Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)

The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important and influential people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term saint is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Episcopalians believe in the communion of saints in prayer[1][2][3] and as such the Episcopal liturgical calendar accommodates feasts for saints.[4]

This is the liturgical calendar found in the Book of Common Prayer, Lesser Feasts and Fasts and additions made at recent General Conventions; the relevant official resources of the Episcopal Church.

About feasts, fasts, the Anglican Communion and the liturgical calendar

The Episcopal Church publishes Lesser Feasts and Fasts, which contains feast days for the various men and women the Church wishes to honor. This book is updated every three years, when notable people can be added to the liturgical calendar by the General Convention. This list reflects changes made at the 2009, 2015, and 2018 General Conventions. It includes provisional changes made in the new official lists of commemorations, A Great Cloud of Witnesses.[5]

There is no single calendar for the various churches making up the Anglican Communion; each makes its own calendar suitable for its local situation. As a result, the calendar here contains a number of figures important in the history of the church in the United States. Calendars in different provinces will focus on figures more important to those different countries. Different provinces often borrow important figures from each other's calendars as the international importance of different figures become more prominent. In this way the calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States has importance beyond just the immediate purpose of supporting the liturgy of the American church. It is one of the key sources of the calendar for the international daily office Oremus.[6]

Because of its relation to the Episcopal Church of the United States, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines follows this calendar rather closely.

Ranking of observances

The Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer identifies four categories of feasts: Principal Feasts, other Feasts of our Lord (including Sundays), other Major Feasts, and minor feasts. Two major fast days are also listed (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). In addition to these categories, further distinctions are made between feasts, to determine the precedence of feasts used when more than one feast falls on the same day. In addition, Lesser Feasts and Fasts gives further rules for the relative ranking of feasts and fasts. These rules of precedence all establish a ranking, from most to least important, as follows:

  • Principal Feasts
  • The Feasts of the Holy Name, the Presentation, and Transfiguration
  • Sundays through the year
  • Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
  • Feasts of our Lord
  • Other Major Feasts
  • Weekdays of Lent
  • Minor feasts

Days of fasting and prayer

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are appointed as major fast days with special services. "Days of special observance" or lesser fast days include all the weekdays of Lent and every Friday in the year, with the exception that fasting is never observed during the Easter or Christmas seasons, or on Feasts of our Lord. The Episcopal Church does not prescribe the specific manner of observance of these days.

Other days for prayer and optional fasting include rogation days, traditionally observed on April 25 and the three weekdays before Ascension Day, as well as the sets of Ember days four times each year.

Baptismal feasts

The Great Vigil of Easter, Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and The Baptism of our Lord, are appointed as baptismal feasts. It is preferred that baptism be reserved for those occasions.

Calendar

Principal Feasts are in BOLD, ALL CAPS. Feasts of our Lord are in bold italics. Other Major Feasts and Fasts are in bold. Appropriate Collects and Prayers for use in celebrating the commemorations are in brackets.

Movable days

These celebrations can occur on different dates depending on the date of Easter, which has no fixed date. In addition, every Sunday in the year is observed as a "feast of our Lord".

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See also

References
  1. "Lesser Feasts and Fasts". Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  2. "Thirty-Nine Articles". Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  3. Sokol, David F. (2001). The Anglican Prayer Life: Ceum Na Corach', the True Way. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-595-19171-0. In 1556 Article XXII in part read ... 'The Romish doctrine concerning ... invocation of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God.' The term 'doctrina Romanensium' or Romish doctrine was substituted for the 'doctrina scholasticorum' of the doctrine of the school authors in 1563 to bring the condemnation up to date subsequent to the Council of Trent. As E. J. Bicknell writes, invocation may mean either of two things: the simple request to a saint for his prayers (intercession), 'ora pro nobis', or a request for some particular benefit. In medieval times the saints had come to be regarded as themselves the authors of blessings. Such a view was condemned but the former was affirmed.
  4. A Great Cloud of Witnesses
  5. A Great Cloud of Witnesses
  6. "Oremus Calendar". www.oremus.org. Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  7. "John XXIII (Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli)". www.satucket.com. Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  8. "June 4: [John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli), Bishop of Rome, 1963]". Jun 4, 2011. Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  9. "Bartolomé de las Casas: Friar and Missionary to the Indies, 1566". Episcopal Church. Dec 6, 2011. Retrieved Aug 21, 2019.
  10. lwilson (2015-07-02). "A sainted life: Hiram Hisanori Kano turned internment camp into mission field". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
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