The Church Year

Liturgical churches follow a order or structure to the service. This structure is called the liturgy, a word which is derived from an ancient word meaning public service and hence, worship itself. Churches that use ceremony, often rites and forms dating back to the earliest Christian churches, are called liturgical churches.

Liturgical churches follow a calendar based on a church year, consisting of a number of seasons as well as special festivals and commemorations.

The year begins with the Advent season, four weeks before Christmas. After Christmas (beginning on January 6) is the Epiphany season, which extends until Lent (six weeks before Easter). The Easter season lasts seven weeks, until Pentecost (which means the fiftieth day). The Sundays after Pentecost continue until the next Advent season. This part of the year is sometimes called the nonfestival half of the church year or ordinary time.

The lessons, hymns, canticles and even the sermon topics are chosen to reflect the themes of the seasons and the weeks in which the service occurs. Like all of the elements we have mentioned, they are there to help the worshiper become fully a part of the act of worship and thus to have a rich and total experience. Worship is not a passive experience (a spectator sport), but an intensely active experience involving great reverence and solemnity as well as joy and celebration.

The colors on the altar are also an aid to worship, an external symbol of the church year. The different seasons are most often represented with the following colors:

The worship service is a time of fellowship with the Lord in which his followers adore, pray, praise, and give thanks.

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Last modified: September 27, 2006.