Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, Lectio continua (Latin for ''continuous reading'') refers to the practice of reading

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

in sequence over a period of time. Each reading (which may take place every day or every Sunday) etc. begins where the previous session ended.. For instance, every Sunday a section of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

can be read such that each reading resumes where the previous one ended.. The practice of ''lectio semi-continua'' may skip some passages in the sequence, while '' lectio selecta'' follows a selected sequence of passages in a specific order. The use of ''lectio selecta'' goes back to the Jewish traditions that pre-date Christianity. Luke 4:16–21 refers to the practice reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah on the Sabbath when Jesus visits a synagogue. In

Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

a practice developed to read the Scripture every Sunday or read specific sections of Scripture during festivals in a yearly sequence, and the sequences used for ''lectio continua'' and ''lectio selecta'' were established over the centuries. The term ''

lectio divina In Western Christianity, ''Lectio Divina'' (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word. In the v ...

'' is distinct from this practice and refers to stages of

Christian meditation Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word ''meditārī'', which has a range of meanings including to r ...

contemplative prayer based on the reading of the

. However, ''lectio divina'' does not need to follow a sequence in the book, and focuses mostly on the meditative aspects.

References

{{Reflist Christian terminology

See also

References