The fixed-date calendar used on Confident.Faith. Each observance keeps its civil date every year; see How the Church Year Is Calculated for what happens when one falls on a Sunday or in Holy Week. The church-year pages list each year’s observances day by day.
Ranks
- Feast — the highest-ranked fixed days, such as the Nativity of Our Lord, the Annunciation, and St. Michael and All Angels.
- Festival — days of our Lord, the apostles and evangelists, and other principal saints, which have their own readings.
- Commemoration — faithful men and women of the Old and New Testaments and of the Church’s history, remembered in the Daily Devotions.
Conventions on This Site
- November 1 is All Souls’ Day and November 2 is All Saints’ Day (All Saints’ Sunday when November 2 is a Sunday). The Lutheran Lectionary keeps All Saints’ Sunday on the first Sunday in November.
- October 31 is Reformation Day; when it is not a Sunday, the Lutheran Lectionary keeps Reformation Sunday on the last Sunday in October.
- December 31 is the Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus.
December
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| December 4 | John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymnwriter | Commemoration |
| December 6 | Nicholas of Myra, Pastor | Commemoration |
| December 7 | Ambrose of Milan, Pastor and Hymnwriter | Commemoration |
| December 13 | Lucia, Martyr | Commemoration |
| December 17 | Daniel the Prophet and the Three Young Men | Commemoration |
| December 19 | Adam and Eve | Commemoration |
| December 20 | Katharina Luther, née von Bora | Commemoration |
| December 21 | St. Thomas, Apostle | Festival |
| December 25 | Nativity of Our Lord | Feast |
| December 26 | St. Stephen, Martyr | Festival |
| December 27 | St. John, Apostle and Evangelist | Festival |
| December 28 | Holy Innocents, Martyrs | Festival |
| December 29 | David | Commemoration |
| December 31 | Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus | Feast |
January
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Circumcision and Name of Jesus | Festival |
| January 2 | J. K. Wilhelm Löhe, Pastor | Commemoration |
| January 6 | Epiphany of Our Lord | Festival |
| January 10 | Basil the Great of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa, Pastors and Confessors | Commemoration |
| January 18 | Confession of St. Peter | Festival |
| January 20 | Sarah | Commemoration |
| January 24 | St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor | Festival |
| January 25 | Conversion of St. Paul | Festival |
| January 26 | St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor | Festival |
| January 27 | John Chrysostom, Preacher | Commemoration |
February
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| February 2 | Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord | Feast |
| February 5 | Jacob, Patriarch of OT Israel | Commemoration |
| February 10 | Silas, Fellow Worker of St. Peter and St. Paul | Commemoration |
| February 13 | Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos | Commemoration |
| February 14 | Valentine, Martyr | Commemoration |
| February 15 | Philemon and Onesimus | Commemoration |
| February 16 | Birth of Philipp Melanchthon, Confessor | Commemoration |
| February 18 | Martin Luther, Doctor and Confessor | Commemoration |
| February 23 | Polycarp of Smyrna, Pastor and Martyr | Commemoration |
| February 24 | St. Matthias, Apostle | Festival |
March
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| March 7 | Perpetua and Felicitas, Martyrs | Commemoration |
| March 17 | St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland | Commemoration |
| March 19 | St. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus | Festival |
| March 24 | St. Simon of Trent, Martyr | Commemoration |
| March 25 | Annunciation of Our Lord | Feast |
| March 31 | Joseph, Patriarch | Commemoration |
April
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| April 6 | Lucas Cranach and Albrecht Dürer, Artists | Commemoration |
| April 20 | Johannes Bugenhagen, Pastor | Commemoration |
| April 21 | Anselm of Canterbury, Theologian | Commemoration |
| April 24 | Johann Walter, Kantor | Commemoration |
| April 25 | St. Mark, Evangelist | Festival |
May
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| May 1 | St. Philip and St. James, Apostles | Festival |
| May 2 | Athanasius of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor | Commemoration |
| May 4 | Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary | Commemoration |
| May 5 | Friedrich the Wise, Christian Ruler | Commemoration |
| May 7 | C. F. W. Walther, Theologian | Commemoration |
| May 9 | Job | Commemoration |
| May 11 | Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs | Commemoration |
| May 21 | Emperor Constantine, Christian Ruler, and Helena, Mother of Constantine | Commemoration |
| May 24 | Esther | Commemoration |
| May 25 | Bede the Venerable, Theologian | Commemoration |
| May 31 | Visitation | Feast |
June
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| June 1 | Justin, Martyr | Commemoration |
| June 5 | Boniface of Mainz, Missionary to the Germans | Commemoration |
| June 11 | St. Barnabas, Apostle | Festival |
| June 12 | Ecumenical Council of Nicaea | Commemoration |
| June 14 | Elisha | Commemoration |
| June 24 | Nativity of St. John the Baptist | Feast |
| June 25 | Presentation of the Augsburg Confession | Commemoration |
| June 26 | Jeremiah | Commemoration |
| June 27 | Cyril of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor | Commemoration |
| June 28 | Irenaeus of Lyons, Pastor | Commemoration |
| June 29 | St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles | Festival |
July
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| July 6 | Isaiah | Commemoration |
| July 16 | Ruth | Commemoration |
| July 20 | Elijah | Commemoration |
| July 21 | Ezekiel | Commemoration |
| July 22 | St. Mary Magdalene | Commemoration |
| July 25 | St. James the Elder, Apostle | Festival |
| July 28 | Johann Sebastian Bach, Kantor | Commemoration |
| July 29 | Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany | Commemoration |
| July 30 | Robert Barnes, Confessor and Martyr | Commemoration |
| July 31 | Joseph of Arimathea | Commemoration |
August
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| August 3 | Joanna, Mary, and Salome | Commemoration |
| August 10 | Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr | Commemoration |
| August 15 | St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord | Festival |
| August 16 | Isaac | Commemoration |
| August 17 | Johann Gerhard, Theologian | Commemoration |
| August 19 | Bernard of Clairvaux, Hymnwriter and Theologian | Commemoration |
| August 20 | Samuel | Commemoration |
| August 24 | St. Bartholomew, Apostle | Festival |
| August 27 | Monica, Mother of Augustine | Commemoration |
| August 28 | Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian | Commemoration |
| August 29 | Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist | Festival |
September
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 1 | Joshua | Commemoration |
| September 2 | Hannah | Commemoration |
| September 3 | Gregory the Great, Pastor | Commemoration |
| September 4 | Moses | Commemoration |
| September 5 | Zacharias and Elizabeth | Commemoration |
| September 14 | Holy Cross Day | Festival |
| September 16 | Cyprian of Carthage, Pastor and Martyr | Commemoration |
| September 21 | St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist | Festival |
| September 22 | Jonah | Commemoration |
| September 29 | St. Michael and All Angels | Feast |
| September 30 | Jerome, Translator of Holy Scripture | Commemoration |
October
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| October 7 | Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, Pastor | Commemoration |
| October 9 | Abraham | Commemoration |
| October 11 | Philip the Deacon | Commemoration |
| October 17 | Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr | Commemoration |
| October 18 | St. Luke, Evangelist | Festival |
| October 23 | St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr | Festival |
| October 25 | Dorcas (also known as Tabitha), Lydia, and Phoebe, Faithful Women | Commemoration |
| October 26 | Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and Paul Gerhardt, Hymnwriters | Commemoration |
| October 28 | St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles | Festival |
| October 31 | Reformation Day | Festival |
November
| Date | Observance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| November 1 | All Souls’ Day | Feast |
| November 2 | All Saints’ Day | Feast |
| November 8 | Johannes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor | Commemoration |
| November 9 | Birth of Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor | Commemoration |
| November 11 | Martin of Tours, Pastor | Commemoration |
| November 14 | Emperor Justinian, Christian Ruler and Confessor of Christ | Commemoration |
| November 23 | Clement of Rome, Pastor | Commemoration |
| November 29 | Noah | Commemoration |
| November 30 | St. Andrew, Apostle | Festival |
Movable Observances
| Observance | Date |
|---|---|
| Baptism of Our Lord | The first Sunday after January 6 |
| Transfiguration of Our Lord | The last Sunday before Ash Wednesday |
| Ash Wednesday | Easter − 46 days |
| Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday | The week before Easter |
| Easter Sunday | The first Sunday after the Paschal full moon (March 22 – April 25) |
| Ascension of Our Lord | Easter + 39 days |
| Pentecost | Easter + 49 days |
| Trinity Sunday | Easter + 56 days |
| Reformation Sunday | The last Sunday in October, when October 31 is not a Sunday |
| All Saints’ Sunday | The first Sunday in November |
| Thanksgiving Day | The fourth Thursday in November |
| Last Sunday of the Church Year | The Sunday before the 1st Sunday in Advent |
The calendar begins with December because the church year begins in Advent.