Calendar of saints (Church of England)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The Church of England commemorates many of the same saints as those in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, mostly on the same days, but also commemorates various notable (often post-Reformation) Christians who have not been canonised, with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on those of English origin. There are differences in the calendars of other churches of the Anglican Communion (see Saints in Anglicanism).

The only person canonised in any sense by the Church of England since the English Reformation is St Charles the Martyr (King Charles I), although he is not widely recognised by Anglicans as a saint outside the Society of King Charles the Martyr. The Church of England has no mechanism for canonising saints, and unlike the Roman Catholic Church it makes no claims regarding the heavenly status of those whom it commemorates in its calendar. For this reason, the Church of England avoids the use of the prenominal title "Saint" with reference to uncanonised individuals and is restrained in what it says about them in its liturgical texts. In order not to seem to imply grades of sanctity, or to discriminate between holy persons of the pre- and post-Reformation periods, the title "Saint" is not used at all in the calendar, even with reference to those who have always been known by that title, for example the Apostles.

The ninth Lambeth Conference held in 1958 clarified the commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion. Resolution 79 stated:

  • In the case of scriptural saints, care should be taken to commemorate men or women in terms which are in strict accord with the facts made known in Holy Scripture.
  • In the case of other names, the Kalendar should be limited to those whose historical character and devotion are beyond doubt.
  • In the choice of new names economy should be observed and controversial names should not be inserted until they can be seen in the perspective of history.
  • The addition of a new name should normally result from a wide-spread desire expressed in the region concerned over a reasonable period of time.[1]

Holy Days are variously categorised as Principal Feasts, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, or Commemorations. In order to minimise problems caused by the ambivalence regarding the manner of commemoration of uncanonised persons, all such days are Lesser Festivals or Commemorations only, whose observance is optional.

The following table lists the Holy Days in the calendar of Common Worship, the calendar most generally followed in the Church of England (though the calendar of the Book of Common Prayer is still authorised for use). The table includes the feast date, the name of the person or persons being commemorated, their title, the nature and location of their ministry or other relevant facts, and year of death, all in the form in which they are set out in the authorised Common Worship calendar. The typography shows the level of the observance: BOLD CAPITALS denote Principal Feasts, bold denotes Festivals, roman denotes Lesser Festivals, and italics denote Commemorations. SMALL CAPITALS denote observances that are unclassified.

Contents


   Alternative dates: 
   Matthias may be celebrated on 24 February instead of 14 May.


   Alternative dates: 
   Chad may be celebrated with Cedd on 26 October instead of 2 March. 
   Cuthbert may be celebrated on 4 September instead of 20 March.


   Alternative dates: 
   Matthias may be celebrated on 24 February instead of 14 May. 
   The Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth may be celebrated on 2 July instead of 31 May.


   Alternative dates: 
   Peter the Apostle may be celebrated alone, without Paul, on 29 June.


   Alternative dates: 
   The Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth may be celebrated on 2 July instead of 31 May. 
   Thomas the Apostle may be celebrated on 21 December instead of 3 July. 
   Thomas Becket may be celebrated on 7 July instead of 29 December.


   Alternative dates: 
   The Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated on 8 September instead of 15 August.


   Alternative dates: 
   Cuthbert may be celebrated on 4 September instead of 20 March.


   Alternative dates: 
   Chad may be celebrated with Cedd on 26 October instead of 2 March.


   Alternative dates: 
   
   Thomas the Apostle may be celebrated on 21 December instead of 3 July. 
   Thomas Becket may be celebrated on 7 July instead of 29 December.

  1. ^ Resolutions from 1958: Resolution 79: The Book of Common Prayer - The Commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion. Lambeth Conference Resolutions Archive. Anglican Communion Office (2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-22.

Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.