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The
Calendar of the Saints is a list of those holy men, women, and children
whose lives the faithful are drawn to commemorate. A Saint is placed in
the Calendar because he or she, by the grace of God, was made holy, a
devout disciple of our Lord, of the kind that worshiped regularly, obeyed
the Scriptures, and sought to lead the moral life of a Christian in
witness to the risen Lord. Some gave their lives in witness to their
faith. A Calendar should not include persons simply because of national
importance or political prominence. Even notable good works are not a
measure of holiness. To use the words of Mother Teresa, a Saint is a
Christian who did ordinary things extraordinarily well.
The Calendar of The Anglican Service Book is structured around the prayer
book Calendar of 1979 with the additions that are commonly followed in the
Episcopal Church today. All commemorations in Lesser Feasts & Fasts are
italicized. Additional Saints, commemorated in many places, have been
added from other Anglican Calendars, as well as Calendars of various
Western and Eastern Churches. Notable events in the life of Our Lord and
his Church are also included. Some parishes and individuals may wish to
add their own local commemorations. For the most part, the Saints are celebrated on their "heavenly birthday,"
that is to say, the day of death; this has been the custom from the
earliest days. In a few cases, where that day and the days near it are
filled with more ancient or prominent observances, a translation day is
kept. In rare cases, still another day is appointed, such as an ordination
day. This Calendar is put forth to provide the Church with a suitable plan for
the faithful offering to God of the daily offices and the daily mass, and
as a source for the spiritual growth of the faithful in Christ who are
among the saints on earth, and members of his body.
The Calendar of the Church Year
The Church Year consists of two cycles of feasts and holy days: one is
dependent upon the movable date of the Sunday of the Resurrection or
Easter Day; the other, upon the fixed date of December 25, the Feast of
our Lord’s Nativity or Christmas Day.
Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on or
after March 21. It cannot occur before March 22 or after April 25.
The sequence of all Sundays of the Church Year depends upon the date of
Easter Day. But the Sundays of Advent are always the four Sundays before
Christmas Day, whether it occurs on a Sunday or a weekday. The date of
Easter also determines the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and the
feast of the Ascension on a Thursday forty days after Easter Day.
1. Principal Feasts
The Principal Feasts observed in this Church are the following:
These feasts take precedence of any other day or observance. All Saints’
Day may always be observed on the Sunday following November 1, in addition
to its observance on the fixed date.
2. Sundays
All Sundays of the year are feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ. In addition
to the dated days listed above, only the following feasts, appointed on
fixed days, take precedence of a Sunday:
The Holy Name, January 1
The Presentation, February 2
The Transfiguration, August 6
The feast of the Dedication of a Church, and the feast of its patron or
title, may be observed on, or be transferred to, a Sunday, except in the
seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter.
All other Feasts of our Lord, and all other Major Feasts appointed on
fixed days in the Calendar, when they occur on a Sunday, are normally
transferred to the first convenient open day within the week. When
desired, however, the Collect, Preface, and one or more of the Lessons
appointed for the Feast may be substituted for those of the Sunday, but
not from the Last Sunday after Pentecost through the First Sunday after
the Epiphany, or from the Last Sunday after the Epiphany through Trinity
Sunday.
With the express permission of the bishop, and for urgent and sufficient
reason, some other special occasion may be observed on a Sunday.
3. Holy Days
The following Holy Days are regularly observed throughout the year. Unless
otherwise ordered in the preceding rules concerning Sundays, they have
precedence over all other days of commemoration or of special observance:
Other Feasts of our Lord
Other Major Feasts
Feasts appointed on fixed days in the Calendar are not observed on the
days of Holy Week or of Easter Week. Major Feasts falling in these weeks
are transferred to the week following the Second Sunday of Easter, in the
order of their occurrence.
Feasts appointed on fixed days in the Calendar do not take precedence of
Ash Wednesday.
Feasts of our Lord and other Major Feasts appointed on fixed days, which
fall upon or are transferred to a weekday, may be observed on any open day
within the week. This provision does not apply to Christmas Day, the
Epiphany, and All Saints’ Day.
Fasts
4. Days of Special Devotion
The following days are observed by special acts of discipline
and self-denial:
Ash Wednesday and the other weekdays of Lent and of Holy
Week, except the feast of the Annunciation.
Good Friday and all other Fridays of the year, in commemoration of the
Lord’s crucifixion, except for Fridays in the Christmas and Easter
seasons, and any Feasts of our Lord which occur on a Friday.
5. Days of Optional Observance
Subject to the rules of precedence governing Principal Feasts, Sundays,
and Holy Days, the following may be observed with the Collects, Psalms,
and Lessons duly authorized by this
Church:
Commemorations listed in the Calendar Other Commemorations, using the
Common of Saints The Ember Days, traditionally observed on the Wednesdays,
Fridays, and Saturdays after the First Sunday in Lent, the
Day of Pentecost, Holy Cross Day, and December 13
The Rogation days, traditionally observed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day
Various Occasions
Provided, that there is no celebration of the Eucharist for any such
occasion on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy
Saturday; and provided further, that none of the Propers appointed for
Various Occasions is used as a substitute for, or as an addition to, the
Proper appointed for the Principal Feasts.
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