The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saint's feast day. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity The system arose from the very early Christian custom of annual commemoration of martyrs on the dates of their deaths, or birth into heaven (and thus referred to in Latin as dies natalis, "day of birth"). The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom As the number of recognized saints increased during Late Antiquity and roughly the first half of the Middle Ages, eventually every day of the year had at least one saint who was commemorated on that date. Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in Eventually, some saints were moved to another day in some traditions, or completely removed; thus, some saints do have more than one day.
There are two categories of saints: martyrs and confessors. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in several ways Martyrs are regarded as dying in the service of the Lord, and confessors are people who died natural deaths. Confessors were not initially considered for saint's days. The term confessor is now less common and those who are not martyrs are usually given another categorical cognomen such as: Virgin, Pastor, Bishop, Monk, Priest, Founder, Abbot, Apostle, Doctor of the Church or a combination of these. The cognomen (plural cognomina) was originally the third name of an Ancient Roman in the Roman naming convention. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities The word abbot, meaning Father, is a title given to the head of a Monastery in various traditions including Christianity. Doctor of the Church ( Latin doctor, teacher from Latin docere, to teach is a title given by a variety of Christian Churches to individuals
This calendar system, when combined with major church festivals and movable and immovable feasts, constructs a very human and personalised yet often localized way of organizing the year and identifying dates. The word Calendar consist of two words 1 Cal ( in Pashto means Year in Hindi and Persian is Sal- also means Year It may be compared with the Roman Missal. The Roman Missal ((Missale Romanum is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite
Some Christians continue the tradition of dating by saints' days: their works may appear "dated" as "The Feast of Saint Martin". Saint Martin of Tours (Martinus (316/317 Savaria, Pannonia &ndash November 8, 317, Candes, Gaul; buried November Poets such as John Keats commemorate the importance of The Eve of Saint Agnes. Saint Agnes (291–304 feast day January 21) is a Virgin Martyr Saint of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches
Many children acquire baptismal or confirmation names from the saint associated with his/her date of birth, baptism or confirmation, and believing Eastern Orthodox Christians (and in some countries, Roman Catholics) mark the "name day" (namesday) of the saint whose name he or she bears with special attention, often instead of birthday celebrations. Confirmation is a Rite of initiation in many Christian Churches normally in the form of Laying on of hands and/or Anointing for In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted Confirmation is a Rite of initiation in many Christian Churches normally in the form of Laying on of hands and/or Anointing for The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America of celebrating on a particular day of the year associated with the one's Given name Birthday is the name given to the date of the anniversary of a person's birth
Ranking of feast days
Various feast days will be "ranked" with various levels of importance.
- In the Roman Catholic Church, from most to least importance, these are solemnities, feasts, memorials, and optional memorials. A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church is a principal Holy day in the Liturgical calendar, usually commemorating an event in the life of Jesus
- In the Eastern Orthodox Church the ranking of feasts may vary from church to church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world In the Russian Orthodox Church they are: Great Feasts, All-Night Vigils, Polyeleos, Great Doxology, Sextupple (having six stichera at Vespers and six troparia at the Canon of Matins), Double (i. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter is the greatest of the feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. For the musical setting by Rachmaninoff, see All-Night Vigil (Rachmaninoff The All-night vigil is a service of the Eastern Orthodox The Polyeleos ( Greek: Πολυέλεος lit "much oil" or by connotation "much mercy" is a festive portion of the Matins or All-Night The Great Doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the Trinity which is chanted or read daily in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches A sticheron (plural stichera) is a particular kind of Hymn used in the Divine Liturgy, Acolouthia ( Daily office) or other services Vespers is the evening Prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Eastern (Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, liturgies of the A troparion ( Greek: τροπάριον plural troparia, τροπάρια Church Slavonic: тропа́рь tropar) in Byzantine A canon is a structured Hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services Matins (also known as Orthros or Oútrenya in Eastern Churches) is the early morning or night Prayer service in the Roman Catholic e. , two simple feasts celebrated together) and Simple.
- In the Church of England, they are Principal Feasts and Principal Holy Days, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, and Commemorations. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Principal Feasts are a type of observance in the Churches of the Anglican Communion. Principal Holy Days are a type of observance in the Church of England. A Festival is a type of observance in the Churches of the Anglican Communion, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast or Principal Holy Day Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Commemorations are a type of religious observance in the Church of England.
See also
External links
- Calendar of Saints (Orthodox Church in America)
- Roman Catholic Saints' Calendar (American Catholic)
- Saint of the day (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia)
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