Cycle of readings in Eastern Catholicism?

[The_Reginator]

Further to two related threads:

Cycle of scripture readings for EF Masses &
Tantum Ergo: English translation the 2 words’Tantum Ergo’

I was wondering what the practice(s) is/are in the Eastern Church.
Do you cycle through the readings or do you use the same readings for the Mass year to year?

 

[Formosus]

There isn’t a cycling lectionary like the modern Latin rite. Rather it is the same readings each year corresponding to their proper feasts.

 

[Allyson]

Yes, it is the same every year, but there are days on which a selection of readings are provided, or should a feast fall on the day for which there are other readings, unless there is precedence for one over the other, there is a choice.

On an interesting side note that I just learned. The Annunciation always trumps all other liturgical celebrations in March - including Good Friday! You start with how you start the Annunciation liturgy, and do a full Divine Liturgy, not the pre-sanctified, and then the Priest changes vestments and the usual Good Friday procession is done. I think I have the details generally right there… I just learned this from my Ruthenian priest. This will be happening sometime in the next four years. The day of conception meets the day of the death on March 25 which is what some research - if you know what research please PM me - has shown to be the actual date of Christ’s death.

In this case, the reading for the Annunciation are used - I assume.

 

[The_Reginator]

On an interesting side note that I just learned. The Annunciation always trumps all other liturgical celebrations in March - including Good Friday! .

Indeed!!

 

[Diak]

Formosus is correct, the readings are fixed based on liturgical season, rank of feast, etc. The Old Testament is used generally with more frequency liturgically than in the Latin Rite; every Vespers of doxology, polyeleos or vigil rank has three OT readings appointed, and during Great Lent much of Isaiah, Genesis and Proverbs are read in addition to Ezekial, Job, and Exodus during Holy Week (and several other prophets as well)…

The Annunciation always trumps all other liturgical celebrations in March - including Good Friday!

It actually doesn’t “trump” but its celebration is combined with that of Good Friday, Holy Saturday or Pascha when those intersections occur. It is never transferred, and this can create some complicated mixtures of services from Holy Thursday onwards.

 

[Allyson]

It actually doesn’t “trump” but its celebration is combined with that of Good Friday, Holy Saturday or Pascha when those intersections occur. It is never transferred, and this can create some complicated mixtures of services from Holy Thursday onwards.

As in the example I gave I was using trump in a very loose sense; scare quotes definitely would have been better. I did mean that no other feast can displace the Assumption as being celebrated on March 25th, no matter what else is happening.

 

[wynd]

As in the example I gave I was using trump in a very loose sense; scare quotes definitely would have been better. I did mean that no other feast can displace the Assumption as being celebrated on March 25th, no matter what else is happening.

You might be interested in: orthodoxwiki.org/Kyriopascha

 

[Allyson]

You might be interested in: orthodoxwiki.org/Kyriopascha

Thanks Wynd, that is a neat article. Those juxtapositions with history are very interesting!