Lectionary of the Western Rite

[xOrthodox4Christx]

Do Western Rite Churches use the Byzantine lectionary, or do they use an older Latin lectionary? I'm curious if Western Rite Churches hear the same readings as we do.

 

[JTLoganville]

Do Western Rite Churches use the Byzantine lectionary, or do they use an older Latin lectionary? I'm curious if Western Rite Churches hear the same readings as we do.

They use the Lectionary of the Tridentine Mass; closely paralleled by the 1958 Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal.

 

[Alpha60]

Do Western Rite Churches use the Byzantine lectionary, or do they use an older Latin lectionary? I'm curious if Western Rite Churches hear the same readings as we do.

They use the Lectionary of the Tridentine Mass; closely paralleled by the 1958 Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal.

I am surprised you have a copy of that particular Lutheran hymnal.  But I would think its lectionary is no closer to the Roman lectionary than that of the more popular Lutheran Hymnal of 1941, or the 1928 Anglican Book of Common Prayer, for that matter.

 

[MalpanaGiwargis]

This is the lectionary of the "1962" Roman Missal; before Vatican II, the readings for Sundays were basically unchanged since the first millennium. Holy Name and Holy Family are much later additions to the calendar, so they are unlikely to be part of WRO usage. If a particular group descends from the Sarum Rite or the Book of Common Prayer, they reckon the Sundays "after Trinity" instead of "after Pentecost" due to a medieval Octave of the Trinity that pushed the Sundays forward a week, but with the exception of the lesson of the last Sunday before Advent (Sarum/BCP reads John 6:5-14, Roman Rite reads Matt 24:15-35), they read the same lessons in the year.

 

[xOrthodox4Christx]

This is the lectionary of the "1962" Roman Missal; before Vatican II, the readings for Sundays were basically unchanged since the first millennium. Holy Name and Holy Family are much later additions to the calendar, so they are unlikely to be part of WRO usage. If a particular group descends from the Sarum Rite or the Book of Common Prayer, they reckon the Sundays "after Trinity" instead of "after Pentecost" due to a medieval Octave of the Trinity that pushed the Sundays forward a week, but with the exception of the lesson of the last Sunday before Advent (Sarum/BCP reads John 6:5-14, Roman Rite reads Matt 24:15-35), they read the same lessons in the year.

Fair enough. Now how many readings do they share with the Byzantine Rite?

 

[MalpanaGiwargis]

This is the lectionary of the "1962" Roman Missal; before Vatican II, the readings for Sundays were basically unchanged since the first millennium. Holy Name and Holy Family are much later additions to the calendar, so they are unlikely to be part of WRO usage. If a particular group descends from the Sarum Rite or the Book of Common Prayer, they reckon the Sundays "after Trinity" instead of "after Pentecost" due to a medieval Octave of the Trinity that pushed the Sundays forward a week, but with the exception of the lesson of the last Sunday before Advent (Sarum/BCP reads John 6:5-14, Roman Rite reads Matt 24:15-35), they read the same lessons in the year.

Fair enough. Now how many readings do they share with the Byzantine Rite?

That would take some work to compare – the readings are broken up pretty differently. Comparing the Sundays after Pentecost, the Byzantine lectionary is more "continuous" – solidly Matthew and then Luke, whereas the Roman jumps between all three Synoptics throughout the period between Pentecost and Advent. Likewise, the Byzantine lectionary reads the Epistles in a more continuous fashion, whereas the Roman jumps around quite a bit. The "sacred seasons" of Lent and Pascha are fairly different from each other.

The biggest difference is that the traditional Roman system does not have readings assigned to weekdays outside of Lent, the Ember Days, and penitential Vigils. On saints days falling during the week, the readings are from the feast; otherwise, the Sunday readings are repeated.

 

[Reader KevinAndrew]

Do Western Rite Churches use the Byzantine lectionary, or do they use an older Latin lectionary? I'm curious if Western Rite Churches hear the same readings as we do.

No, in the AWRV we do not have the same lectionary as the Byzantine Rite. The readings for the Masses according to the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great follow the same readings as the pre-1955 Tridentine Masses. We do not use the revisions that were done to the pre-VII Masses that were done in 1961. In 1961, they got rid of many of the traditional octave seasons and got rid of many of the vigils for the Apostles' feast days, to name some examples.

The Byzantine calendar and the traditional Western liturgical calendars are set up differently. For example, during the season of Pentecost, which is from Pentecost through the last week of November, if there is no feast day during the week (a feria) the Mass readings and all the propers (introit, collect, secret, etc) are from the previous Sunday's Mass. There are no daily readings assigned like they are for daily liturgies in the Eastern rite. An exception is Lent, when the Western Rite has daily Masses and assigned readings and propers for each Mass (unless there is a feast day that outranks it).

So this is not a pre- or post-schism thing. The Byzantine rite and the Western rite have their calendars set up differently and also their lectionaries. I would imagine this would hold true if comparing Armenian rite or Coptic/Ethiopian rites with the Byzantine rite. Each has its own customs. I hope this helps.