The Kalendar

A. Feasts. — Philocalian Kalendar — History of Various Feasts — Octaves — Kalendar in English Prayer Books. B. Fasts. — Origin of — Vigils — Advent — Lent — Stational Masses — Holy Week — Maundy Thursday — Good Friday — Mass of the Presanctified — Saturday in Holy Week — Ember Days — Rogation Days.

The Feasts

In Chapter XIV. mention has been made of the disputes which arose as to the calculation of Easter.

Traditionally, the Passion was considered to have taken place on the 25th of March, which date seems to have been suggested from its coincidence with the vernal equinox, the date on which, according to general belief, the world was created.

Likewise it was thought that Christ must have lived on earth for an exact number of years, so that the Incarnation must have been on the 25th of March, which, being reckoned as the date of His Conception by the Blessed Virgin Mary, fixed the date of the Nativity as being the 25th of December.

The most ancient authority for the observance of Christmas is the Philocalian Kalendar drawn up at Rome in 336. At that time it was not observed at all in the East, but they only observed the festival of the Manifestation or Epiphany on 6th of January: this was the "Commemoration of Our Lord" as Incarnate God at His baptism, likewise of His Birth. At Rome this was considered rather the Manifestation to the Gentiles represented by the Magi, and secondarily His baptism.

It may be noted that Sozomen mentions a sect of Montanists who celebrated Easter on the 6th of April, because, the world having been created according to them on 24th March, the first full moon being fourteen days later must be the 6th April; this gives the date of the Nativity as the 6th January, the date of the Epiphany on which the Nativity was commemorated in the East generally.

In fixing upon 25th December at Rome, account may have been taken of the Mithraic festival of 'Natalis Invicti' or 'Sol Novus', the renewal of the sun at the winter's solstice which fell on that date.

Christmas having been fixed on 25th December, the feasts of Circumcision on 1st of January, Purification on 2nd of February, Annunciation on 25th of March, and St. John the Baptist on 24th of June, naturally follow.

St. Stephen, the first martyr, was always celebrated directly after the Nativity followed by SS. James and John and Peter and Paul.

The Festival of Holy Innocents seems to have been instituted at a very early date; it is found on 28th December in all Latin Kalendars and on 29th December in the Greek Kalendar.

At Carthage and in the Gallican Books it is called 'The Children'.

They were included under the name of the 'Children' in the Diptychs of the Gallic Mass, and are still included there in the Mozarabic Rite, though now called 'Innocents'.

As to the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, 25th January, there was no mention of this in the ancient Roman Books, but the Mass for Sexagesima Sunday was really in honour of St. Paul and the station was held at the basilica of this Apostle on the Ostian Way.

St. Peter and St. Paul's day, 29th June, was the day on which their relics were transferred to a place called 'ad Catacumbas' at the third milestone on the Appian Way.

They were removed later under the Emperor Constantine to the basilicas erected by him on the sites of their original burial-places at the Vatican and on the Ostian Way respectively.

The Gallic Church had an objection to festivals in Lent: the Natale Petri ex Cathedra, or anniversary of the commencement of the bishopric of St. Peter at Rome, was accordingly kept on the 18th of January instead of the 22nd of February. The author of the recension of the Hieronymium martyrology at Auxerre, circa 595, being confronted with the two dates, attributed the latter to the Bishopric of St. Peter at Antioch.

Holy Cross Day, 14th September, is the anniversary of the Consecration in 335 of the two basilicas erected by Constantine on the site of Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre.¹ The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is on the anniversary of the recovery of the true cross by Heraclius in 629 from the Persians, who had carried it off when they took Jerusalem in 614.

The festival on 6th of May of St. John the Evangelist, 'ante portam Latinam', was no doubt the date of the dedication of the Church of that name at Rome; but as the Greek Church celebrate this festival on 8th May in connection with a miracle performed on the tomb of the Apostle at Ephesus, it would appear that it was dedicated on the traditional anniversary of the miracle said to have occurred on the site of this church, when St. John was plunged into a cauldron of boiling oil without harm. Such tradition was in existence between 100 and 200 (cf. Tertullian, Praes. c. 36).

The other Saints' Days were fixed for the most part by the date of the dedication of a church in or near Rome to the particular saint.

Mention must be made of 1st November, All Saints' Day, which is the anniversary of the dedication of the old Roman Pantheon as the Church of St. Mary and All Martyrs by Pope Boniface IV., 608–614, the building having been transferred to him by the Emperor Phocas; this was the first time that a heathen temple was transformed into a church at Rome (Lib. Pont. i. 317). (Pope Zosimus in 417 had converted the Temple of Athene at Syracuse into the Cathedral there.) As to All Souls' Day and Corpus Christi cf. p. 84; both are omitted from our Kalendar, though All Souls is included in the Permissive Measure.

¹ The Invention of the Cross, 3rd May, is purely Gallic, and like Holy Cross Day is associated with the discovery of the true Cross: the date is connected with the legend of Judas Cyriacus. (Lib. Pont. vol. i. p. 108.)

St. Andrew's Day, the 30th November, is generally believed to be the actual anniversary of his martyrdom at Patras, and as such is thought to be unique amongst the Feasts of the Apostles.

With regard to Octaves, between 300 and 400, it was customary to continue the festival of the Epiphany for eight days; this was followed generally elsewhere at a very early date, and applied to all High Festivals.

As has been mentioned before, St. Augustine brought the Roman Kalendar to England, and after many years of conflict with the Celtic Church, it was amongst other points accepted at the great Council of Cloveshoo in 747. But every church was in the habit of celebrating its own local saints in addition to those mentioned in the Roman Kalendar; so we find the feasts of St. Alban, St. Gregory, and St. Augustine of Canterbury introduced into the English Kalendar. St. Boniface was likewise added in 755 on news of his death, and before the Normans came, King Edmund, King Edward, Archbishop Dunstan, and Archbishop Alphege had been added to the list of saints.

After the Norman conquest the power to order a festival became centralized in Rome, and the first English Saint who was canonized by the Authority of the Pope was Edward the Confessor in 1161, but this power was not deemed retrospective and the festivals of the other English saints continued to be celebrated, though no Papal Sanction had been ever given. Those who were canonized by the Pope subsequently were St. Hugh of Lincoln in 1220, St. Edmund of Canterbury in 1245, and St. Richard of Chichester in 1260. In 1480 there were added St. Etheldreda, likewise the new festivals of the Visitation and of the Transfiguration. Finally the festival of the Most Sweet Name of Jesus, 7th of August, was sanctioned by Pope Alexander VI., 1493–1503.

The Prayer Book of 1549 omitted all Saints' Days from the Kalendar, except twenty-five great festivals, which were red-letter days. In 1552, St. George, Lammas, St. Lawrence, and St. Clement were added as black-letter saints, and the position of the sun was also indicated. In 1561 fifty-six more black-letter saints were added, to which Enurchus was added in 1604, and St. Alban and Venerable Bede in 1662.

In the selection of the red-letter saints the test was that of the Bible, but in the selection of the black-letter saints, whilst local considerations had some effect, the choice on the whole appears to be lacking in any general principle.

The whole list has been revised in the alternative Kalendar included in the Permissive Measures.

The Fasts

The Jews were in the habit of fasting twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, e.g. the Pharisee says: "I fast twice in the week" (Luke xviii. 12), so the Church in very early times substituted Wednesday and Friday for the Jewish fasts. These were known as Stations — a military term suggesting that on these days Christians mounted guard. On these days the fast did not last after 3 p.m. and services were generally held in the churches; it appears that at Rome and Alexandria the Eucharist was not celebrated on these days.

All feast days and Sundays, which are feast days, were preceded by a vigil; this was a nocturnal meeting at cock-crow, before dawn, consisting of lections, homilies, chants, and prayers, but it was gradually combined with mattins, except the vigils of Easter and Whitsunday.

These vigils were originally more observed by the holding of this additional service than by actual abstention.

In Chapter VII. the prolongation of the Friday fast into a Saturday fast by way of superposition has been already explained.

In addition to these fasts, which were observed every week and in anticipation of each festival, there were certain seasons which were considered penitential.

As the ordinary festival had its vigil, so the great festivals of Christmas and Easter are preceded by the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent.

Advent commences the Ecclesiastical year, and though recognized as a penitential season has never been reckoned as a formal fast: it originally comprised five Sundays, which at an early date were reduced to four.

Lent in the time of Irenaeus was only of forty hours' duration, from Good Friday to Easter Day, but that of complete abstention. At Alexandria, about 250, it was customary to fast during the whole of Holy Week. There is no trace of the forty days' fast until the reference to it found in the fifth Canon of the Council of Nicea in 325.

This period is referred to chiefly in connection with preparation for baptism and for absolution of penitents.

At Rome, Sundays were excepted from the fast — at Constantinople, Saturdays and Sundays; but whilst the Roman Lent lasts for six weeks the Greek Lent lasts for seven. Between 600 and 700 four days were added to the Roman period, so that it now begins on Ash Wednesday in order that the complete forty days may be included: these forty days being considered symbolical of Christ's fasting for forty days in the Wilderness, though previously thirty-six had been reckoned a proper number as consisting of a tenth or tithe of the whole year. In Gaul and Milan Saturdays were not kept as fasts, so only six weeks, not seven, were observed.

Also about this time Stational Masses were introduced for Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays. The Council of Agde, 506, and the fourth Council of Orleans, 541, insisted on fasting on Saturdays during Lent, but the latter condemns the addition to Lent caused by the observance of the three extra Sundays.

Holy Week

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which was celebrated originally at Jerusalem, but was not adopted at Rome until about 800.

Maundy Thursday (so called from the antiphon "Mandatum novum do vobis", John xiii. 34) is the anniversary of the institution of the Eucharist and was commemorated in Africa by an Evening Communion.

After Mattins the Holy Oils which were used through the year were consecrated. At High Mass the blessing of the Holy Oils took place; this is done at Seville in the following manner:

A table is placed between the choir and the High Altar, upon which are placed the flagons of oil. The Cardinal Archbishop sits at the end facing the High Altar and breathes on it thrice; each of the twelve assistant priests or higher dignitaries breathes on it in turn. This is for consecrating the oil for anointing the sick. But for the oil for the chrism the twelve assistants in turn also breathe thrice after having knelt thrice.

The use of Holy Oils except for the Consecration of the King has been eliminated from the English Use.

At the end of Mass the Sacrament was taken in solemn procession from the Altar to the 'Temple', where it remained until brought out in solemn procession on Good Friday for the Mass of the Presanctified, mentioned below.

After Vespers the Altar was solemnly stripped and the feet of twelve old men (Vecchioni), who were arranged between the choir and the High Altar, were washed by the senior prelate present. (In Spain this office is performed by the King at Toledo.) Each of these old men was also presented with alms. This is the origin of the Maundy Money which is still distributed by the King's almoner at Westminster Abbey, and for which special silver coins are struck.

In Spain the doxology is not said on Maundy Thursday, as a sign of sorrow.

On Good Friday there is no celebration of the Eucharist, but about 600–700 the service became complicated by the service of the Adoration of the Cross and the Mass of the Presanctified. In the Peregrination of Etheria, 385, we find that the wood of the Cross was presented to the faithful at Jerusalem to be kissed. At Seville during the Adoration of the Cross the bells are sounded by wooden clappers which are called the 'Matraca'.

The Mass of the Presanctified was merely the Communion separated from the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist properly so called. The capsa containing the consecrated bread was placed upon the Altar, the Pater Noster was said, a particle of the consecrated bread was placed in a chalice containing ordinary wine, and everybody communicated by partaking of the consecrated bread in the capsa and of the wine sanctified as described.

Mgr. Duchesne considers that it is probable that the faithful, when they administered the Communion to themselves, observed a similar ceremonial; and that this was very common in times of persecution and amongst solitaries in monasteries where there were no priests, and generally in the case of those who lived at a great distance from a church. In 519, Dorotheos, Bishop of Thessalonica, fearing that persecution was about to descend upon his flock, caused the elements for Communion to be distributed amongst them in basketfuls (Thiel, Epp. Rom. Pont. vol. i. p. 902).

On Saturday in Holy Week, the ceremonies of the Easter vigil were between 700 and 800 transferred to the afternoon, and are now held in the morning. After Mattins and Lauds there was the blessing of the fire and incense and the lighting of the Pascal Candle.

A very natural symbolism led to the adoption of these ceremonies.

The death of Christ, followed by His resurrection, found an expressive imagery in the fire, candles, or lamps which, being suddenly extinguished, were lit again.

In Ireland it was customary to kindle great bonfires on Easter Eve, which were not lighted from other fires, but from flints. At Rome great lamps were lit to illuminate the ceremony of baptism which was held on Easter Eve in the baptistry. The blessing of the candle was not in use at Rome, but in Gaul and Spain; at present at Seville the Pascal Candle is of enormous size, about 24 ft. high and weighing 700 to 800 lb.

The formula for the blessing of the candle was read from the ambo by the archdeacon on rolls, and in Italy it was the custom to illuminate them upside down so that as they hung over the edge of the ambo they could be viewed properly by the congregation.

At 10 a.m. there was the revelation of the High Altar, when the veil in front of it is removed suddenly to the accompaniment of peals of thunder from the organ and ringing of all bells and the singing of the Gloria in Excelsis.

Subsequently there was a solemn procession to the font or baptistry, where the water is blessed and infused with the chrism, after which a processional Litany is sung.¹

¹ These ceremonies were dropped in the reign of Edward VI. (see pp. 125 and 137).

Ember & Rogation Days

Ember Days. — These fasts were on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in Ember weeks, the Saturday really being but a regular superposition of the Friday fast; they were strict fasts.

These Ember weeks were, at the commencement of the seasons, originally three, winter sowing (Feriae sementinae), summer reaping (Feriae messis), and autumn vintage (Feriae vindemiales); later a fourth season was added, and they were known as the fasts on the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth months. It is thought that they were introduced by Calixtus I., 217–222. They coincided with the Pagan agricultural festivals, upon which they were a restraint, and were justified by the text:

"The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace" (Zechariah viii. 19).

By the Roman custom, they became the recognized times for holding Ordinations, so that they were separated from their original connection with the civil year and identified with the ecclesiastical year instead. In England this occurred about 700, and they now are held on the Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, the Feast of Pentecost, September 14, and December 13 (cf. Canon xxxi. of 1603).

At Milan, 300–400, there was a ten days' fast from Ascension Day to Whitsunday, but it later seems to have been the practice to put this off until after Pentecost; this was what was done in Gaul and Spain.

Rogation Days are the three days before Ascension Day, which are kept as special fast days accompanied by the recital of Litanies. They were first instituted by Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne, in 470, at the time of the last volcanic eruptions in the Auvergne Mountains in France.

They spread through France, and were adopted at the Council of Cloveshoo, 747.

At Rome in the time of St. Gregory the Great, there was another 'Litania major' held on St. Mark's Day, 25th April, when a procession was formed and marched into the country, beseeching the blessing of God upon the fruits of the earth and the protection of them from the late frosts, which were so destructive to the crops.

This processional Litany was instituted to take the place of the old Pagan 'Robigalia', which was a procession formed for a similar purpose. It was, in fact, a kind of lustration of the cultivated lands. "The same necessities, the same apprehension of danger, the same trust in Divine help inspired rites mutually resembling each other" (cf. Bk. I. Chap. I. p. 7).

At Cloveshoo this Roman 'Litania major' was also adopted.

In Spain the processional Litany took place on November 2, All Souls' Day, at the time of sowing the seed.