Prior to the revision of the Anglican Church of Canada's (ACC) Book of Common Prayer (BCP) in 1962, the national church followed the liturgical calendar of the 1918 Canadian Book of Common Prayer. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the situation in Canada resembled that which pertained in much of the Anglican Communion: There was uncertainty as to whether post-Reformation figures (with the exception of the martyred Charles I) could or should be commemorated. In the words of the calendar's introduction, "New names have been added from the ancient calendars, and also from the history of the Anglican Communion, without thereby enrolling or commending such persons as saints of the Church." The 1962 revision added twenty-six post-Reformation individuals, as well as commemorations of the first General Synod and of "The Founders, Benefactors, and Missionaries of the Church in Canada." Of the calendar days, twenty-eight were highlighted as "red-letter days" — that is, days of required observation.
With the publication of the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) in 1985, a revised and expanded calendar was introduced. This was supplemented, in 1994, with the publication of For All The Saints; a book of propers, short biographies and descriptions of the commemorations, and readings by or about the individuals or events commemorated (there were also some very minor changes to the 1985 calendar). As the BAS has largely supplanted the BCP for most Canadian Anglicans, so too has its calendar. Nonetheless, the BCP calendar is still in use and individuals and parishes can legitimately choose to observe it.
The chief difference between the 1962 and 1985 calendars is the elimination of observations for several European figures, in order to include individuals of interest to the Canadian Church, and to the worldwide Anglican Communion. Similar to the Calendar of saints of the Church of England, the Patriarchs of Old are omitted in both the Book of Common Prayer and the newer Book of Alternative Services, for the Anglican Church of Canada.
In the ACC, the calendar is officially referred to as the Canadian Calendar of Holy Persons.
Shrine of Saint Alban, first British martyr, commemorated on June 22
Book of Alternative Services Calendar
Days of observance
The revised calendar follows the Anglican custom of delineating between days of required observance ("red-letter days") and days of optional observance ("black letter days"). The way the calendar breaks these down is as follows:[1]
In addition, some parishes observe other days commemorated elsewhere in the Christian tradition, such as Corpus Christi, Lammas-day, etc. Some individual parishes have their own calendars, which include the names of individuals significant to the parish or its identity, with which they supplement the national calendar.
The calendar
The following is the calendar of the Anglican Church of Canada according to the Book of Alternative Services. On those days in which there are two commemorations, a pattern of alternating the observance by year is recommended.
January
Charles, King and Martyr, the only saint canonized by the Anglican Church, commemorated January 30
1PF: Principal Feast; HD: Holy Day; Mem: Memorial; Com: Commemoration 2Added to the calendar by resolution of the Council of General Synod, May, 2005.
Book of Common Prayer Calendar
The calendar
The calendar of the Prayer Book stipulates: "When two lesser commemorations fall on the same day and it is desired to remember both, it is recommended that one of them be transferred to the nearest day before or after for which no special provision has been made."[2]
January
1 The Octave Day of Christmas and Circumcision of our Lord, being New Year's Day.
6 The Epiphany of our Lord with commemoration of his Baptism in the Octave.
^Book of Alternative Services. Anglican Book Centre. 1985. pp. 14–33. ISBN 0-919891-27-6.
^The Book of Common Prayer and the Administration of the Sacraments and the and other rites and ceremonies of the church according to the use of the Anglican Church of Canada together with the psalter as it is appointed to be said or sung in churches and the form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. Anglican Book Centre. 1997. pp. ix–xii.
Anglican Church of Canada, Book of Common Prayer, Toronto, 1962.
Anglican Church of Canada, Book of Alternative Services, Toronto, 1985.
Anglican Church of Canada, For All the Saints: Prayers and Readings for Saints' Days, Toronto, 1994.
