For Sundays a different arrangement is made with regard to the Old Testament. The Sunday year begins with Advent, which is the season occupying twenty-eight days before Christmas. Selections from Isaiah are read on these four Sundays, on Christmas Day, and on the four or five Sundays which usually follow Christmas before Septuagesima. At Septuagesima we are anticipating Lent and the Passion: Genesis therefore supplies the Lessons, followed by Exodus at Passion-tide, and the other books in regular course.
To this brief description we may add that Proper Lessons, specially chosen from Old and New Testament, are appointed for special Sundays and special {56} Holy Days. These take the place of those which appear in the regular list for the same days. If two special days coincide, the minister may read the Lessons of either, except that, on Advent Sunday, Easter Day, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday, the Lessons for those days are to be read.
The principles of this arrangement have been in use since 1549; alterations in its details were made in 1559, 1604, and 1871.
In 1559 the Apocrypha was appointed for many of the Saints' Days, which nevertheless were left with their Old Testament Lessons in the Calendar. Thus these latter were invariably unread.
In 1604 this defect of the Calendar was corrected by moving the Lessons forward to make room for the Proper Lessons, and omitting some few of those which "might best be spared."
Until 1871 the New Testament was read through thrice in the year, the
Lessons being usually whole chapters. And the Gospels were always
Morning Lessons, and the Epistles and Acts always Evening Lessons.
Revelation was almost altogether omitted.
From 1604 till 1871 the First Lessons from Sept. 28 until Nov. 23 were from the Apocrypha—eight weeks. The Apocrypha Lessons continue now only from Oct. 27 to Nov. 18.
The principle of selection has in all these changes been recognised; but always subordinate to a larger principle of reading in Church the whole Bible. Prior to 1871 the two Books of Chronicles were not read, being regarded as sufficiently represented by the corresponding chapters from the Books of the Kings. In {57} 1871 eighteen Lessons from the Chronicles were introduced in place of the corresponding passages in the Kings.
We shall find in the next chapter that all these Lessons in Church are to be thought of in connection with their attendant Canticles—so that a Lesson and its Canticle form an act of Praise: "as after one angel had published the Gospel (S. Luke ii. 10-12) a multitude joined with him in praising God, so when one minister hath read the Gospel, all the people glorify God" (S. Luke ii. 13, 14)[9].
Rubric. Then shall be read distinctly, &c.] The words of this rubric were altered to some extent in 1662, the only notable change being the alteration of "The minister that readeth" to "He that readeth." The object of the change seems to be that one who is not 'the minister' may read the Lessons. The minister is still directed to declare where they begin and end.