Ordinary Time
Encyclopedia
Ordinary Time is a season of the Christian
liturgical calendar, in particular the calendar of the Roman rite
and related liturgical rites. The English name is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). Ordinary Time comprises the two periods — one following Epiphany (feast or season), the other following Pentecost
— which do not fall under the strong seasons of Advent
, Christmas
, Lent
, or Easter
.
The weeks in ordinary time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate, such as Trinity Sunday
(first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Feast of Christ the King
(last Sunday in OT), and, in some places, the Feast of Corpus Christi (second Sunday after Pentecost).
The liturgical color normally assigned to Ordinary Time is green
.
(liturgical colour: white), the feast which normally falls on the Sunday after Epiphany (January 6) (white). American Catholics have altered the calendar so that Epiphany always falls on a Sunday (first Sunday after January 1); in those years when the Epiphany falls on January 7 or January 8, the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the Monday immediately following the Epiphany. In the Church of England
, Ordinary Time begins on the day after the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas).
Ordinary Time continues until Ash Wednesday
(violet), which marks the beginning of the Season of Lent
(violet). Thus for Roman Catholics the period of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent may last from four to nine weeks, depending upon the dates of Epiphany (American Catholics) and Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a moveable feast
based on the date of Easter (white). In the Church of England the first period of Ordinary Time is somewhat shorter — indeed it may be as short as a single day if Ash Wednesday falls on its earliest possible date of February 4.
Ordinary Time resumes on the Monday following Pentecost (red) and continues through Saturday afternoon before the first Sunday of Advent
(violet), some five to six months later, always including the entire months of July, August, September and October and most or all of June and November (some years include small portions of May and December). The last Sunday before Advent
is celebrated as the Solemnity of Christ the King
(white) and in the Roman Catholic Church always takes the place of the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The actual number of weeks of Ordinary Time in any given year can total 33 or 34. When there are only 33 weeks (which is more common), the week that would normally follow the resumption of Ordinary Time following Pentecost Sunday is omitted. For example, in 2011, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday was the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but the day after Pentecost Sunday began the 11th Week in Ordinary Time.
In the Church of England, a similar situation arises with "Sundays after Trinity", as Sundays in the second period of Ordinary Time are termed (until the final four, which are termed "Sundays before Advent"). The total number of Sundays varies according to the date of Easter and can number anything from 18 to 23. When there are 23, the Collect
and Post-Communion for the 22nd Sunday are taken from the provision for the Third Sunday before Lent.
In the Orthodox Church and in the Eastern Catholic Churches, Sundays are all numbered after Pentecost which runs through the following year. Orthodox do not have ordinary time.
, along with certain other special days, such as the Presentation of the Lord
(or Candlemas, February 2, white), the birth of John the Baptist
(June 24, white), the Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul
(June 29, red), the Transfiguration
(August 6, white), the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (or Holy Cross Day, September 14, red), Solemnity of All Saints
(November 1, white), All Souls Day
(November 2, violet or black), and the Dedication of the Basilica
of St John Lateran
(November 9, white).
Other solemnities which outrank Sundays of Ordinary Time vary from parish
to parish, such as the feast of the patron saint of a parish and the feast of the dedication of the parish church.
In addition, if a Solemnity or feast that outranks a Sunday of Ordinary time, such as those mentioned above, should occur during the week, a priest saying mass for a congregation has the option of observing it on a nearby Sunday. Such a celebration is traditionally called an "external solemnity", even if the feast in question is not ranked as a solemnity. If an external solemnity is celebrated on a Sunday, the color of that celebration is used rather than green.
known as the season after Epiphany and the season after Pentecost
respectively. Liturgical days in these times were referred to as the -nth Sunday after Epiphany or Pentecost, or Feria II,III,IV,V or VI after the -nth Sunday. With the reforms came the introduction of four liturgical weeks, the 6th through 9th weeks of Ordinary Time, which could fall either after Epiphany or after Pentecost, making the old numbering scheme unusable, and the term tempus per annum was used to describe both of these seasons. Before the reforms till the present, the term tempus per annum has been used to describe the season of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is not part of Advent
or Christmastide, and so tempus per annum extends from Matins
on February 3rd to None
on the last Saturday before Advent
.
Following the lead of the liturgical reforms of the Roman rite, many Protestant churches have also adopted the concept of Ordinary Time, along with the Revised Common Lectionary
.
) set off the last 13 or 14 weeks of Ordinary Time into a separate season, known as Kingdomtide
.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
liturgical calendar, in particular the calendar 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...
and related liturgical rites. The English name is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). Ordinary Time comprises the two periods — one following Epiphany (feast or season), the other following Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost 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...
— which do not fall under the strong seasons of 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...
, 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...
, or 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...
.
The weeks in ordinary time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate, such as Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
(first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Feast of Christ the King
Feast of Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King is the last holy Sunday in the western liturgical calendar, celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as well as many Anglicans, Lutherans, and other Mainline Protestants.-Origin and history in the Catholic Church:Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the...
(last Sunday in OT), and, in some places, the Feast of Corpus Christi (second Sunday after Pentecost).
The liturgical color normally assigned to Ordinary Time is green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
.
Periods of Ordinary Time
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ordinary Time begins on the day following the Baptism of the LordBaptism of the Lord
The Baptism of the Lord is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Originally the baptism of Christ was celebrated on Epiphany, which commemorates the coming of the Magi, the baptism of Christ, and the wedding at Cana...
(liturgical colour: white), the feast which normally falls on the Sunday after Epiphany (January 6) (white). American Catholics have altered the calendar so that Epiphany always falls on a Sunday (first Sunday after January 1); in those years when the Epiphany falls on January 7 or January 8, the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the Monday immediately following the Epiphany. In the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, Ordinary Time begins on the day after the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas).
Ordinary Time continues until Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
(violet), which marks the beginning of the Season of 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...
(violet). Thus for Roman Catholics the period of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent may last from four to nine weeks, depending upon the dates of Epiphany (American Catholics) and Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a moveable feast
Moveable feast
In Christianity, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day – whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter, the date of which varies according to a complex formula...
based on the date of Easter (white). In the Church of England the first period of Ordinary Time is somewhat shorter — indeed it may be as short as a single day if Ash Wednesday falls on its earliest possible date of February 4.
Ordinary Time resumes on the Monday following Pentecost (red) and continues through Saturday afternoon before the first Sunday of 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...
(violet), some five to six months later, always including the entire months of July, August, September and October and most or all of June and November (some years include small portions of May and December). The last Sunday before 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...
is celebrated as the Solemnity of Christ the King
Feast of Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King is the last holy Sunday in the western liturgical calendar, celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as well as many Anglicans, Lutherans, and other Mainline Protestants.-Origin and history in the Catholic Church:Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the...
(white) and in the Roman Catholic Church always takes the place of the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The actual number of weeks of Ordinary Time in any given year can total 33 or 34. When there are only 33 weeks (which is more common), the week that would normally follow the resumption of Ordinary Time following Pentecost Sunday is omitted. For example, in 2011, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday was the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but the day after Pentecost Sunday began the 11th Week in Ordinary Time.
In the Church of England, a similar situation arises with "Sundays after Trinity", as Sundays in the second period of Ordinary Time are termed (until the final four, which are termed "Sundays before Advent"). The total number of Sundays varies according to the date of Easter and can number anything from 18 to 23. When there are 23, the Collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
and Post-Communion for the 22nd Sunday are taken from the provision for the Third Sunday before Lent.
In the Orthodox Church and in the Eastern Catholic Churches, Sundays are all numbered after Pentecost which runs through the following year. Orthodox do not have ordinary time.
Feasts that pre-empt Ordinary Time
In addition, certain solemnities and feasts that fall during Ordinary Time will pre-empt numbered Sundays in the series when the observance in question falls on a Sunday. On pre-empted Sundays, the liturgical color green is replaced by the color of the feast day. These feast days include, in the Roman Catholic calendar, any day that is a holy day of obligationHoly Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
, along with certain other special days, such as the Presentation of the Lord
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...
(or Candlemas, February 2, white), the birth of 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...
(June 24, white), the Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, or the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June...
(June 29, red), the Transfiguration
Transfiguration of Jesus
The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....
(August 6, white), the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (or Holy Cross Day, September 14, red), Solemnity of All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
(November 1, white), All Souls Day
All Souls Day
All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. In Western Christianity, this day is observed principally in the Catholic Church, although some churches of Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches also celebrate it. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes several All Souls' Days during the...
(November 2, violet or black), and the Dedication of the Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of St John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
(November 9, white).
Other solemnities which outrank Sundays of Ordinary Time vary from parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
to parish, such as the feast of the patron saint of a parish and the feast of the dedication of the parish church.
In addition, if a Solemnity or feast that outranks a Sunday of Ordinary time, such as those mentioned above, should occur during the week, a priest saying mass for a congregation has the option of observing it on a nearby Sunday. Such a celebration is traditionally called an "external solemnity", even if the feast in question is not ranked as a solemnity. If an external solemnity is celebrated on a Sunday, the color of that celebration is used rather than green.
Use of the term
Before the liturgical reforms of 1970, there were two distinct seasons in the Roman Breviary and Roman MissalRoman 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:...
known as the season after Epiphany and the season after Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost 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...
respectively. Liturgical days in these times were referred to as the -nth Sunday after Epiphany or Pentecost, or Feria II,III,IV,V or VI after the -nth Sunday. With the reforms came the introduction of four liturgical weeks, the 6th through 9th weeks of Ordinary Time, which could fall either after Epiphany or after Pentecost, making the old numbering scheme unusable, and the term tempus per annum was used to describe both of these seasons. Before the reforms till the present, the term tempus per annum has been used to describe the season of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is not part of 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...
or Christmastide, and so tempus per annum extends from Matins
Matins
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 February 3rd to None
None (liturgy)
None , or the Ninth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m...
on the last Saturday before 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...
.
Following the lead of the liturgical reforms of the Roman rite, many Protestant churches have also adopted the concept of Ordinary Time, along with 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...
.
Kingdomtide exception
Some Protestant denominations (most notably the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
) set off the last 13 or 14 weeks of Ordinary Time into a separate season, known as Kingdomtide
Kingdomtide
Kingdomtide is a liturgical season observed in the autumn by the United Methodist Church, particularly in the United States, and certain other Protestant denominations.-Methodist and Presbyterian Usage:...
.