Significance of the 6th Sunday after Pentecost in Liturgical Calendar
Significance of the 6th Sunday after Pentecost in the Liturgical Calendar
The 6th Sunday after Pentecost is a significant date in the liturgical calendar of various Christian traditions. The Sundays after Pentecost are counted starting from the Sunday after Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples [1].
The significance of this Sunday varies across traditions. In some Western Christian traditions, such as Anglican and Lutheran churches, the Sundays after Pentecost are part of the ordinary time in the liturgical calendar, with readings and prayers assigned to each Sunday [6]. The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany is also sometimes referred to in relation to the Sundays after Pentecost, highlighting the connection between the two periods in the liturgical year.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Sundays after Pentecost are also significant, with a focus on the spiritual law and the service to God. According to John of Damascus, the spiritual law is related to the abandonment of carnal things and the spiritual service and communion with God [5].
The count of Sundays after Pentecost is based on the date of Pentecost, which is itself determined by the date of Easter. Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, and the Sundays following it are counted sequentially [1, 2].
The significance of the 6th Sunday after Pentecost is also related to the broader themes of the liturgical calendar. In the Reformed tradition, the Sundays after Pentecost are seen as an opportunity to reflect on the Christian life and the work of the Holy Spirit [3]. The Catholic tradition also places emphasis on the Sundays after Pentecost, with a focus on the mystery of Christ and the Church [4].
While the specific significance of the 6th Sunday after Pentecost may vary across traditions, it is generally seen as part of the larger narrative of the Christian year, which commemorates the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. The various traditions represented in the liturgical calendar highlight the diversity of Christian worship and practice [1, 5, 6].
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Pentecost — that is, the fiftieth day (from a Greek word meaning fiftieth), or Harvest Feast, or Feast of Weeks, may be regarded as a supplement to the Passover. It lasted for but one day. From the sixteenth of Nisan seven weeks were reckoned inclusively, and the next or fiftieth day was the day of Pentecost, which fell on the sixth of Sivan (about the end of May). (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15,22; Numbers 28) See Jewish calendar at the end of this volume. The Pentecost was the Jewish harvest-home, and the people were especially exhorted to rejoice before Jeho”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Pentecost — I.e., "fiftieth", found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The festival so named is first spoken of in Ex. 23:16 as "the feast of harvest," and again in Ex. 34:22 as "the day of the firstfruits" (Num. 28:26). From the sixteenth of the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven complete weeks, i.e., forty-nine days, were to be reckoned, and this feast was held on the fiftieth day. The manner in which it was to be kept is described in Lev. 23:15-19; Num. 28:27-29. Besides the sacrifices prescribed for the occasion, every o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 44: “ne discernans entre le Dimanche et le Sabbath autrement, sinon que le septiéme jour estoit abrogé qu’on gardoit pour lors, mais qu’il on faloit, neantmoins garder un;”—making no other distinction between the Sunday and the Sabbath, save that the seventh day, which was kept till then, was abrogated, but that it was nevertheless necessary to keep some one day. But this is nothing else than to 344 insult the Jews, by changing the day, and yet mentally attributing to it the same sanctity; thus retaining the same typical distinction of”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part (Prima Pars), On the Work of the Sixth Day, Art. 1: I answer that, As on the fifth day the intermediate body, namely, the water, is adorned, and thus that day corresponds to the second day; so the sixth day, on which the lowest body, or the earth, is adorned by the production of land animals, corresponds to the third day. Hence the earth is mentioned in both places. And here again Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. v) that the production was potential, and other holy writers that it was actual. On the contrary: On the contrary, Suffices the authority of Scriptur”
- CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 99: keep the spiritual law shall also come. What belongs to us 2662 2662 Ibid. , therefore, who walk by the spirit and not by the letter, is the complete abandonment of carnal things, the spiritual service and communion with God. For circumcision is the abandonment of carnal pleasure and of whatever is superfluous and unnecessary. For the foreskin is nothing else than the skin which it superfluous to the organ of lust. And, indeed, every pleasure which does not arise from God nor is in God is superfluous to pleasure: and of t”
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), The First Sunday in Advent (part 1): The First Sunday in Advent The Second Sunday in Advent The Third Sunday in Advent The Fourth Sunday in Advent Christmas Day Saint Stephen's Day Saint John The Evangelist's Day The Innocents' Day The Sunday after Christmas Day The Circumcision of Christ The Epiphany The First Sunday after the Epiphany The Second Sunday after the Epiphany The Third Sunday after the Epiphany The Fourth Sunday after The Epiphany The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany The Sunday called Septuagesi”