Slight Course Correction

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In my morning prayers, I try to read the lectionary for the day. I am experimenting with supplementing my use of the the OCA website with Dynamis, a daily devotional produced by St. George Orthodox Cathedral (Antiochian) in Wichita, Kansas. In addition to having readings from the lectionary, Dynamis has devotional reflections on the readings.

Apparently, when the database on the OCA site was created, the lectionary was tied to the calendar day —the “fixed date” — which has caused the readings to be incorrect for subsequent years. I am quite disappointed in the lack of foresight in this design choice.

The lectionary is the cycle of Scripture readings for each day. Until now, I have been using the lectionary as posted on the OCA website (see my earlier post discussing a bookmarklet for getting these pages for the current date). Its accuracy has a been a nagging question in my mind, and today I finally determined that the OCA site is off by two weeks. This year, at least.

This is because the lectionary is based on Pentecost, which is in turn based on Pascha (Orthodox Easter). In other words, the readings for any given day will be different each year, based on how many weeks have passed since Pentecost. For example, today is the 32^nd Tuesday after Pentecost. However, last year January 28 was a Monday, and it was not the 32^nd after Pentecost.

In contrast, saints are commemorated on fixed dates every year. Readings for the saints are usually taken from a list of general readings for the various ranks of saints: bishops, priests, monks, confessors, martyrs, and so on. Occasionally, important commemorations will have specific readings.

I’m hoping that Dynamis will keep me on track with the correct readings from the lectionary, while helping me to understand the Scriptures with an Orthodox mind.

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