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Notes

CLASSIFICATION

The classification of Saints’ Days is no indication of the measure of sanctity ascribed to each person in the Calendar, merely a recommendation of the level of importance a Church gives to the celebration of each feast. Each of the four Churches of the Anglican Communion in Britain and Ireland has differing, though similar, classifications.

The Church of England has four categories of celebration of those it includes in its Calendar: Principal Feasts, Festivals, Lesser Festivals and Commemorations. Principal Feasts and Festivals are each provided with a proper collect, readings, psalm and post-communion prayer; Lesser Festivals have a proper collect, and in this book appropriate readings, psalm and post-communion prayer have been selected, nearly always from the Common of Saints; Commemorations are not usually celebrated at the same level, but material from the Common of Saints may be used where necessary.

Principal Feasts and Festivals are not usually displaced (though the Epiphany, the Presentation and All Saints’ may be kept on a Sunday). Festivals are not celebrated on a Sunday in Advent, Lent or Eastertide, nor in Holy Week and Easter week, but otherwise, if falling on a Sunday, may be observed on that day or transferred to another suitable weekday. Lesser Festivals, falling on a Principal Feast or Holy Day, or on a Festival, are normally omitted that year. The minister may be selective as to which Lesser Festivals are celebrated, and may choose to observe some as Commemorations. Commemorations are usually observed simply by a mention in prayers of intercession and thanksgiving.

In the Church of Ireland, there are Principal Holy Days, Festivals and Commemorations – there has been no recognition of ‘black letter’ saints’ days since the first post-disestablishment edition of the Book of Common Prayer in 1878. Commemorations are included in the 2004 revision of Ireland’s Book of Common Prayer, which describes them as ‘persons associated with dioceses of the Church of Ireland, to remind us of the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the Church in all ages’. Each Commemoration is provided with a proper collect or ‘memorial prayer’, approved for use by the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland.

In the Scottish Episcopal Church, there are six categories. No description of these categories is given (other than Category VI, which is named Commemorations), only an ascription as to which each celebration is allocated. Those in Category VI are not provided with proper prayers or readings. Feasts in Categories I to IV are intended to be kept by the whole Church, but those in categories V and VI may be kept according to diocesan or local discretion.

Similarly, the Church in Wales has five categories, and again no description is given of these. Each is provided with at least a proper collect. Holy Days in groups I and II should always be celebrated, and those in group II which are moved may be celebrated on any convenient weekday before the following Sunday. The celebration of days in groups III, IV and V is optional.

In order to make this book easier to use, the appropriate classification is given next to the name of each Church. On a few occasions a celebration has different collects in the different Churches, and these are marked appropriately.

ABBREVIATIONS

To simplify references to the Anglican Provinces, England indicates the Church of England, Ireland indicates the Church of Ireland, Scotland indicates the Scottish Episcopal Church and Wales indicates the Church in Wales. In the Calendar these are represented by (E), (I), (S), and (W) respectively.

THE CALENDAR

The Calendar on the following pages provides a consolidated view of the Calendars of the four Churches. Occasionally there is disagreement on the date of a particular feast, or on its title or its categorization. Because it is not possible to show all the detail of such cases within the confines of the Calendar, an attempt has been made to follow the majority view, and to cross-reference variant dates. Full details of a feast’s categorization can be found in the corresponding entry in the Proper of Saints.

With that qualification, and using the English terminology, Principal Feasts are printed in BOLD UPPER CASE; Festivals in bold lower case; Lesser Festivals in ordinary type; and Commemorations in italic.

Where several entries occur on the same date they are listed in order of classification, and within a single classification by the year of death, oldest first.

THE LECTIONARY

If only two readings are used at the Principal Service and that service is a Eucharist, the second reading must always be the Gospel reading. When this lectionary is used at a service other than the Eucharist, the Gospel reading need not always be chosen.

ROUND BRACKETS ( ) which are included in the text of the NRSV are repeated here. Such text should always be read.

SQUARE BRACKETS [ ] in the bible readings indicate that the text within them may be omitted, as suggested by the compilers of the Lectionaries. In the psalm responses, they indicate the second part of a longer response. Usually it will be convenient to use the shorter form which can more easily be remembered.

SUPERSCRIPT VERSE NUMBERS

Where some verses have been omitted, the verse number at which the text resumes is noted in superscript. This may be quietly announced if others are following the text in their own Bibles. Otherwise, no announcement is necessary.

SISTER VOLUMES

Three volumes, entitled The Word of the Lord – Year A, The Word of the Lord – Year B and The Word of the Lord – Year C accompany this book.

A fourth, slimmer volume of readings for use on special occasions, such as Guidance of the Holy Spirit, Harvest Thanksgiving, Ministry (Ember Days), Mission and Evangelism, Peace, Rogation Days, Social Justice, Unity, For the Sovereign, In Time of Trouble, is entitled The Word of the Lord – Readings for Special Occasions.

A book containing all the Gospel readings for use at the Principal Service is called The Gospel of the Lord.

The final sister volumes to this series of books are Celebrating the Saints and Celebrating the Seasons, compiled by Robert Atwell and published by Canterbury Press Norwich. They contain non-scriptural readings for use through the Christian Year.