Season of Pentecost, part 3

Seasons of the Church:

Pentecost
Part 3

"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 slightly, 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. The season ends at the first Sunday of Advent, which will be November 27 in 2005.

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. Because Pentecost is such a long season, we have divided it up and this is the third two months, October and November. For the full lectionary online, click here.

**Special Days during the third part of Pentecost**
St Francis of Assisi, Friar	October 4	Francis was born in 1182 and died in 1226. Although born into a wealthy family, he had a falling out with his father, and gave up all his wealth. He came to believe in Christian poverty, and founded the order of Friars Minor, generally known as Franciscans, which was authorized by the Pope in 1210. Their rule takes literally the words of Christ in Matthew 10; they are to go out and preach, carrying no money or provisions, wearing no fancy clothes or shoes (hence the brown robes and sandals that they wear to this day). For a fuller account of St. Francis, click here.
St Theresa of Avila, Reformer and Contemplative	October 15	Born in Spain in 1515, Theresa was a Carmelite nun. She came to believe that the order had become insuffieciently strict, and she founded a new Carmelite order known as the Carmelites of the Strict Observance, or 'Discalced' (shoeless - they wear sandals) Carmelites. A number of her writings survive. She was associated with St. John of the Cross. For more details, click here.
Hugh Latimer Nicholas Ridley Thomas Cranmer Bishops and Martyrs	October 16	All lived in the 1500s, dying in the 1550s; all three were very important in the History of the Anglican Church as separate from the Roman.. Cranmer is perhaps best known; he was Archbishop of Canterbury in the time of Henry VIII and translated the service into English. For his defiance of the Catholic Queen Mary, he was burned at the stake in 1556. It is all too much to explain here, but forr a full account of all three men, click here.
St. Luke, Evangelist	October 18	The patron of our church, Luke was a physician and a companion of St. Paul on some of his travels. In addition to the Gospel that bears his name, Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. His Gospel contains a number of things that do not appear anywhere else, including the most familar Christmas story. For more on St Luke, click here. See the St Luke in Art page on this site for some depictions of him.
St James of Jerusalem Bishop and Martyr	October 23	James is referred to in the New Testament as the brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the Christian congregation in Jerusalem after the Resurrection and is mentioned in several places in the Bible, and also by the Jewish historian Josephus. It is his burial box that has recently supposedly been found, although many experts think it is a fake and we won't go into that here. He is definitely one of the better documented of the very early Christian leaders. For more details, click here. There are a confusing number of Jameses in the Bible and this source also gives a link to an attempt to sort them out.
St Simon and St Jude, Apostles	October 28	These are listed in the Bible as the 10th and 11th of the twelve Apostles, but not much is known of them beyond their names. Simon is called "Simon the Zealot" but it is not clear just what this means in the context. Jude is called by several names, because of the need to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot (his given name was actually the same). Sometimes he is called Thaddeus, which may have been a sort of nickname. A detailed discussion of this and other details, such as why he is often called the patron saint of desperate causes, though not why the Shriners named their children's hospitals after him, is here.
All Saints Day	November 1	In older English, All Hallows Day, hence the name of the day before, Hallowe'en, All Hallows Eve. Also known as the Feast of All Saints. Traditional prayers and a litany for this day are given here.
All Souls Day	November 2	This day is dedicated to all the faithful departed. The litergical color for the day is violet, like Lent, or Black may also be used. Traditional prayers for this occasion are given here.
St. Martin of Tours Bishop and Theologian	November 11	Born a pagan, Martin was a military leader who eventually became one of the early converts to Christianity and in 371 he became Bishop of Tours, in France. He died in 397. His feast day is the day of the Armistice in the Great War (World War I); now called Veterans day in the US. For a full account of Martin, click here.
Margaret Queen of Scotland	November 16	Margaret, born in about 1045, was the granddaughter of the English King Edmund Ironside. She did much work for the church in Scotland, encouraging the founding of schools, hospitals in orphanages. She died in 1093. For a fuller account of Queen Margaret, click here.
Christ the King Sunday	November 20	Christ the King is always the last Sunday of the season of Pentecost, just before Advent begins, thus it is the last Sunday of the Church Year, and its actual date varies somewhat.. It is November 20 in 2005. Its liturgical colors are white and gold. Its tradition is old but it is not an officially an ancient feast; it was just proclaimed by Pope Leo XI in 1925. I can't find anything about it as a feast day on the Episcopal Lectionary site, but I know Episcopalians celebrate it so I am including it. For those who want to know more, here is a Catholic source that explains it.
Thanksgiving	November 25	Not actually a traditional church holiday but recognized by the church in the United States because it is a national holiday, and special services are often held.
(Advent Begins)	November 27	This will be on a new page when the season changes.