Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A book or list of lections to be read at church services during the year.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A book for use in religious worship, containing portions of Scripture to be read for particular days: same as epistolary.
  • noun A table of lessons or portions of Scripture for particular days.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Eccl.) A book, or a list, of lections, for reading in divine service.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A book or listing that contains a collection of readings for Christian worship.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin lēctiōnārium, from Latin lēctiō, lēctiōn-, a reading; see lesson.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word lectionary.

Examples

  • This wider signification is, however, perhaps the less usual, and in practice the term lectionary is more commonly used to denote one of two things: (1) the book containing the collection of Scriptural readings which are chanted by the deacon, subdeacon, or a lector during Mass;

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 9: Laprade-Mass Liturgy 1840-1916 1913

  • The Bible was not written with what we call a lectionary in mind.

    "From the Rector: New Prayer Book Lectionary" bls 2009

  • The word lectionary, then, in its wider sense, is a term which may be correctly applied to any liturgical volume containing passages to be read aloud in the services of the Church.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 9: Laprade-Mass Liturgy 1840-1916 1913

  • In the same epigram, which constitutes the epitaph of Claudianus Mamertus, Sidonius also informs us that this distinguished scholar composed a lectionary, that is, a collection of readings from Sacred Scripture to be made on the occasion of certain celebrations during the year.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913

  • Whether the wide use of "lectio continua" in the lectionary is a good thing or not is a very broad topic which must be reserved for another time.

    New Liturgical Movement Gregory DiPippo 2010

  • For the record, I agree with you completely that Spong, in using the word "lectionary" there, is overstating his position.

    What is Christianity? James F. McGrath 2008

  • (The Gothic Image - Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth century, p. 272, Harper 1958) The 'lectionary' of which he speaks here is the corpus of readings from the lives of the Saints for Matins.

    New Liturgical Movement 2009

  • I prefer the series approach, which, responsibly endeavored upon, means that the preacher is crafting his or her own "lectionary".

    Gen-X Rising 2008

  • The bishops did have enough votes to approve a sixth action item from the Committee on Divine Worship, a Spanish-language lectionary.

    Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog: 2009

  • In its contours and cadences, Obama's address drew on traditions of black preaching rarely if ever seen in presidential speeches, said Simmons, who directs an online African-American lectionary project.

    Obama's Eulogy Invokes Spirit Of Black Church, Reinhold Niebuhr Josh Fleet 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • In Christian tradition, a list, often illustrated, of lections — selections from the Bible that are read in church services. (From ArtLex)

    June 5, 2008