeks of Great Fast, celebrating the memory of all the Faithful Departed on the last Friday of Denha.
According to the ecclesial tradition, the weeks of Great Fast is also an occasion to keep up the memory of the beloved Departed through special prayers, renunciation, almsgiving, and so on and thus prepare oneself for a good death and resurrection in Jesus Christ. During the fast faithful of
- Peturta Sunday on First Sunday of Great Fast
- Ash Monday or Clean Monday on the first day (Monday) of Great Fast
- Lazarus Friday on the sixth Friday of Great Fast
- Oshana Sunday on the seventh Sunday of Great Fast
- Thursday of Pesha
- Friday of Passion or Good Friday
- Great Saturday or Saturday of Light
The following feasts are always in the Lenten Season:
- Feast of Mar Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18)
- Feast of Saint Joseph (March 19)
- Feast of the Annunciation (March 25)
Resurrection (Qyamta)
The weeks of Great Resurrection begin on the Resurrection Sunday and run to the feast of Pentecost. The Church celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord during these seven weeks: Jesus' victory over death, sin, suffering and Satan. The church also commemorates various events that occurred after the resurrection of Christ, such as the visits of Jesus to the Apostles and the ascension of Jesus.
According to eastern Christianity, the Feast of Resurrection is the most important and the greatest feast in a liturgical year. Therefore, the season commemorating the resurrection of Christ is also of prime importance in the church liturgy. The first week of the season is celebrated as the 'Week of weeks' as it is the week of the resurrection of Christ.
Feasts celebrated during the period:
- Feast of Resurrection of Christ
- Feast of All Confessors (Saints) on the first Friday of Qyamta
- New Sundayor St. Thomas Sunday on the second Sunday of Qyamta
- Feast of Ascension of Jesus on the sixth Friday of Qyamta
The following feasts are always in the season of resurrection:
- Feast of Saint George (April 24)
- Feast of Mark the Evangelist (April 25)
- Feast of Saint Joseph, the worker (May 1)
- Feasts of Saint Philip and Saint James the apostles (May 3)
Apostles (Slihe)
Weeks of apostles (
Feast celebrated during the season:
- Feast of Pentecost on first Sunday of Slihe
- Feast of Friday of Gold: The first commemoration of the first miracle of apostles done by Saint Peter.
The following feasts are commemorated in the season of Slihe
- Feast of Mar Aphrem (June 10)
- Feast of the Apostles Paul(June 29)
- Feast of Mar Thoma, founding father of east Syriac churches (July 3)
- Feast of Mar Quriaqos and Yolitha (July 15)
Qaita (Summer)
Along the weeks of Qaita maturity and fruitfulness of church are commemorated. The Syriac word Qaita means "summer" and it is a time of harvest for the Church. The fruits of the Church are those of holiness and martyrdom. While the sprouting and infancy of the Church were celebrated in 'the Weeks of the Apostles,' her development in different parts of the world by reflecting the image of the heavenly Kingdom and giving birth to many saints and martyrs are proclaimed during this season. Fridays of this Season are set apart for honoring saints and martyrs.
Feast celebrated during the season:
- Feast of the twelve apostlesand Nusardeil on the first Sunday of Qaita (Nusardeil is a Persian word which means "God-given New Year Day").
- Feast of Mar Jacob of Nisibis on the first Friday of Qaita.
- Feast of Mar Marion the second Friday of Qaita.
- Feast of Marta Simoni and her Seven Children on the fifth Friday of Qaita.
- Feast of Mar Shimun Bar Sabbaiand Companions on the sixth Friday of Qaita.
- Feast of martyr Mar Quardag on the seventh Friday of Qaita.
The following feasts are commemorated in the season of Qaita
- Feast of seventy disciples of Jesus (July 27)
- Feast of Syro Malabar Catholic Church(July 28)
- Feast of Transfiguration of Jesus (August 6)
- Feast of Assumption of Mary (August 15)
Eliyah-Sliba-Moses
The name of the seasons of Eliyah-Sliba-Moses takes their origin from the feast of the
The season of Eliyah has a length of one to three Sundays. Season of Sliba starts on Sunday on or after the feast of the glorious cross and has a length of three to four weeks. The first Sunday of Sliba is always considered as the fourth Sunday of the combined season. The season of Moses always has four weeks.
Feast celebrated during the seasons:
The following feasts are commemorated in the seasons of Eliyah-Sliba-Moses
- Feast of Nativity of Mary on September 8 and the eight-day fast in preparation for the feast
Dedication of the church (Qudas Edta)
The weeks of the dedication of the church is the last liturgical season in the East Syriac rite.[13][14] It consists of four weeks and ends on the Saturday before Sunday between November 27 and December 3. The theme of the season is that the church is presented by Christ as his eternal bride before his father at the heavenly bride chamber. The period has its origin in the feast of the dedication of the church of Sephelcure or the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. However, the season was officially instituted by Patriarch Isho-Yahb III of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (647–657) by separating it from the season of Moses.[15]
Feasts celebrated during the season:
- Feast of dedication of the church on 1st Sunday of Qudas Edta
- Pius XIinstituted it in Roman-rite).
Eastern Orthodox Church
The liturgical year in the
The majority of Orthodox Christians (Russians, in particular) follow the
Between 1900 and 2100, there is a thirteen-day difference between the dates of the Julian and the Revised Julian and Gregorian calendars. Thus, for example, where Christmas is celebrated on December 25 O.S. (Old Style), the celebration coincides with January 7 in the Revised Calendar. The computation of the day of Pascha (Easter) is, however, always computed according to a lunar calendar based on the Julian Calendar, even by those churches which observe the Revised Calendar.
There are four fasting seasons during the year: The most important fast is
In addition to these fasting seasons, Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year (and some Orthodox
Pascha
The greatest feast is Pascha. Easter for both East and West is calculated as the first Sunday after the
The date of Pascha is central to the entire ecclesiastical year, determining not only the date for the beginning of Great Lent and Pentecost, but affecting the cycle of moveable feasts, of scriptural readings and the Octoechos (texts chanted according to the eight ecclesiastical modes) throughout the year. There are also a number of lesser feasts throughout the year that are based upon the date of Pascha. The moveable cycle begins on the Zacchaeus Sunday (the first Sunday in preparation for Great Lent or the 33rd Sunday after Pentecost as it is known), though the cycle of the Octoechos continues until Palm Sunday.
The date of Pascha affects the following liturgical seasons:
- The period of the Cheesefare Week, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week)
- The period of the Pentecostarion (Sunday of Pascha through the Sunday After Pentecost which is also called the Sunday of all saints)
The twelve Great Feasts
Some of these feasts follow the Fixed Cycle, and some follow the Moveable (Paschal) Cycle. Most of those on the Fixed Cycle have a period of preparation called a
- Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8)
- Elevation of the Cross (September 14)
- the rediscovery of the original Crosson which Christ was crucified
- the rediscovery of the original
- Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple (November 21)
- the entry of the Theotokos into the Temple around the age of 3
- Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (December 25)
- Theophany (January 6)
- the baptism of Jesus Christ, Christ's blessing of the water, and the revealing of Christ as God
- Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (February 2)
- Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25)
- Gabriel's announcement to the Theotokosthat she will conceive the Christ, and her wilful agreement thereto
Note: In Eastern practice, should this feast fall during Holy Week or on Pascha itself, the feast of the Annunciation is not transferred to another day. In fact, the conjunction of the feasts of the Annunciation and Pascha (dipli Paschalia, Greek: διπλή Πασχαλιά) is considered an extremely festive event.
- Entry into Jerusalem (Sunday before Pascha)
- known in the West as Palm Sunday.
- Ascension (40 days after Pascha)
- Christ's ascension into Heaven following his resurrection.
- Pentecost (50 days after Pascha)
- The apostlesand other Christian believers.
- The
- Transfiguration of Our Lord (August 6)
- Christ's Transfiguration as witnessed by Peter, James and John.
- Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15)
- The falling asleep of the Theotokos (cf. the Assumption of Mary in Western Christianity)
Other feasts
Some additional feasts are observed as though they were Great Feasts:
- Russian Orthodox
- The Feast of Saint James the Just(October 23)
- The Feast of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki(October 26)
- The Feast of the Holy Gabriel(November 8)
- The Feast of Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra in Lycia (December 6)
- The Feast of the Conception of (December 9)
- The Feast of Saint Spiridon(December 12)
- The Feast of Saint Stephen the Deacon (December 27)
- The Feast of Circumcision of Christ(January 1)
- The Feast of the Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom(January 30)
- The Feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (March 9)
- The Feast of Saint Patrick (March 17)[16]
- The Feast of Saint George (April 23)
- The Feast of the Holy Emperors Helen(May 21)
- The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist(June 24)
- The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul(June 29)
- The Feast of Saint Elijah the Prophet(July 20)
- The Feast of Saint Christina of Bolsenathe Great Martyr (July 24)
- The Beheading of St. John the Baptist(August 29)
- Beginning of the Indiction-Ecclesiastical Year (September 1)
- The Patronal Feastof a church or monastery
Every day throughout the year commemorates some saint or some event in the lives of
Cycles
In addition to the Fixed and Moveable Cycles, there are a number of other
Oriental Orthodox and P'ent'ay Evangelical Churches
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Western Christianity
Western Christian liturgical calendars are based on the cycle of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, and are also followed in many Protestant churches, including the Lutheran, Anglican, and other traditions. Generally, the seasons in liturgical western Christianity are Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost). Some Protestant traditions do not include Ordinary Time: every day falls into a denominated season. Other Protestant churches, such as a minority in the Reformed tradition, reject the liturgical year entirely on the grounds that its observance is not directed in scripture.[17]
Vanderbilt University Professor Hoyt L. Hickman, with regard to the calendars of the Western Christian Churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary,[18] including Methodists, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans and some Baptists and Presbyterians, among others,[19] states that:[18]
All these calendars agree that the Lord's Day is of primary importance among the observances of the year and that the Christian Year contains two central cycles – the Easter cycle and the Christmas cycle. Each cycle includes a festival season (Easter and Christmas), preceded by a season of preparation and anticipation (Lent and Advent). In most denominational versions and in the Common Lectionary, Lent and Advent are immediately preceded by a transitional Sunday (Transfiguration and Christ the King), and the Easter and Christmas Seasons are immediately followed by a transitional Sunday (Trinity and Baptism of the Lord).[18]
Protestant Churches, with exception of the Lutheran and Anglican, generally observe fewer if any feasts with regard to the saints than the aforementioned liturgical denominations, in addition to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Denominational specifics
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church sets aside certain days and seasons of each year to recall and celebrate various events in the life of Christ and his saints.
- In its nativity of Christ, and his expected second coming at the end of time.[20] The Advent season lasts until the first vespers of Christmas Eveon December 24.
- Christmastide follows, beginning with First Vespers of Christmas on the evening of December 24 and ending with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord,[20] on the first Sunday after Epiphany (the latter is on January 6 generally).[21]
- First ordinary time, includes the days between Christmastide and Lent.[22]
- Lent is the period of purification and penance that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday.[23]
- The
- The seven-week liturgical Eastertide immediately follows the Triduum, climaxing at Pentecost. This last feast recalls the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples after the Ascension of Jesus.[23]
- Second ordinary time, includes the days between Eastertide and Advent.[22]
There are many forms of liturgy in the Catholic Church. Even putting aside the many Eastern rites in use, the
The liturgical calendar in that form of the Roman Rite (see General Roman Calendar) of 1960 differs in some respects from that of the present form of the Roman Rite.
Lutheran Churches
Anglican Church
The
In some Anglican traditions (including the Church of England) the Christmas season is followed by an Epiphany season, which begins on the Eve of the Epiphany (on January 6 or the Sunday after January 1) and ends on the
The Book of Common Prayer contains within it the traditional Western Eucharistic lectionary which traces its roots to the Comes of St. Jerome in the 5th century.[24] Its similarity to the ancient lectionary is particularly obvious during Trinity season (Sundays after the Sunday after Pentecost), reflecting that understanding of sanctification.[25]
Reformed Churches
Liturgical calendar
Advent
This season is often marked by the
Liturgical colour: violet or purple;[28] blue in some traditions, such as Anglican/Episcopalian, Methodist, and Lutheran.[29][30][31]
Christmastide
The
In the pre-1970 form, this feast is celebrated on January 13, unless January 13 is a Sunday, in which case the feast of the Holy Family is celebrated instead.[32] Until the suppression of the Octave of the Epiphany in the 1960 reforms, January 13 was the Octave day of the Epiphany, providing the date for the end of the season.
Traditionally, the end of Christmastide was February 2, or the
Liturgical colour: white
Ordinary Time
"Ordinary" comes from the same root as our word "ordinal", and in this sense means "the counted weeks". In the Catholic Church and in some Protestant traditions, these are the common weeks which do not belong to a proper season. In Latin, these seasons are called the weeks per annum, or "through the year".
In the current form of the Roman Rite adopted following the Second Vatican Council, Ordinary Time consists of 33 or 34 Sundays and is divided into two sections. The first portion extends from the day following the Feast of the Baptism of Christ until the day before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent). It contains anywhere from three to eight Sundays, depending on how early or late Easter falls.
The main focus in the readings of the Mass is Christ's earthly ministry, rather than any one particular event. The counting of the Sundays resumes following Eastertide; however, two Sundays are replaced by Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and depending on whether the year has 52 or 53 weeks, one may be omitted.
In the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite, the Time after Epiphany has anywhere from one to six Sundays. As in the current form of the rite, the season mainly concerns Christ's preaching and ministry, with many of his parables read as the Gospel readings. The season begins on January 14[33] and ends on the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday. Omitted Sundays after Epiphany are transferred to Time after Pentecost and celebrated between the Twenty-Third and the Last Sunday after Pentecost according to an order indicated in the Code of Rubrics, 18, with complete omission of any for which there is no Sunday available in the current year.[34] Before the 1960 revisions, the omitted Sunday would be celebrated on the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday,[35] or, in the case of the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, on the Saturday before the Last Sunday after Pentecost.[36]
Liturgical colour: green
Pre-Lent
This period opens an educational period leading up to the reception of
The pre-Lenten liturgy introduces some customs of Lent, including the suppression of the Alleluia and its replacement at Mass with the Tract. The Gloria is no longer said on Sundays.[42]
The 1969 reform of the Roman Rite subsumed these weeks liturgically into Ordinary Time,[43] but Carnival is still widely celebrated. A pre-Lenten provision continues in many Anglican and Lutheran liturgies.[44]
Liturgical colour (where observed): violet or purple
Lent and Passiontide
Lent is a major penitential season of preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and, if the penitential days of Good Friday and Holy Saturday are included, lasts for forty days, since the six Sundays within the season are not counted.
In the Roman Rite, the
Lutheran churches make these same omissions.
As in Advent, the deacon and subdeacon of the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite do not wear their habitual dalmatic and tunicle (signs of joy) in Masses of the season during Lent; instead they wear "folded chasubles", in accordance with the ancient custom.
In the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite, the two weeks before Easter form the season of Passiontide, a subsection of the Lenten season that begins with Matins of Ash Wednesday and ends immediately before the Mass of the Easter Vigil.[45] In this form, what used to be officially called Passion Sunday,[46] has the official name of the First Sunday in Passiontide,[47] and Palm Sunday has the additional name of the Second Sunday in Passiontide.[48] In Sunday and ferial Masses (but not on feasts celebrated in the first of these two weeks) the Gloria Patri is omitted at the Entrance Antiphon[49] and at the Lavabo,[50] as well as in the responds in the Divine Office.
In the post-1969 form of the Roman Rite, "Passion Sunday" and "Palm Sunday" are both names for the Sunday before Easter, officially called "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion". The former Passion Sunday became a fifth Sunday of Lent. The earlier form reads Matthew's account on Sunday, Mark's on Tuesday, and Luke's on Wednesday, while the post-1969 form reads the Passion only on Palm Sunday (with the three Synoptic Gospels arranged in a three-year cycle) and on Good Friday, when it reads the Passion according to John, as also do earlier forms of the Roman Rite.
The veiling of crucifixes and images of the saints with violet cloth, which was obligatory before 1970, is left to the decision of the national bishops' conferences. In the United States, it is permitted but not required, at the discretion of the pastor.[51] In all forms, the readings concern the events leading up to the Last Supper and the betrayal, Passion, and death of Christ.
The week before Easter is called Holy Week.
In the Roman Rite, feasts that fall within that week are simply omitted, unless they have the rank of Solemnity, in which case they are transferred to another date. The only solemnities inscribed in the General Calendar that can fall within that week are those of
Liturgical colour: violet or purple. The colour rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent). On Palm Sunday the colour since 1970 is red, by earlier rules violet or purple, with red being used after 1955 for the blessing of the palms.
Easter Triduum
The Easter Triduum consists of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.[52] Each of these days begins liturgically not with the morning but with the preceding evening.
The triduum begins on the evening before Good Friday with Mass of the Lord's Supper, celebrated with white vestments,[53] and often includes a ritual of ceremonial footwashing. It is customary on this night for a vigil involving private prayer to take place, beginning after the evening service and continuing until midnight. This vigil is occasionally renewed at dawn, continuing until the Good Friday liturgy.
During the day of
The colour of vestments varies: no colour, red, or black are used in different traditions. Coloured hangings may be removed. Lutheran churches often either remove colourful adornments and icons, or veil them with drab cloth. The service is usually plain with somber music, ending with the congregation leaving in silence. In the Catholic, some Lutheran, and High Anglican rites, a crucifix (not necessarily the one which stands on or near the altar on other days of the year) is ceremoniously unveiled. Other crucifixes are unveiled, without ceremony, after the service.
Holy Saturday commemorates the day during which Christ lay in the tomb. In the Catholic Church, there is no Mass on this day; the Easter Vigil Mass, which, though celebrated properly at the following midnight, is often celebrated in the evening, is an Easter Mass. With no liturgical celebration, there is no question of a liturgical colour.
The Easter Vigil is held in the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. See also Paschal candle. The liturgical colour is white, often together with gold. In the Roman Rite, during the "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" the organ and bells are used in the liturgy for the first time in two days, and the statues, which have been veiled during Passiontide (at least in the Roman Rite through the 1962 version), are unveiled. In Lutheran churches, colours and icons are re-displayed as well.
Eastertide
In the Roman Rite, the
By a decree of May 5, 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Day itself), is known also in the Roman Rite as the
Liturgical colour: white, but red on the feast of Pentecost.
Ordinary Time, Time after Pentecost, Time after Trinity, or Kingdomtide
This season, under various names, follows the Easter season and the feasts of Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. In the post-1969 form of the Roman rite, Ordinary Time resumes on
Feasts during this season include:
- Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost
- Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ(Roman Rite and some Anglican and Lutheran traditions), Thursday of the second week after Pentecost, often celebrated on the following Sunday
- Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Roman Rite), Friday of the third week after Pentecost
- Assumption of Mary on August 15
- Feast of Christ the King, last Sunday before Advent (Roman Rite, Lutherans, Anglicans) or last Sunday in October (1925–1969 form of the Roman Rite)
In the final few weeks of Ordinary Time, many churches direct attention to the coming of the Kingdom of God, thus ending the liturgical year with an eschatological theme that is one of the predominant themes of the season of Advent that began the liturgical year. For instance, in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, the Gospel of the Last Sunday is Matthew 24:15–35 and in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite all the last three Sundays of the liturgical year are affected by the theme of the Second Coming.
While the Roman Rite adopts no special designation for this final part of Ordinary Time, some denominations do, and may also change the liturgical colour. The
Calendar of saints
- In some Protestant traditions, especially those with closer ties to the Lutheran tradition, 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The liturgical colour is red, celebrating the Holy Spirit's continuing work in renewing the Church.
- Most Western traditions celebrate All Hallow's Eve being October 31. The liturgical colour is white. The following day, November 2, is All Souls' Day. The period including these days is often referred to as Allhallowtide or Allsaintstide.[58]
- St Joseph on March 19, Annunciation March 25, Visitationof Mary on May 31.
- St. Francis of Assision October 4, and the Holy Innocents, Martyrs December 28.
- Lesser Feasts and Commemorations on the St Lucyon December 13. There are many other holy days in the Lutheran calendar.
- Some traditions celebrate St. Michael's Day (Michaelmas) on September 29.
- Some traditions celebrate St. Martin's Day(Martinmas) on November 11.
Liturgical colours: white if the saint was not martyred; red if the saint was martyred
Hierarchy of feast days
There are degrees of solemnity of the office of the feast days of saints. In the 13th century, the Roman Rite distinguished three ranks: simple, semidouble and double, with consequent differences in the recitation of the Divine Office or Breviary. The simple feast commenced with the chapter (capitulum) of First Vespers, and ended with None. It had three lessons and took the psalms of Matins from the ferial office; the rest of the office was like the semidouble. The semidouble feast had two Vespers, nine lessons in Matins, and ended with Compline. The antiphons before the psalms were only intoned.
In the Mass, the semidouble had always at least three "orationes" or collects. On a double feast the antiphons were sung in their entirety, before and after the psalms, while in Lauds and Vespers there were no suffragia of the saints, and the Mass had only one "oratio" (if no commemoration was prescribed). If ordinary double feasts (referred to also as lesser doubles) occurred with feasts of a higher rank, they could be simplified, except the octave days of some feasts and the feasts of the Doctors of the Church, which were transferred.
To the existing distinction between major and ordinary or minor doubles, Pope Clement VIII added two more ranks, those of first-class or second-class doubles. Some of these two classes were kept with octaves. This was still the situation when the 1907 article Ecclesiastical Feasts in the Catholic Encyclopedia was written. In accordance with the rules then in force, feast days of any form of double, if impeded by "occurrence" (falling on the same day)[59] with a feast day of higher class, were transferred to another day.
Pope Pius X simplified matters considerably in his 1911 reform of the Roman Breviary. In the case of occurrence the lower-ranking feast day could become a commemoration within the celebration of the higher-ranking one. Until then, ordinary doubles took precedence over most of the semidouble Sundays, resulting in many of the Sunday Masses rarely being said. While retaining the semidouble rite for Sundays, Pius X's reform permitted only the most important feast days to be celebrated on Sunday, although commemorations were still made until Pope John XXIII's reform of 1960.
The division into doubles (of various kinds) semidoubles and simples continued until 1955, when Pope Pius XII abolished the rank of semidouble, making all the previous semidoubles simples, and reducing the previous simples to a mere commemoration in the Mass of another feast day or of the feria on which they fell (see General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII).
Then, in 1960, Pope John XXIII issued the Code of Rubrics, completely ending the ranking of feast days by doubles etc., and replacing it by a ranking, applied not only to feast days but to all liturgical days, as I, II, III, and IV class days.
The 1969 revision by Pope Paul VI divided feast days into "solemnities", "feasts" and "memorials", corresponding approximately to Pope John XXIII's I, II and III class feast days. Commemorations were abolished. While some of the memorials are considered obligatory, others are optional, permitting a choice on some days between two or three memorials, or between one or more memorials and the celebration of the feria. On a day to which no obligatory celebration is assigned, the Mass may be of any saint mentioned in the Roman Martyrology for that day.[60]
Assumption of Mary
Observed by Catholics and some Anglicans on August 15, which is the same as the Eastern and Orthodox feast of the
In other Anglican and Lutheran traditions, as well as a few others, August 15 is celebrated as St. Mary, Mother of the Lord.
Liturgical colour: white
Secular observance
Because of the dominance of Christianity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, many features of the Christian year became incorporated into the secular calendar. Many of its feasts (e.g., Christmas, Mardi Gras, Saint Patrick's Day) remain holidays, and are now celebrated by people of all faiths and none—in some cases worldwide. The secular celebrations bear varying degrees of likeness to the religious feasts from which they derived, often also including elements of ritual from pagan festivals of similar date.
Comparison
Date Range | East Syriac | Eastern Orthodox | Western | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Season | Celebration | Season | Celebration | |
Counting in relation to Christmas | |||||
November 15 | Dedication of the church (Qudas Edta) | Nativity Fast (40 days) | |||
5th Sunday before Christmas | Christ the King Sunday
| ||||
4th Sunday before Christmas | Annunciation (Suvara) | Advent | Beginning of the Western Liturgical Calendar | ||
3rd Sunday before Christmas | |||||
2nd Sunday before Christmas | Gaudete Sunday | ||||
1st Sunday before Christmas | |||||
December 24 | Christmas Eve | ||||
December 25 | Christmastide | Christmas | Christmastide | Christmas | |
December 25 to January 5 (includes 1 to 2 Sundays) |
|||||
Counting in relation to Epiphany | |||||
January 6 | Epiphany (Denha) | Epiphany (Theophany) | Christmastide | Epiphany | |
1st Sunday after Epiphany | Baptism of Jesus | ||||
Varies between zero and four Sundays | Ordinary Time (After Epiphany) | ||||
Counting in relation to Easter | |||||
11th Sunday before Easter | Epiphany (Denha) | Zaccheaus Sunday (Slavic) or Sunday of the Canaanite (Greek) | Ordinary Time (After Epiphany) | ||
10th Sunday before Easter | Pre-Lent | The Publican and the Pharisee
| |||
9th Sunday before Easter | The Prodigal Son
| ||||
8th Sunday before Easter | The Last Judgement or Meat-Fare Sunday | ||||
7th Sunday before Easter | Great Fast (Sawma Rabba) | The Sunday of Forgiveness or Cheesefare Sunday
|
Transfiguration Sunday
| ||
48 days before Easter | Great Lent
(40 days, including 5 Sundays) |
Clean Monday | |||
46 days before Easter | Lent
(38 days and 6 Sundays, 44 days total) |
Ash Wednesday | |||
6th Sunday before Easter | Triumph of Orthodoxy
|
||||
5th Sunday before Easter | St. Gregory Palamas
|
||||
4th Sunday before Easter | Adoration of the Cross
|
||||
3rd Sunday before Easter | St. John of the Ladder
|
||||
2nd Sunday before Easter | St. Mary of Egypt
|
||||
8 days before Easter | Great and Holy Week
(7 days including, 1 Sunday) |
Lazarus Saturday | |||
1st Sunday before Easter | Palm Sunday | Palm Sunday | |||
Monday before Easter | Great and Holy Monday
|
Holy Monday | |||
Tuesday before Easter | Great and Holy Tuesday
|
Holy Tuesday | |||
Wednesday before Easter | Great and Holy Wednesday
|
Holy or Spy Wednesday | |||
Thursday before Easter | Great and Holy Thursday
|
Maundy Thursday | |||
Friday before Easter | Great and Holy Friday
|
Paschal Triduum | Good Friday | ||
Saturday before Easter | Great and Holy Saturday
|
Holy Saturday | |||
Easter Sunday | Resurrection (Qyamta) | Pentecostarion (Paschaltide) | Great and Holy Pascha | Easter | |
Week after Easter | Bright Week | Eastertide | |||
1st Sunday after Easter | Thomas Sunday
|
Divine Mercy Sunday | |||
2nd Sunday after Easter | The Holy Myrrhbearers | ||||
3rd Sunday after Easter | The Paralytic | ||||
25 days after Easter (Wednesday) | Mid-Pentecost | ||||
4th Sunday after Easter | The Samaritan Woman | ||||
5th Sunday after Easter | The Blind Man | ||||
40th day after Easter (Thursday) | Ascension of Jesus | Ascension of Jesus | |||
6th Sunday after Easter | The Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
|
||||
7th Sunday after Easter | Apostles (Slihe) | Pentecost | Pentecost | ||
Counting in relation to Pentecost | |||||
1st Sunday after Pentecost | Apostles (Slihe) | Pentecostarion (Paschaltide) | All Saints | Ordinary Time (After Pentecost) | Trinity Sunday |
8 days after Pentecost (Monday) | Apostles' Fast begins (ends June 29) | ||||
2nd Sunday after Pentecost | |||||
7th Sunday after Pentecost | Summer (Qaita) | ||||
August 1 to August 14 | Dormition Fast
|
||||
14th Sunday after Pentecost | Eliyah-Sliba-Moses | ||||
September 1 | Beginning of Eastern Liturgical Year | ||||
20th to 25th Sunday after Pentecost (Sunday between October 30 and November 5) |
Dedication of the church (Qudas Edta) | All Saints' Sunday
|
See also
- Christian worship – Act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God
- Quarter tense– Three days fasting and prayer, quarterly
Notes
- ^ This is also the origin of Abib being the tenth month of the non-lunar Ethiopian calendar.
References
- ^ "Definition of KALENDAR". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
—used especially of ecclesiastical calendars // the Episcopal kalendar
- ^ "Kalendar". Anglican Catholic Church. 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
It is as a result of this connection that "kalendar/calendar" came to refer to the orderly arrangement of time as we now know it, but the established church retained the older "K" spelling to distinguish their kalendar from an ordinary list of events. In other words, a kalendar is simply a church calendar!
- ^ John Dowden (1910). The Church Year and Kalendar. Cambridge University Press. p. xi.
The Church's Year, as it has been known for many centuries throughout Christendom, is characterised first, by the weekly festival of the Lord's Day (a feature which dates from the dawn of the Church's life and the age of the Apostles) and, secondly, by the annual recurrence of fasts and festivals, of certain days and certain seasons of religious observance. These latter emerged, and came to find places in the Kalendar at various times.
- ISBN 0-19-827034-8.
- ^ "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Exodus 12:2). "This day came ye out in the month Aviv" (Exodus 13:4)
- ^ "Genesis 1:1 (KJV)". Blue Letter Bible.
- ^ "In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar" (Esther 3:7),
- ^ "Jewish (Hebrew) Calendar - List Of Months". www.angelfire.com.
- ISBN 978-0-8146-6075-1.
- ^ Pathikulangara, Varghese. Mar Toma Margam, (A New Catechism for the St. Thomas Christians of India), Kottayam: Denha Services, 2004
- ^ Rabban Brik-lso, Preface to Hudra in Cambridge Add. 1981, 4v; J.Mateos, Lelya-Sapra, 463-464.
- ^ Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Commission for Liturgy. "Syro-Malabar Liturgical Calendar: 2020–2021" (PDF). p. 3.
- ^ "Mar Toma Margam: 17. Weeks of Dedication of the Church (Qudas - Edta)". April 24, 2013.
- ^ "Period of the Dedication of the Church (Qudas Edta) – Dukhrana".
- ^ Rabban Brik-lso, Preface to Hudra in Cambridge Add. 1981, 4v; J. Mateos, Lelya-Sapra, 463–464.
- St. Patrick's Day
- ^ a b "Why Doesn't the OPC Follow a Liturgical Year?". Orthodox Presbyterian Church. December 26, 2009.
Those inheriting a Reformed theology (which would include the OPC) have adopted the stance that the church is only to practice in worship what the Bible actually establishes, often called the "regulative principle" of worship. Many in the Reformed tradition would exclude the practice of Lent on this basis—it lacks scriptural warrant. Furthermore, the Bible's liturgical calendar is remarkably simple—all men are duty-bound to keep the Lord's day!
- ^ ISBN 9781426730740.
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Archived from the original(PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
The Revised Common Lectionary, used by Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans and some Baptists, is arranged in a three-year cycle.
- ^ ISBN 971-91060-4-2.
- ^ "Christmas. Liturgical Notes for Christmas. Universal Norms". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Liturgical Year & Calendar. Liturgical Year". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 116
- ISBN 9781440091988– via Google Books.
- ^ Sparrow, Anthony and John Henry Cardinal Newman. A Rationale upon the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, Oxford, UK
- ^ Strawbridge, Gregg. "What Time Is It? A Defense of the Church Calendar". allsaints-church.com. Lancaster, PA: All Saints Church. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ "General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, 39".
- ^ General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 346
- ^ Discipleship Ministries. "The Color Blue in Advent - umcdiscipleship.org". www.umcdiscipleship.org.
- ^ "Liturgical Colors". Episcopal Church. May 22, 2012.
- ^ ""What is the meaning and use of liturgical colors?", Evangelical Lutheran Church in America" (PDF).
- ^ a b "Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 Roman Missal, 72" (PDF).
- ^ "1960 Code of Rubrics incorporated in the 1962 Roman Missal, 77" (PDF).
- ^ "The Sunday which is set down as XXIV after Pentecost is always put in the last place, omitting, if need be, any others for which there happens to be no place" (1960 Code of Rubrics, 18).
- ^ "If this II Sunday, or another after Epiphany, be impeded by Septuagesima supervening, and there be no place for it after Pentecost, according to the Rubrics, it is anticipated on Saturday with all privileges proper to an occurring Sunday." (Missale Romanum, 1939, Dominica II post Epiphaniam)
- ^ "If this Sunday be impeded by the last Sunday after Pentecost supervening, it is anticipated on Saturday with all privileges proper to an occurring Sunday, and in it is said Glória in excélsis, Credo, Preface of the Trinity and Ite, Missa est." (Missale Romanum, 1939, Dominica XXIII post Pentecosten)
- S2CID 164617825.
- ProQuest 1302425959.
- ISSN 0034-1258.
- S2CID 161763679.
- S2CID 162572706.
- S2CID 194585704.
- ISSN 1757-8949.
- ISBN 978-0-7151-2000-2.
- ^ Code of Rubrics, 74
- ^ Missale Romanum, 1920 typical edition Archived March 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, p. 156
- ^ Missale Romanum 1962 Archived February 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, p. 118
- ^ Missale Romanum 1962 Archived February 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, p. 130
- ^ Code of Rubrics, 428
- ^ Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae, VII, 6, in Missale Romanum 1962 Archived February 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, p. LIX; cf. Missale Romanum 1962 Archived February 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, p. 118
- ^ "Divine Worship". www.usccb.org.
- ^ "Chapter II-b. The Yearly Cycle". www.catholicliturgy.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
- ^ Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper Archived April 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, 44
- ^ 1960 Code of Rubrics, 80
- ^ Our Sunday Visitor: Feast of the Divine Mercy[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Picayune, MS - General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar". www.scborromeo.org. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ISBN 978-1426735004.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "All Saints' Tide". Services and Prayers for the Season from All Saints to Candlemas. General Synod of the Church of England.
For many twentieth-century Christians the All Saints-tide period is extended to include Remembrance Sunday. In the Calendar and Lectionary we have sought to make it easier to observe this without cutting across a developing lectionary pattern, and we have reprinted the form of service approved ecumenically for use on that day.
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia : Occurrence". home.newadvent.org.
- ^ General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 355 c
Further reading
- Stookey, L. H. Calendar: Christ's Time for the Church, 1996. ISBN 0-687-01136-1
- Hickman, Hoyt L., et al. Handbook of the Christian Year, 1986. ISBN 0-687-16575-X
- Webber, Robert E. Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year, 2004. ISBN 0-8010-9175-6
- Schmemann, Fr. Alexander. The Church Year (Celebration of Faith Series, Sermons Vol. 2), 1994. ISBN 0-88141-138-8
- Talley, Thomas J. The Origins of the Liturgical Year, Ed. 2. 1991. ISBN 0-8146-6075-4
External links
- The Catholic Church's liturgical calendar, from US Catholic Bishops Archived February 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, or from O.S.V. publishing Archived November 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- Universalis – A liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church including the Liturgy of the Hours and the Mass readings.
- Greek Orthodox Calendar – Greek Orthodox Calendar & Online Chapel
- Russian Orthodox Calendar at Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church
- Lectionary Central – For the study and use of the traditional Western Eucharistic lectionary (Anglican).