Of Ordinary Time and the Church Calendar
01/06/05
The season after Pentecost, the longest season in the Church Calendar, is what we call "Ordinary Time." During ordinary time our worship tends to focus less on theology and more on our day-to-day lives; how God loves and blesses us and how we can love and bless one another. Let's take a quick look at how we mark "The Calendar of the Church Year..."
As do the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and fellow high-Protestant churches, Anglican Churches mark the church year by seasons that reenact the story of salvation. The Church year is a drama beginning at Advent, the season in which we prepare for the coming of the infant Christ. Next comes Christmas, which lasts for 12 days to the feast of Epiphany (often called Twelfth Night). Epiphany celebrates the "manifestation of Christ to the gentiles," symbolized by the coming of the wise men; it's also the season in which we mark Christ's baptism by John the Baptist.
Epiphany is followed by a short stretch of ordinary time that lasts 'til Ash Wednesday; that day that marks the beginning of Lent. Lent's the season of prayer and penitence that culminates at Holy Week and that greatest of all festivals, the Feast of the Resurrection or Easter. Then follows the great fifty days of Eastertide, that culminate at Whitsunday, or Pentecost, celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. (Despite the dictates of popular culture, both Pentecost and Easter are regarded as more important feasts than Christmas.) This is followed by Trinity Sunday and then the long stretch of ordinary time (some twenty-eight Sundays) leading again to Advent.
For many, the rhythm of the Church year becomes a part of life, informing and refreshing one's spirit at every step.
As do the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and fellow high-Protestant churches, Anglican Churches mark the church year by seasons that reenact the story of salvation. The Church year is a drama beginning at Advent, the season in which we prepare for the coming of the infant Christ. Next comes Christmas, which lasts for 12 days to the feast of Epiphany (often called Twelfth Night). Epiphany celebrates the "manifestation of Christ to the gentiles," symbolized by the coming of the wise men; it's also the season in which we mark Christ's baptism by John the Baptist.
Epiphany is followed by a short stretch of ordinary time that lasts 'til Ash Wednesday; that day that marks the beginning of Lent. Lent's the season of prayer and penitence that culminates at Holy Week and that greatest of all festivals, the Feast of the Resurrection or Easter. Then follows the great fifty days of Eastertide, that culminate at Whitsunday, or Pentecost, celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. (Despite the dictates of popular culture, both Pentecost and Easter are regarded as more important feasts than Christmas.) This is followed by Trinity Sunday and then the long stretch of ordinary time (some twenty-eight Sundays) leading again to Advent.
For many, the rhythm of the Church year becomes a part of life, informing and refreshing one's spirit at every step.