Traditionalists are up in arms after a diary manufacturer dropped a series of historic names for the Sundays before Lent.
The Prayer Book Society, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, has called for a boycott of Letts’ diaries, which have replaced Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima and Quadragesima with the appropriate number of “Sundays before Lent”.
Like Ash Wednesday, these are moveable feasts in the Anglican year. The Roman Catholic Church eliminated the terms in the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
Change and decay all around I see.
Mind you, who uses a diary these days other than our aged relatives? Maybe it’s our fault for putting it all into Outlook etc. However, Letts may have got their market wrong. I imagine more of their diary buyers will be comfortable with the Prayer Book calendar than with Common Worship or computers.
Indeed. Typical attitude of the publishing class – contempt.
“The majority of Church of England churches are now following the Common Worship calendar and lectionary for their principal services.”
Really? If so, Anglican antinomianism and/or a lack of proper episcopal leadership and direction.
On the other hand, surely there are things worth getting wildly bent out of shape about, and things that simply aren’t that big of a deal. I mean, shouldn’t the prayer book society be keeping some of its outrage in reserve for when real changes to the book are made, i.e. ones that significantly alter the theology of the church? Like for example when the ECUSA’s BCP went from its 1928 version to its 1979? Or New Zealand’s revisionist liturgies?
I can’t help but feel that if a Protestant like C.S. Lewis wouldn’t be bothered by modernizing words like “Quinquagesima”, and the Church of Rome was fine with it, then it can’t really be that big of a deal, except for people who worship tradition and fancy words for their own sake.
It’s been nearly 50 years since the Catholic Church dropped those archaic terms. Yes, there is an infinitessimally small number of Catholics that prefer the old calendar. But, besides them, there has been hardly a ripple. Tradition for its own sake is worthless.
As far as I recall, those days were misnamed (and miscounted) anyway and were a misguided attempt to prolong Lent. Ah, things haven’t been the same since they dropped The Touch for the King’s Evil!
They must have a lot of time on their hands. I love the Latin, and await to see the consequences of the boycott. If there are many people in the market, the market will provide.
There is much more to this than just “tradition.” By removing the “gesimas” the liturgical color will be “Epiphany season” which is Green until Ash Wednesday instead of the proper “pre-lent” color of Violet/Purple. This is just another place where many want to de-emphasize the penitential portion of the year. Well, since the “church” seems to want to forget about sin, I guess it makes sense.
Amen!
I was really surprised to find that the new Lutheran Study Bible (LCMS) uses the “gesimas” in its lectionaries.