A216 Calendar Reformation
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 79th General Convention amend pages 19-30 of the Calendar of the Church Year in the Book of Common Prayer by removal of all non-Biblical feasts of optional observance (while retaining them on the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts); and be it further
Resolved, That the 79th General Convention add the following Biblical feasts of optional observance on pages 19-30 of the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer:
February 26 The Samaritan Woman
May 21 Lydia of Thyatira, Coworker of the Apostle Paul
July 8 Priscilla and Aquila, Coworkers of the Apostle Paul
August 3 Joanna, Mary, and Salome, Myrrh-bearing Women
August 29 The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
September 3 Phoebe, Deacon
September 8 The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
October 25 Tabitha (Dorcas) of Joppa
And be it further
Resolved, That the 79th General Convention amend page 18 of the Calendar of the Church Year in the Book of Common Prayer by the addition of the words “Prayer Book” before the word “Calendar” in line 3, and the addition a new line following it with the words “Additional Commemorations listed in the Lesser Feasts and Fasts Calendar.”
Explanation
Recent iterations of the Episcopal Church’s calendar have created competition between different commemorations. Proposed Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 furthers this competition by providing two different calendar lists, one for which biographies and lessons are provided and another list of Supplemental/Local observances for which no biographies or lessons are provided in that volume. This has created an overall confusion of priority of certain commemorations over others and of the location of their respective resources. Therefore, we propose to refine and focus the calendars of the Episcopal Church by better incorporating and purposing the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer in its relationship with Lesser Feasts and Fasts. The amendment repurposes the Book of Common Prayer Calendar by limiting its Days of Optional observance (a category explained under section 5 on pages 17-18 of the Book of Common Prayer) to Biblical commemorations only. Other days of optional observance would be retained, however, in the Calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts. This amendment would not change major Holy Days and Days of Special Devotion (the dark letter days on the Church Calendar). This approach would eliminate the situation that would be created by adoption of Proposed Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 in which non-Biblical days of optional observance are stratified in different categories (those that appear in the BCP Calendar, those in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, and those listed in Lesser Feasts and Fasts as Local/Optional Observances for which no proper collects and lesson are provided), thereby creating a level playing field for all non-Biblical Days of Optional Observance. This proposal is in keeping with Thomas Cranmer’s original simplification of the prayer book Calendar in 1549, and with the practice of the Episcopal Church prior to the 1963 publication of The Calendar and the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the Lesser Feasts and Fasts and for Special Occasions, which began the current expansion of the Days of Optional Observance on the Calendar beyond Biblical figures. An accompanying resolution would recommit Proposed Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for re-editing and simplification.