Calendar of saints (Anglican Church of Canada)

Liturgical year of the Anglican Church of Canada
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.

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:

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.

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11The Naming of Jesus (known in BCP as "The Circumcision of our Lord")n/aHoly day2St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith379, 389Memorial6The Epiphany of the Lordn/aPrincipal feast10William Laud, Abp of Canterbury1645Commemoration11 (or Dec 28)The Holy Innocentsn/aHoly day12Marguerite Bourgeoys, Educator†1700Commemoration12John Horden, Bishop, Missionary1893Commemoration13St. Hilary of Poitiers, Teacher of the Faith367Memorial15Richard Meux Benson, Religious1915Commemoration17St. Antony of Egypt, Abbot356Memorial18The Confession of St. Peter the Apostlen/aHoly day21St. Agnes of Rome, Martyr304Commemoration22Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon304Commemoration24Francis de Sales, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith†1622Commemoration25The Conversion of St. Pauln/aHoly day26St. Timothy and St. Titus, Missionariesn/aMemorial27St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith407Memorial28St. Thomas Aquinas, Teacher of the Faith1274Memorial30Charles Stuart, King of England and Scotland, Martyr1649Commemoration

DayCommemorationYear of deathType12The Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas)n/aHD3St. Anskar, Missionary865Com5Martyrs of Japan1597Mem9Hannah Grier Coome, Religious1921Com14Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries869, 885Mem15Thomas Bray, Priest, Missionary1730Mem23St. Polycarp of Smyrna, Bishop, Martyr156Mem24Philip Lindel Tsen, Bishop1954Com24Paul Shinji Sasaki, Bishop1946Com26Florence Li Tim Oi, Priest21992Mem27George Herbert, Priest, Poet1633Com

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11St. David of Wales, Abbot Bishopc. 544Mem2St. Chad of Mercia, Bishop, Missionary672Com3John and Charles Wesley, Priests, Evangelists1791, 1788Com7St. Perpetua of Carthage and Her Companions, Martyrs202Mem8Edward King, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith1910Com9St. Gregory of Nyssa, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith395Mem10Robert Machray, Archbishop1904Com17St. Patrick, Missionary, Bishop461Mem18St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith386Com19St. Josephn/aHD20St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Bishop, Missionary687Com21Thomas Cranmer, Abp of Canterbury, Martyr1556Com22Thomas Ken, Bishop1711Com23Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop332Com25The Annunciation of the Lord to the Blessed Virgin Maryn/aHD27Charles Henry Brent, Bishop1929Com29John Keble, Priest1866Com31John Donne, Priest, Poet1631Com

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest1872Com2Henry Budd, Priest1875Com3St. Richard of Chichester, Bishop1253Com4Reginald Heber, Bishop1826Com5Emily Ayckbowm, Religious21900Mem9William Law, Priest1761Com11George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop, Missionary1878Com16Mollie Brant, Matron1796Com21St. Anselm of Canterbury, Abp of Canterbury, Teacher of the Faith1109Mem23St. George4th CenturyCom24Martyrs of the Twentieth Centuryn/aMem25St. Mark the Evangelistn/aHD29St. Catherine of Siena, Religious1380Mem30Marie of the Incarnation, Religious, Educator1672Com

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11Philip and James, Apostlesn/aHD6 (or Dec 27)John the Evangelistn/aHD8Julian of Norwich, Spiritual Teacherc. 1417Com12Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer1910Com14St. Matthias the Apostlen/aHD19St. Dunstan of Canterbury, Abp of Canterbury988Com25Bede, Priest, Religious, Scholar, Teacher of the Faith735Com26St. Augustine of Canterbury, Abp of Canterbury605Mem27John Charles Roper, Bishop1940Com30Roberta Elizabeth Tilton, Founder of the Anglican Church Women1925Com31Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabethn/aHD

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11St. Justin, Martyr, Teacher of the Faithc. 167Mem2Martyrs of Lyon177Com3Martyrs of Uganda and Janani Luwum, Archbishop, Martyr1886, 1977Mem4St. John XXIII, Bishop, Reformer1963Com5St. Boniface, Archbishop, Martyr754Mem6William Grant Broughton, Bishop1853Com9St. Columba, Abbot, Missionary597Mem11St. Barnabas the Apostlen/aHD16Joseph Butler, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith1752Com18Bernard Mizeki, Catechist, Martyr1896Mem22St. Alban, Martyrc. 209Mem24Nativity of St. John the Baptistn/aHD28St. Irenaeus, Bishop, Teacher of the Faithc. 202Mem29St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostlesn/aHD

DayCommemorationYear of deathType13St. Thomas the Apostlen/aHD6Thomas More1535Com11St. Benedict of Nursia, Abbot547Mem13St. Henry of Finland, Bishop, Missionary1156Com22St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostlesn/aHD25James the Apostlen/aHD26St. Anne, Mother of the BVMn/aCom29William Wilberforce, Social Reformer1833Com

DayCommemorationYear of deathType13 (or Dec 26)St. Stephen, Deacon, Martyrn/aHD6The Transfiguration of the Lordn/aHD7John Mason Neale, Priest1866Com8St. Dominic, Priest, Friar1221Mem10St. Laurence, Deacon, Martyr258Mem11St. Clare of Assisi, Abbess1253Mem12The Consecration of Charles Inglis (1787)n/aCom13Jeremy Taylor, Bishop, Spiritual Teacher1667Mem14Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maximilian Kolbe, Martyrs1945, 1941Com15St. Mary the Virginn/aHD16Holy Women of the Old Testamentn/aMem17John Stuart, Priest, Missionary1811Com20St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot1153Mem24St. Bartholemew the Apostlen/aHD27St. Monnica, Matron387Com28St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith430Mem29The Beheading of John the Baptistn/aHD30Robert McDonald, Priest, Missionary1913Com31St. Aidan, Bishop, Missionary651Com

DayCommemorationYear of deathType12Martyrs of New Guinea1942Mem3St. Gregory the Great, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith604Mem4First Anglican Eucharist in Canada (1578)n/aCom8The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Maryn/aMem10Edmund James Peck, Priest, Missionary1924Mem13St. Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop, Martyr258Mem14Holy Cross Dayn/aHD16St. Ninian, Bishopc. 430Mem18Founders, Benefactors, and Missionariesof the Anglican Church of Canadan/aMem19Theodore of Tarsus, Abp of Canterbury690Com20John Coleridge Patteson (Bishop)and His Companions, Martyrs1871Com21St. Matthew the Evangelistn/aHD25St. Sergius of Zagorsk, Abbot, Spiritual Teacher1392Com26Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop1626Com29St. Michael and All Angelsn/aHD30St Jerome, Teacher of the Faith420Mem

DayCommemorationYear of deathType14St. Francis of Assisi, Friar, Spiritual Teacher1226Mem10St. Paulinus of York, Bishop, Missionary644Com13St. Edward the Confessor, King1066Com15St. Teresa of Avila, Religious, Spiritual Teacher, Reformer1582Com15St. John of the Cross, Priest, Spiritual Teacher1591Com17St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, Martyrc. 115Mem18St. Luke the Evangelistn/aHD19Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Joguesand Their Companions, Missionaries and Martyrs1642–1649Mem23James of Jerusalemc. 62Mem26Alfred the Great, King899Com28St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostlesn/aHD29James Hannington (Bishop) and His Companions, Martyrs1885Com30John Wyclyf, Priest, Reformer1384Com30Jan Hus, Priest, Reformer1415Com31Saints of the Reformation Eran/aCom

DayCommemorationYear of deathType11All Saints Dayn/aPF2All Souls Dayn/aMem3Richard Hooker, Priest, Teacher of the Faith1600Com4Saints of the Old Testamentn/aMem7St. Willibrord, Religious, Archbishop739Com10Leo the Great, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith461Mem11St. Martin of Tours, Abbot, Bishop397Mem12Charles Simeon, Priest1836Com14The Consecration of Samuel Seabury (1784)n/aCom16St. Margaret of Scotland, Queen, Reformer1093Com17St. Hugh of Lincoln, Bishop1200Com18St. Hilda of Whitby, Abbess680Com19St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Reformer1231Com20St. Edmund the Martyr, King, Martyr870Com23St. Clement of Rome, Bishopc. 100Com30St. Andrew the Apostlen/aHD

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."

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. 10 William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr 1645. 12 Benedict Biscop, Abbot and Scholar, 689. John Horden, Missionary, first Anglican Bishop of Moosonee, 1893. 13 The Octave Day of the Epiphany. Hilary, Doctor, Bishop of Poitiers, France, 368. 19 Henry, Missionary, Bishop in Finland, 1150. 21 (Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, Rome, c. 304.) 22 Vincent, Deacon and Martyr, Spain, c. 304. 24 St Timothy and St Titus, Apostolic men. 25 The Conversion of St Paul. 26 Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Apostolic man, Martyr 155 or 156. 27 John Chrysostom, Doctor, Bishop of Constantinople, 407. 30 Charles Stuart, King, beheaded 1649.

2 The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 3 Anskar, Missionary, first Bishop in Sweden, 864. 11 Cædmon, first recorded Christian Poet in England, c. 680. 14 (Valentine, Bishop and Martyr.) 23 Lindel Tsen, Bishop in China, consecrated 1929; and Paul Sasaki, Bishop in Japan, consecrated 1935. 24 St Matthias the Apostle. 27 George Herbert, Pastor and Poet, 1633.

1 St David of Wales, Archbishop of Menevia, c. 544. 2 Chad, Missionary and first Bishop of Lichfield, 672. John Wesley, Preacher, 1791; Charles Wesley, Poet, 1788. 6 Perpetua and her companions, Martyrs, Africa, 203. 7 Thomas Aquinas, Doctor and Poet, 1274. 12 Gregory the Great, Doctor, Bishop of Rome, 604. 17 St Patrick of Ireland, Missionary and Bishop, 461. 19 St Joseph of Nazareth, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Poet, 1711. 20 Cuthbert, Missionary, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 687. 21 Benedict, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Italy, c. 540. Thomas Cranmer, Translator and Reviser of the Liturgy, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr 1556. 25 The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 29 John Keble of Oxford, Scholar and Poet, 1866.

1 St Philip and St James, Apostles. St James the Brother of the Lord, Martyr 62. 2 Athanasius, Doctor, Bishop of Alexandria, 373. 4 Monnica, the mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387. 9 Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor, Bishop of Constantinople, 389. 11 Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 885. 12 Florence Nightingale, Nurse, 1910. 19 Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988. 20 The Council of Nicaea, 325. 25 Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, Scholar and Poet, 709. 26 Augustine, Missionary, first Archbishop of Canterbury 597–605. 27 Bede, Presbyter, Doctor and Historian, 735. 30 Joan of Arc, 1431.

1 Justin Martyr, Doctor, c. 165. 5 Boniface, Missionary, Bishop of Mainz, Germany, Martyr 754. 9 Columba, Abbot of Iona: Ireland and Scotland, 597. 11 St Barnabas the Apostle. 14 Basil the Great, Doctor, Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia, 379. 22 Alban, first recorded Martyr in Britain, c. 304. 24 The Nativity of St John the Baptist. 28 Irenaeus, Doctor, Bishop of Lyon, France, c. 200. 29 St Peter and St Paul the Apostles, Martyrs c. 64.

1 The Octave Day of St John the Baptist. Confederation of Canada, 1867: Dominion Day. 2 The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth. 6 The Octave Day of St Peter and St Paul. Thomas More, Chancellor of England, Martyr 1535. 9 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1228. 15 Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, c. 862. 20 (Margaret, Virgin and Martyr, Antioch of Pisidia.) 22 St Mary Magdalene. 25 St James the Apostle, Martyr 44. 26 (St Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.) 29 Olaf, King of Norway, Martyr 1030. William Wilberforce, Emancipator of the Slaves, 1833.

1 Lammas Day. The Maccabean Martyrs. 5 Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr 641. 6 The Transfiguration of our Lord. 7 The Name of Jesus. 10 Laurence, Archdeacon of Rome, Martyr 258. 12 Charles Inglis, first Anglican Bishop in Canada, consecrated 1787. 13 Hippolytus, Doctor, Bishop in Rome, Martyr 235. Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down, Ireland, 1667. 15 The Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 20 Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, France, Doctor and Poet, 1153. 24 St Bartholomew the Apostle. 28 Augustine, Doctor, Bishop of Hippo, Africa, 430. Robert McDonald, Missionary in the Western Arctic, 1913. 29 The Beheading of St John the Baptist. 31 Aidan, Missionary, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 651.

1 Giles, Abbot, southern France, c. 720. 3 Robert Wolfall, Presbyter. First recorded Anglican Communion Service in Canada, Frobisher Bay, 1578. 8 The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 10 Edmund James Peck, Missionary to the Eskimo, 1924. 13 Cyprian, Doctor, Bishop of Carthage, Martyr 258. First General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, 1893. 14 Holy Cross Day. 16 Ninian, Missionary, first Bishop in Galloway, Scotland, c. 430. 19 Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690. 20 John Coleridge Patteson, Missionary, first Bishop of Melanesia, Martyr 1871. 21 St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist. 25 Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, Translator of the Scriptures, 1626. 29 St Michael and All Angels. 30 Jerome, Doctor, Presbyter in Rome and Bethlehem, Translator of the Scriptures, 420.

1 Remigius, Bishop of Reims, France, c. 530. 4 Francis of Assisi, 1226. 6 William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures into English, Martyr 1536. 9 St. Denis of France, first Bishop of Paris, Martyr 272. Robert Grosseteste, Scholar, Bishop of Lincoln, 1253. 10 Paulinus, Missionary, Archbishop of York, 644. 11 St. Philip of Caesarea, Apostolic man. 13 Edward the Confessor, King, Westminster, 1066. 16 Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Bishops, Martyrs 1555. 17 Etheldreda, or Audrey, Queen, Abbess of Ely, 679. 18 St Luke the Evangelist. 25 (Crispin and Crispinian, Martyrs 285.) 26 Cedd, Missionary, Bishop of the East Saxons, 664. Alfred, King of the West Saxons, 899. 28 St Simon the Zealot and St Jude, the Apostles. St Jude the Brother of the Lord. 29 James Hannington, Missionary and Bishop, Martyr 1885.

4 Clement of Alexandria, Doctor, c. 210. 6 (Nicolas, Bishop of Myra, c. 342.) 8 The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 16 O Sapientia. 17 Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Martyr in Rome c. 115. 21 St Thomas the Apostle. 25 The Nativity of our Lord: Christmas Day. 26 St Stephen the Martyr. 27 St John the Apostle and Evangelist. 28 The Innocents. 29 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1170. 30 John Wycliffe of Oxford, Scholar, Translator of the Scriptures into English, 1384. 31 John West, Missionary, Red River, Canada, 1845.