Season of Pentecost, part 2

Seasons of the Church:

Pentecost
Part 2

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:3-4)

Pentecost is the longest season of the church year, lasting approximately six months. Its actual length varies somewhat, because it begins on the second Sunday after the Ascension, which is always on a Thursday, the 40th day after Easter. Thus Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter, which is what the Greek root of the word means. Pentecost is May 15 in 2005, unusually early as Easter was unusually early. The season ends at the first Sunday of Advent, which will be November 27 in 2005.

Because Pentecost goes on so long, approximately half the church year, its season, or at least the latter parts of it, is sometimes referred to as "Ordinary Time." For a very interesting sermon on Ordinary Time given at St. Luke's by Dr. Jeff Powell, on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost 2005, click here.

Liturgical Colors

Although the liturgical color for the day of Pentecost itself is Red, for the Season as a whole it is Green; however,as always, for certain special days during the season the color may be red or white,and this is indicated in the table below.

This used to puzzle me, because the English always called the day of Pentecost, I think many still do, "Whitsunday", White Sunday, and in fact they referred to the whole season, or at least the early-summer part of it, as "Whitsuntide". Apparently at one time the liturgical color was white and at some point the church changed this, but it did not succeed in changing common language usage. It is never called Redsunday as far as I know.

Note: these days listed below are taken from the official Episcopal Calendar, but only the major feasts, and such minor ones as seem especially interesting for some reason, are given here. There are a lot of interesting ones in August. Because Pentecost is such a long season, we have divided it up and this is the second two months, August and September. The last two months will follow later. For the full lectionary online, click here.

Special Days during the second part of Pentecost
Feast of the Transfiguration	August 6	These are the events described in St. Luke 9:28-36. It is in fact celebrated in church on the preceding Sunday, August 1 in 2004. For a full account, click here.
St Laurence, Deacon and Martyr	August 10	St. Laurence was a third century Roman. By tradition, he was roasted on a gridiron, so he is always pictured with one in art. For a fuller account of him, click here.
St Clare of Assisi, Nun	August 11	A thirteenth century associate of St. Francis of Assisi, Clare was the founder of a very austere order of Franciscan nuns, known as the "Poor Clares." For a full account of her, click here.
Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Renewer of Society	August 12	Florence Nightingale was a nurse during the Crimean War; she is sometimes considered a founder of modern nursing. Apparently her commemoration in the Calendar is controversial for doctrinal reasons, but it is official, so I am including her, partly in memory of my mother, who was a nurse and who talked about her, and who had a sister named Florence who was also a nurse. For a full and very interesting account of her life, click here.
St Mary the Virgin	August 15	The Mother of Our Lord. She said of herself "All future generations shall call me blessed." (Luke 1:48) and indeed they have. An excellent account of her can be found here.
St Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, Theologian, Poet	August 20	St. Bernard 1090-1153, was the founder of the Cistercians, a strict order of Benedictines. For a full and interesting account of his life, click here.
St. Bartholomew, Apostle	August 24	Relatively little is known about Bartholomew, who is mentioned in the Bible as one of the twelve but with no details. For a brief account of what scholars think about him, click here.
St Louis IX, King of France	August 25	Louis lived from 1214-1270. He became King of France at twelve. He was noted for good works and fought in two crusades. For an account of his life, click here.
St Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Theologian	August 28	St Augustine (354-430) was one of the greatest Christian theologians. He was born in North Africa and should not be confused with the English St. Augustine. He is probably best known for his Confessions, and he also wrote The City of God and On the Trinity. A thorough account of him is here.
Holy Cross Day	Sept 14	This celebration originated when Helena, the mother of the emperor Constantine, went to the Holy Land and located what she believed to be the locations of Christ's Crucifixion and Burial. She had built over them the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, dedicated on 14 September in the year 335. This is a celebration of the Cross as a symbol of triumph, of the Resurrection. For more details, click here.
St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist	Sept 21	One of the Apostles and also the author of the first Gospel. Apparently there is some dispute about whether these two Matthews were in fact the same person. For a discussion of this problem and more details, click here .
St Michael and All Angels	Sept 29	This day is popularly called Michaelmas. The idea of Angels and Archangels as messengers from God originates in the Hebrew Scriptures. Michael the archangel is mentioned in several places in the Old Testament and in Revelation 12:7 in the New Testament. He is described as a leader of the angels. In art he is often pictured slaying a dragon, similar to St. George, but only Michael has wings. For more details, click here.
St Jerome, Scholar, Translator and Theologian	Sept 30	St. Jerome was the foremost Biblical scholar of the ancient church. He translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into popular Latin (the Vulgate). A detailed account of him is here but the picture on it is not a very good one (in my opinion) so I shall violate my usual policy of not giving unofficial outside links. For El Greco's St Jerome in the Frick Museum in New York, which I have seen, click here.