After a recent comment on this site, I was encouraged to look at the Calendar of feast days in A New Zealand Prayer Book He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa (ANZPBHKMA) to see which celebrations Anglicans here shared with Roman Catholics. ANZPBHKMA started with a principal that there be only one celebration on a day and so moved some traditional feast days around – this means sometimes Roman Catholics and Anglicans here celebrate a feast day a day or more apart. Particularly as that principal has been abandoned as the Prayer Book has been revised, I think those originally moved dates are worthy of revisiting. Having said that, some double-celebrations seem bizarre: we know the day Brother Roger of Taize was killed, why do we celebrate the Holy Women of the Old Testament on the same day – can’t they be celebrated on a day with no other person being remembered?
Do point out if I have made any mistakes. Some observations are made at the end.
January
| 2 | Seraphim of Sarov, Mystic, Russia, 1833 | |
| 5 | The Eve of the Epiphany | |
| 6 | The Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ or The Revelation of Christ to the Gentiles | |
| 13 | Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher of the Faith, c.367 | |
| 17 | Antony of Egypt, Abbot, 356 | |
| 21 | Agnes, Child-Martyr at Rome, c.304 | |
| 22 | Vincent, Spanish Deacon and Martyr, Saragossa, c.304 | |
| 25 | The Conversion of St Paul | |
| 26 | Timothy and Titus, Companions of St Paul | |
| 27 | John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher of the Faith, 407 | |
| 28 | Thomas Aquinas, Teacher of the Faith, 1274 |
The Feast of The Baptism of the Lord is observed on The First Sunday after the Epiphany
February
| 1 | Brigid of Ireland, Abbess, c.525 | |
| 2 | The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple | |
| 3 | Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 | |
| 5 | The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 | |
| 14 | Cyril, 869, and Methodius, 885, Missionaries to the Slavs | |
| 22 | The Confession of St Peter | |
| 23 | Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.156 | |
| 24 | St Matthias the Apostle |
March
| 1 | David, Bishop, Patron Saint of Wales, c.601 | |
| 7 | Perpetua and her Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203 | |
| 12 | Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher of the Faith, 604 | |
| 17 | Patrick, Bishop, Patron Saint of Ireland, 461 | |
| 18 | Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith, 386 | |
| 19 | Joseph of Nazareth | |
| 20 | Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687 | |
| 24 | Gabriel, Archangel | |
| 25 | The Annunciation of our Saviour to the Blessed Virgin Mary |
April
| 3 | Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253 | |
| 21 | Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher of the Faith, 1109 | |
| 23 | George, Martyr, Patron Saint of England, c.304 | |
| 26 | St Mark the Evangelist | |
| 29 | Catherine of Siena, Teacher of the Faith, 1380 |
May
| 1 | St Philip and St James, Apostles | |
| 2 | Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, 373 | |
| 8 | Dame Julian of Norwich, Mystic, 1417 | |
| 9 | Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher of the Faith, 389 | |
| 19 | Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury and Reformer, 988 | |
| 25 | The Venerable Bede of Jarrow, Teacher of the Faith, 735 | |
| 26 | Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, Missionary, 605 | |
| 31 | The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (or 2 July) |
June
| 1 | Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165 | |
| 5 | Boniface, Bishop of Mainz, Missionary, Martyr, 754 | |
| 9 | Columba of Iona, Abbot, Missionary, 597 | |
| 11 | St Barnabas the Apostle | |
| 13 | Antony of Padua, Missionary, Preacher, Teacher of the Faith, 1231 | |
| 14 | Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Teacher of the Faith, 379 | |
| 22 | Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.304 | |
| 24 | St John the Baptist | |
| 28 | Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher of the Faith, c.200 | |
| 29 | St Peter and St Paul, Apostles, Martyrs |
July
| 6 | Thomas More, Scholar, 1535 | |
| 11 | Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, c.550 | |
| 13 | Silas, Companion of St Paul | |
| 15 | Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, c.862, Translated 971 | |
| 22 | St Mary Magdalene | |
| 25 | St James and St John, Apostles Christopher, Martyr, c.250 | |
| 26 | Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary | |
| 28 | Mary and Martha of Bethany | |
| 31 | Joseph of Arimathea |
August
| 2 | Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672 | |
| 4 | John Baptist Vianney, Curé d’Ars, Priest, 1859 | |
| 5 | Oswald, King of Northumbria, Martyr, 642 | |
| 6 | The Transfiguration of the Beloved Son | |
| 8 | Dominic, Priest, 1221 Mary MacKillop, Teacher, 1909 | |
| 10 | Laurence, Deacon and Martyr at Rome, 258 | |
| 11 | Clare of Assisi, Abbess, 1253 | |
| 14 | Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Martyr, Auschwitz, 1941 | |
| 15 | St Mary, the Mother of Jesus | |
| 20 | Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, Poet, 1153 | |
| 23 | Rose of Lima, Mystic, 1617 | |
| 24 | St Bartholomew (Nathanael) the Apostle | |
| 27 | Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387 | |
| 28 | Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Teacher of the Faith, 430 | |
| 29 | The Beheading of St John the Baptist | |
| 31 | Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 651 |
September
| 5 | Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Missionary of Charity, 1997 | |
| 8 | The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord | |
| 13 | Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, Martyr, 258 | |
| 14 | Holy Cross Day | |
| 16 | Ninian, Bishop in Galloway, Missionary, c.432 | |
| 17 | Hildegarde of Bingen, Mystic, Religious, 1179 | |
| 19 | Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690 | |
| 21 | St Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist | |
| 29 | St Michael and All Angels | |
| 30 | Jerome, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, Translator of the Scriptures, 420 |
October
| 1 | Suzanne Aubert, Religious, Social Reformer, 1926 [Update: Mother Aubert is not yet acknowledged on the RC Calendar] | |
| 2 | The Holy Guardian Angels | |
| 4 | Francis of Assisi, Friar, 1226 | |
| 8 | Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden, Mystic, Religious, Patron Saint of Sweden, 1373 | |
| 15 | Teresa of Avila, Teacher of the Faith, 1582 | |
| 17 | Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Martyr, c.107 | |
| 18 | St Luke the Evangelist | |
| 23 | James of Jerusalem, Brother of the Lord, Martyr, c.62 | |
| 24 | Raphael, Archangel | |
| 28 | St Simon and St Jude, Apostles |
November
| 1 | All Saints’ Day | |
| 2 | All Souls’ Day | |
| 3 | Martin of Porres, Monk, Peru, 1639 | |
| 7 | Willibrord, Archbishop of Utrecht, Missionary, 739 | |
| 10 | Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, Teacher of the Faith, 461 | |
| 11 | Martin, Bishop of Tours, 397 | |
| 16 | Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1093 | |
| 17 | Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680 | |
| 18 | Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200 | |
| 19 | Elizabeth of Hungary, Princess, 1231 | |
| 20 | Mechtild of Magdeburg, Mystic, Prophet, 1280 | |
| 22 | Cecilia, Martyr at Rome, c.230 | |
| 23 | Clement, Bishop of Rome, Martyr, c.100 | |
| 30 | St Andrew, Apostle, Martyr |
December
| 3 | Francis Xavier, Missionary, 1552 | |
| 6 | Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c.342 | |
| 7 | Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher of the Faith, 397 | |
| 13 | Lucy, Martyr, Syracuse, c.304 | |
| 21 | St Thomas, Apostle, Martyr (or 3 July) | |
| 24 | The Eve and Vigil of Christmas | |
| 25 | The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ – Christmas Day | |
| 26 | St Stephen, the first Christian Martyr (or 3 August) | |
| 27 | St John the Evangelist (or 6 May) | |
| 28 | The Holy Innocents (or 16 February) | |
| 29 | Thomas of Canterbury, Bishop, Martyr, 1170 |
Depending on how one counts, 123 of ANZPBHKMA’s 206 celebrations are shared with Roman Catholics here. That’s 60%. That is hugely positive ecumenically. What I also noticed about the other 40% is that ANZPBHKMA not only celebrates links with the wider church catholic, but it is more solidly, incarnationally rooted in the soil in the South Pacific – we celebrate names of people in the Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia who encourage our Christian faith in this place. There is also some recognition of other denominations. I also think it is worth reflecting how the ANZPBHKMA is open to celebrating non-Anglicans, even those who explicitly spoke and worked against Anglicanism.
