The Epiphany Season (Epiphanytide)

     This period after the celebration of Christmas/Epiphany is called the Epiphanytide in the Ordinariate and Traditional Latin Mass calendars.
   Many Catholics in territorial dioceses call this time between Christmas/Epiphany “Ordinary Time” but we keep it as its own small liturgical season.
    Here is a page from Wikipedia describing this time in our church
“The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays after Epiphany is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches which immediately follows the Christmas Season. It begins on the Epiphany and ends at various points (such as Candlemas, which will be covered in a future letter) as defined by those denominations. The typical liturgical color or the day of Epiphany is white, and the typical color for Epiphany season is green.
   Popular Epiphany customs include chalking the door (20+C+M+B+25 AD) and using special Epiphany Water to bless one’s home. Sometimes a priest is asked to specially bless one’s home during this time. 
 “Extraordinary Form”                                                                                    
    In Traditionalist Catholic communities that use the General Roman Calendar of 1960 as part of the Extraordinary Form (Latin Mass) authorized in Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum. Epiphany is celebrated with a de facto Octave (8 day celebration) from January 6 to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 13, (although the octave was nominally removed in the calendar reforms of 1955) The Sundays which follow are designated “Sundays after Epiphany” or “Time after Epiphany” until the start of “Pre Lent.”
“Ordinariate Use”                                                                    
   In 2015, the Catholic Church authorized a Use of the Roman Rite for the three Personal Ordinariates. The “Ordinariate Use” explicitly includes a period called Epiphanytide, which runs from the Monday after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord until the 1st of the Pre Lent “Gesima Sundays”, (Septuagesima), which will be covered in a later letter. The Sundays are labelled (number) Sunday after Epiphany.
   Spiritual reading is often done during this time, as it is less hectic than the previous “Christmas Rush” and the upcoming “Lent Exercises” which many people undertake.
    Why not use these weeks of “Epiphanytide” to refresh your soul by reading more (and watching TV or the computer less), connecting with friends, helping with church outreach or volunteer projects and just refresh your soul by attending daily mass or Friday afternoon Adoration.
Faithfully, Your Friend and Pastor,
The Rev. Christopher C. Stainbrook
The Rev. Christopher C. Stainbrook KHS