Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States

The annual cycle of events commemorated each year through various worship celebrations. The liturgical year, which begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends with Trinitytide, attempts to provide the same pattern of repetition needed for growth that the natural year provides.

The first day of Advent (Advent Sunday) begins the ecclesiastical year. Advent is a time of preparation: for celebrating the birth of Christ liturgically at Christmas; for the final coming of Christ at the end of time; for the coming of Christ in so many ways into our lives as we travel our pilgrim way to the heavenly Jerusalem; and for the coming of Christ to us at the moment of our deaths. Advent is also a season of rejoicing, bringing the recollection of our Lord's birth in Bethlehem. Advent begins on the nearest Sunday to the Feast of St. Andrew (November 30), and is observed for four Sundays.

The commemoration of Christ's nativity, although the time of year when he was born is unknown. The earliest mention of its being celebrated on December 25th is around the year 336. The date was chosen in an effort to refocus attention away from the pagan feast of the "Unconquered Sun".

Christmastide, which has 12 days, lasts until Epiphany begins, January 6th.

A feast of the Church kept on January 6th. It originated in the East where it has been celebrated in honour of the Lord's Baptism since the 3rd century. Here it became chiefly associated with the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi.

Epiphany is older than Christmas and is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria as far back as AD 200. In the East it is still celebrated in commemoration of the Baptism of Christ as the manifestation of the Incarnation. By the fourth century it had come to rank with Easter and Pentecost as one of the three great festivals of the Eastern Church, and its vigil was a day commonly chosen for baptism of converts.

Epiphany was first adopted in the Western Church in Southern Gaul. There by the middle of the fourth century, it was kept as a festival separate from Christmas. In Rome it became instead a commemoration of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The Magi are seen as representative of all the non-Jews to whom Christ came. Their gifts symbolize three aspects of His life: gold for kingship; frankincense for priesthood; and myrrh for death. Frankincense is, of course, incense, and myrrh is a spice used in embalming the dead.

Pre-Lent is the period between Epiphany and Lent, consisting of three Sundays. Septuagesima (third Sunday before Lent) is approximately 70 days before Easter.

Sexagesima is approximately 60 days before Easter,

Quinquagesima, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, is 50 days before Easter.

Shrove Tuesday The last day of the Epiphany season and the day immediately before 'Ash Wednesday'. Shrove, meaning the 'shriving' or stripping of one's sins by making confession and receiving absolution before the beginning of Lent.

The season, 40 days before Easter, has a penitential character that is reflected in various features of the liturgy. We observe Lent by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving, and by devoting more time than usual to religious exercises, all of which are summed up in the invitation of the Penitential Order for Ash Wednesday. During mass, singing of the Gloria Patri is omitted. Extending from Ash Wednesday to Easter Even (Holy Saturday), Lent contains six Sundays, not included in the 40 days of Lent.

Ash Wednesday The first day of Lent. At one time public penitents were ceremoniously admitted to begin their penance on this day. When this discipline was dropped, the general penance of the congregation took its place. Ash Wednesday is symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the heads of clergy and people.

Passion Sunday The fifth Sunday in Lent, and the first Sunday in Passiontide. All crosses, pictures, and images are covered with opaque purple veils. Passion Sunday is so-called because in the gospel for that day ( St. John 8: 46-59 ) Jesus begins his sufferings by being stoned out of the temple.

Traditionally the last two weeks of Lent. It was customary to veil in purple all crucifixes, pictures, and images, and to omit the Gloria Patri during this period.

Palm Sunday  The second Sunday in Passiontide and the last Sunday before Easter. Distinctive ceremonies of the day are the blessing of palms and the procession, representing the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The gospels record that on this day the people waved branches and shouted "Hosanna." Traditionally, after the Celebrant blesses the palms they are distributed to the people where they are taken home and carefully kept until the next Ash Wednesday, when they should be reverently burned.

Holy Week The week preceding Easter, observed as a period of devotion to the Passion of Christ.

Maundy Thursday  The Thursday before Easter, so called from the madatum novum ('new commandment') given on this day (St. John 13: 34). The special commemoration of the Lord's Institution of the Eucharist on this day is attested by the 4th century. Two other traditional liturgical rites are the Blessing of the Holy Oils and the Reconciliation of Penitents. Maundy Thursday mass celebrated in the evening is marked by the ceremony of foot-washing (not usually done today) and Communion from Hosts consecrated at the mass.

Good Friday  The Friday before Easter, kept as an anniversary of the Crucifixion. It is a day of fast, abstinence, and penance. The service consists of lessons and prayers; the Veneration of the Cross, with the chanting of the Reproaches and Trisagion; and a General Communion of the people with Hosts reserved on Maundy Thursday. Of the extra-liturgical services the best known is the Three Hours' Service.

Holy Saturday  The day before Easter Sunday that commemorates the resting of Christ's body in the tomb.

Paschal Vigil Service The celebration of Easter observed during the night of Holy Saturday/Easter Sunday. From the 4th century, with the separate observance of Good Friday, the emphasis of the Paschal Vigil Service came to center on the Resurrection. The Paschal Candle is lighted at the end of the service and remains lit throughout Eastertide It is extinguished after the Gospel on the feast of the Ascension.

The period in the ecclesiastical year from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.

Easter The "Feast of the Resurrection", the greatest and oldest feast of the church. The date of Easter is determined by the Paschal Full Moon, its extreme limits being March 21st and April 25th.

Rogation Days Certain prescribed days of prayer and fasting in the early summer, associated especially with prayer for the harvest. The 'Major Rogation' on April 25 was a Christianization of the pagan observance of the 'Robigalia', which took the form of processions throughout the cornfields to pray for the preservation of the corps from mildew. The 'Minor Rogations', on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day. These days are for fasting and abstinence.

The period observing the withdrawal of Christ into Heaven, witnessed by the Apostles. St. Luke 24: 50-53 has been held to imply that the Ascension took place on the evening of the Resurrection, but according to Acts 1: 3 it occurred 40 days later. It marked the end of the post-Resurrection appearances and the exaltation of Christ to the heavenly life. Its theological implication consists in the fact that thereby Christ's human nature was taken into Heaven.

Ascension Day Kept on the 6th Thursday, i.e., the 40th day, after Easter, is one of the chief feasts in the Christian year.

The octave (8 days) following Whitsunday. In the Book of Common Prayer, the Monday and Tuesday after Whitsunday are Red Letter days, so called because days provided with a proper collect (prayer), epistle, and gospel were marked in the calendar in red ink. "Whitsuntide" (formerly also spelled "Whitsontide") or "Whitsun Week" is derived from Middle English whitsonday, from Old English hwita sunnandæg, "White Sunday", in reference to the white ceremonial robes formally worn on this day.

Whitsunday The Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the 50th day after Easter. It ranks, after Easter, as the second festival of the Church. In the West, the Vigil of Pentecost soon became a secondary date for baptisms, with a ceremony resembling that of the Paschal Vigil Service. (Pentecost is the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which falls on the 50th day after Passover.) As the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles on this day (Acts 2: 1), the name was applied to the Christian feast celebrating this event, popularly called "Whitsunday".

Ember Days Four groups each of three days, viz. the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after St. Lucy (December 13th), the first Sunday in Lent, Whitsunday, and Holy Cross Day (September 14th) respectively, which has been observed as days of fasting and abstinence. Originally connected with the crops, they came to be associated with ordinations.

Central to the Christian faith, distinguishing it from other monotheistic traditions, is the concept of God as one divine substance that comprises three distinct and co-equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 'three in one and one in three'. Anglican Catholics date the Sundays after Trinity to imply a season of instruction and discipline complementary to, not continuous with, the seasons of historic commemoration.

Trinity Sunday (The "Feast of the Most Holy Trinity") The first Sunday after Pentecost or Whitsun. Its observance as a celebration embracing God in all Three Persons was universally enjoined in the West in 1334. In the Sarum Missal and in the BCP Sundays are reckoned after Trinity.

Sources:

  Liturgical Literacy, Paulist Press, New York, 1990, Dennis C. Smolarski, S. J.
  The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by E.A. Livingstone.
  The Christian Year, Lesley Wilder, Oxford University Press, 1977.
  The Book of Common Prayer, 1929.
  Liturgy and Worship, A Companion to the Prayer Books of the Anglican Communion, Edited by W.K. Lowther Clarke, D.D. with the assistance of Charles Harris, D.D., London, 1954
  The Christian Year, J.C.J. Metford, The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, NY
  The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr., Oxford University Press, 1950.
  The Book of Common Prayer, The Seabury Press, New York. 1952.

St. John 8:46-59

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
(KJV)

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St. John 13:34

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
(KJV)

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St. Luke 24:50-53

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
(KJV)

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Acts 1:3

3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
(KJV)

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Acts 2:1

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
(KJV)

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