Lectionary
Encyclopedia
A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian
or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion.
portion of the Talmud, probably finished in the early 200's C.E., contains a list of Torah readings for various occasions (Talmud, Megilah 32a) and assumes that these special readings interrupt a regular schedule of Torah readings (Talmud, Megilah 29a, 30b). In addition to these Torah readings, the later Gemara
portion of the Talmud also knows of assigned annual readings from the prophets (Talmud, Megilah 31a).
By the Medieval era the Jewish community had a standardized schedule of scripture readings both from the Torah and the prophets to be read in the synagogue
. A sequential selection was read from the Torah
, followed by the "haftarah
" – a selection from the prophetic books or historical narratives (e.g. "Judges," "Kings," etc.). Jesus probably read a providentially "random" reading when he read from , as recorded in , when he inaugurated his public ministry. The early Christians adopted the Jewish custom of reading extracts from the Old Testament on the sabbath. They soon added extracts from the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists.
Both Hebrew and Christian lectionaries developed over the centuries. Typically, a lectionary will go through the scriptures in a logical pattern, and also include selections which were chosen by the religious community for their appropriateness to particular occasions. The one-year Jewish lectionary reads the entirety of the Torah within the space of a year and may have begun in the Babylonian Jewish community; the three-year Jewish lectionary seems to trace its origin to the Jewish community in and around the Holy Land. The existence of both one-year and three-year cycles occurs in both Christianity and Judaism.
Within Christianity, the use of pre-assigned, scheduled readings from the scriptures can be traced back to the early church, and seems to have been inherited from Judaism. Not all of the Christian Church used the same lectionary, and throughout history, many varying lectionaries have been used in different parts of the Christian world. Until the Second Vatican Council
, most Western Christians (Catholics, Old Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and those Methodists who employed the lectionary of Wesley
) used a lectionary that repeated on a one-year basis. This annual lectionary provided readings for Sundays and, in those Churches that celebrated the festivals of saint
s, feast-day readings. The Eastern Orthodox Church
and many of the Oriental Churches
continue to use an annual lectionary. Within Lutheranism
there remains an active minority of pastors and congregations who use the old one-year lectionary, often referred to as the Historic Lectionary.
Lectionaries from before the invention of the printing press
contribute to understanding the textual history of the Bible. See also List of New Testament lectionaries.
of 1962–1965, the Holy See
, even before producing an actual lectionary (in Latin
), promulgated the Ordo Lectionum Missae (Order of the Readings for Mass), giving indications of the revised structure and the references to the passages chosen for inclusion in the new official lectionary of the Roman Rite
of Mass
. It introduced an arrangement by which the readings on Sundays and on some principal feasts recur in a 3-year cycle, with four passages from Scripture (including one from the Psalms
) being used in each celebration, while on weekdays only three passages (again including one from the Psalms) are used, with the first reading and the psalm recurring in a 2-year cycle, while the Gospel
reading recurs after a single year. This revised Mass Lectionary, covering much more of the Bible than the readings in the Tridentine
Roman Missal
, which recurred after a single year, has been translated into the many languages in which the Roman Rite Mass is now celebrated, incorporating existing or specially prepared translations of the Bible and with readings for national celebrations added either as an appendix or, in some cases, incorporated into the main part of the lectionary.
The Roman Catholic Mass Lectionary is the basis on which many Protestant lectionaries have been based, most notably the Revised Common Lectionary
(RCL) and its derivatives, as organized by the Consultation on Common Texts
(CCT) organization located in Nashville, Tennessee
. Like the Mass Lectionary, they generally organize the readings for worship services on Sundays in a 3-year cycle, with four elements on each Sunday, and three elements during daily Mass
:
(the last Sunday of November or first Sunday of December). Year B follows year A, year C follows year B, then back again to A.
The Gospel of John
is read throughout Easter
, and is used for other liturgical seasons including Advent
, Christmas
, and Lent
where appropriate.
's Book of Alternative Services
(among others).
This eucharistic lectionary should not be confused with the various Daily Office lectionaries in use in various denominations. The Consultation on Common Texts has produced a three-year Daily Lectionary which is thematically tied into the Revised Common Lectionary, but the RCL does not provide a daily Eucharistic lectionary as such. Various Anglican Churches have their own daily lectionaries, many of them adapted from that provided in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
. In the Catholic Church, the Book of the Gospels is carried in by a deacon
(when there is no deacon, a lector might process in with the Lectionary). When the Book of the Gospels is used, the first two readings are read from the Lectionary, while the Book of the Gospels is used for the final reading.
The Lectionary is not to be confused with a missal
, gradual
or sacramentary
. While the Lectionary contains scripture readings, the missal or sacramentary contains the appropriate prayers for the service, and the gradual contains chants
for use on any particular day. In particular, the gradual contains a responsory
which may be used in place of the responsorial psalm.
, and those bodies not in communion with any of them but still practicing eastern liturgical customs) tend to retain the use of a one-year lectionary in their liturgy. Different churches follow different liturgical calendars (to an extent). Most Eastern Lectionaries provide for an Epistle and a Gospel to be read on each day.
; however, during Great Lent
there is no celebration of the Liturgy on weekdays (Monday through Friday), so no Epistle and Gospel are appointed for those days. As a historical note, the Greek lectionaries are a primary source for the Byzantine text-type
used in the scholarly field of textual criticism
.
(Evangélion) and an Epistle Book
(Apostól). There are differences in the precise arrangement of these books between the various national churches. In the Byzantine practice, the readings are in the form of pericope
s (selections from scripture containing only the portion actually chanted during the service), and are arranged according to the order in which they occur in the church year, beginning with the Sunday of Pascha
(Easter), and continuing throughout the entire year, concluding with Holy Week
. Then follows a section of readings for the commemorations of Saints and readings for special occasions (Baptism
, Funeral
, etc.). In the Slavic practice, the biblical books are reproduced in their entirety and arranged in the canonical order in which they appear in the Bible
.
The annual cycle of the Gospels is composed of four series:
The interruption of the reading of the Gospel of Matthew after the Elevation of the Holy Cross is known as the "Lukan Jump" The jump occurs only in the Gospel readings, there is no corresponding jump in the Epistle. From this point on the Epistle and Gospel readings do not exactly correspond, the Epistles continuing to be determined according to the moveable Paschal cycle
and the Gospels being influenced by the fixed cycle.
The Lukan Jump is related to the chronological proximity of the Elevation of the Cross to the Conception of the Forerunner (St. John the Baptist
), celebrated on September 23. In late Antiquity
, this feast marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year. Thus, beginning the reading of the Lukan Gospel toward the middle of September can be understood. The reasoning is theological, and is based on a vision of Salvation History: the Conception of the Forerunner constitutes the first step of the New Economy, as mentioned in the stikhera
of the matins of this feast. The Evangelist Luke
is the only one to mention this Conception .
In Russia, the use of the Lukan Jump vanished; however in recent decades, the Russian Church has begun the process of returning to the use of the Lukan Jump.
on Sundays and feast days. These are found in the Evangelion. There are also readings from the Old Testament
, called "parables" (Paroemia), which are read at Vespers
on feast days. These parables are found in the Menaion
, Triodion
or Pentecostarion
. During Great Lent, parables are read every day at Vespers and at the Sixth Hour. These parables are found in the Triodion.
and the New Testament
books are read except the books of Revelation
, Song of Solomon
, and I and II Maccabees. Scripture readings are assigned for Sundays and feast days, for each day of Lent and Holy Week, for raising people to various offices of the Church, for the blessing of Holy Oil and various services such as baptisms and funerals.
Generally, three Old Testament lection
s, a selection from the prophet
s, and three readings from the New Testament are prescribed for each Sunday and Feast day. The New Testament readings include a reading from Acts, another from the Catholic Epistles or the Pauline Epistles
, and a third reading from one of the Gospel
s. During Christmas and Easter a fourth lesson is added for the evening service
. The readings reach a climax with the approach of the week of the Crucifixion. Through Lent
lessons are recited twice a day except Saturdays. During the Passion Week
readings are assigned for each of the major canonical hours
.
If there is a weekday Liturgy celebrated on a non-feast day, the custom is to read the Pauline Epistle only, followed by the Gospel.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion.
History
The Talmud claims that the practice of reading appointed Scriptures on given days or occasions dates back to the time of Moses and began with the annual religious festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Talmud, Megilah 32a). The MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
portion of the Talmud, probably finished in the early 200's C.E., contains a list of Torah readings for various occasions (Talmud, Megilah 32a) and assumes that these special readings interrupt a regular schedule of Torah readings (Talmud, Megilah 29a, 30b). In addition to these Torah readings, the later Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
portion of the Talmud also knows of assigned annual readings from the prophets (Talmud, Megilah 31a).
By the Medieval era the Jewish community had a standardized schedule of scripture readings both from the Torah and the prophets to be read in the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. A sequential selection was read from the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, followed by the "haftarah
Haftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
" – a selection from the prophetic books or historical narratives (e.g. "Judges," "Kings," etc.). Jesus probably read a providentially "random" reading when he read from , as recorded in , when he inaugurated his public ministry. The early Christians adopted the Jewish custom of reading extracts from the Old Testament on the sabbath. They soon added extracts from the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists.
Both Hebrew and Christian lectionaries developed over the centuries. Typically, a lectionary will go through the scriptures in a logical pattern, and also include selections which were chosen by the religious community for their appropriateness to particular occasions. The one-year Jewish lectionary reads the entirety of the Torah within the space of a year and may have begun in the Babylonian Jewish community; the three-year Jewish lectionary seems to trace its origin to the Jewish community in and around the Holy Land. The existence of both one-year and three-year cycles occurs in both Christianity and Judaism.
Within Christianity, the use of pre-assigned, scheduled readings from the scriptures can be traced back to the early church, and seems to have been inherited from Judaism. Not all of the Christian Church used the same lectionary, and throughout history, many varying lectionaries have been used in different parts of the Christian world. Until the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, most Western Christians (Catholics, Old Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and those Methodists who employed the lectionary of Wesley
Wesley
Wesley is a name with an Anglo-Norman etymology. The "wes" portion of the name refers to the Western cardinal direction, while the word "lea" refers to a field, pasture, or other clearing in a forest. Thus, the name's origin refers to a "western lea," or a field to the west...
) used a lectionary that repeated on a one-year basis. This annual lectionary provided readings for Sundays and, in those Churches that celebrated the festivals of saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s, feast-day readings. The Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and many of the Oriental Churches
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
continue to use an annual lectionary. Within Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
there remains an active minority of pastors and congregations who use the old one-year lectionary, often referred to as the Historic Lectionary.
Lectionaries from before the invention of the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
contribute to understanding the textual history of the Bible. See also List of New Testament lectionaries.
Catholic Mass Lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary
After the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
of 1962–1965, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, even before producing an actual lectionary (in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
), promulgated the Ordo Lectionum Missae (Order of the Readings for Mass), giving indications of the revised structure and the references to the passages chosen for inclusion in the new official lectionary of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
of Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. It introduced an arrangement by which the readings on Sundays and on some principal feasts recur in a 3-year cycle, with four passages from Scripture (including one from the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
) being used in each celebration, while on weekdays only three passages (again including one from the Psalms) are used, with the first reading and the psalm recurring in a 2-year cycle, while the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
reading recurs after a single year. This revised Mass Lectionary, covering much more of the Bible than the readings in the Tridentine
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
Roman Missal
Roman Missal
The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...
, which recurred after a single year, has been translated into the many languages in which the Roman Rite Mass is now celebrated, incorporating existing or specially prepared translations of the Bible and with readings for national celebrations added either as an appendix or, in some cases, incorporated into the main part of the lectionary.
The Roman Catholic Mass Lectionary is the basis on which many Protestant lectionaries have been based, most notably the Revised Common Lectionary
Revised Common Lectionary
The Revised Common Lectionary is a lectionary of readings or pericopes from the Bible for use in Christian worship, making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. Its first version was known as the Common Lectionary, assembled in 1983. It was...
(RCL) and its derivatives, as organized by the Consultation on Common Texts
Consultation on Common Texts
The Consultation on Common Texts is "an ecumenical consultation of liturgical scholars and denominational representatives from the United States and Canada, who produce liturgical texts for use in common by North American Christian Churches." Its most significant product was the Revised Common...
(CCT) organization located in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Like the Mass Lectionary, they generally organize the readings for worship services on Sundays in a 3-year cycle, with four elements on each Sunday, and three elements during daily Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
:
- first reading from the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
or, in EastertideEastertideEastertide, or the Easter Season, or Paschal Time, is the period of fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, indeed as the "great Lord's Day". Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter, and, after the Sunday of the Resurrection,...
from certain books of the New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
; - responsorial Psalm (ideally, to be sung);
- second reading from one of the New Testament LettersGeneral epistlesGeneral epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christians in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles...
(only on Sundays); and a - Gospel reading.
3 year cycle
The lectionaries (both Catholic and RCL versions) are organized into three-year cycles of readings. The years are designated A, B, or C. Each yearly cycle begins on the first Sunday of AdventAdvent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
(the last Sunday of November or first Sunday of December). Year B follows year A, year C follows year B, then back again to A.
- Year A: Gospel of MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
(November 2010 through 2011) - Year B: Gospel of MarkGospel of MarkThe Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
(December 2011 through 2012) - Year C: Gospel of LukeGospel of LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
(December 2012 through 2013)
The Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
is read throughout Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, and is used for other liturgical seasons including Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, and Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
where appropriate.
Daily Lectionaries
The Roman Catholic lectionary includes a 2 year cycle for the weekday mass readings (called Cycle I and Cycle II). Odd-numbered years are Cycle I; even-numbered ones are Cycle II. The weekday lectionary includes a reading from the Old Testament, Acts, Revelation, or the Epistles, a responsorial Psalm, and a reading from one of the Gospels. These readings are generally shorter than those appointed for use on Sundays. The pericopes for the first reading along with the psalms are arranged in a 2-year cycle. The Gospels are arranged so that portions of all four are read every year. This weekday lectionary has also been adapted by some denominations with congregations that celebrate daily Eucharistic services. It has been published in the Episcopal Church's Lesser Feasts and Fasts and in the Anglican Church of CanadaAnglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
's Book of Alternative Services
Book of Alternative Services
The Book of Alternative Services is the contemporary, inclusive-language liturgical book used alongside the Book of Common Prayer in most parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada...
(among others).
This eucharistic lectionary should not be confused with the various Daily Office lectionaries in use in various denominations. The Consultation on Common Texts has produced a three-year Daily Lectionary which is thematically tied into the Revised Common Lectionary, but the RCL does not provide a daily Eucharistic lectionary as such. Various Anglican Churches have their own daily lectionaries, many of them adapted from that provided in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
Other lectionary information
In some churches, the Lectionary is carried in the entrance procession by a lectorLector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
. In the Catholic Church, the Book of the Gospels is carried in by a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
(when there is no deacon, a lector might process in with the Lectionary). When the Book of the Gospels is used, the first two readings are read from the Lectionary, while the Book of the Gospels is used for the final reading.
The Lectionary is not to be confused with a missal
Missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
, gradual
Gradual
The Gradual is a chant or hymn in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In the Tridentine Mass it was and is sung after the reading or chanting of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. In the Mass of Paul VI...
or sacramentary
Sacramentary
The Sacramentary is a book of the Middle Ages containing the words spoken by the priest celebrating a Mass and other liturgies of the Church. The books were usually in fact written for bishops or other higher clegy such as abbots, and many lavishly decorated illuminated manuscript sacramentaries...
. While the Lectionary contains scripture readings, the missal or sacramentary contains the appropriate prayers for the service, and the gradual contains chants
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
for use on any particular day. In particular, the gradual contains a responsory
Responsory
-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...
which may be used in place of the responsorial psalm.
Eastern Lectionaries
In the Eastern Churches (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, the Assyrian Church of the EastAssyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
, and those bodies not in communion with any of them but still practicing eastern liturgical customs) tend to retain the use of a one-year lectionary in their liturgy. Different churches follow different liturgical calendars (to an extent). Most Eastern Lectionaries provide for an Epistle and a Gospel to be read on each day.
Byzantine lectionary
Those churches (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic) which follow the Rite of Constantinople, provide an Epistle and Gospel reading for most days of the year, to be read at the Divine LiturgyDivine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
; however, during Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
there is no celebration of the Liturgy on weekdays (Monday through Friday), so no Epistle and Gospel are appointed for those days. As a historical note, the Greek lectionaries are a primary source for the Byzantine text-type
Byzantine text-type
The Byzantine text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the form found in the largest number of surviving manuscripts, though not in the oldest...
used in the scholarly field of textual criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
.
Epistle and Gospel
The Gospel readings are found in a Gospel BookGospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
(Evangélion) and an Epistle Book
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
(Apostól). There are differences in the precise arrangement of these books between the various national churches. In the Byzantine practice, the readings are in the form of pericope
Pericope
A pericope in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, thus forming a short passage suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture....
s (selections from scripture containing only the portion actually chanted during the service), and are arranged according to the order in which they occur in the church year, beginning with the Sunday of Pascha
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
(Easter), and continuing throughout the entire year, concluding with Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
. Then follows a section of readings for the commemorations of Saints and readings for special occasions (Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, Funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
, etc.). In the Slavic practice, the biblical books are reproduced in their entirety and arranged in the canonical order in which they appear in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
The annual cycle of the Gospels is composed of four series:
- The Gospel of St. John
- read from Pascha until PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
Sunday
- read from Pascha until Pentecost
- The Gospel of St. Matthew
- divided over seventeen weeks beginning with the Monday of the Holy Spirit (the day after Pentecost). From the twelfth week, it is read on Saturdays and Sundays while the Gospel of St. Mark is read on the remaining weekdays
- The Gospel of St. Luke
- divided over nineteen weeks beginning on the Monday after the Elevation of the Holy CrossElevation of the Holy CrossThe Elevation of the Holy Cross is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14. It is one of the two feast days which is held as a strict fast...
. From the thirteenth week, it is only read on Saturdays and Sundays, while St. Mark's Gospel is read on the remaining weekdays
- divided over nineteen weeks beginning on the Monday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross
- The Gospel of St. Mark
- read during the Lenten period on Saturdays and Sundays — with the exception of the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
The interruption of the reading of the Gospel of Matthew after the Elevation of the Holy Cross is known as the "Lukan Jump" The jump occurs only in the Gospel readings, there is no corresponding jump in the Epistle. From this point on the Epistle and Gospel readings do not exactly correspond, the Epistles continuing to be determined according to the moveable Paschal cycle
Paschal cycle
The Paschal cycle in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Pascha . The cycle consists of approximately ten weeks before and seven weeks after Pascha. The ten weeks before Pascha are known as the period of the Triodion...
and the Gospels being influenced by the fixed cycle.
The Lukan Jump is related to the chronological proximity of the Elevation of the Cross to the Conception of the Forerunner (St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
), celebrated on September 23. In late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
, this feast marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year. Thus, beginning the reading of the Lukan Gospel toward the middle of September can be understood. The reasoning is theological, and is based on a vision of Salvation History: the Conception of the Forerunner constitutes the first step of the New Economy, as mentioned in the stikhera
Sticheron
A sticheron is a particular kind of hymn used in the Divine Liturgy, acolouthia or other services of the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite....
of the matins of this feast. The Evangelist Luke
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
is the only one to mention this Conception .
In Russia, the use of the Lukan Jump vanished; however in recent decades, the Russian Church has begun the process of returning to the use of the Lukan Jump.
Old Testament Readings
Other Services have scriptural readings also. There is a Gospel lesson at MatinsMatins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
on Sundays and feast days. These are found in the Evangelion. There are also readings from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, called "parables" (Paroemia), which are read at Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
on feast days. These parables are found in the Menaion
Menaion
The Menaion refers to the annual fixed cycle of services in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches. Commemorations in the Menaion are tied to the day of the calendar year.-Service books:...
, Triodion
Triodion
The Triodion , also called the Lenten Triodion , is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during Great Lent, the three preparatory weeks leading up to it, and during Holy Week.Many canons in the Triodion contain only three odes or...
or Pentecostarion
Pentecostarion
The Pentecostarion is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite during the Paschal Season which extends from Pascha to the Sunday following All Saints Sunday The Pentecostarion (Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον, Pentekostárion; Slavonic:...
. During Great Lent, parables are read every day at Vespers and at the Sixth Hour. These parables are found in the Triodion.
Syriac and Malankara Churches: Catholic, Orthodox
In the Syriac Churches, the lectionary begins with the liturgical calendar year on Qudosh `Idto (the Sanctification of the Church), which falls on the eighth Sunday before Christmas. Both the OldOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
books are read except the books of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
, and I and II Maccabees. Scripture readings are assigned for Sundays and feast days, for each day of Lent and Holy Week, for raising people to various offices of the Church, for the blessing of Holy Oil and various services such as baptisms and funerals.
Generally, three Old Testament lection
Lection
A lection is a reading, in this context, from Scripture.The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath day was a very ancient one. The addition of lections from the prophetic books had been made afterwards and was in existence at the time of Jesus, as may be gathered...
s, a selection from the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s, and three readings from the New Testament are prescribed for each Sunday and Feast day. The New Testament readings include a reading from Acts, another from the Catholic Epistles or the Pauline Epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
, and a third reading from one of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s. During Christmas and Easter a fourth lesson is added for the evening service
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
. The readings reach a climax with the approach of the week of the Crucifixion. Through Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
lessons are recited twice a day except Saturdays. During the Passion Week
Passion Week
Passion Week is a name for the week beginning on Passion Sunday, as the Fifth Sunday of Lent was once called in the Roman Rite.However, even before Pope John XXIII's Code of Rubrics changed the name of this Sunday from "Passion Sunday" to "First Sunday of the Passion" , the liturgical books gave...
readings are assigned for each of the major canonical hours
Canonical hours
Canonical hours are divisions of time which serve as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers....
.
If there is a weekday Liturgy celebrated on a non-feast day, the custom is to read the Pauline Epistle only, followed by the Gospel.
See also
- Book of Alternative ServicesBook of Alternative ServicesThe Book of Alternative Services is the contemporary, inclusive-language liturgical book used alongside the Book of Common Prayer in most parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada...
- Ekphonetic notationEkphonetic notationEkphonetic notation consists of symbols added to certain sacred texts, especially lectionary readings of Biblical texts, as a mnemonic device to assist in their cantillation. Ekphonetic notation can take a number of forms, and has been used in several Jewish and Christian plainchant traditions,...
- Gospel BookGospel BookThe Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
- LectionLectionA lection is a reading, in this context, from Scripture.The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath day was a very ancient one. The addition of lections from the prophetic books had been made afterwards and was in existence at the time of Jesus, as may be gathered...
- LectorLectorLector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
- List of New Testament lectionaries
- Liturgical yearLiturgical yearThe liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which 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 appear in...
- ManzilManzilManzil is the word for one of seven parts of roughly equal length into which the Qur'an is divided for the purpose of reciting the entire text in one week.They are:# Al-Fatihah through An-Nisa' # Al-Maida through At-Tawba...
- Mass (liturgy)Mass (liturgy)"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
- PericopePericopeA pericope in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, thus forming a short passage suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture....
- Revised Common LectionaryRevised Common LectionaryThe Revised Common Lectionary is a lectionary of readings or pericopes from the Bible for use in Christian worship, making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. Its first version was known as the Common Lectionary, assembled in 1983. It was...
- The Text This WeekThe Text This WeekThe Text This Week is a world wide web site devoted to the study of the Christian Bible and the conduct of Christian worship.The site is organised in terms of the passages of scripture recommended for reading each Sunday in the lectionaries of the major Christian denominations, and in particular...
- Weekly Torah portion
- The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran
External links
- Greek Orthodox Online Chapel lectionary Lectionary of the Greek Orthodox Church according to the typicon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
- Books and Resources Books and resources to learn more about the Eucharistic lectionary.
- The Revised Common Lectionary
- The Roman Catholic Lectionary - based on the New American BibleNew American BibleThe New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970. It had its beginnings in the Confraternity Bible, which began to be translated from the original languages in 1948....
, as approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (also used in the Philippines) - General Introduction to the Lectionary (Roman Catholic)
- Lectionary of the Byzantine (Eastern Orthodox) Church
- The Joint Liturgical Group {UK) – which developed The Four Year Lectionary (One Gospel per Year)
- John Shearman's Liberal Lectionary
- The "Lukan Jump" Orthodox Research Institute
- Orthodox Christian Lectionary Explained (Russian Orthodox)
- Lectionary of the Syriac Orthodox Church
- Lectionary Central For the study and use of the traditional Western Eucharistic lectionary.
- Roman Catholic Lectionary for Mass Resources for the study of the current Roman Catholic lectionary.
- Historic Lectionary Lutheran one-year lectionary