Ordinary Time
Two-thirds of the year, three different naming schemes, and the reason American lectionary sites give you the wrong Sunday.
Ordinary Time is the green stretch, and there are two of them: a short one between Candlemas and Ash Wednesday, and the long one from Trinity Sunday to the eve of Advent. Together they are most of the year.
Why 'ordinary'
Not because it is unremarkable. From ordinal — the Sundays are simply counted. It is the time that is not shaped by Christmas or Easter, and the readings work steadily through a Gospel rather than serving a season.
After Trinity, or after Pentecost?
Both, depending on where you are looking. This is the single commonest source of confusion for a parish checking readings online.
| Scheme | Counts from | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Sundays after Trinity | Trinity Sunday | The Church of England, Common Worship and BCP |
| Sundays after Pentecost | Pentecost, a week earlier | The Episcopal Church, many Lutheran and other RCL users |
| Propers, numbered | Fixed to calendar date ranges | The Revised Common Lectionary itself |
So the same Sunday is the Tenth after Trinity here, the Eleventh after Pentecost in an American parish, and Proper 14 in the lectionary that supplies both. The readings are identical; the names are not.
How the Propers work
The RCL numbers its Ordinary Time Sundays as Propers, and each Proper is tied to a range of calendar dates rather than to a count from a feast. That is what makes them stable when Easter moves: an early Easter simply means the green season starts earlier and more Propers are used.
The consequence is that the number of Sundays after Trinity varies from year to year, and the season absorbs the whole thirty-five-day swing in the date of Easter.
The two Old Testament tracks
Ordinary Time is also where the RCL offers a choice of Old Testament reading — the continuous and related tracks. A parish picks one and keeps it for the season; the difference is explained in Years A, B and C.
The end of it
The last four Sundays before Advent turn towards the end of all things and are counted backwards, which is its own source of confusion — see the Kingdom season.
Questions
Why is it called Ordinary Time?
From 'ordinal' — the Sundays are counted rather than named for a season. It is not a comment on their importance.
What is the difference between Sundays after Trinity and Sundays after Pentecost?
They are the same Sundays counted from different starting points. The Church of England counts from Trinity Sunday; the Episcopal Church and many other RCL users count from Pentecost, a week earlier. The readings are the same; the numbering differs by one.
What is a Proper in the lectionary?
A numbered set of readings in the Revised Common Lectionary tied to a range of calendar dates rather than to a count from a feast, which keeps it stable as the date of Easter moves.