X. THE KALENDAR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE EAST. The Menologies. I. Immoveable Commemorations. The twelve great primary festivals; the four great secondary festivals. The middle class, greater and lesser festivals. The minor festivals, and subdivisions. Explanation of terms used in the Greek Kalendar. II. The Cycle of Sundays, or Dominical Kalendar 133 APPENDIX I. The Paschal Question in the Celtic Churches 146 APPENDIX II. Note on the Kalendars of the separated Churches of the East 147 APPENDIX III. Note on the history of the Kalendar of the Church of England since the Reformation 149 PLATES 1. KALENDAR OF THE PETERBOROUGH PSALTER _to face Title_ 2. THE SYRIAC MARTYROLOGY ” _p. 15_ 3. KALENDAR OF THE WORCESTER BOOK ” _p. 93_ 4. KALENDAR OF THE DURHAM PSALTER ” _p. 99_ INTRODUCTION The Church’s Year, as it has been known for many centuries throughout Christendom, is characterised, first, by the weekly festival of the Lord’s Day (a feature which dates from the dawn of the Church’s life and the age of the Apostles) and, secondly, by the annual recurrence of fasts and festivals, of certain days and certain seasons of religious observance. These latter emerged, and came to find places in the Kalendar at various periods. In order of time the season of the Pascha, the commemoration of the death, and, subsequently, of the resurrection of the Saviour, is the first of the annual observances to appear in history. Again, at an early date local commemorations of the deaths of victims of the great persecutions under the pagan Emperors were observed yearly. And some of these (notably those who suffered at Rome) gradually gained positions in the Church’s Year in regions remote from the places of their origin. Speaking generally, little as it might be thought probable beforehand, it is a fact that martyrs of local celebrity emerge in the history of the Kalendar at an earlier date than any but the most eminent of the Apostles (who were also martyrs), and earlier than some of the festivals of the Lord Himself. The Kalendar had its origin in the historical events of the martyrdoms.