21 July 2026

When I began my ordained ministry in 1981, there was  a two-year lectionary available. It had been produced by a Church of England Liturgical Commission. It appeared in the Church of Scotland ‘Book of Common Order’ in 1979 and in the Church of England ‘Alternative Service Book’ in 1980.

A three-year lectionary appeared in ‘Common Order’ published in 1994. This was the ‘Revised Common Lectionary’ which had its origins in work done in the Roman Catholic Church following Vatican II and in the churches of North America consequent on the publication of the Roman Catholic lectionary.

In the introduction  to ‘Common Order’, Charles Robertson, Honorary Secretary of the Panel on Worship, confesses, ‘A few adjustments have been made to it, such as the provision of Old Testament Lessons alongside readings from the Apocrypha.’

It’s interesting to note that there is no provision in the ‘Book of Common Order’ for the ‘Feast of Christ the King’. However, it appeared in ‘Common Order’ in 1994.  It had been introduced into the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

It was introduced as an antidote to the barbarity of the First World War, the rise in totalitarianism and secularism.  True peace in our world will only be won by the Church’s unity and its witness to the Kingship of Christ as seen in crowns of thorns and glory.

Whilst both liturgical books make provision for  Springtime and Harvest, neither includes the Season of Creation. It was initiated by Patriarch of Constantinople, Demetrios I, in 1989 and marked on 1 September, the first day of the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Year.

It was adopted by the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland in 2008. In 2016, Pope Francis declared 1 September ‘World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation’. It is now a season stretching from 1 September until 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis. Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are united in their concern for the earth.