lectionary
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What is a lectionary in Christianity?
In Christianity, a lectionary is a book or list containing selections from the Bible appointed to be read on particular days of the year. Early Christians followed the Jewish custom of reading from the Old Testament on the Sabbath, adding extracts from the Gospels and epistles.
During the Reformation, Lutherans and Anglicans modified Roman Catholic lectionaries. The Second Vatican Council in 1963 allowed the use of vernacular languages in the Roman Catholic liturgy, including scriptural readings. A revised missal led to the Ordo Lectionum Missae (1969), a three-year lectionary with cycles for Sundays and weekdays. Many Protestant churches now use the Revised Common Lectionary (1992).
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Why do churches use a lectionary?
Churches use a lectionary to organize Bible readings for specific days. It contains a list of scriptures appointed to be read on particular days of the year. Early Christians followed the Jewish custom of reading from the Old Testament on the Sabbath and added writings from the Apostles, which later became the Gospels and epistles. Churches in different areas devised systems of lessons, with the Greek Orthodox Church creating lectionaries arranged by the ecclesiastical year (Synaxarion) and civil year (Mēnologion). The Second Vatican Council later allowed vernacular use in the Roman Catholic liturgy, leading to a three-year lectionary with cycles for Sundays and weekdays. Many denominations now revise lectionary systems, with Protestant churches often using the Revised Common Lectionary.
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What types of readings are typically included in a lectionary?
In Christianity, a lectionary typically includes readings from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and the Gospels. The Revised Common Lectionary, used by many Protestant churches, is a three-year lectionary similar to the Roman Catholic system. The Roman Catholic lectionary has two cycles, one for Sundays and another for weekdays. The Sunday cycle is divided into three liturgical years (A, B, and C), each featuring a different Gospel: Matthew (Year A), Mark (Year B), and Luke (Year C), with John read during Easter in all three years. The weekday cycle spans two years, with the first reading from either the Old or New Testament and the Gospel readings being the same for both years.
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How is the lectionary organized over the church year?
The lectionary in Christianity organizes Bible readings for specific days of the year. The Roman Catholic Church employs a three-year lectionary cycle for Sundays, labeled A, B, and C, and a two-year cycle for weekdays, labeled I and II.
The liturgical year begins with Advent, followed by Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, the Paschal Triduum, Easter, and then Ordinary Time again. Year A primarily features the Gospel of Matthew, Year B the Gospel of Mark, and Year C the Gospel of Luke, with John's Gospel read during Easter in all three years. Many Protestant churches also use three-year lectionaries similar to the Roman Catholic system, such as the Revised Common Lectionary.
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What is the difference between a daily and a Sunday lectionary?
A lectionary in Christianity contains a collection of Bible readings appointed for use in worship on particular days of the year. Roman Catholic lectionaries have a three-year cycle with separate sets of readings for Sundays and weekdays.
The Sunday cycle is divided into years A, B, and C, each emphasizing a different Gospel (Matthew, Mark, and Luke, respectively), while the Gospel of John is read during Easter in all three years. The weekday cycle is divided into two years (Year I and Year II), with the first reading taken from either the Old or New Testament. The Gospel readings are the same for both years, read semi-continuously, and include the Gospel of John during Easter.
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How do different Christian traditions (like Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox) use lectionaries?
Lectionaries in Christianity are books containing portions of the Bible appointed to be read on particular days of the year. The practice of using lectionaries began with early Christians adopting the Jewish custom of reading from the Old Testament and adding extracts from the Gospels and epistles.
Different Christian traditions use lectionaries in distinct ways:
* Greek Orthodox Church They developed two forms of lectionaries: Synaxarion, arranged by the ecclesiastical year, and M\u0113nologion, arranged according to the civil year.
* Roman Catholic Church The Second Vatican Council allowed the introduction of vernacular in the liturgy, including scriptural readings. The Ordo Lectionum Missae (1969) is a three-year lectionary with cycles for Sundays and weekdays.
* Lutherans and Anglicans During the 16th-century Reformation, changes were made to the Roman Catholic lectionaries. Martin Luther included more doctrinal passages. The Anglican church assigned a passage from the Old and New Testaments for morning and evening services.
* Protestant Churches Many Protestant churches use the Revised Common Lectionary (1992), similar to the Roman Catholic system.1 Britannica SourceThis answer is created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
lectionary, in Christianity, a book containing portions of the Bible appointed to be read on particular days of the year. The word is also used for the list of such Scripture lessons. 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, which later would be formalized in the canon of Scripture as the Gospels and epistles. During the 3rd and 4th centuries several systems of lessons were devised for churches of various localities. One of the first attempts for a diocese to fix definite readings for special seasons during the year was made by Musaeus of Marseille in the mid-5th century.
At first, the lessons were marked off in the margins of manuscripts of the Scriptures. Later, special lectionary manuscripts were prepared, containing in proper sequence the appointed passages. The Greek Orthodox Church developed two forms of lectionaries, one (Synaxarion) arranged in accord with the ecclesiastical year and beginning with Pascha (Easter) and the other (Mēnologion) arranged according to the civil year (beginning September 1) and commemorating the festivals of various saints and churches. Other national churches produced similar volumes. Among the Western churches during the medieval period, the ancient usage at Rome prevailed, with its emphasis on Advent.
During the 16th-century Reformation the Lutherans and Anglicans made changes in the Roman Catholic lectionaries. Martin Luther was dissatisfied with the choice of many of the lessons from the epistles in the Roman system, and he included a greater proportion of doctrinal passages. In the Anglican church the first edition of The Book of Common Prayer (1549) assigned for each day a passage of the Old Testament and the New Testament to be read at both the morning and evening services. Nearly all the saints’ days were dropped, and the new system assigned chapters of the Bible to be read consecutively.
In 1963 the Second Vatican Council allowed the introduction of the vernacular in the variable parts of the Roman Catholic liturgy, including the scriptural readings of the mass (the liturgy of the Word). A complete revision of the missal, carried out by a postconciliar commission, resulted in a three-year lectionary known as the Ordo Lectionum Missae (1969). This lectionary is arranged in two cycles, one for Sundays and another for weekdays. The Sunday cycle is divided into three liturgical years, labeled A, B, and C. Each Sunday usually has a reading from the Old Testament, a semicontinuous reading from one of the epistles, and a Gospel reading. Year A mostly features the Gospel According to Matthew; Year B reads through the Gospel According to Mark; and Year C showcases the Gospel According to Luke. The Gospel According to John is read during the Easter season in all three years. After three years the cycle starts over again.
The weekday cycle is divided into two years: Year I (odd-numbered years, such as 2023, 2025, etc.) and Year II (even-numbered years, such as 2024, 2026, etc.); the year of the cycle changes on the first Sunday of Advent. The first reading on weekdays may be taken from the either the Old or the New Testament, and usually a single scriptural book is read semicontinuously until it is finished and then a new book is started. The Gospel readings for both years are the same and are also read semicontinuously, beginning with Mark, then Matthew and Luke. As with the Sunday cycle, the Gospel According to John is read during the Easter season. In addition to the Sunday and weekday cycles, the Roman Catholic lectionary also provides readings for the feasts of major saints, for common celebrations such as Marian feasts, for ritual masses such as weddings and funerals, and for various other needs.
Present-day liturgists in many denominations have been active in revising traditional lectionary systems. Many Protestant churches in the United States and other English-speaking areas use the Revised Common Lectionary (1992). A previous version, the Common Lectionary, was assembled in 1983. Both versions are three-year lectionaries that function similarly to the Roman Catholic system.