Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)
Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Principal Feasts must be celebrated, it is not obligatory to observe Lesser Festivals. They are always attached to a calendar date, and are not observed if they fall on a Sunday, in Holy Week, or in Easter Week. In Common Worship each Lesser Festival is provided with a collect and an indication of liturgical colour.
Examples of Lesser Festivals in the Church of England
- 2 January: Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith, 379 and 389
- 23 February: Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c 155
- 17 March: Patrick, Bishop, Missionary, Patron of Ireland, c 460
- 10 April: William Law, Priest, Spiritual Writer, 1761
- 20 May: Alcuin of York, Deacon, Abbot of Tours, 804
- 16 June: Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253
- 11 July: Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Father of Western Monasticism, c 550
- 20 August: Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, Teacher of the Faith, 1153
- 13 September: John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher of the Faith, 407
- 4 October: Francis of Assisi, Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor, 1226
- 20 November: Edmund, King of the East Angles, Martyr, 870
- 13 December: Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304