Liturgical year


The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read.
Distinct liturgical colours may be used in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic is largely the same.

Liturgical cycle

The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their own mood, theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home. In churches that follow the liturgical year, the scripture passages for each Sunday are specified in a lectionary.
After the Protestant Reformation, Anglicans and Lutherans continued to follow the lectionary of the Roman Rite. Following a decision of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church revised that lectionary in 1969, adopting a three-year cycle of readings for Sundays and a two-year cycle for weekdays.
Adaptations of the revised Roman Rite lectionary were adopted by Protestants, leading to the publication in 1994 of the Revised Common Lectionary for Sundays and major feasts, which is now used by many Protestant denominations, including also Methodists, United, some Reformed, etc. This has led to a greater awareness of the traditional Christian year among Protestants, especially among mainline denominations.

Biblical calendars

Scholars are not in agreement about whether the calendars used by the Jews before the Babylonian exile were solar, lunisolar like the present-day Jewish calendar of Hillel II, or lunar, such as the Hijri calendar.
The first month of the Hebrew year was called אביב, meaning the month of green ears of grain. Having to occur at the appropriate time in the spring, it thus was originally part of a tropical calendar. At about the time of the Babylonian exile, when using the Babylonian civil calendar, the Jews adopted the term ניסן as the name for the month, based on the Babylonian name Nisanu. Thomas J Talley says that the adoption of the Babylonian term occurred even before the exile.
In the earlier calendar, most of the months were simply called by a number. The Babylonian-derived names of the month that are used by Jews are:
  1. Nisan
  2. Iyar
  3. Sivan
  4. Tammuz
  5. Av
  6. Elul
  7. Tishrei
  8. Marcheshvan
  9. Kislev
  10. Tevet
  11. Shevat
  12. Adar 1
  13. Adar
In Biblical times, the following Jewish religious feasts were celebrated:

East Syriac Rite

The Liturgical Calendar of the East Syriac Rite is fixed according to the flow of salvation history. With a focus upon the historical life of Jesus Christ, believers are led to the eschatological fulfillment through this special arrangement of liturgical seasons. The liturgical year is divided into 8 seasons of approximately 7 weeks each but adjusted to fit the solar calendar. The arrangement of the Seasons in the Liturgical Year is based on seven central events on celebrations of the Salvation History. They are:
  1. Nativity of Christ
  2. Epiphany of Christ
  3. Resurrection of Christ
  4. Pentecost
  5. Transfiguration
  6. Glorious Cross
  7. Parousia
One of the oldest available records mentioning the liturgical cycle of east-syriac rite is handwritten manuscript named 'Preface to Hudra' written by Rabban Brick-Iso in 14th century. The manuscript mentions that the liturgical year is divided into nine seasons starting from Subara and ends with Qudas Edta. Catholic churches of east-syriac rite maintains the same liturgical calendar until the current date except that many consider 7th and 8th seasons as a single one. The biblical reading and prayers during Mass and Liturgy of the Hours vary according to different seasons in the liturgical calendar.

Liturgical Calendar

The various seasons of the liturgical calendar of Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Catholic Church are given below.
Annunciation (Subara)
Weeks of Annunciation is the first season of the liturgical year. The liturgical year begins with the commemoration of biblical events leading to the annunciation and birth of Jesus as expected savior in the old testament. The season begins on the Sunday just before the first of December and ends with the feast of Epiphany that is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. The faithful practice abstinence during December 1–25 in preparation for Christmas; this period is called "25 days Lent".
Feasts celebrated during this season
Weeks of Epiphany begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of Epiphany and runs to the beginning of Great Fast. The word denha in Syriac means sunrise. Church considers the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan as the first historical event in which the Trinity was revealed to humankind in the person of Jesus Christ. Thus the season commemorates the manifestation or revelation of Jesus and Trinity to the world. During the season the church celebrates the feasts of Saints in connection with the manifestation of the Lord.
Feasts celebrated during the period
During these weeks the faithful meditate over the 40-day fast of Jesus and the culmination of his public life in passion, death and burial. The season begins 50 days before Easter on Peturta Sunday and comprises the whole period of Great Lent and culminates on Resurrection Sunday. Word Peturta in Syriac means "looking back" or "reconciliation".
Faithful enter the weeks of Great Fast, celebrating the memory of all the Faithful Departed on the last Friday of Denha.
According to the ecclesial tradition, the weeks of Great Fast is also an occasion to keep up the memory of the beloved Departed through special prayers, renunciation, almsgiving, and so on and thus prepare oneself for a good death and resurrection in Jesus Christ. During the fast faithful of Syro Malabar Church do not use meat, fish, egg, many dairy products, and most favorite food items, and avoid sexual contacts on all days including Sundays and Feast days. Before European colonization, Indian Nasranis used to have food only once a day on all days during Great Fast.
Feasts in the Lenten Season
  • Peturta Sunday on First Sunday of Great Fast
  • Ash Monday or Clean Monday on the first day of Great Fast
  • Lazarus Friday on the sixth Friday of Great Fast
  • Oshana Sunday on the seventh Sunday of Great Fast
  • Thursday of Pesha
  • Friday of Passion or Good Friday
  • Great Saturday or Saturday of Light
The following feasts are always in the Lenten Season:
The weeks of Great Resurrection begin on the Resurrection Sunday and run to the feast of Pentecost. The Church celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord during these seven weeks: Jesus' victory over death, sin, suffering and Satan. The church also commemorates various events that occurred after the resurrection of Christ, such as the visits of Jesus to the Apostles and the ascension of Jesus.
According to eastern Christianity, the Feast of Resurrection is the most important and the greatest feast in a liturgical year. Therefore, the season commemorating the resurrection of Christ is also of prime importance in the church liturgy. The first week of the season is celebrated as the 'Week of weeks' as it is the week of the resurrection of Christ.
Feasts celebrated during the period:
  • Feast of Resurrection of Christ
  • Feast of All Confessors on the first Friday of Qyamta
  • New Sunday or St. Thomas Sunday on the second Sunday of Qyamta
  • Feast of Ascension of Jesus on the sixth Friday of Qyamta
The following feasts are always in the season of resurrection:
Weeks of apostles starts on the feast of Pentecost, fiftieth day of the Resurrection Sunday. During these days the church commemorates the inauguration of church and the acts of apostles and church fathers through which the foundation of the church was laid. Church meditates on the virtues of the early church: fellowship, breaking of bread and sharing of wealth, and the fruits and gifts of Holy Spirit. The spread of the church all over the world as well as her growth is also remembered during this season.
Feast celebrated during the season:
The following feasts are commemorated in the season of Slihe